Breaking News, March 26 | HIGHLIGHTS

WATCH | Prayagraj Police team taking mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed to Uttar Pradesh from Ahmedabad's Sabarmati Jail takes a halt for a while in Udaipur for refuelling.

Boat sinkings off the coast of Tunisia over the weekend killed at least 29 people from countries in sub-Saharan Africa who were trying make the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, the Tunisian National Guard said on Sunday.

Tunisian fishermen recovered 19 bodies, said National Guard spokesman Houssameddine Jebabli.
The Coast Guard also recovered eight bodies on Saturday night and rescued 11 survivors who'd been aboard a boat that went down, he said.

Two other bodies were recovered in waters off the Tunisian port of Sfax, he said.

Aviation regulator DGCA has sought details from the Nepal authorities regarding the incident of an Air India and a Nepal Airlines aircraft coming close to a mid-air collision, according to a senior official.

On Friday morning, a Nepal Airlines plane coming to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and an Air India plane coming to Kathmandu from New Delhi almost collided.

Authorities on Sunday said warning systems alerted the pilots whose timely action prevented the disaster.

A senior DGCA official on Sunday said details are being obtained from the Nepal authorities on the airprox incident.

Air India has submitted a report about the incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday visited Chenab Bridge in Kashmir Valley and inspected the ongoing work for the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line project (USBRL). The minister said that the project will be completed by December this year or January 2024. READ MORE

Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday said that Rahul Gandhi has become the biggest hero in today's politics. Sinha's remark has come after the Gandhi scion was disqualified as Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) following his conviction in the 'Modi Surname' remark case by a Gujarat court. READ MORE

A court here has sentenced two men to life imprisonment in the 2014 murder case of Neelam Sharma who was wife of the editor of a local daily.

Neelam, wife of Vijay Sharma, was murdered in her home on February 20, 2014, and the accused had later robbed the house.

After nine years of the murder, a court of additional sessions judge on March 23 convicted the accused, Ashutosh Goswami (36) alias Ashu and his friend Ronnie Massy (34), in the murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
 
Ashutosh is the son of Vijay's sister, a family member said, adding police were initially clueless until Vijay's pet parrot began screaming the Ashutosh's name.

"The parrot helped family members identify accused Ashu.

Ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav suggested the national parties to support regional parties fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party in their states-- a remark apparently meant for the Congress.

Akhilesh’s statement comes a day after Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday said the Congress is the biggest party in the Opposition but wherever regional parties are strong, they should be allowed to sit in the "driver's seat" to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections.

The Mumbai police have apprehended a man from Rajasthan in connection with an email threatening actor Salman Khan that was received at the latter's office here recently, an official said on Sunday.

The man, a resident of Rajasthan, was nabbed by the team of Bandra police station and is being brought to Mumbai, an official said.

The complaint about the threat e-mail was recently lodged at the Bandra police station by one Prashant Gunjalkar, who according to police, frequently visits the Bandra-based residence of Salman Khan and runs an artist management company.

When Gunjalkar was present in Khan's office in Galaxy Apartment recently, he noticed an email had been received from the ID "Rohit Garg".
The sender of the e-mail, written in Hindi, said: "Goldy Bhai (gangster Goldy Brar) wanted to talk to Salman Khan face-to-face to close the matter", adding, "Agli baar, jhatka dekhne ko milega (You'll see something shocking)", the police had said.

 Fire broke out again at Brahmapuram Waste Treatment Plant on Sunday, barely a couple of weeks after a devastating blaze lasted at the site for days before being extinguished.

Police said eight fire tenders have been pressed into service to douse the fire which was detected at one of the sectors inside the plant.

Brahmapuram plant was in news when a massive fire had broken out there on March 2 and thereafter, the air quality in the port city of Kochi and neighbouring municipalities and gram panchayats had worsened as they were engulfed in the dense smoke billowing from the garbage dump.

"A few fire tenders were already present at the plant to monitor the situation.
Senior fire force officials, revenue department and city corporation officials are currently there," District Collector N S K Umesh told the media.

