The allegations were brought to light by BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, who accused Balkar Singh, a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), of engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct.

According to Bagga, Singh was involved in a sexual activity during a video call with a woman seeking employment.

The NCW, led by its chairperson Rekha Sharma, has vehemently condemned the purported behaviour.

The NCW said in a post on X that Sharma called for urgent intervention from the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure a prompt and impartial investigation into the matter.

The NCW has requested a comprehensive report on the incident to be submitted within three days.

“The National Commission for Women is gravely disturbed by a Twitter post alleging inappropriate conduct by Punjab MLA Mr Balkar Singh. The reported acts, if substantiated, constitute serious violations under IPC sections 354 and 354B, directly affronting a woman’s dignity. @sharmarekha vehemently condemn such behavior and call for urgent intervention from @DGPPunjabPolice to ensure a prompt and impartial investigation. A comprehensive report to be submitted in 3 days,” the NCW said in a post on X.

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday extended the tenure of Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Samir V Kamat by one year, a Personnel Ministry order said.

Distinguished scientist Kamat was on August 25, 2022, appointed as secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) and the DRDO chairman, it said.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved an extension in service of Kamat as secretary, DDR&D and chairman, DRDO for one year from June 1, 2024, till May 31, 2025, or until further orders, it said.

Aizawl: Five people died and several others were missing as a stone quarry collapsed in Mizoram’s Aizawl district amid incessant rains on Tuesday morning, police said.

The incident happened around 6 am in an area between Melthum and Hlimen on the southern outskirts of the Aizawl town, they said.

Five bodies have been recovered, while several others are still trapped under the debris, a police officer said.

Heavy rains were affecting the rescue operations, he said.

The rains triggered landslides at several places in the state, officials said.

Aizawl has been cut off from the rest of the country due to a landslide on National Highway 6 at Hunthar, they said.

Besides, several intra-state highways have also been disrupted by landslides, they added.

Because of the rains, all schools were closed and government employees, except those involved in providing essential services, were asked to work from home.

New Delhi: A bomb threat received on a Varanasi-bound IndiGo flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Tuesday morning turned out to be a hoax, police said.

The bomb scare prompted authorities to evacuate all the staff and 176 passengers onboard and launch a search operation, officials said.

“At around 5 am, an information was received regarding a paper found in the lavatory of an Indigo flight scheduled to depart for Varanasi, with the phrase “bomb @5.30” written on it,” a senior police officer said.

A thorough inspection was conducted, the officer said, adding, “No suspicious items were found. It was a hoax threat. Further investigation is underway.”

The officials said the threat was found written on a piece of paper in a lavatory by the pilot when the Indigo 6E2211 flight was preparing to leave.

They said the aircraft was taken to an isolated area where the security agency personnel conducted a search operation following standard protocols.

New Delhi (PTI): Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “mujra” barb, the Congress on Saturday said he is using words that no other prime minister in the country’s history used for opposition leaders and urged him to maintain the dignity of his post.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said indications are there that Prime Minister Modi is rattled. It is evident from the manner in which he is speaking as was seen in Bihar, Kharge added.

“He is saying let them do ‘mujra’…this is not how a PM (should talk). He should be talking in a statesman-like manner. He is inciting people and talking of Hindu-Muslim,” Kharge said at a press conference in Shimla.

Tagging his remarks at the presser, Kharge, in a post in Hindi on X, said, “‘M’ reminds Modi ji of…’M’ reminds him of ‘mutton’, ‘M’ reminds him of ‘machli’, ‘M’ reminds him of ‘Mughal’, ‘M’ reminds him of ‘Mangalsutra’, ‘M’ reminds him of ‘mujra’. But ‘M’ does not remind him of ‘maryada (dignity)’, which should be there for the post of prime minister.”

Hitting out at Modi over his remarks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a post in Hindi on X, said, “The dignity of the prime minister’s language and the seats of the BJP are both continuously falling.”

The opposition party’s attack came after Modi vowed to thwart alleged attempts to rob Dalits and backward classes of reservation by the INDIA bloc, which he accused of “enslavement” and performing “mujra” for its Muslim vote bank.

“Bihar is the land that has given a new direction to the fight for social justice. I wish to declare on its soil that I will foil the plans of the INDIA bloc to rob the SCs, STs and OBC of their rights and divert those to Muslims. They may remain enslaved and perform ‘mujra’ to please their vote bank,” the prime minister said, addressing a poll rally in Bihar.

Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Have you heard the prime minister’s speech in Bihar? He has used words that no other prime minister in the history of the country used for opposition leaders.”

She said the entire country respects the post of prime minister and it is his responsibility to maintain the dignity of the post.

The prime minister has become nervous and has forgotten he is a representative of the country and of people, and such words should not have been spoken by him, Priyanka Gandhi said in Gorakhpur.

