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Muzaffarnagar: A college student in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district was allegedly harassed by a youth, who also beat her up after she protested, police said today.
The incident happened yesterday near Circular Road under Civil Lines police station, when the girl was returning home from her college, an officer said.
A case has been registered against the accused, Bhupender Kumar, who is absconding, he added.
(Agencies)
New Delhi: The odd-even car rationing scheme will be rolled out in Delhi for five days from November 13 as part of a graded response plan to tackle the alarming pollution situation in the city, the state government announced Thursday.
The scheme will be in place from 8 am to 8 pm and there will exemptions for women drivers and two-wheelers,
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.
“The exemptions will be similar as last year and there is no need for people to panic,” he told reporters.
The minister also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a meeting of chief ministers of Delhi and adjoining states to find a solution to the crisis.
The Delhi government has directed DTC to hire 500 buses from private contractors to tackle the rush of commuters during the odd-even implementation week.
“Delhi Metro has also promised to provide 100 small buses during the period. Schools will be free to provide their buses voluntarily. However, there will be no compulsion,” Gahlot said.
CNG vehicles will be exempt but will need to have stickers in place. These will be available at 22 IGL stations across Delhi from 2 pm tomorrow.
“The old stickers which were issued in the last edition of odd-even will be valid too,” the minister said.
Under the policy, private vehicles are allowed to run based on the last number of their licence plates.
Odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars can only run on even dates.
In 2016, the scheme was enforced twice — January 1-15 and April 15-30.
(PTI)
As the Congress government in Karnataka went ahead with 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary celebrations today, protests erupted at many places in the state. Tipu Sultan died in 1799, but it was only in 2015 that the state government decided to officially celebrate his birthday while describing him as one of the earliest freedom fighters. However, the decision met with resistance from the right wing which sees him as a bigoted tyrant who forcefully converted thousands and killed thousands.
This year, too, the BJP and their sympathisers protested against the celebrations.
In Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu in Karnataka, protestors stoned a bus as part of their agitation against the celebrations of Tipu Jayanti. They were taken into protective custody. Prohibitory orders have been imposed in Kodagu district, which historically was at odds with Tipu. It is said he killed thousands of people there. Kodagu saw the worst of protests in 2015. Extra security has been deployed here this time.
Richard D’Souza, District Collector, Madikeri confirmed to NDTV that the three state government functions in Kodagu went off peacefully. In Madikeri, elected BJP representatives did try to go on the stage to disrupt proceedings but they were removed from the location.
Schools in rural Kodagu functioned normally but some schools in Madikeri remained shut as some school buses remained off the roads.
The SP of Kodagu, Rajendra Prasad, told NDTV that apart from stone pelting, the situation remained under control. He said besides 1,500 policemen, personnel from the Home Guard and the KSRP were also on duty. 200 CCTV camera are in place to catch hold micreants.
In Bengaluru, police commissioner T Suneel Kumar had said no processions would be allowed either for or against Tipu Jayanti today. He said, “The government is celebrating Tipu Jayanti in various parts of Bangalore and we have made elaborate security arrangements. About 11,000 policemen will be on this job.”
Mr Kumar said no preventive arrests have been done so far. He added that Section 144 – prohibitory orders preventing the gathering of people – may be imposed if he felt the situation required it.
The debate over Tipu had gained fresh momentum last month after President Kovind praised Tipu Sultan in his speech and called him “a man who died a historical death”. The President was speaking in Bengaluru at an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the state legislature building, the Vidhana Soudha.
The mention of Tipu led to charges by the BJP that the Congress had written his speech for him, which was denied both by the Karnataka state government and the President’s office.
(Agencies)
Jaipur: Bajrang Dal on Friday held a demonstration against the release of the upcoming Bollywood movie Padmavati and demanded a ban on it.
Dal members, hundreds in number, gathered outside the collectorate here and handed over representations addressed to the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to an administration official demanding the ban on the movie.
“It is clear from the promos that the objectionable facts related to Rani Padmavati have been shown in the film,” said Ashok Singh, state coordinator of the Bajrang Dal. “We are demanding a complete ban on the film which the filmmaker made with distorted facts,” Singh said.
“The government should not allow the movie release in the state. If the movie is released the government will be responsible for any loss or harm to cinema halls due to our protest,” Singh said. Similar protests were also held at other district headquarters in the state, he said.
Promos of the film are out, stoking the controversy over the Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-Shahid Kapoor starrer, slated for release on December 1. Dal, along with Shri Rajput Karni Sena, has been opposing the film fearing that the movie would depict a romantic relationship between Rani Padmavati (Padukone) and Allaudin Khilji (Singh).