Three people travelling on a motorcycle were killed when a speeding truck rammed into the rear of their vehicle and dragged it for almost 2 kilometers in this district, police said on Sunday.

Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Manoj Mishra said the accident took place near Pachauni tri-section in Cheera village around 11 pm on Saturday, when the speeding truck coming from Jhansi side hit the motorcycle from behind.

Mishra said the bodies of two youths were found near Cheera village, while the body of the third youth got entangled with the truck and was dragged for almost two kilometres.
The body was recovered near Darjanpur turn.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said the condition of farmers never changed in the last 75 years when mainly two parties remained in power and called for the unity of agriculturists.

Navi Mumbai police have arrested two men for allegedly stealing a trailer truck from a village in Panvel taluka earlier this month, an official said on Sunday. He said the trailer truck was stolen from Kongaon village in Raigad district on the intervening night of March 7 and 8.

 Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan held a massive rally here on Sunday and presented his party's 10-point roadmap for the cash-strapped country's economic recovery, including sops for the diaspora.

Telangana Chief Minister and BRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said the Rs 6,000 assistance for farmers announced by the Maharashtra government was inadequate. Speaking at a rally in Loha tehsil in Nanded district, around 450 km from Mumbai, Rao suggested that the Maharashtra government decided to give this financial aid to farmers only after he addressed a rally in Nanded last month.

A fire broke out in a forested area on a hill in Maharashtra's Thane district on Sunday, a civic official said. No casualties were reported in the blaze that erupted on Mama Bhanja Hill around 2.30 pm, said Avinash Sawant, chief of the RDMC.

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Sunday said its statements regarding disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha were not in support of the Congress leader, rather it was opposing the BJP's undemocratic action against him. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said that the Left party has always taken a stand against the undemocratic actions, like the BJP and RSS using central agencies like ED and CBI to target opposition parties. "Something like that has happened in Rahul Gandhi's case. We did not announce support for Rahul Gandhi. We strongly opposed the undemocratic action taken against him," he told reporters.

Following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday changed his bio on Twitter where he described himself as a "Dis'Qualified MP". He also wrote "Dis'Qualified MP" on his the official Wayanad Twitter account. Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will prevent Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting elections for eight years unless a higher court stays the conviction. Even though Gandhi is yet to file a review petition, the Congress has said it would fight it legally and politically.

During a press conference, Sudhanshu Trivedi said that Rahul Gandhi and Congress don't obey law and order. 

'Allegations of Rahul Gandhi are baseless' said BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi over Congress's Sankalp Satyagraha.  

President Joe Biden early on Sunday issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi, making federal funding available to Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, the areas hardest hit Friday night by a deadly tornado that ripped through the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest regions of the US. At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through several towns on its hour-long path. One man was killed after his trailer home flipped several times in Alabama.
Search and recovery crews on Sunday resumed the daunting task of digging through the debris of flattened and battered homes, commercial buildings and municipal offices after hundreds of people were displaced. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was scheduled to visit the state on Sunday to evaluate the destruction.
FEMA Coordinating Officer John Boyle has been appointed to oversee federal recovery operations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to people to opt for organ donation, and said his government is working on a uniform policy that will make the process easy and encourage people to adopt the life-saving exercise. Those who donate their organs after death are "godlike" to recipients, he said in his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, adding that people's preference for it can save and make many lives. "It is a matter of satisfaction that the awareness about organ donation is rising in the country," Modi said, noting that the condition of being a state domicile for receiving organs has been removed to allow the needy to register themselves anywhere in the country. A decision to remove the age criteria of being less than 65 years for donating organs has also been taken, he added. From less than 5,000 cases of organ donations in 2013, the number has grown to over 15,000 in 2022, he said. Organ donation from one deceased person can help eight to nine persons, he noted.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said a martyred prime minister's son who walked thousands of kilometres for national unity can never insult the country as the Congress held a nationwide protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha. Priyanka Gandhi was addressing a gathering at Rajghat -- the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi -- here to protest against Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case and his subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha.She said the time had come  to raise a voice against an "arrogant government" as barring Rahul Gandhi from contesting elections does not bode well for the country and its democracy. The Congress leader alleged that Rahul Gandhi was disqualified for questioning the prime minister on industrialist Gautam Adani and people will give a befitting reply to those behind the action. "My family's blood has ploughed democracy in this country. We are ready to do anything for this country's democracy. Great leaders of the Congress laid the foundation of democracy in this country.

Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda on Sunday said his party would win more than 200 out of 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, where elections are set to be held at the end of the year. He has arrived in the state capital to lay the foundation stone of a BJP office. "The warm welcome accorded to me by the spirited BJP cadre shows we are going to more than 200 Assembly seats in MP," he said. The 2018 elections in Madhya Pradesh threw up a hung Assembly, with the Congress emerging as the largest party with 114 seats in the 230-member House, while the BJP won on 109 seats. However, the BJP got 41.02 per cent votes against the Congress' 40.89 per cent. The Congress formed a government under Kamal Nath, which fell in March 2020 when MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia revolted, paving the way for the return of Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister.

Describing the Janata Dal (Secular) a "natural ally", the Bharat Rashtra Samithi has decided to throw its weight fully behind the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led party in the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka, BRS sources said on Sunday. Telangana's governing party was earlier weighing its option of fielding its candidates in some districts bordering Telangana in Kalyana-Karnataka (earlier known as Hyderabad-Karnataka) as part of its strategy to expand nationally but that plan is no longer on the table now. "JD(S) is our natural ally and we will go with the party. We want to ensure that the JD(S) is successful in the elections", a senior leader of BRS, headed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. also known as KCR, told PTI. Sources said KCR would definitely campaign for JD(S) candidates, particularly in segments where "Telugu-speaking people are densely populated", as a BRS leader put it.

The Congress' Rajasthan unit on Sunday began its day-long "Sankalp Satyagraha" here in support of Rahul Gandhi following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
The party's state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and several other leaders are taking part in the protest at the Collectorate Circle. Similar protests are also being organised in other districts. The Congress has launched a day-long satyagraha at all states and district headquarters to protest against Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case and his subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha. Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in the defamation case. The disqualification will prevent Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting elections for eight years unless a higher court stays the conviction. Calling Gandhi's disqualification "murder of democracy", Dotasra said, "We are holding this satyagraha… against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.

The Budget session of the Goa Assembly will begin on Monday and culminate on March 31, an official said on Sunday. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is likely to present the state's Budget for 2023-24 on Tuesday, while the House will not have a sitting on March 30 due to Ram Navami, he said. On Saturday, Sawant tweeted the state cabinet had approved the draft of 'The Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill 2023', which seeks to impose restrictions on the transfer of agricultural land to preserve and protect paddy cultivation.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have criticized the state government over the curtailed Assembly session. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao claimed several crore rupees spent on self-glorification events and advertisements will come to light in the upcoming Assembly session. "The session will expose the true face of the failed BJP government. It will be proved the BJP government is curtailing the session instead of curbing wasteful expenditure,” he said.

The Left-Congress alliance made a clean sweep in the elections of the Haldia dock institute management committee in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district by trouncing ruling the Trinamool Congress candidates. The win of the Left-Congress alliance on Saturday assumes significance after the defeat of the TMC in the Sagardighi assembly by-election at the hands of Left supported Congress candidate Byron Biswas recently. The Left-Congress alliance won 19 out of 19 seats which is significant ahead of the panchayat polls.
Of the 737 electorate, 694 cast their franchise in the high voltage triangular battle between Left-Congress, TMC trade union (INTTUC) and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh which was supported by BJP, an official involved in the election process said. The permanent employees and officers of the port cast votes. The total number of candidates in the three panels was 58. Last time Trinamool Congress had won all the seats in the management committee, but the post of vice president was bagged by the Left. The TMC tasted it's first defeat after 13 years. The elections are held every two years.

