New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be sworn in as the chief minister of Delhi on February 16 for the third time at the Ramlila Maidan, sources said on Wednesday.

Kejriwal’s oath-taking ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan also assumes significance as it was from this ground that he along with Anna Hazare led a massive anti-corruption agitation.

He has taken oath as the chief minister twice before at the same venue.

The Aam Aadmi Party swept the Delhi Assembly polls bagging 62 out 70 seats and decimating its rivals BJP and Congress. The BJP bagged eight seats.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the CBI’s investigation into a bribery case involving its former Special Director Rakesh Asthana and asked why the accused with a bigger role in the case were roaming free while the CBI arrested its own DSP.

Asthana and DSP Devender Kumar, who was arrested in 2018 and later got bail, were named in column 12 of the charge sheet in the case since there was not enough evidence to make them accused.

The CBI registered the case against Asthana on the basis of a complaint from Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Sana, facing probe in a 2017 case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

“Why are certain accused who seem to have a bigger role in the case were roaming free while the CBI arrested its own DSP,” asked Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal.

The court put up the matter for further consideration on February 19.

Sullia: Subrahmanya Police on Tuesday arrested four people in connection with the rape of a 17-year old minor girl hailing from Subrahmanya. The victim had named the four arrested persons as the accused in her complaint.

The victim was reportedly impregnated by the accused and was later given tablets for aborting the child which the victim consumed resulting in excessive bleeding. Parents of the victims after noticing excessive bleeding of the victim had lodged complaint in local police station.

The girl had initially named two persons as the accused and later came up with four more names taking the total number of accused in the case to six. All the six accused were then booked under POCSO Act by the police.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sanketh, Venkatesh, Deekesh and Ashok while two other alleged accused Chandrashekhar and Durgaprasad are still on run and the investigation team has launched manhunt for the duo.

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice M M Shantanagoudar on Wednesday recused himself from hearing the plea filed by Sara Abdullah Pilot challenging the detention of her brother and NC leader Omar Abdullah under the J-K Public Safety Act.

Pilot’s plea came up for hearing before a three-judge bench comprising justices N V Ramana, Shantanagoudar and Sanjiv Khanna.

“I am not participating in this matter,” Justice Shantanagoudar said at the outset without citing any specific reason for his recusal.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Pilot, urged the bench to list the matter for tomorrow. The bench said the plea would be heard on Thursday.

Pilot had on Monday moved the top court challenging her brother’s detention under the J-K Public Safety Act, 1978, saying the order of detention is “manifestly illegal” and there is no question of him being a “threat to the maintenance of public order”.

The plea has sought quashing of the February 5 order detaining Abdullah under the PSA and also sought his production before the court.

Pilot has said that exercise of powers by authorities under the CrPC to detain individuals, including political leaders, was “clearly mala fide to ensure that the opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution is silenced”.

Her plea said the intent of exercise of power was to “incarcerate not just him (Omar Abdullah) but the entire leadership of the National Conference, as well as the leadership of other political parties, who were similarly dealt with including Farooq Abdullah, who has served the state and the union over several years… stood by India whenever the situation so demanded.”

It said that on the intervening night of August 4-5, 2019, Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was put under house arrest and it was later learnt that section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 was invoked to justify such arrest.

“There has been a grave violation of Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution,” the plea said, adding, “similar orders of detention have been issued by respondents (authorities of union territory of Jammu and Kashmir) over the last seven months in a wholly mechanical manner to other detenues, which suggest that there has been a consistent and concerted effort to muzzle all political rivals”.

It said there could be no material available to detain a person who has already been detained for previous six months and the “grounds for the detention order are wholly lacking any material facts or particulars which are imperative for an order of detention”.

“In fact, a reference to all public statements and messages posted by the detenue (Omar Abdullah) during the period up to his first detention would reveal that he has kept calling for peace and cooperation – messages which in Gandhi’s India cannot remotely affect public order,” it said.

The plea said Omar Abdullah was not even served with the material that formed the basis of the detention order and its non-supply vitiates the detention, which is liable to be quashed.

It said that at no point of time in his “prolific political career”, he has resorted to or indulged in conduct unbecoming of a “conscientious public figure”.

The grounds of detention against Omar Abdullah, who was chief minister of the state from 2009-14, claims that on the eve of reorganisation of the state he had allegedly made attempts to provoke general masses against the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A.

Omar Abdullah, who has been junior foreign minister and commerce minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Cabinet in 2000, was served with a three-page dossier in which he was alleged to have made statements in the past which were “subversive” in nature.

The Congress in Bihar had enjoyed strong electoral base till 1985, when it represented the SC, ST, OBC’s Dalits, upper castes and the Muslims.

