Breaking News, August 15 | HIGHLIGHTS

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday said it was a matter of concern for his party that NCP chief Sharad Pawar and state deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar were meeting “secretly”.

Police in Maharashtra's Nashik city on Tuesday foiled an attempt by a brother-sister duo to immolate themselves, said an official. The incident took place before the flag hoisting ceremony attended by rural development minister Girish Mahajan.

Five people died on Tuesday and four more were injured when parts of an old building collapsed on devotees near the Banke Bihari temple here, officials said. 

A man drowned and his two friends went missing while bathing in a water-filled quarry in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district on Tuesday, police said.

The death toll due to rains rose to 56 in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday as one more body was pulled out of the rubble of a collapsed Shiva temple in Shimla while two persons died in a fresh landslide in the city, officials said.

At least eight houses, including six makeshift ones, collapsed and a slaughterhouse was buried under the debris following a landslide in Krishnanagar locality here. Two bodies have been recovered in the fresh landslide, Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said.

Cinema returned to strife-torn Manipur on Tuesday after more than 20 years when a Bollywood movie on surgical strikes against Pakistan was screened at a makeshift open air theatre in Churachandpur.

Vicky Kaushal-starrer "Uri: The Surgical Strike" was attended by a large number of people at Rengkai (Lamka). The screening was organised by the Hmar Students Association (HSA) to express its opposition to the ban on Hindi movies imposed in September 2000 by 'Revolutionary People's Front', a political wing of the proscribed People's Liberation Army, a valley-based Meitei terror group.

Six students of a government college here have been suspended for allegedly behaving in an inappropriate manner with a visually impaired professor and circulating a video of the same on social media.

The Maharaja's College, in a statement, said that the action was taken by the college council based on the complaints made by the professor - Priyesh C U - and the Political Science Department of which he is a member. The council also appointed a three-member commission to look into the complaints and submit a report within seven days, the statement said.

The highly decomposed body of a 29-year-old car driver who had gone missing three days ago was found in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Tuesday, police said here.

Trimbakeshwar police were informed by some passers-by about a body with a rope tied around its neck lying in the Amboli ghat (mountain road) section, said an official. The deceased was identified as Asif Jaffar Dacchi, a resident of Palghar, he told PTI.

At least eight houses, including six makeshift ones, were razed to the ground and a slaughterhouse was buried under debris in a landslide in Krishnanagar locality here on Tuesday evening. 

Two persons are feared trapped under the rubble of the houses, officials said. Uprooting of a large tree caused a landslip leading to the collapse of a cluster of houses with deafening noise.

The Ahmedabad city crime branch has arrested three persons and seized nine country-made firearms from their possession, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused were arrested over four days from Juhapura, Dariyapur and Kalupur areas of the city, said a police release. In all, the police recovered eight pistols, one `tamancha' (gun) and 19 cartridges.

A fake Army jawan was held from the venue of the Independence Day parade in Odisha's Puri district on Tuesday, police said.

The man, dressed in Army uniform, entered the Talabania Parade Ground while the Independence Day function was underway, they said. He was spotted by some security officers in the designated area for the press, and then handed over to the police.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann Tuesday said his government will eradicate all issues inherited by it from the previous state governments to realise the dreams of “martyrs and freedom fighters of the country”.

Addressing a gathering here during a function to commemorate Karnail Singh Issru, a martyr of Goa’s fight for liberation from Portuguese rule, Mann said problems like corruption and drugs flourished in the state due to alleged patronisation by the then-governments. However, Mann said his government has adopted a zero tolerance policy towards these issues that have ruined the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his spouse Sudesh Dhankhar attended the 'At Home' reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on the occasion of Independence Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Several houses collapsed in Krishna Nagar area in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla after a landslide took place. Rescue operation underway.

A 32-year-old man allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself after harassment by his tenant for not vacating a shop he owned in Rajasthan's Alwar district, police said. 

A purported video of the man making allegations against his tenants has surfaced. The video shows victim Shankar Sharma accusing his tenants of harassing him by not vacating his shop.

A group of 10 tourists was rescued on Tuesday after their boat collided with a gate due to heavy water flow in the Narmada river and started sinking in Omkareshwar town of Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, an official said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Satyendra Kumar Shukla said the boat carrying tourists, which included residents of Indore and Rajasthan, collided with a gate constructed in the river near Nagar Ghat in the temple town, which houses one of the 12 sacred jyotirlings dedicated to Lord Shiva.

An elderly farmer couple was allegedly beaten to death by unidentified assailants early Tuesday morning on the outskirts of Rampur village here, police said.

Hira Singh (72) and his wife Lilavati (70) used to live in a temple constructed on land they owned at the Highway Police Station area. This morning (Tuesday), their son Mohan Singh found both of them dead, they said. Both of them had been attacked with lathis, police said

A migrant boat sank off Tunisia's port city of Sfax, leaving five people dead and seven others missing, officials said Tuesday. The dead included a child.