Two men were killed and another sustained burns after lightning struck them at a village in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, police said on Sunday. The incident took place on Saturday evening when the victims were working on a sugarcane field in Madannagar village under Pratappur development block, Surajpur Additional Superintendent of Police Madhulika Singh said. "The deceased were identified as Mohanlal Pando (40) and Ramesh Aayam (21), while Amit Aayam (28) suffered serious burns. The three took shelter under a tree during rains. A lightning strike left them injured," she said. "Some locals shifted them to the community health centre in Pratappur where Pando and Ramesh were declared dead and Amit is undergoing treatment," she added.

A man died in police custody at Tripunithura near here, leading to the suspension of an officer, who had allegedly beaten up the victim. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the victim, father of two children, did not stop his motorbike when asked to pull over by a team from Hill Palace police station here, which was carrying out routine checking. The man was chased down by the police team and according to a woman claiming to be an eyewitness to the incident, one of the officers brutally slapped the victim when he took off his helmet. The woman told media that the man was then bundled into the police vehicle and taken away. "Later in the night, I heard the news that he had died," she said. As angry locals reached the police station and threatened to hold a protest outside it, the officer concerned was suspended by the police.
 

A case has been filed after a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader claimed a life threat to a colleague following the party's demand to raze illegal places of worship in Mumbra in Thane district, a police official said on Sunday. The complaint was filed by Thane MNS chief Ravindra More who said two videos in circulation on social media contained threats aimed at his colleague Avinash Jadhav, the Naupada police station official said. A case under Indian Penal Code section 506(2) for criminal intimidation has been registered and further probe was underway, he added.

India's highways infrastructure will match that of the US by 2024 for which work in time bound 'mission mode' is on including construction of green expressways and rail over bridges, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said. He said cabinet nod to 'Bharatmala 2' is likely soon and once obtained it will meet the requirements of a robust infrastructure in the country. "I am confident that India's highways will be on par with that of the US by 2024. Work in a time bound mission mode is on to build a robust infrastructure including a network of green expressways across the length and breadth of India," Gadkari told PTI in an interview. The Road Transport and Highways Minister said in this year railway over bridges are being constructed at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore which will be increased to Rs 50,000 crore in five years. On the Kailash Mansarovar highway project via Pithoragarh, Gadkari said "Ninety three per cent work on Kailash Mansarovar project has been completed."

India logged 1,890 new coronavirus cases, the highest in 149 days, while the active cases increased to 9,433, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
The country had recorded 2,208 cases in a single day on October 28 last year. The death toll has increased to 5,30,831 with seven deaths. While two deaths each were reported by Maharashtra and Gujarat in a span of 24 hours, three were reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 1.56 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 1.29 per cent. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.47 crore (4,47,04,147). The active cases now comprises 0.02 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.79 per cent, the ministry said.

The minimum temperature in Delhi settled at 15.8 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average, the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday. The relative humidity recorded at 8.30 am was 86, it said. The weatherman has predicted mainly clear skies for the day. It expects the maximum temperature to reach up to 31 degrees Celsius. On Saturday, the maximum temperature in the national capital settled at 30.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature was recorded at 15.3 degrees, two notches below the season's average.

The Delhi Police has denied permission to the Congress for holding 'satyagraha' at Rajghat to protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha, officials said on Sunday. In a letter, the Delhi Police said the request was rejected due to law and order and traffic reasons and prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC have been imposed in and around Rajghat. A senior police officer told PTI that while permission for holding the satyagraha has been denied, adequate security arrangements have been put in place.
The Congress has announced plans to hold a day-long satyagraha in front of Gandhi statues at all states and district headquarters on Sunday to protest against Gandhi's disqualification. Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will bar Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das asked BJP workers in Jharkhand to pull up their socks and work sincerely for the victory of the saffron party in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Das the BJP national vice president told the party workers to interact with people across the division and make them aware about the welfare schemes launched by the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing BJP workers on Saturday, Das stressed the need for strengthening booth level committees to win polls. He alleged that the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand has "failed" to deliver on all fronts. The former CM alleged that no work is done in Jharkhand without 'cut money'. BJP Jharkhand unit president Deepak Prakash said the party has dedicated workers and they will help the saffron party to win the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections with their hard work.

