Hours after Vivek Tankha quit as the party’s Chairman for Law and RTI cell, many others from Delhi, MP and Haryana too gave up their posts.

NEW DELHI: A spate of resignations took place on Friday after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi asserted that he took the onus of the debacle in the Lok Sabha election and expressed unhappiness that senior leaders fail to own responsibility for the party’s poor performance.

Meanwhile, the party decided to appoint Kondagaon MLA Mohan Makran as the party chief in Chhattisgarh in place of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who had asked the party to relieve him from the duty as his hands are full.

More changes are expected as the party is expected to appoint new chief in Madhya Pradesh where Chief Minister Kamal Nath is leading the state unit.

The first to tender resignation was Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha, AICC Department chairman Law, RTI and HR, on late Thursday. Soon, over 120 party leaders, including AICC secretaries, working in-charges of Delhi and Telanaga, and other state office bearers, signed mass resignation letters.

“We all should submit our resignations for party positions and give Rahul ji a free hand to choose his team. I welcome Kamal Nath’s statement to that effect. I unequivocally submit my resignation as AICC Department chairman Law, RTI and HR. Party cannot afford a stalemate for too long,” Tanka tweeted.

“Rahul ji please make drastic changes to revive the party as a fighting force. You have the commitment and determination. Just cobble a good, acceptable and influential nationwide team. I am with you in all situations,” he added.

Rahul himself remains adamant on his decision to step down as the party chief. During a meeting with leaders from Haryana on Thursday, the Congress president said that he owns up the responsibility and would work for the party.

Government says that days with good air quality have been on the rise in the past three years

NEW DELHI: The issue of dangerous levels of air pollution was flagged by members in Lok Sabha. The government on Friday claimed that there has been nearly a 15 per cent decline in particulate matter 2.5 and 10 levels in Delhi in the last three years and that the number of days with ‘good air’ quality has also been on the rise.

Raising the issue Suresh Kodikunnil, Congress member from Kerala said that one out of every seven deaths in India is attributable to air pollution and asked if the government was aware of this.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the government was aware of the situation and pointed out that vehicle pollution needs to be contained for better results.

“Vehicle pollution has to be contained immediately… We are giving out clean fuel in Delhi from this year and entire country from the coming year. The peripheral highways have been built completely in 4 years. 60,000 vehicles now don’t have to come to Delhi to pass through,” he replied.

Speaking further the minister said that Badarpur thermal power plant has been closed and State coordination committees have been created.

All polluting industries now have online monitors and that emission level reports have to be submitted by them every 15 minutes.

“We are part of the global solution… In Delhi, the problem started from 2007 but was addressed only in 2014,” he added.

Manoj Tiwari, a lawmaker from Delhi said that in the city, Ayushmann Yojana had been stopped by Delhi government and hence had fallen in the health index.

Minister Ashwini Choubey said that on September 23, Ayushman Bharat was implemented and that since then around 50 crore people have benefited from it.

Although the rains did not much affect the normal life in the city, at least five persons were injured in rain-related incidents, officials said.

MUMBAI: Heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai and its neighbouring areas for the second consecutive day on Saturday.

Although the rains did not much affect the normal life in the city, at least five persons were injured in rain-related incidents, officials said.

The suburban local trains, called the lifeline of Mumbai, remained largely unaffected and were running as per their schedule.

However, in view of IMD’s heavy rainfall forecast, the Central Railway (CR) cancelled some express or passenger trains, especially those between Mumbai and Pune.

A press release issued by the CR said Mumbai-Pune Pragati Express, Mumbai-Pune Sinhagad Express, Bhusaval-Mumbai Passenger, Pune-Panvel Passenger have been cancelled on Saturday and Sunday.

The Bhusaval-Pune Express has been diverted through Daund-Manmad.

Mumbai-Bhusaval Passenger will remain cancelled till July 1, it said.

According to the officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 39 incidents of short circuit, 104 incidents of the uprooting of trees or falling of tree branches were reported from various parts of the city.

Five persons were injured in two different incidents of wall collapse in the city, they said.

“While three persons were injured in Dadar on Friday, two others were injured in Govandi last night. They were treated in nearby hospitals and discharged,” they said.

According to the civic officials, a tree was uprooted as a result of incessant rains on Friday night, in which some cars got damaged.

Meanwhile, the weather department predicted rains in Mumbai, Thane and the coastal areas on Saturday.

Latest satellite images showed active monsoon conditions over the west coast with deep westerlies, it said.

In the last 24 hours, Colaba observatory recorded 81.2 mm rainfall, while the Santacruz weather station recorded 234.8 mm rainfall.

The Ola cab driver Faisal Usman Khan was thrashed by at least four-five persons, in a drunken state, who came on two-wheelers.

