Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann

Chandigarh: The Punjab Assembly on Monday “unanimously” passed the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on September 27, even as Congress members staged a walkout.

The BJP members have already announced to boycott the assembly session.

After a lengthy discussion on the confidence motion, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan put it to vote. He asked MLAs to raise hands who were in support, and then asked those who were against the motion of confidence.

Announcing the results, Sandhwan said 91 AAP MLAs supported the motion.

He also said one of the three SAD MLAs who was present in the House and a lone BSP MLA did not oppose the motion.

No Congress, BJP or lone Independent MLA was present in the House at the time of voting.

AAP has 92 MLAs, including the Speaker, in the House.

“So, 93 MLAs have supported the motion and none is against it. Thus, the motion is unanimously passed,” the Speaker said.

In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, the AAP has 92 members, Congress 18, SAD 3, BJP 2, BSP 1 while 1 is an Independent.

The assembly had taken up discussion on confidence motion, with AAP MLAs hitting out at the BJP over “Operation Lotus”, alleging a bid to topple the six-month-old government.

The AAP had earlier claimed that at least 10 of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them in a bid to topple the Mann government under its “Operation Lotus”.

However, as the discussion began, Congress MLAs staged a walkout, as they were demanding that the Speaker should allot them time to speak and raise issues during the Zero Hour.

The two BJP MLAs Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan — have been boycotting the session as they accused the AAP government of violating the Constitution by bringing the confidence motion in the assembly.

Bhubaneswar: Popular Odia singer Murali Mohapatra collapsed and died while performing at a Durga Puja cultural event in Odisha’s Koraput district, his family said.

Mohapatra, who was reportedly unwell, suddenly sat down on a chair on the stage after singing four songs in Jeypore town. When taken to a hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.

He died of a heart attack late on Sunday night, his brother Bibhuti Prasad Mohapatra said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled the death of Mohapatra.

Saddened to know about the demise of popular singer Murali Mohapatra. His sweet voice will always ignite the hearts of listeners. May his soul rest in peace. My condolences to his family, Patnaik said in a Twitter post in Odia.

The incident reminded people of singer KK’s death at a hotel after a concert in Kolkata earlier this year.

Mohapatra was also a government employee working at the office of the Jeypore sub-collector. He was set to retire from service nine months later.

The singer’s friend Prasant Kumar Mishra said Mohapatra had informed the audience that he was unwell and requested all to cooperate if there was any mistake.

Mohapatra used to follow the singing style of legendary Odia singer, songwriter and composer Akshaya Mohanty. People used to describe him as “Akshaya Mohanty of Jeypore”.

Basti (UP): A doctor was arrested for allegedly raping a woman here, police said on Tuesday.

The woman filed a complaint with the police stating that the doctor, posted at a hospital in the Basti Sadar Kotwali area, befriended her on social media and asked her to visit him, they said.

When she visited the hospital, the doctor took her to his hostel room where he and his two colleagues, who are also doctors, raped her, police said quoting the complainant.

The woman, who is a teacher in a private educational institute, reached Lucknow from Basti and informed the police on September 27, they said

A case was registered and investigation taken up, police said, adding the doctor was arrested from the hospital.

Mumbai: Benchmark indices bounced back in early trade on Tuesday after falling in the previous trade amid positive trends in global equity markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,028.28 points to 57,817.09 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty rallied 320.3 points to 17,207.65.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finserv were the major winners in early trade.

Power Grid traded lower. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul and Tokyo were trading higher. The US markets ended significantly higher on Monday.

The BSE benchmark had tumbled 638.11 points or 1.11 per cent to settle at 56,788.81 on Monday. The Nifty fell by 207 points or 1.21 per cent to end at 16,887.35.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude futures climbed 0.53 per cent to 89.33 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors turned buyers after remaining net sellers in the recent past and bought shares worth Rs 590.58 crore on Monday, according to data available with BSE.