PATNA: The day the Congress party suffered a crushing defeat in the Delhi elections on Tuesday, Bihar party in-charge Ajay Kapoor hinted it could ditch the RJD-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in Bihar and possibly fight alone in the next Bihar Assembly elections.

Kapoor was discussing the party’s strategy for the Bihar assembly polls, due this year, with state leaders and district Congress heads. Kapoor motivated party leaders to start preparations on all seats for the polls this year and highlight how the NDA government had failed to meet expectations of the people.

Party insiders said, Kapoor was advised by a majority of district presidents to fight the polls alone as people disliked the party’s alliance with the RJD, which many take as the symbol of backwardness of the state. The Congress in Bihar had enjoyed strong electoral base till 1985, when it represented the SC, ST, OBC’s Dalits, upper castes and the Muslims.

“Weak party leadership and our association with RJD is what has set us back,” said a senior leader.Later, Kapoor told media that the Congress would prepare for all seats and would start an extensive political outreach programme immediately. Asked for his comments, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary said, “No one has stopped Congress from going alone.”

He, however said, “Has the Congress Party taken cognizance of its washout in Delhi? … Had it been the other way, it would not have ended on zero.”

Tiwary said, “Congress unfortunately has no strategy. If it indeed wants to go alone, no one can stop them but would it be worthwhile?” he wondered.

Congress has had a long association in Bihar with RJD and even formed governments together. However, its alliance dulled its political clarity with its vote base strongly migrating to the RJD.

Leader of opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav played down the role played by election strategist and former JDU leader Prashant Kishor in shaping up Aam Aadmi Party’s victory in Delhi.

Terming Prashant Kishor as a mere professional, Tejaswi ruled out the possibility of taking his services for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

“Prashant Kishor is just a professional and offers his services to any political party he thinks is likely to win elections”, said the RJD leader. 

“It is my wife’s birthday. I had cake, you will also get it,” Kejriwal said. “People elected us with high hopes. I cannot do it alone, we all have to work together,” he added in his victory speech.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal greets supporters after the landmark victory in Delhi elections at party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal greets supporters after the landmark victory in Delhi elections at party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won another landslide victory on Tuesday in the high-stakes Delhi Assembly polls, leaving its main rival, the BJP, way behind and decimating the Congress in a bitterly-fought contest that took place in the midst of massive protests over the new citizenship law.

The AAP won more than 3/4th of the seats and the BJP was reduced to a single-digit tally while the Congress drew a blank in the 70-member assembly.

Later, addressing volunteers at the party office, Kejriwal said the party’s landslide victory in the capital was a blessing of Lord Hanuman and the people of Delhi. He also thanked his own family members for their support.

Coincidently, the sweeping poll results came on his wife’s birthday. “My family also supported me. It is my wife’s birthday. I had cake, you will also get it,” Kejriwal said. “People elected us with high hopes. I cannot do it alone, we all have to work together,” he added.

Kejriwal told the capital’s citizens “I love you” in his expression of thanks for the overwhelming mandate. He said it was not just his victory but a victory for everybody.

“Delhi has given the message that they will vote for those who will provide schools, cheap electricity and hospitals. This is a new kind of politics, the politics of work. It is a new and good sign for the nation,” Kejriwal said

The AAP’s moment of glory comes nearly eight months after it suffered a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls in which the party drew a blank while the BJP won all the seven seats.

Some of the AAP heavyweights won nail-biters. They included Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Raghav Chaddha and Atishi. Delhi cabinet ministers Gopal Rai and Satyender Jain were other prominent winners.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was leading in New Delhi constituency by over 17,000 votes against his BJP rival Sunil Kumar Yadav.

The elections in the national capital took place in the midst of massive protests in the city and elsewhere over the new citizenship law, an issue which was strongly raised by the BJP top leadership during the campaigning which often turned bitter and vitriolic.

The political opponents of the BJP accused the saffron party of carrying out a “divisive” campaign to polarise the voters by consistently highlighting the over 50-day demonstration by a group of women in Shaheen Bagh area.

Though the BJP’s campaign focused on national security issues, the AAP concentrated mainly on its achievements in the fields of education, healthcare and infrastructure.

The AAP had registered a sensational victory in 2015 by winning 67 seats in a hurricane march that almost wiped out the BJP and the Congress.

“We have been saying since the beginning that the upcoming polls will be fought on the basis of work done by us. You wait and watch, we will register a massive win,” AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh told reporters.

“We hope we get such a clear majority that a message goes out that doing Hindu-Muslim politics will not work anymore,” said AAP volunteer Fareen Khan at the party office.

After he was declared winner from the Patparganj seat, Sisodia said the BJP indulged in “politics of hate”, but people refused its agenda.

“The BJP indulged in politics of hate, but I thank the people of Patparganj. Delhi’s people have chosen a government that works for them and explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate,” he told reporters.

The AAP headquarters were decorated with blue and white balloons and big banners with pictures of Kejriwal.

The Congress accepted defeat and vowed to rebuild and revive itself at the grassroots level in the city.

It said the poll results also had a message for the BJP that the “most toxic campaign” unleashed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been defeated.

As it happened: It’s AAP ki apni Delhi again!

“People’s mandate is against us, we accept it. We have resolved to revive and rebuild the party,” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference.

A total of 672 candidates, including 593 men and 79 women, were in the fray for the hotly contested elections.

Their fates were decided in counting centres across 21 locations in 11 districts, including at the CWG Sports Complex in east Delhi, NSIT Dwarka in west Delhi, Meerabai Institute of Technology and G B Pant Institute of Technology in southeast Delhi, Sir CV Raman ITI, Dheerpur in central Delhi, and Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana in north Delhi.

While Kejriwal was the star campaigner for the AAP, Prime Minister Modi, Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among those who extensively campaigned for the BJP.

The Congress got into campaign mode much later. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were among those who campaigned for the Congress.

The incident came to light after some locals saw the girl crying outside a temple in the city on Tuesday and alerted the police.

SOLAPUR: A 16-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by 10 persons for over six months in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, police said on Wednesday.

Five of the accused have been arrested under Indian Penal Code Section 376-D (gangrape) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act (POCSO) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, they said.

The incident came to light after some locals saw the girl crying outside a temple in the city on Tuesday and alerted the police.

“The girl was disturbed, but after the police took her into confidence, she narrated the ordeal. A case was subsequently registered and five out of the 10 accused were arrested,” a police official at Solapur said.

The girl and some of the accused were friends. They were later joined by other accomplices in the crime, she said.

The accused, among whom some are auto-rickshaw drivers, forcefully took her to various places over six months and allegedly raped her, the official said.

A case has been registered against them at Vijapur Naka police station here and search for the other accused is on, she said.

The girl’s father died sometime back and she was staying here with her mother, who did odd jobs to earn livelihood, the police added.

New Delhi: The Home Ministry on Tuesday said it has no information on any group called the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’.

Replying to a written question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said the ministry has no information on whether the terminology ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’ is based on specific inputs provided by law enforcement agencies.

“No such information has been brought to the notice of the government by any law enforcement agency,” he said.

The reply came in response to questions by Congress members Vincent H Pala and Jasbir Singh Gill.

The questions included whether an organisation called the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’ has been identified and catalogued by the Home Ministry or any central/state law enforcement agency, whether the terminology ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’ is based on specific inputs and whether the ministry or intelligence agency has drawn up a list of alleged leaders and members of the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’.

Saharanpur: A teacher in Saharanpur on Tuesday claimed threat to her life after nearly 200 local residents entered the school campus and protested against her visit to Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

Nahid Zaidi, 40, who teaches English and Social Sciences at Asha Modern School, told PTI she was also suspended from the school after she visited Shaheen Bagh on January 19 and answered a few questions of the media there.

“The video found its way to some people from local right-wing groups who put it on Facebook with derogatory remarks about me,” Zaidi said.

While the school principal did not respond to calls for a comment, Saharanpur Superintendent of Police Vineet Bhatnagar said the teacher was not suspended. Bhatnagar said a group of people protested against Zaidi’s comments at Shaheen Bagh, but the situation is peaceful now.

Zaidi said she did not speak about any particular religion and was being “targeted by the right-wing groups at the behest of the local BJP leadership”.

On Monday, around 200 local residents entered the school during recess and raised slogans, she claimed. “Under their pressure, the principal put me under suspension and asked me to resign. Later, in the evening, the suspension was revoked after police and local leaders intervened,” she said.

Zaidi said she lives alone and there’s “threat to her life”.

“My parents are no more. I have no siblings. I am in shock and fearing for my life. I have written to the police in this regard,” she said.

New Delhi: As the counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly polls began, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday raised doubts on EVMs, alleging that no machine having a chip is tamper-proof. He called upon the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take a fresh look at the use of EVMs in the country.

“No machine (which) has a chip is tamper proof. Also please do for a moment think, why no developed country uses EVM,” Singh said in a tweet.

“Would CEC and Hon Supreme Court please have a fresh look on EVM voting in India? We are the largest democracy in the world, we can’t allow some unscrupulous people to hack results and steal the mandate of 1.3 billion people.

“If they match the votes in the counting unit. Declare the result. If they don’t match then count the ballots of all polling booths in the assembly. It would convince every one and save time also as this has been the consistent argument of CEC in favour of EVM,” the Congress leader said.

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly polls was held on Saturday. The Election Commission on Sunday announced that the final voter turnout was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015.