THANE (MAHARASHTRA): An Ola cab driver was assaulted and almost lynched by some persons who also forced the victim to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, officials said here on Friday.

While three accused have already been arrested and remanded in police custody till June 29, Mumbra Police are on the lookout for some more suspects in the incident that occurred last Saturday.

According to police, on June 22 night, the Ola cabbie from Mumbra, Faisal Usman Khan, 25, had gone to pick up some passengers from Diva on the far end of the Thane district, adjoining Mumbai.

En route, his vehicle broke down on the Agasan Road and he was trying to repair it with the parking lights blinking.

Suddenly, at least four-five persons, in a drunken state, came on two-wheelers and entered into a petty argument with Khan and started thrashing him, even as the scared passengers fled from the cab.

At one point, when he invoked the name of ‘allah’, the attackers realized that he belonged to a community and forced him to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

The injured and bleeding victim, in order to avoid further thrashing, obliged them by repeating ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and fell unconscious as they continued to beat him up.

Later, when he revived he was in the cab and his mobile phone was stolen, he said.

Later, he narrated the entire incident in a video clip which went viral, attracting condemnation from various quarters and coverage in the local media.

Mumbra Police swung into action and nabbed three persons from Diva – Jaideep Munde, Anil Suryawanshi and Mangesh Munde – and booked them under various sections of IPC.

The trilateral meeting, Friday, saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss global hot spots.

NEW DELHI: India secured significant victories at its trilateral meeting with China and Russia and the five BRICS nations, when in separate communiqués, the countries joined to emphatically reiterate India’s concerns over global terrorism while agreeing to work together to eliminate terror in all forms and manifestations and for closer policy coordination to eradicate its breeding grounds worldwide.

The trilateral meeting, Friday, saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss global hot spots.

Modi said, “As the world’s leading economies, the exchange of views between us on the economic, political and global security situation is important and the tri-lateral meeting was a useful medium of discussion and coordination on major global issues.”

The above declaration in a joint communiqué of the 16th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the three countries on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan and later bolstered by the BRICS call to prevent terrorist actions from their territories and prevent financing of such networks, came as a significant gain for India in its push to isolate Pakistan, post Pulwama attacks.

The BRICS countries  — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in its joint statement said, “We strongly condemn terrorist attacks, including against BRICS countries, in all forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomsoever committed”.

Without naming any other country, all five leaders also reiterated their commitment to fight the exploitation of internet for terrorist purposes.

Ghulam Jeelani Qadri was arrested by the police outside his home at Balgarden area in uptown Srinagar on late Monday night in a case registered against him and seven others in 1990.

SRINAGAR: The editor-cum-owner of a local Urdu daily was arrested in a midnight raid in connection with a nearly three-decade-old case in Srinagar Ghulam Jeelani Qadri, the editor and owner of local Urdu daily Afaaq, was later released on bail.

The 62-year-old was arrested by the police outside his home at Balgarden area in uptown Srinagar on late Monday night in a case registered against him and seven others in 1990 under the stringent Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) (TADA) Act. 

The police had registered an FIR against Jeelani and seven others journalists, three of whom are no more, for circulation of a militant statement by a news agency which had appeared in some newspapers.

On Tuesday, Jeelani’s family approached the court of chief judicial magistrate to secure a bail for his release.

The court ordered his release and asked him to deposit a bond of Rs 20,000.

Various media organisations including Kashmir Editors Guild, Kashmir Working Journalists Association, Kashmir Journalists Association,  Kashmir Union of Working Journalists and Kashmir National TV Journalists Association condemned the arrest of the senior journalist.

In fact, the video in which Khan offers to return to Bengaluru and reveal everything to the police, should make extradition easier, a retired IPS officer, who did not want to be named, said.

BENGALURU: While the Special Investigation Team (SIT), looking into the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) fraud, says its chances of bringing back founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan to India may not be that easy, experts say it is not impossible and might even be simpler due to Khan’s last video.

In fact, the video in which Khan offers to return to Bengaluru and reveal everything to the police should make extradition easier, a retired IPS officer, who did not want to be named, said.

The SIT on Monday said they knew Khan’s location and sources said that it was not possible to seek his extradition without charge-sheeting him. However, there are other options, experts say.

“Chargesheet is required for seeking extradition of an accused from a foreign country but there are some legal provisions under which the request for extradition can be made even before charge sheet has been filed,” he said.

“Since they know the location of the accused, the police can seek his extradition from the host country if they can adopt the ‘dual criminality’ approach, under which a fugitive can be extradited for an offence, only if it is a crime in both the countries. Mansoor has been charged with cheating (Section 420) and breach of trust (Section 406) of the IPC. There are over 30,000 complaints in this case.

The officer also said that the SIT could itself seek assistance from the host country. “The SIT can seek assistance under Section 166 A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The section is a letter of request issued from the designated criminal court in India to a competent authority for investigation in a country or place outside India, where the fugitive is located,” the officer added.

