NEW DELHI: In a move to ban firecrackers, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said that bursting firecrackers on Diwali in the national capital will lead to a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200.

Production, storage and sale of firecrackers in the city will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act, said Rai.

In September, the government re-imposed a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.
The government will light 51,000 diyas at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday.

“The purchase and bursting of firecrackers in Delhi will be punishable with a fine of Rs 200 and six months in jail under the IPC,” the minister said. Rai said 408 teams have been set up to implement the ban. 

The Delhi Police has set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the Revenue Department has constituted 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee 33.

The minister said 188 cases of violations have been detected and 2,917 kg firecrackers seized till October 16. The air quality in Delhi started worsening in October due to unfavourable meteorological factors such as low temperatures and wind speed, which do not allow the dispersion of pollutants.

NEW DELHI:  The 477-page counter affidavit of the Gujarat government in the Bilkis Bano case, which the Supreme Court found bulky, has revealed the flawed character of one of the 11 convicts the State released on remission citing good behaviour.

An annexure dated May 25, 2022 addressed to the Collector and District Magistrate, by Balram Meena, the Superintendent of Police, Dahod, said Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt, one of the convicts, was charged for outraging a woman’s modesty on June 19, 2020 while he was on parole.

An FIR was registered at the Randhikpur police station invoking various IPC sections, including 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

A chargesheet was later filed and the case is under trial. Yet, Meena had no issues with Bhatt’s premature release, arguing the chargesheet “guarantees that the accused agrees to uphold any future judgment given by Hon’ble Court (Dahod court) in this case.”

His letter also revealed that till May 25, 2022 Bhatt had enjoyed “954 parole, furlough leaves”. Importantly, he was out of prison for 281 days after the June 19, 2020 incident. The annexures further disclosed that over 1,000 days of “leave” from jail, including parole and furlough, was enjoyed by at least 10 out of the 11 convicts. Besides claiming their good behaviour, the Gujarat government in its counter said the decision to release the convicts had the Centre’s approval.

PATNA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Bihar Lalan Paswan courted controversy by making bizarre statements about Hindu deities.Paswan’s statement sparked an outrage. People held a protest at Shermari Bazar in Bhagalpur and burnt the effigy of the BJP MLA.

Paswan, who is an MLA from Pirpainti Assembly constituency in Bhagalpur district raised questions on Hindu beliefs and argued with evidence to prove his stance.

He further raised questions on Lakshmi Puja on Diwali.

Paswan said, “If we get wealth only by worshipping Goddess Lakshmi, then there would have been no billionaires and trillionaires among Muslims. Muslims do not worship Goddess Lakshmi, are they not rich? Muslims do not worship Goddess Saraswati. Are there no scholars among Muslims? Do not they become IAS or IPS?”

The BJP leader said everything is people’s belief. He said the affair of “Atma and Paramatma” is just people’s belief.

He said, “If you believe then it is a goddess and if not then it is just a stone idol. It is up to us whether we believe in Gods and Goddesses or not. We have to think on a scientific basis to reach a logical conclusion. If you stop believing, then your intellectual capacity will increase.”

“It is believed that Bajrangbali is a deity with power and bestows strength. Muslims or Christians do not worship Bajrangbali. Are they not powerful? The day you stop believing, all these things will end,” added Paswan.

Earlier, Paswan came to light when he allegedly leaked a personal conversation with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav

BENGALURU: All passengers travelling in four-wheelers have to compulsorily wear seat belts or pay a fine of Rs 1,000. The rule appplies to SUVs, MUVs, hatchbacks and sedans which are classified as M1. A memo in this regard was issued by the office of DG & IGP Praveen Sood to police heads of all districts on Tuesday, asking them to strictly enforce the new rule.

The memo refers to a letter written by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) to all states in September, asking for strict implementation of the law. The letter by MoRTH states that seat belts are safety-critical items and are essential in ensuring the safety of the occupants in vehicles.

As per Rule, 125(1) (a) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, “M1 category motor vehicles used for carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver seat, shall be equipped with a seat belt for a person occupying the front-facing rear seat.

Therefore, all passengers of M1 category vehicles having frontfacing seats should wear seat belts.” B R Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru city, said the traffic police in the city have already started enforcing the law.