Reacting to Modi’s remarks, Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, in a video statement, said, “Using such words is not befitting of the person sitting on the post of the prime minister.”

In a post on X along with the video statement, Khera said, “Today, heard the word ‘mujra’ from the Prime Minister’s mouth. Modiji, what is this? Why don’t you take something?”

“… Perhaps campaigning in the sun has affected the mind too much,” he said.

In his remarks, Modi also said the people of Bihar have been hurt by “insulting” remarks against migrants hailing from the state made by Congress leaders in Punjab and Telangana and DMK and TMC leaders in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. “These RJD people who keep doing ‘mujra’ with their lantern (RJD’s poll symbol) do not have the courage to speak a word in protest,” he said.

Lucknow: The Congress and the Samajwadi Party Saturday alleged that SP’s Ambedkar Nagar Lok Sabha constituency candidate Lalji Verma has been put under house arrest at the behest of the ruling BJP.

 The district administration could not be reached for a comment on the allegations of the two parties.

SP leader Arvind Kumar Singh wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer alleging the Ambedkar Nagar administration is influencing the elections by keeping the SP candidate under house arrest.

The EC should take cognisance so that fair voting is ensured, he said.

In a post on X, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the police raided Verma’s house. “But the police neither wanted to find anything nor found anything. This is an evil act to tarnish the honest image of Lalji Verma. Extremely condemnable! This is the frustration of the losing BJP,” he said.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP government are “so frightened by the fear of defeat that they have openly resorted to dictatorship”.

“Information is being received that INDIA alliance candidate from Ambedkar Nagar Lalji Verma has been placed under house arrest,” the party said on X.

“By misusing the government machinery, the candidates of the INDIA alliance are not being allowed to come out of the house and the voters are being threatened. Sir, if you have woken up, please take action,” the party said, drawing the attention of the Election Commission of India.

In a separate post, the Samajwadi Party also appealed to the Election Commission to take cognisance of the matter.

In an incident reported from Gardadi village of Belthangadi taluk, a newly married man lost his life after accidentally slipping and falling into the lake on his property on Saturday night. The victim, identified as Shailesh Shetty (38), a farmer who had tied the knot just six months ago, met with the fatal accident around 8:30 PM on May 25.

According to reports, Shailesh slipped into the lake on his property and drowned in the mud. Upon receiving the information, personnel from the Beltangady Fire Services immediately responded, retrieving Shailesh’s body from the lake and transferring it to the Beltangady Government Hospital for further procedures.

The local police in November 2023 granted a booking license to the gaming zone, which was renewed for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told reporters.

“The game zone had received permissions from the roads and buildings department. It had also submitted a proof of fire safety equipment to obtain the fire NOC which was under process and not yet completed,” the official said.

The game zone had fire safety equipment but action taken to control the blaze was not sufficient, leading to the tragedy on Saturday, he said.

Twenty seven persons, including four children, were killed and three others injured in the massive fire that swept through the TRP game zone in the Nana Mava locality teeming with people who were enjoying a summer vacation outing on Saturday evening, officials earlier said.

As per the FIR, the accused persons erected a 50-metre wide and 60-metre long structure with the height of around two-three storey building using metal sheet fabrication to create a game zone.

They did not have a proper fire fighting equipment and had not obtained the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local fire department, thereby endangering the lives of people despite knowing that a blaze in such a structure could cause deaths and injuries, said the FIR.

Yuvrajsinh Solanki, a partner in the Raceway Enterprise, which operated the TRP game zone, and the entertainment facility’s manager Nitin Jain have so far been arrested, Rajkot Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Parthrajsinh Gohil said.

The six persons against whom the case was registered by the Rajkot taluka police in the wee hours of Sunday are Dhaval Corporation proprietor Dhaval Thakkar, Raceway Enterprise partners Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakashchand Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki and Rahul Rathod, as per the FIR.

The case was registered against six identified persons and others whose names are revealed during the investigation, it said.

The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt by an act that endangers life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt to a person by doing an act that endangers their life or personal safety) and 114 (someone present when offence is committed), as per the FIR.

The name of Nitin Jain, the game zone’s manager, came up during the investigation, Gohil said.

Four different teams of the crime branch have been formed to nab the four absconding accused, Bhargava said.

The investigation in the case has been handed over to the crime branch and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Rajkot police headed by Joint Additional Commissioner of Police Vidhi Chaudhary, he said.

Notably, the Gujarat government has also formed a five-member SIT headed by state Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi to investigate the incident.

Bhargava said, “All our efforts will be to complete the investigation and file a chargesheet at the earliest. For this, a forensic science laboratory (FSL) team has reached here from Gandhinagar, and all other required action will be taken…We have also asked the state government to appoint a special public prosecutor.”

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the incident site on Sunday morning and a hospital where the injured persons were admitted.

The CM has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each injured.