The West Bengal government directed the district administrations to take strict action if any irregularity is detected at the 'Duare Sarkar' (government at doorsteps) camps, which will begin on April 1. Chairing a meeting, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi on Saturday directed the districts to start control rooms for successful implementation of the programme, an official statement said. "Suitable and appropriate responses are expected for each call made to the control rooms. Instructions were given to deal swiftly and sternly with persons carrying on undesirable activities in the camps, including the sale of application forms and charging for filling up forms, among others," it said. "The key goal of the sixth edition of 'Duare Sarkar' is to reach every household by holding booth-level camps, and to deliver services under 33 schemes to all eligible citizens of the state," it added. The districts were also asked to convene meetings of the task forces for ensuring coordination among all the departments

A Bihar court acquitted Union minister Giriraj Singh and 22 other people in connection with a nine-year-old case that was lodged after they staged a rail blockade. Singh, along with LJP MP Veena Devi and BJP leaders Ram Surat Rai and Suresh Sharma, was among those who appeared before the MP/MLA court at Muzaffarpur on Saturday in connection with the Railway Act case lodged in 2014. The 'rail roko' was staged in March, 2014, across the state in protest against denial of special category status to Bihar by the Congress-led UPA which was then in power. "The case was lodged at Railway Court in Sonepur and transferred here upon the establishment of MP/MLA court. Altogether 27 persons were named as accused and charge-sheet was filed against 23 of them. All of them were acquitted as no evidence was found against them," lawyer Ashok Kumar told reporters.

A woman security guard in Maharashtra's Thane district has been arrested for allegedly operating a sex racket, a police official said on Sunday. Acting on a tip off, the woman was arrested from Mumbra railway station on Friday, Anti Human Trafficking Cell senior inspector Mahesh Patil said. The racket used to be operated via WhatsApp with women being sent to places of the customer's choice, he said. She has been booked under Indian Penal Code and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, he added.

The bodies of a tigress and a cub were found in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, with forest officials on Sunday citing dehydration and starvation as possible causes for the death of the cub. The carcass of the 4-month-old cub was found on Friday evening in Dongargaon beat in compartment 163 of Dhaba range, while a search of the vicinity led to the recovery of the dead body of a tigress on Saturday in compartment 161, an official said. The site is some 78 kilometres away from the district headquarters, he added. "All the organs of the female cub were intact and, prima facie, it seems it died of dehydration. However, the death of the tigress is under investigation as the body has decomposed," he said. "Representatives of the animal husbandry department, forest department and the National Tiger Conservation Authority are probing the case and have already completed the panchnama. Organ samples are being sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory here," he added.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday launched India’s largest LVM3 rocket carrying 36 satellites from Sriharikota. The rocket was lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9:00 AM today. 

The first cable-stayed railway bridge of India is nearing completion and the deck of the bridge is expected to be ready by May this year on the Anji river in Jammu and Kashmir, Northern Railway officials said. Once ready, trains will run at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour on the bridge being constructed around 80 kilometres away from Jammu, they said. Anji bridge between Katra and Reasi stations falls in the Reasi district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The upcoming structure is part of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla-Rail Link (USBRL) project that railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav had announced would be completed next year.
 

Despite cutting Lahore from the rest of Pakistan and placing containers in the city, ousted prime minister Imran Khan managed to hold a big rally at Minar-i-Pakistan late on Saturday night. The broadcast media in the country blacked out the coverage of the event under the 'pressure' of the PML-N-led government backed by the powerful military establishment.
Khan, who is facing threats to his life, addressed the rally from a bullet-proof glass.  A large number of women also gathered at the historic park.   The authorities appeared so desperate to fail the Khan’s show that all major roads leading to Minar-i-Pakistan were blocked by police with containers and barricades. The internet services parts of Lahore especially at the rally site. The people reached the venue by covering a long distance on foot because of these hurdles.