Uttarakhand Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturtri

Dehradun/Lucknow: Uttarakhand Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi got into a war of words with the Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday with the latter accusing her of making “irresponsible” statements, days after an unsuccessful raid in the hill state to nab an alleged sand mining mafia led to the death of a local BJP leader’s wife.

At a press conference, Uttarakhand’s Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said crimes should be investigated properly and the guilty should be punished, not the innocent.

“Many times, the Uttar Pradesh Police catch innocent persons and claim they are guilty. It should not be like that. Catching one innocent person may lead to the rise of 99 more wrongdoers,” she said.

Taking strong exception to the statement, the Uttar Pradesh Police termed it “irresponsible” and suggested that a civil servant should refrain from such comments.

In Lucknow, Additional Director General, (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, “The Uttar Pradesh Police has seen and heard the statement of the additional chief secretary, home, Uttarakhand. The ACS has issued an irresponsible statement without knowing the facts. Any civil servant should avoid such statements especially when it is related to the matter of the country’s biggest and sensitive state.”

“This statement is regrettable and not based on facts. Does Mukthar Ansari and Vijay Mishra convicted by the courts appear innocent to the ACS?”

“Does Zafar, a mining mafia, who is wanted or senior block head of Udham Singh Nagar appears innocent for her? The statement is unfortunate as the UP police has taken strict action against criminals in the state and also against PFI,” he said.

Later, Raturi clarified that she wanted to say that “crimes should be investigated properly and only the guilty should be punished, not the innocent. Police of all states are performing well. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand police often work together to solve crimes.”

The Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand police are locked in a standoff over an unsuccessful raid a few days ago.

The police had attempted to arrest sand mining mafia Zafar and his associates from Bharatpur village of Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand on October 12 night, but a clash broke out between the police team and villagers.

In the clash, the wife of a local BJP leader was killed and five others, including four Uttar Pradesh Police personnel, were injured. Several police personnel were also held captive by villagers in Bharatpur and were freed following the intervention of senior police officials.

Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police had claimed that the Uttar Pradesh Police team did not inform their Uttarakhand counterparts about the action in advance.

Zafar was arrested on Sunday from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad.

At the press conference on Monday, when asked about the deadline of three days given to police officials for solving three crime cases in the state, Raturi said there is no ultimatum. They have been asked to investigate the cases properly and punish the guilty, she said.

She also blamed the media for the “high morale” of criminals in the state, saying if it was reported that action was being taken, their morale would not have been so high.

Jay Shah

Mumbai : BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday made it clear that India will play Asia Cup next year at a neutral venue.

The 2023 edition, which will be played in the 50 over format ahead of the ODI World Cup in India, has been allotted to Pakistan. “We have decided to play at a neutral venue,” Shah was quoted as saying by multiple cricket websites after the conclusion of BCCI AGM.

The Asia Cup being held at neutral venues is not unprecedented. Shah also happens to be the Asian Cricket Council president, after the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) here. He was re-elected as secretary for a second term.

The 2022 Asia Cup was held in the UAE last month after hosts Sri Lanka expressed their inability to host the event amid the economic crisis back home.

India and Pakistan only play each other in Asia Cup and global events due to political tensions between the two countries. Both teams played twice in the Asia Cup last month and are set to clash in Melbourne on October 23 in the T20 World Cup.

BCCI’s cash reserves grew by approx Rs 6000 crore in last 3 years ;

At the AGM, outgoing treasurer and new IPL chairman Arun Dhumal informed the state units that the BCCI’s treasury grew from Rs 3648 crore to Rs 9629 crore in the last three years.

The Ganguly-led regime had taken charge in 2019 after the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators’ 33-month tenure.

“When the current team took over the reins of the BCCI in 2019, the BCCI’s coffers had funds of Rs 3648 crore. We are handing over an organisation that sits over a treasury that has Rs 9629 crore of funds which is roughly thrice of what we got at the time of our taking over from COA,” said Dhumal in his speech.

“The disbursement to the state associations has seen a jump of nearly five times, from Rs 680 crore in the COA time to Rs 3295 crore now,” he added.