Archives for 2024

Thane : Police have arrested eight Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, for illegally staying in Maharashtra’s Thane district, officials said on Monday.

Based on a tip and a complaint, the police carried out raids on Saturday and Sunday at Kalher and Kongaon in Bhiwandi town, they said.

The eight persons, in the age group of 22 to 42 years, could not provide any valid documents for stay in India.

Three of them worked as scrap sellers, two as labourers, one worked as a mason and another as a plumber, the police said.

They were arrested and booked under provisions of the Foreign Nationals Act and the Indian Passport Act, the police added.

New Delhi: Delhiites woke up to a drizzle and fog on Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 8.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

At 8.30 am, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 402, in the ‘severe’ category, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

The rain is expected to improve the air quality in the coming hours.

Thane: A 22-year-old man accused in a murder case hurled a slipper at a judge during the hearing in a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Monday.

The slipper did not hit the judge and instead hit a wooden frame in front of his desk and fell by the side of the bench clerk, they said.

The incident took place on Saturday afternoon at the court in Kalyan town and a First Information Report (FIR) was subsequently registered against the accused.

The accused, Kiran Santosh Bharam, was produced before District and Additional Sessions Judge R G Waghmare for a hearing in the murder case against him, an official from Mahatma Fule police station said.

At that time, the accused made a request to the judge to assign his case to another court. The judge asked the accused to make an application for the same through his lawyer, the official said.

The name of his lawyer was then called out, but he was not around and did not appear in the court. Hence, the accused was asked to give the name of another lawyer to represent him and was given a fresh date by the court, he said.

The accused then bent down, pulled out his slipper and hurled it in the judge’s direction, taking everyone present in the court by surprise, the official said.

An FIR was subsequently registered against the accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), the police added.

Ahmedabad : A tremor of 3.7 magnitude jolted Gujarat’s Kutch district on Monday morning, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.

There was no report of any casualty or damage to property, the district administration said.

The tremor was recorded at 10.44 am with its epicentre 76 kilometres north-north east of Lakhpat, the Gandhinagar-based ISR said.

This is the second seismic activity of more than 3 magnitude this month in the district.

On December 7, a tremor of 3.2 magnitude was recorded in the district, according to the ISR.

Last month, Kutch recorded an earthquake of 4 magnitude on November 18.

Earlier, on November 15, Patan in north Gujarat was jolted by an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude, as per the ISR data.

Gujarat is a high earthquake-risk area.

It suffered nine major earthquakes in the past 200 years, according to data of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA).

The earthquake in Kutch on January 26, 2001 was the third largest and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries, according to the GSDMA.

A large number of towns and villages in the district had suffered almost complete destruction in the earthquake, which killed nearly 13,800 persons and left 1.67 lakh others injured.

Bengaluru : The driver of the truck involved in the accident in Nelamangala which killed six people, claimed on Monday that there was a car ahead of his vehicle and to prevent collision, he turned the steering wheel towards the road divider which led to the accident.

Police, however, refused to share details about the investigation, claiming it will hamper their probe.

According to police, a Deputy Superintendent of Police rank officer is investigating the case and said a detailed investigation is being carried out to ascertain the cause of the accident. The CCTV cameras installed in and around the area of the accident site are also being verified as part of the probe.

“A DYSP rank officer is investigating the case. We are also doing a case study, keeping in mind the road safety aspects as well. At this stage, we do not want to reveal any details which would further hamper the probe,” a senior police officer said.

Speaking to reporters, the Jharkhand-based truck driver, Arif, who was hospitalised with injuries sustained during the accident, claimed that there was a car ahead of his truck, and that he was going at 40 kmph.

“The car driver applied sudden brakes and I lost control of my vehicle. To save the car, I turned the steering wheels towards the road divider on the right. But then I saw another car, and took a left again. Due to this, the container which was loaded with steel fell,” he added.

The truck driver was unaware that a SUV car got crushed beneath his vehicle and that it led to the death of six of the family, police said.

The accident occurred at Nelamangala near Talekere on the Bengaluru outskirts last Saturday. The family was on the way to Vijayapura.

Mumbai: A court here has granted bail to Indian Navy officer Braham Sharma, arrested for alleged involvement in trafficking people to South Korea on forged documents, noting that he has been under detention since June 2024 and the trial is yet to commence.

Police had claimed that Lieutenant Commander Sharma was the mastermind of a gang that allegedly sent 8 to 10 people to the East Asian country using bogus papers and charged Rs 10 lakh per case.

Sharma’s bail was allowed by additional sessions judge V M Pathade on December 13. A detailed order was available on Tuesday.

Sharma, in his bail application, had claimed he was innocent and was falsely implicated in the crime.

The accused stated that he was not a beneficiary of the crime money.

The investigation culminated in filing a charge-sheet and hence his further detention is unwarranted, Sharma’s plea said and pointed out that a co-accused has been granted bail.