(Agencies)
Mohammed bin Nayef was Saudi Arabia’s crown prince before his removal in June [File: Reuters]
by Al Jazeera
Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s ex-crown prince who was removed as next in line to the throne in June, has reportedly become the latest royal family member to be targeted in the kingdom’s expanding anti-corruption crackdown.
According to Reuters news agency and the Wall Street Journal, bank accounts linked to Mohammed bin Nayef and some of his immediate relatives were frozen by Saudi authorities.
Both reports on Wednesday cited sources “familiar with the matter”. The Reuters report was also carried by Saudi state-owned media.
The freezing of Mohammed bin Nayef’s accounts came as Saudi authorities launched a new arrest campaign as part of the widening purge that began on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Dozens of royals, government officials and influential entrepreneurs have already been detained, facing a number of allegations, including money laundering and bribery.
Among those held are 11 princes, four ministers and several former ministers, in what is seen as an unprecedented crackdown that has shaken the kingdom.
Meanwhile, the number of domestic bank accounts frozen as a result of the purge is more than 1,700 and increasing, according to the reports.
High-profile detentions
The steps were the latest in a series of policies widely seen as an effort by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to assert power over the country and its political and business elite.
On Saturday, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced that his son, the crown prince, would oversee a newly formed anti-graft commission that would purge the country of corruption.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman who owns investment firm, Kingdom Holding, was among those held. The list of detainees also included senior ministers who were recently sacked, such as Prince Mitaab bin Abdullah, the head of the National Guard, and Adel Faqih, the economy minister.
Mohammed bin Salman replaced his cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, as the kingdom’s crown prince in June.
Mohammed bin Nayef made his first confirmed public appearance since his removal at the funeral on Tuesday for Prince Mansour bin Muqrin Al Saud, deputy governor of Asir province, according to Saudi media.
Mansour bin Muqrin died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. No cause has been given for the crash.
‘Rights concerns’
On Wednesday, US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement that the “mass arrests” carried out by Saudi Arabia raised human rights concerns.
“The middle-of-the-night simultaneous establishment of a new corruption body and mass arrests over corruption raise concerns that Saudi authorities detained people en masse and without outlining the basis of the detentions,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said.
“While Saudi media are framing these measures as Mohammad bin Salman’s move against corruption, the mass arrests suggest this may be more about internal power politics,” she added.
The rights group noted that arbitrary detention is in contravention of international human rights law, and demanded those arrested be informed of the “specific grounds for their arrest” and ” be able to fairly contest their detention before an independent and impartial judge”.
“Saudi authorities have not disclosed the specific reasons for the detention of the dozens of other people since mid-September. But the detentions fit a pattern of human rights violations against peaceful advocates and dissidents, including harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, travel bans, detention, and prosecution,” its statement added.
New York: Ravinder Bhalla has become the first ever Sikh mayor of New Jersey’s Hoboken city after a stiff competition that turned ugly when he was labelled a terrorist in slanderous flyers.
Bhalla was endorsed by current Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who in a surprising decision announced not to run for re-election in June.
He is the first Sikh to hold elected office in New Jersey.
Bhalla, who has been on the city council for more than seven years, claimed the victory at Moran’s Pub on Garden Street yesterday with dozens of his supporters, as well as his friends and family, NJ.com reported.
“Thank you Hoboken. I look forward to being your Mayor!,” Bhalla tweeted.
“Thank you for having faith in me, for having faith in our community, faith in our state, and faith in our country; this is what America is all about,” he told his supporters after winning the elections.
“We’ve been through a bruising campaign… but now is the time we come together and see who we can work with to bring this city forward,” he said.
He bested a six-person field of challengers that included council members Michael DeFusco and Jennifer Giattino, as well as Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano, the report said.
The wide-open campaign that kicked off in June with Zimmer’s announcement quickly turned into heated race, with Anthony Romano’s campaign manager, Pablo Fonseca, calling the race “ugly” and “divisive”, the report said.
The race turned ugly in recent days when doctored campaign fliers began circulating anonymously attacking Bhalla.
Last week, Bhalla was labelled a terrorist in slanderous flyers left on car windshields.
They have a photo of New Jersey Councilman Bhalla. In red letters above him, the flyers read: “Don’t let terrorism take over our Town!”, it added.