Sfax is the starting point for most attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Twenty-three migrants were rescued out of 35 people on board, most of them Tunisians and a “small number of sub-Saharan nationals,” said Faouzi Masmoudi, a Sfax court spokesperson.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday said the Mahagathbandhan government in the state will attain its target of providing 20 lakh jobs to its youths by next year.

The government has ensured at least 30 per cent job reservation for women and has always given top priority to educating girls as an all-round development of society cannot be achieved without women, he said addressing the Independence Day function at Gandhi Maidan here. He lambasted the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for not giving special status to Bihar, which, he claimed would have made unimaginable progress had the long-standing demand for it was met.

The BJP on Tuesday hit out at the Congress and said its president Mallikarjun Kharge skipping the Independence Day function at the Red Fort shows that the opposition party cannot think beyond "dynasty".

On Kharge citing "paucity of time" and traffic restrictions for not attending the function, the ruling party said the Congress could have tweaked the timing of its programme. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day, a chair reserved for Kharge, who is also the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, was seen empty.

Nine Maoists were gunned down by security forces in 16 encounters this year while 236 were arrested including a central committee member and area commanders, Jharkhand Director General of Police, Ajay Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.

At least 267 Maoists were forced to surrender in view of massive anti-Maoist operations by police as well as influenced by the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state, he said.

Sulabh International founder and social activist Bindeshwar Pathak, a pioneer in building public toilets, died on Tuesday at AIIMS Delhi due to a cardiac arrest, according to a close aide.

The 80-year-old was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, waste management and reforms through education. The aide said that Pathak hoisted the national flag in the morning on the occasion of Independence Day and collapsed soon after that.

A two-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a leopard in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district, a forest official said on Tuesday.

The incident took place at around 9 pm on Monday in Matana village when the child was playing near his house, he said. The feline dragged away the toddler, son of Ramesh Jadhav, the official said.

A 45-year-old man was charged Tuesday with threatening to blow up a plane during a flight from Australia to Malaysia that returned to Sydney.

Police arrested Canberra resident Muhammad Arif and took him from the Airbus A330 on Monday, almost three hours after Malaysia Airlines flight MH122 returned to Sydney Airport. Police said Arif became disruptive and claimed to have explosives on board.

A constable was injured when an absconding history-sheeter opened fire at two policemen when they tried to catch him in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district, an official said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday night in Hastinapur police station limits, he said.

Following a tip-off, constables Kapil and Vakeel were sent to nab history-sheeter Pavan Jatav, who had been absconding, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Singh Chandel said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is speaking out of his "arrogance" by claiming that he will unfurl the national flag at Red Fort next year too, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday, asserting that he would do so but at his residence. Kharge also hit out at the prime minister for criticising the opposition in his Independence Day address.

"What he is saying is talk of arrogance. Now it is 2023 and to say that he will again unfurl the national flag in 2024 (at the Red Fort) is speaking out of 'durankaar, ahankaar' (arrogance)," the Congress chief told reporters when asked about the prime minister's remarks.

On the basis of specific information, today Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers intercepted passengers arriving from Kolkata by Air Asia flight I5 1536 at T2, Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru. The passenger was found carrying 30 gold biscuits weighing 600 grams by way of rectum concealment. Further proceedings underway.

Jharkhand and Bihar Congress leaders to meet party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on August 16 and 17, respectively, to discuss strategy for 2024 polls.

Light rainfall lashes parts of Delhi-NCR, bringing respite from the sultry weather.

Teaching activities in Himachal Pradesh University will be suspended till August 19 while the university library will be closed till July 20, in view of incessant rainfall, informed HP University.

Nearly 150 children from violence-hit Manipur given admission in Delhi govt schools; they are being counselled, said CM Arvind Kejriwal.

BJP Central Election Committee to meet on August 16 at the party headquarters. The meeting will be attended by 15 election committee members including PM Modi, party president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

A Sub Inspector and a Constable of Jharkhand Jaguar unit lost their lives in an encounter with naxals in Chaibasa last night, said Chaibasa Police.

If we have to become vishwaguru, number one country, we will have to live like a family, said Delhi CM Kejriwal referring to violence in Manipur, Haryana.

 Though 75-year-old independent India's progress is laudable, desired goals are yet to be reached, said Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Accused in cases of molestation, rape and other crimes against women will be barred from govt jobs, said Chhattisgarh CM Baghel.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on disaster due to recent incessant rainfall in the state. "Around 55 people have lost their lives in the state till now. The death toll might go up. Restoration work being done on a war footing. Chandigarh-Shimla 4-lane highway along with other arterial roads opened."

The body of a 23-year-old woman has been found in a river in Maharashtra's Palghar district, two days after she went missing, police said.

Only if education is moved to State list of Constitution, NEET could be completely scrapped, said Tamil Nadu CM Stalin in Chennai.

Some people are spreading misinformation about our 5 guarantee schemes, said CM Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru.