Breaking News, February 2 | HIGHLIGHTS

The Himachal Pradesh State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday arrested former director of health services Dr Ajay Gupta in connection with a bribery case, officials said. Gupta, who surrendered before a court after the rejection of his anticipatory bail application by the high court, has been sent to police remand till February 4. He was earlier arrested by the anti-corruption bureau in an alleged corruption case based on a purported audio recording of financial transactions of Rs 5 lakh for the supply of PPE kits on May 20, 2020. He was booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and was suspended. During the investigations, vigilance officials found another recording in which Gupta purportedly demanded Rs 4.25 lakh for arterial blood gas (ABG) machines. Another case was registered against him in September 2020 and he has now been arrested in connection with this case, the officials said.

Referring to the rout in Adani group stocks, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the future of government employees cannot be left to the mercy of the share market and added his government reintroduced the old pension scheme as funds under the new scheme were invested in shares. The chief minister said the old pension scheme (OPS) should be reintroduced in the entire country. He said the Centre should return the funds of the state government employees deposited in the new pension scheme (NPS), else the state government will move the Supreme Court. "Employees are our brothers and we cannot leave them to the mercy of the share market. Shares of Adani Saab have fallen and there is a turmoil in the entire country and abroad. Shares of those who have given loans (to Adani group) have fallen including SBI and LIC," Gehlot said.

The Haryana cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to provide a job on compassionate grounds to the widow of a CRPF jawan, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in 2019. The decision was taken at a meeting of the cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. "The cabinet accorded approval for a proposal regarding providing compassionate appointment to Mamta Rawat, wife of Pulwama martyr Koushal Kumar Rawat, on 'Group-D' posts' by giving age relaxation, as an exceptional case," an official statement said. Khattar said Rawat's family shifted to Gurugram from Uttar Pradesh sometime back. Forty CRPF personnel were killed in the attack carried out by Pakistan-based

The Supreme Court asked petitioners to mention again on Friday for urgent listing of their plea seeking a complete ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation in India for its controversial documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud told the lawyer appearing for the petitioner to mention the matter on Friday. The top court was hearing a plea filed by Vishnu Gupta, president of Hindu Sena, and Beerendra Kumar Singh, a farmer, which has also sought investigation against BBC and its employees. Alleging that BBC has been biased against India and Indian government, the plea said the documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is result of deep conspiracy against global rise of India and its prime minister.

As many as three Adani group companies, including Adani Enterprises, have come under short-term additional surveillance measure framework of the BSE and NSE, according to the latest data available with the exchanges on Thursday. Apart from Adani Enterprises, the other two firms listed by the exchanges are- Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Ambuja Cements. The parameters for shortlisting securities under ASM include high-low variation, client concentration, number of price band hits, close-to-close price variation and price-earning ratio. The National Stock Exchange and BSE said these companies have satisfied the criteria for inclusion in short-term additional surveillance measure or ASM.

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Thursday declared the Devika bridge here unsafe and urged people to refrain from its use to avoid any mishap, an official spokesperson said. The bridge constructed over two decades ago to facilitate the movement of people at the cremation ghat was declared "unsafe for pedestrains" by the District Road Safety Committee, Udhampur, the official said. He said the committee, comprising members from administration, Public Works Department, Police and Municipal Committee Udhampur, declared the bridge as unsafe after a detailed audit. The committee apprised Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, Krittika Jyotsna that the safety audit of Devika bridge was conducted and after due deliberation and keeping in view its deteriorated condition, the committee members unanimously declared it unsafe for further use. The Deputy Commissioner appealed to the general public to refrain from the use of the bridge to avoid any mishap, the official added.

Eleven years after three blasts claimed 27 lives in Mumbai, the trial in the case began before a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here on Thursday. A panch witness- an official witness- who was present when doctors removed splinters from the bodies of injured persons was the first to testify before special judge B D Shelke. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam appeared for the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. At least 11 persons are facing trial in the case. Three powerful blasts ripped through crowded areas in Dadar, Opera House and Zaveri Bazar localities of Mumbai on July 13, 2011, killing 27 people and injuring 127.

An used drone jet found by fishermen in the sea off Moolapeta Village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh created a flutter, police said on Thursday. The fishermen brought the drone to the shore and informed the marine police whose circle inspector K Demullu said such drones were used by the defence as per information he received from higher officials.

More than 340 mobile phones have been found in different jails in Delhi in the last two-and-a-half months, official data showed on Thursday. Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Baniwal told reporters that the jail authorities found 348 mobile phones in two-and-a-half months. "On Wednesday, the jail authorities conducted a raid in jail number 3 and seized 18 mobile phones and chargers. In the last over two months, the jail authorities have seized 348 mobile phones. "The jail superintendents have started conducting raids after developing intelligence inside the prisons. Through these actions, the criminal world is now getting a strong message," Baniwal said. "We have set 23 targets for 2023. These targets will include making the jails completely phone free and setting up problem redressal system for the inmates. Such type of jammer should be installed so that no one would able to use phone inside the prisons," the DG said.