The recent flyers were not the first time he had been referred to as a terrorist. A Jersey City man previously tweeted: “how the hell did Hoboken allow this guy to be a councilman. He shouldn’t even be allowed in the US #terrorist.” Bhalla tweeted about the flyers. They read “Don’t let TERRORISM take over our Town!”.
(PTI)
New Delhi: The odd-even car rationing scheme will be enforced in Delhi for a five-day period from November 13, city Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said today.
The decision comes as air pollution levels spiked in the national capital. Under the policy, private vehicles are allowed to run based on the last number of their licence plates.
Odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars can only run on even dates. In 2016, the scheme was enforced twice — January 1-15 and April 15-30.
(Agencies)
Bengaluru: BJP led central government has used central agencies, departments including Income Tax Department, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and others to suppress its political opponents in the country, especially in Karnataka, said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
He was speaking in an event organized to observe Black Day on first anniversary of demonetization of currency notes in the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 on November 8, 2016. Black day was organised by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) to register its protest against demonetization which allegedly adversely impacted the life of common man in the country.
Making a serious allegation against BJP and IT department, Siddaramaiah said, IT officials were asked state Energy Minister DK Shivakumar to join BJP during a recent raid on his residences and offices in the country.
Chief Minister stated that the centre has failed to create 2 crore job opportunities per year for the unemployed youth in the country as assured before the last parliamentary elections. Further he added that, BJP led central government has supported only rich and business tycoons instead of supporting weaker sections of the society.
Speaking on next assembly election scheduled early next year, chief minister said BJP can’t win the next assembly polls and efforts including Parivartan Yatra and others can’t help the opposition to get seats in the next elections as estimated.
(Agencies)
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tabled the report of judicial commission probing the solar scam in the state assembly on Thursday.
The Chief Minister, while tabling the report in the Assembly, said the Commission had found former chief minister Oommen Chandy and his several cabinet colleagues of having abetted the attempts by solar scam accused Saritha S. Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan to dupe the people.
“Former CM Oommen Chandy through his personnel, assisted team solar and accused Sarita of enabling them to cheat customers. Then, Home Minister T Radhakrishnan made all efforts to ensure that Oommen Chandy is extricated from criminal liability,” said the Judicial Commission’s report on the solar scam.
Vijayan gave permission for live telecast on the day`s proceedings.
The more than 1,000-page report by Justice G. Sivarajan (retd) includes four volumes in English and one in Malayalam.
After the Chief Minister tabled the report, copies of it were given to all the legislators and also to the media.
The allegations regarding the multi-crore solar energy investment fraud that rocked the then Oommen Chandy government in 2013 were led by Saritha Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan.
The findings of the report indict Chandy and his office and the way his three office staff had close links with Saritha Nair.
Among the others who have been found guilty include Chandy`s former cabinet colleagues Aryadan Mohammed, Adoor Prakash, A.P. Anil Kumar and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
The others named in the case are legislator Hibi Eden, former MLAs Benny Behanan and Thampanoor Ravi, Lok Sabha members Jose K. Mani and K.C. Venugopal, former Union Minister Palanimanickam and party office bearers.
The report also contains a letter written by Nair wherein she names all those who sexually exploited her.
Soon after Vijayan finished his speech, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said that reports have surfaced that after Sivarajan submitted his report, a person was send to the retired judge again, which should not have happened.
“This report is based on what Saritha Nair has said and you (Vijayan) are using this to settle political scores against a tall leader like Chandy, whose track record is impeccable and one who has carried himself in a dignified manner as a legislator for almost 50 years,” said Chennithala.
After the 50-minute session, the opposition leaders got together at the official residence of Chennithala to tackle the fresh developments.
According to sources in the know of things, the Congress opposition is all set to challenge the report in the court.
This is the first time in the history of the assembly that a special session was called to table a Judicial Commission probe report.
So far, all the 134 previous judicial probes were tabled in the course of regular assembly sessions.
(Agencies)
Chennai: India’s insurance regulator IRDAI has mandated all insurers – life and non-life – to link the Aadhaar number of the policy holders to their policies
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), in a circular on Wednesday, told life, non-life and stand-alone health insurers that linking of Aadhaar number to insurance policies is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules 2017.
It said the amended rules makes it mandatory to link Aadhaar number, PAN/Form 60 for availing financial services including insurance and also linking existing insurance policies.
However the IRDAI has not specified any deadline for linking of Aadhaar number with the existing policies.
It will be a major task for the non-life insurers to link Aadhaar with motor insurance policies given huge number of vehicles that get insured with the insurers.
(IANS)