Kolkata: A policeman allegedly fired several rounds outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in central Kolkata’s busy Park Circus area on Friday afternoon, killing a woman before shooting himself dead, police said.

The woman, who was riding pillion on a two-wheeler, fell down after being hit by a bullet as the on-duty policeman kept firing from his rifle, triggering chaos in the congested area, they said.

She died on the spot, while the policeman after firing a few rounds more shot himself in the head, they added.

The identities of the woman and the policeman are yet to be known.

“The whole episode lasted for around five minutes,” said a visibly shaken Bablu Sheikh, who claimed to have witnessed the incident.

A huge contingent of police reached the area minutes later and took away the bodies. Preliminary investigations are underway, police said.

New Delhi: Protests erupted outside the Jama Masjid after Friday prayers with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad, police said.

A large crowd of people could be seen gathering at the steps of the famous mosque, some carrying placards and shouting slogans against Sharma.

A senior police officer said that while some of the demonstrators left the site after some time, others continued to protest.

The protest that was carried out peacefully lasted for 10-15 minutes.

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against 31 people, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, and filed a separate case against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly spreading hate and hurting religious sentiments.

The two FIRs were registered on Wednesday after a social media analysis, they had said.

Former Delhi BJP media unit head Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was expelled from the party over his alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammad, and journalist Saba Naqvi have also been named in the FIR. 

Belagavi: Miscreants on Friday hanged an effigy of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma from an electric wire resembling a public execution near a mosque on Fort Road, police said.

As the issue triggered a public outrage, police along with the city municipal corporation removed it quickly, they added.

The police have registered a case against unknown miscreants for spreading enmity between communities and disturbing peace in the society.

The BJP on June 5 suspended Sharma and expelled its Delhi unit media head Naveen Kumar Jindal as the row over their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad escalated with protests from some Muslim countries.

Delhi Police had provided security to Sharma and her family after an FIR was registered on a complaint that she was getting death threats over her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad. She had requested the police to provide security citing harassment and threats she had been receiving.

NEW DELHI: A single-day rise of over 8,000 fresh COVID-19 cases was recorded in the country after 103 days, pushing India’s infection tally to 4,32,13,435, while the count of active cases jumped to 40,370, according to Union Health Ministry data on Saturday.

A total of 8,329 new coronavirus cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,24,757, with 10 fatalities being recorded, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases now comprise 0.09 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.69 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 4,103 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.41 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 1.75 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,26,48,308, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

The cumulative number of doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 194.92 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

The country crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021, and three crores on June 23.

In the national capital, protests erupted outside the Jama Masjid soon after Friday prayers with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks. People gathered on the steps of the historical mosque, carrying placards and shouting slogans. There was heavy police deployment to manage the situation.

Meanwhile, several parts of Kashmir witnessed spontaneous shutdown and protests against the controversial remarks. Authorities imposed curfew in communally sensitive Bhaderwah area of Jammu province and suspended mobile services in many parts of J&K. The shutdown was spontaneous as no political or religious group had called for any protest. As a precautionary measure, authorities disallowed Friday prayers at historic Jamia Masjid in downtown Srinagar.

In Jharkhand capital Ranchi, the district administration imposed a curfew. People raised slogans and threw stones in UP’s Prayagraj. In Navi Mumbai, at least 3,000 protesters, including around 1,000 women, took out a protest march. Protest gatherings or marches were also held in Thane, Aurangabad, Solapur, Nandurbar, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Pune districts of Maharashtra.

Bhopal MP Pragya defends Nupur Sharma
Controversial BJP MP Pragya Thakur on Friday defended the remarks of Nupur Sharma. “If anyone denigrates our gods and goddesses, we’ll tell the truth about theirs. We’re ready to hear what they have to say. But when we tell the truth, it pains them,” Thakur said.

MUMBAI: In a major setback to Maharashtra’s ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, the BJP on Saturday won three of the six Rajya Sabha seats in the state, even as the ruling combine questioned the eight-hour delay in counting of votes.

The winners include BJP candidates Union minister Piyush Goyal and former state minister Anil Bonde and Dhananjay Mahadik. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, NCP’s Praful Patel and Congress’ Imran Pratapgarhi also won the fiercely-fought elections.

The contest was for the sixth seat the BJP had fielded former MP Dhananjay Mahadik and the Shiv Sena candidate was Sanjay Pawar, who lost. Mahadik and Pawar hail from Kolhapur in western Maharashtra.

The high-stake battle for the sixth turned out to be a nail-biting affair with the Congress and BJP trading charges, even approaching the Election Commission.

“Elections are contested not just for the fight, but the victory. Jai Maharashtra,” tweeted BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, whose refusal to have consensus candidates for the Rajya Sabha led to elections in the state after 23 years.

The counting of votes started after an eight-hour delay amid complaints of cross-voting and rules violations by the BJP and the ruling alliance. Both BJP and the Shiv Sena approached the Election Commission, alleging cross-voting and seeking disqualification of votes.be poll panel directed the Rajya Sabha election returning officer of Maharashtra to reject the vote cast by Shiv Sena legislator Suhas Kande, after which the counting of votes got underway.

He said the Modi government should realise that the world will not dance to the tunes of the BJP and the RSS.

“NDA Government is well known as the ‘No Data Available’ Government. Now it is the ‘No Dissonance Allowed’ Government,” Chidambaram said on Twitter.

That is why it rejected the Environmental Performance Index that placed India at the last place among 180 countries, the former union minister added.

He recalled that earlier the government rejected the WHO report on excess Covid deaths as well as the Global Hunger Index.

“Modi Government should realise that the world will not dance to tunes of the BJP/RSS,” the Congress leader said.

NEW DELHI: Union Minister and deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday said here that Al-Qaeda is a “problem” and not “protection” for Muslims as the terrorist group is misusing the Islam as a “safety cover”. 

Speaking to the media, Naqvi said India’s strength of co-existence cannot be harmed by any narrow-minded communal conspiracy. 

“India’s commitment to “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” and “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah” has ensured that followers of all religions are flourishing in the environment of equality, freedom and inclusivity”, he said

Going further, Naqvi said that out of every 10 Muslims living in the world, one Muslim lives in India with equal socio-economic, educational, religious and constitutional rights. “However, the selective silence on oppression and cruelty against minorities in our neighbouring country is something that is hypocritically shocking”, he said.

Lashing out at Pakistan, he said that the minorities’ population in Pakistan, which was about 24 per cent of the total population during the Partition, has now been reduced to even below 2 per cent. “While in India, minorities’ population which was about 8 per cent of the total population during the Partition, has now increased to over 22 per cent”, he claimed.

He added that the “Pakistan Propped Propaganda” is to cover up the persecution of minorities and safe haven of terrorism in Pakistan and at the same time, to defame India in a conspiracy to spoil the atmosphere of peace and prosperity.

Quoting figures, the minister said there are more than 3 lakh active mosques in India, and there is an equal number of other places of worship for the Muslim community.

“There are more than 50,000 registered madrasas and more than 50,000 minority educational institutions, which is more than several Islamic countries. Similarly, there are thousands of churches, gurudwaras, and places of worship for Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. These all are a reflection of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” and “Unity in Diversity””, he claimed.

“Equal rights, dignity and prosperity of the minorities including Muslims are a part of India’s commitment to tolerance, harmony and inclusivity. During the last eight years, the Modi government has made all sections of the society including minorities an equal partner of peace and prosperity”, he claimed.

Naqvi further said that unable to digest this positive atmosphere of “development with trust” in the country, some people are spreading falsehood on the issue of minorities before the world which is fabricated and opposite to the ground reality. 

“These people are trying to hide the “mountain of truth” behind “bushes of lies”, he lambasted.