Berger Paints India Ltd on Thursday reported a decline of 20.47 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 201.17 crore in the third quarter ended December 2022. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 252.97 crore in the October-December period a year ago, Berger Paints said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 5.59 per cent at Rs 2,693.59 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,550.77 crore in the year-ago period. Berger Paints total expenses were at Rs 2,437.84 crore, up 9.39 per cent in Q3/FY23, as against Rs 2,228.56 crore a year ago. Shares of Berger Paints India Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 540.95 on BSE, down 1.59 per cent from the previous close. 

The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea seeking to bar persons from contesting elections from more than one seat, saying it is ultimately the Parliament's will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting a choice. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that candidates may contest polls from more than one constituency due to a variety of reasons. The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, was dealing with a petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who had sought to declare as invalid and ultra vires to the Constitution section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which allows a person to contest a general election or a group of bypolls or biennial elections from two constituencies.

Over 9.79 lakh vacancies exist in the central government across 78 ministries and departments, with railways accounting for 2.93 lakh, defence (civil) for 2.64 lakh and home affairs for 1.43 lakh vacancies, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. In a written reply to a question from BJP MP Sushil Modi, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said the ongoing 'Rozgar Mela' will act as a catalyst in employment and self-employment generation besides providing gainful service opportunities to 10 lakh youth over a period of one year or so. 'Rozgar Mela' events are being held across the country and new appointees are being inducted into various central ministries, departments, central public sector undertaking and autonomous bodies among others, he added.

Over 7.81 crore rural households have been provided tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission over the last three years, Minister of State (MoS) for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday (February 2). In a written reply to a question, the minister said as on January 31, 2023, out of 19.36 crore rural households in the country, around 11.06 crore (57.12 per cent) are reported to have tap water supply. At the time of the announcement of JJM, 3.23 crore (17 per cent) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. Goa, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat and Haryana are among the states and Union Territories which have provided tap water to every rural household.

The Delhi High Court directed the medical superintendent of the Tihar jail on Thursday to ensure "efficacious" treatment to former Popular Front of India chairman E Abubacker, who was sent to the prison in a case lodged under the stringent UAPA, for his aliments on a regular basis. Hearing an appeal filed by Abubacker, seeking his release from the jail on medical grounds, the court also issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the appellant's application, in which he has sought the placing of certain documents on record. The court asked the NIA to file its response on the factual assertions made in the application and listed the matter for further hearing on March 13. "In the meantime, the medical superintendent of Tihar Jail is directed to ensure that the appellant is provided efficacious treatment for all his illnesses on a regular basis," a bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh said.

A government school teacher-turned Lashkar-e-Taiba-terrorist was arrested for allegedly carrying out multiple blasts, including one in a bus carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims with the intention to damage communal harmony and revive terrorism in the Jammu region, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said on Thursday. The arrest of Arif, a resident of Reasi district, follows investigations in the recent twin blast case at Narwal in Jammu. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted inside a perfume bottle was recovered from his possession, Singh told reporters here. The Jammu and Kashmir police chief said this was the first time that such type of a bomb was recovered in the Union Territory.

Pandurang K Pole has been appointed as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Jammu and Kashmir: Election Commission of India.

A total of 137 Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) fell sick due to suspected food poisoning in the temple town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, officials said on Thursday. All the devotees are stable, they said. According to health officials from Solapur district, several worshippers on Wednesday consumed ‘varai rice’, a barnyard millet preparation, at a local monastery on the occasion of Maghi Ekadashi. “After that, 137 Warkaris complained of vomiting and nausea and were brought to the hospital. While 89 Warkaris were admitted, the rest were discharged after treatment at the OPD level,” said a doctor from the district civil hospital. He said all the admitted devotees are stable. Pandharpur, about 360 km from Mumbai, is known for its famous Lord Vitthal temple.

Budget Session of the Haryana Assembly will begin here from February 20, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Thursday. It has been proposed to hold the session in two parts, the chief minister said. "The budget session will begin from February 20," Khattar told reporters here after a meeting of the state cabinet. The session will begin with the Governor's address followed by a discussion on it, after which, the budget will be presented. After a gap of few days, the budget will be passed.

In a tragic incident, a pregnant woman and her husband were charred to death when the car in which they were travelling caught fire near the district government hospital here on Thursday, police said. The victims have been identified as Prijith (35) and his wife Reesha (26), hailing from Kuttiattoor in the district. The incident occurred when the car was proceeding to the hospital with Reesha who complained of labour pain, they said. Immediately after getting the information, the fire and rescue officials rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire completely and pulled out Prijith and Reesha, but they were already dead.

The Kerala Assembly on Thursday witnessed an intense verbal duel between members of the ruling LDF and opposition UDF over the alleged "political patronage" to the drug mafia in the state. The Congress-led opposition staged a walkout in protest after Speaker A N Shamseer denied permission to take up the matter for discussion during zero hour. While seeking leave for the adjournment motion, Mathew Kuzhalnadan (Congress), specifically mentioned about the recent seizure of over a crore rupee-worth banned tobacco products in Alappuzha district. He alleged that the ruling CPI (M) was trying to sabotage the investigation as its local leader, who is also its municipal councillor, was involved in the case. Launching a scathing attack against the ruling front, Kuzhalnadan even alleged that a section of leaders of the Marxist party were climbing the steps of higher party posts through the influence of the money amassed by the drug mafia.

The Samajwadi Party on Thursday alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government has denied its chief Akhilesh Yadav permission to land his plane in Moradabad, while the district administration denied the charge, saying the landing was cancelled due to ongoing construction work. "As per a pre-announced programme, national president Akhilesh Yadav was supposed to attend a function in Moradabad on February 4 but the Yogi Adityanath government is not allowing the plane to land," the party said in a tweet. "This is a very condemnable act. The BJP's arrogance will end soon!" it added. When contacted, City Magistrate Jyoti Singh told PTI that due to the construction work currently underway on the airstrip, landing is not possible for any plane. According to the schedule, Yadav had to land at Mudha Pandey airstrip on Saturday.

The Telangana Assembly Session is all set to start from Friday with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan's address in the joint session (Assembly and Council) on the first day. Sources said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao government has already provided a speech copy to the Governor.

Iran blamed Israel for a drone attack that targeted a military workshop in its central city of Isfahan over the weekend, warning it “reserves its legitimate and inherent right” to retaliate. Iran's mission to the United Nations, in a letter it published on its website, attributed the attack late Saturday to Israel.

The BJP will contest on all 60 seats of the Meghalaya Assembly and fight the Nagaland elections in an alliance with the state's ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, contesting on 20 of 60 seats.

Noting that it can’t remain a mute spectator to the loss of human lives in fire incidents, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday asked the state government to carry out a state-wide fire safety audit in a time-bound manner.

The Election Commission should derecognise the SP and the RJD as they have violated the "basic conditions" upon which they were registered as political parties by not taking action against their respective leaders for recent remarks against the "Ramcharitmanas", the VHP said today.

Proceedings of both Houses of the parliament have been adjourned till tomorrow, February 2 amid uproar by Opposition parties over the Adani Group crisis. 

The Opposition today alleged that the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned to stop them from raising the Adani issue. Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary said, "Both Houses of Parliament adjourned today till 2pm because Govt did not agree to combined Opposition demand for an investigation into forced investments by LIC, SBI & other public institutions that have lost huge value in recent days endangering savings of crores of Indians."

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea seeking to prohibit an alleged hate speech event scheduled to be held on February 5 in Mumbai. A bench of Justice K M Joseph, Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Hrishikesh Roy said it will seek instructions from Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and subject to his approval post the matter for hearing on Friday.

Upping the ante, the Congress and other opposition parties today demanded a Joint Parliament Committee or a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Adani Group crisis. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition parties also demanded that there should be day-to-day reporting of the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) or the SC-monitored probe into the issue which concerns public money.

Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Shiv Sena today sought a parliament debate on the fraud allegation triggered a rout in Adani group company stocks. The rout threatened the value of investments made by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and public sector banks. Adani group stocks, where LIC is heavily invested, have lost over USD 100 billion in value since a tiny New York short seller came out with a damning report alleging financial and accounting fraud by the ports-to-energy conglomerate.

The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha have been adjourned till 2 PM as the Opposition created a ruckus demanding a discussion on the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group. Notably, today is the 3rd day of the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament.

The proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned till 2 PM after the Opposition created a ruckus demanding a discussion on the Adani row. 

Opposition parties will meet in the Parliament complex today to evolve a joint strategy to take on the government during the Budget session. Sources said leaders of like-minded opposition parties will meet at 10 am in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and will discuss issues that are to be brought up during the session which began on January 31. Kharge had said that like-minded parties would ensure better coordination during the session to unitedly raise issues of publiic importance.

Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan walked out of jail on Thursday, a day after the sureties required for his bail was submitted in court. Kappan has been released from jail, a senior official said. Kappan and three others were arrested in October 2020 while on their way to Hathras where a Dalit woman died allegedly after being raped.

A woman namely Gayathri Kumar and her daughter Samatha Kumar died when a concrete mixer truck overturned and crushed their vehicle on Bengaluru's Bannerghatta Road in Karnataka. The police have identified the truck owner and a search for the driver and owner is underway. 

A man was shot dead following a heated exchange of words at a wedding at Antwada village in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar following which two people were arrested, police said. According to SHO of Khatauli Police Station Sanjiv Kumar, the deceased was identified as Satish (32).

Australia is removing the British monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's central bank said on Thursday its new USD 5 bill would feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins.

CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has demanded a discussion on the Adani stock crash in the House, terming the matter as "urgent". He also served a notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar under rule 267 for suspension of business in Rajya Sabha. 

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, said that India's G20 presidency is a critical moment where key decisions can be taken. "We have very high expectations. I welcome the priorities India has set during its presidency," he added.