Seven directors of the Ponzi company IMA – Dada Peer, Nasir Hussain, Naveed Ahmed Nattamkar, Nizammudin Azeemuddin, Afshan Tabassum, Afsar Pasha and Arshad Khan –deposed before the Enforcement Directorate in Bengaluru on Monday.

Sources on condition of anonymity told TNIE that the timing and content of Mansoor’s video need to be examined.

“In the video Mansoor has alleged that there was 120 kg of jewellery and 600 kg bullion gold in the vault, when he left Bengaluru and he had received information that most of it have been moved from the vault by board directors Nizammuddin Azeemuddin, Mohammad Wasim (Mansoor’s cousin), Khalid Ahmad and his son Fahad Ahmad, along with staff. Mansoor is aware of the ED notice. Is he trying to dilute his criminality by offloading it on others? It is a matter to investigate,” the officer said.

As on Tuesday,  just around 12 tmc feet of water was available in all four reservoirs including KRS and Kabini.

BENGALURU/MYSURU: The Cauvery Water Management Authority’s direction to the state government to release water to Tamil Nadu if there is an increase in inflow into reservoirs in Cauvery basin in the state, comes as a relief for Karnataka. “Given the current situation in the state, the CWMA order is a big relief for the state,” said a senior officer from the Water Resources Department.

As on Tuesday,  just around 12 tmc feet of water was available in all four reservoirs including KRS and Kabini. Inflow at KRS was just around 253 cusecs, while it was 1,708 cusecs at Kabini, on Tuesday.
State Sugar Cane Growers Association president Kurbur Shantha Kumar welcomed the authority’s decision. He said the authority should have ordered for release of water to irrigation canals to save standing crops. KRRS leader Darshan Puttannaiah too welcomed the authority’s directions.

While some farmers felt there is no clarity on release of water to irrigation canals in the state, some were unhappy as the state failed to convince the authority to get water for standing crops in the state. “When they could release enough water during the Lok Sabha polls, why are they not giving water now?” ask farmers.  BJP Raitha Morcha leader Nanjunde Gowda said the state government failed to apprise the authority of the situation.

Hafeez Mohd Sahrukh Haldar, who received minor injuries in the incident, said he was beaten up by the mob which was chanting slogans and asked him to follow suit.

A madrasa teacher in West Bengal has claimed that he was thrashed and pushed off a moving train by a group for not chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ when he was travelling from Canning in South 24 Parganas district to Hooghly.

Hafeez Mohd Sahrukh Haldar, who received minor injuries in the incident, said he was beaten up by the mob which was chanting slogans and asked him to follow suit. The 26-year-old said nobody came to his rescue on the train and it was only after he was pushed off at the Park Circus Station that some locals helped him. The Indian Express reported.

Talking about the incident, a railway police official said Haldar was probably assaulted due to boarding and de-boarding issues and a probe into the incident was on. He added that no one had been arrested yet.

Kolkata Police said they were verifying the incident and strict action would be taken against miscreants.

The incident comes amid outrage over the death of a youth in Jharkhand, who was assaulted on suspicion of theft and later succumbed to his injuries. The incident came to light after several videos of the assault went viral on social media. In one of the clips, Ansari is seen being thrashed with a wooden stick. At the end of another video, he is shown being forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’.

Gurmeet Singh, who is currently lodged at Sunaria jail after being convicted in two rape cases and the murder of a journalist, had sought parole over a month ago claiming that he has to tend to his fields in Haryana’s Sirsa.

Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Singh’s parole application may be canceled as land records submitted by the Revenue Department showed that he does not own land.

Gurmeet Singh, who is currently lodged at Sunaria jail after being convicted in two rape cases and the murder of a journalist, had sought parole over a month ago claiming that he has to tend to his fields in Haryana’s Sirsa.

Following his application for the parole for 42 days, the district administration has been asked to submit a report to Commissioner, Rohtak Division.

According to the subsequent report that was submitted by the Revenue Department to the Sirsa district administration, Gurmeet Singh does not own any land of his own in Sirsa.

The report that was submitted by the department, states that the Dera sect owns 250 acres of land. However, there is no mention of the Dera leader’s name.

The report also states that the entire land is owned by the Dera Sacha Sauda Trust

This thus negates the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (temporary release) Act on the basis of which the parole has been sought.

According to the Act, a prisoner may be temporarily released if the state government is satisfied that his release is necessary for ploughing, sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation of his land or his father’s undivided land in the possession of the prisoner.

Gurmeet Singh’s parole thus stands to be canceled as a result despite the jail superintendent vouching for his good conduct.

Meanwhile, the police fear violence, akin to riots that were seen at the time of his arrest, if he is released.