The prosecution opposed the bail contending that Sharma played a major role in committing the crime, unbecoming of a Naval officer.

Police have alleged that Sharma’s associate and co-accused Vipin Dagar, also a Navy officer, was found in possession of 14 Indian passports in the name of different persons, a stamp machine (purchased from Vishakhapatnam to make fake stamps), 108 rubber stamps of distinct establishments, and a rubber sheet used for creating forged and fabricated documents to be used as genuine for obtaining passport/visa.

Sharma had collected such documents through another co-accused and sent them to Dagar.

He used to receive money in bank accounts operated by his mother and grandmother, the police said.

The prosecution argued that sufficient material was collected by the investigating agency, disclosing Sharma’s active participation in the entire activities leading to the commission of the offences.

The court stated that the charge sheet in the case was filed by police.

Sharma has been under detention since June 29, 2024, and the other co-accused persons were granted bail, the court stated.

“The trial is yet to commence, there is no likelihood of the trial being concluded in the near future, ” the court observed while allowing bail for Sharma.

Police had said earlier that Vipin Dagar prepared forged documents and forwarded them to the Korean consulate. He was taking instructions from the mastermind Braham Sharma, who was arrested from Lonavala.

The MRA police station in Mumbai had registered a case against five persons for cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code, and the Passport Act.

New Delhi: The BJP is inquiring into the absence of its nearly 20 MPs from the Lok Sabha during the voting on Tuesday on the introduction of the bill for simultaneous elections.

As the party had issued a whip asking all its members to be present in the House, the absence of so many MPs has irked its leadership, sources said. However, they added that a number of MPs had informed in advance about their absence due to various personal and work-related reasons.

“We are definitely looking into the reasons behind their absence. Quite a few had genuine reasons,” a senior leader said.

Some MPs, including Union minister C R Patil, were engaged with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public event in Rajasthan, the sources said.

Four to five MPs from BJP allies were also not present during the voting, they said, adding that this is also being looked into.

Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery 90-minute debate on Tuesday.

The opposition alleged that the move was “dictatorial” and impinged on states’ powers even as Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal refuted such concerns.

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Meghwal after a division of votes. As many as 269 members voted in favour of the Bill and 198 against it.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

New Delhi: In a swipe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said throwing youths into the war zone in Israel for “employment” is not an achievement but a matter of shame.

Her remarks came after Adityanath took a veiled jibe at Priyanka Gandhi for carrying a handbag to Parliament that had ‘Palestine’ emblazoned on it.

“Yesterday, a Congress leader was seen walking around Parliament carrying a Palestine bag, while we are sending our youth to Israel for opportunities.

“So far, more than 5,600 youth from Uttar Pradesh have gone to Israel for construction work. Every youth gets free food and accommodation besides a monthly salary of Rs 1.5 lakh there. There is also full guarantee of safety,” Adityanath said on the second day of the Winter Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

Hitting back at Adityanath, Priyanka Gandhi said those who sent Uttar Pradesh’s youths to war-torn Israel instead of providing them employment are calling it their achievement.

“They are neither aware of the unemployment situation in the state nor do they understand the pain of those youths and their families,” she said.

According to reports, the youths who have gone to work in Israel are saving their lives by hiding in bunkers and the companies are exploiting them, she said in a post in Hindi.

“Their families are always scared. Our promising youths are forced to risk their lives for employment because you cannot provide employment,” Priyanka Gandhi said. “Throwing our youths into the war zone for employment is not something to pat on the back but a matter of shame.”

In his remarks, Adityanath said, “Recently, the ambassador of Israel visited Uttar Pradesh and said they want more youths from the state, as they are doing good work there. The world is now acknowledging the skills of our youths. When these youths send money home, they contribute to the development of the state. We should congratulate them.”

On Tuesday, Congress’ Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi was seen carrying a cream-coloured handbag to Parliament on which it was written “Bangladesh Ke Hindu Aur Isaiyon Ke Saath Khade Ho” (stand with the Hindus and Christians of Bangladesh).

Several Congress MPs led by Priyanka Gandhi also staged a protest on the Parliament premises demanding justice for Hindus and Christians facing atrocities in Bangladesh.

This came a day after she expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine by carrying a handbag with ‘Palestine’ emblazoned on it.

Belagavi (Karnataka): The Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday passed the second Instalment of supplementary estimate for the current fiscal aggregating to Rs 5,317.83 crore.

The supplementary estimate includes Rs16.28 crore of ‘charged expenditure and voted expenditure of Rs 5,301.55 crore’.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, had moved the bill.

The government said this amount will be met from revenue receipts of state and if necessary through reprioritisation of expenditure and probable savings in expenditure and borrowings.

This estimates relates to additional, supplementary grants and appropriation required during the year and Accounting adjustments.