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General (Prisons) Hemant K Lohia was found murdered at his residence here, police said, asserting that his domestic help has emerged as the main suspect in the case.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh described the incident as “extremely unfortunate” and said a manhunt had been launched to nab the domestic help identified as Jasir, who is absconding.

Giving details, Singh told PTI that the suspect had even attempted to set ablaze the body of 57-year-old Lohia, who was promoted and appointed as Director General of Prisons in the Union Territory in August.

Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh, who visited the house of Lohia at Udaiwala on the outskirts of Jammu, said the 1992-batch IPS officer was found dead on Monday night, with burn injuries on his body and his throat slit.

A preliminary examination of the crime scene indicated that Lohia must have been applying some oil on his foot which showed swelling. The killer suffocated Lohia to death and also used a broken ketchup bottle to slit his throat and later tried to set the body afire, he said.

The guards present at the residence of the officer saw the fire inside his room. They had to break open the door as it was locked from inside, the ADGP said.

He said the preliminary examination of the scene of crime points towards murder.

“The domestic help is absconding. A search for him has started,” the police officer said, adding forensic and crime teams inspected the spot.

J and K Police family expresses grief and deep sorrow over the death of the senior officer, he added.

JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) on Monday accused its former national vice president Prashant Kishor of working “on behalf of the BJP” and wondered about the source of funding for his much publicised ‘Jan Suraaj’ campaign.

JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan also berated Kishor’s statewide “pada yatra” and fulminated against his refrain that Bihar remains a laggard despite over a decade of Kumar’s claim of good governance.

“The people of Bihar know how much progress there has been under Nitish Kumar’s rule. We do not need a certificate from Prashant Kishor. Though like any other citizen he is free to take out a march or a demonstration,” the JD(U) chief told reporters.

He also said that “Kishor may give whatever name he chooses to his campaign but it does appear that he is working on behalf of the BJP. The type of publicity he is paying for raises the suspicion”.

“How many times do we see even well-established political parties putting out full-page ads? He did that for his pada yatra yesterday. Why I-T (income tax) department, CBI or ED are not taking note? The only possible explanation is that he is enjoying the backing of those ruling the Centre,” Lalan alleged.

An enigmatic figure who has worked with politicians of all hues, Prashant Kishor, who hails from Buxar district of Bihar, now claims to have given up professional political consultancy and devoted himself fully to transforming his home state through mass mobilisation.
His move, however, is viewed with skepticism by the state’s hard-nosed politicians who view the IPAC founder as a mercenary.

The JD(U)’s comment comes a day after state BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand issued a statement, calling Kishor a “political middleman” who had a “tacit understanding” with Nitish Kumar.

Notably, Kishor’s first claim to fame was his handling of Narendra Modi’s spectacularly successful campaign of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls which saw the BJP winning a majority for the first time.

A year later, he helped the Grand Alliance of JD(U), Lalu Prasad’s RJD and Congress pull off a stunning victory in Bihar assembly polls, bringing the BJP juggernaut to a halt.

Damodar Mauzo

Thane: Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith award winner and eminent writer Damodar Mauzo on Monday said he too had a threat to his life following the killing of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh but added that “no bullet can put an end to my thoughts”.

Mauzo, known from his progressive writing in Konkani and especially his novel ‘Karmelin’, was given security cover by Goa police in July, 2018 on intelligence inputs of the Union home ministry and the special investigation team probing Lankesh’s death.

Speaking at the jubilee celebrations of a book outlet here, he said, “I came to know at the time that I too was on the hitlist of some people after Gauri Lankesh’s death. But as an author, I do not need protection as it curbs my personal freedom.”

“It is four years and I have still not been shot. No bullet can put an end to my thoughts. I speak fearlessly,” the writer added.

He said it was wrong to say litterateurs must not be involved in politics, but added that “they must not indulge in party politics”.

Mauzo was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1983 and the Jnanpith award in 2021.

Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her Bengaluru home on September 5, 2017, an incident that had hit international headlines and drawn widespread condemnation.