Staring down a possible indictment, a defiant Donald Trump is hoping to put on a show of force Saturday at the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign, held in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement. Trump's supporters began lining up the day before doors opened on the airport grounds in Waco, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the Waco massacre next month. In 1993, an attempted raid by law enforcement of a compound belonging to the Branch Davidians, a religious cult, resulted in a shootout that led to a 51-day siege, ending in a blaze that left dozens dead. The rally comes as Trump has berated prosecutors, encouraged protests and raised the prospect of possible violence should he become the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. Some of his recent rhetoric has echoed language he used before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to stop the transfer of power to Democrat Joe Biden, who won the presidential election.

Delhi recorded 139 fresh coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 4.98 per cent on Saturday, according to data shared by the health department. Delhi reported 152 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 6.66 per cent on Friday. It had logged 117 cases with a positivity rate of 4.95 per cent on Thursday. The city had recorded cases in three-digit figures last October.
Delhi has seen an increase in the number of fresh Covid cases over the last few days amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country. The city registered 84 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 5.08 per cent on Wednesday. On Tuesday, it had reported 83 cases with a positivity rate of 5.83 per cent and a fatality.
The number of fresh cases had seen a decline over the past few months in Delhi.

A mentally unstable man sent railway officials into a tizzy on Saturday evening when he climbed on the iron bar above the overhead wire at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus here and threatened to take his life. After more than half-an-hour, he jumped onto a coach of the Gadag Express which was standing at platform number 9 and was taken into custody, a railway official said. The man climbed on the bar around 9 pm and threatened to jump onto the high-tension overhead wire, he said. As a precaution, railway officials switched off the power supply to the wire even as police and fire brigade personnel reached the spot and tried to persuade him not to commit any rash act. Around 10 pm, the man jumped on a coach of the Gadag Express below, ending the high drama which attracted a sizable crowd.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Nitu Ghanghas and Saweety Boro for their gold medal-winning performance in the Women's Boxing World Championships here. Taking the ring first, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nitu put up a stupendous performance to see off Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altansetseg 5-0 and claim the title in the minimum weight category (48kg) in front of a packed crowd. "Congratulations to @NituGhanghas333 on winning the prestigious Gold Medal in the Women's Boxing World Championships. India is elated by her remarkable feat," Modi tweeted.

At least 12 people were injured and 30 houses damaged after a tornado hit the Bakenwala village in this Punjab district, officials said on Saturday. The tornado also damaged standing crops in the fields and kinnow orchards, they said. Bakenwala resident Gurmukh Singh said, "Villagers saw the tornado around 4 pm on Friday." It caused damage in a 2-2.5-square-km area, he said. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal announced a compensation of Rs five lakh from his MPLAD fund for the repair of houses damaged by the tornado.
Badal visited Bakenwala village and other places to assess the damage, the party said in a statement. The SAD leader demanded compensation for all those whose houses and kinnow orchards have been destroyed, and said his party would launch an agitation to ensure justice to affected farmers if this was not done. He also spoke to the Fazilka deputy commissioner and offered to release more money from his MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Development) fund if required.

Delhi Education Minister Atishi on Saturday conferred the first DCPCR Children’s Champion Awards in the field of child rights and development to the changemakers from all over the country. The newly constituted award by the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) recognises individuals and institutions who have contributed significantly to the health, education, protection, and agency of children. "Awardees of the DCPCR Children’s Champion Award are some of those extraordinary people from all over the country who took the road less travelled, struggled and faced several challenges in the system, but they were determined to bring about the change in lives of children. "This award is a recognition of their efforts and contribution to the welfare of children of this country. This will further motivate them to work with renewed energy and enthusiasm," she said.

The man had allegedly befriended a 26-year-old woman while travelling from Alibaug to Roha towns in Raigad district and stayed in touch with her, an official said. Some days back, he invited the woman to Panvel under some pretext and took her to a lodge where he laced her drink with some substance and raped her, the official said. A case has been registered under section 376 (Punishment for rape) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and further investigation is underway.

A man roaming in the restricted area on the Indo-Pak border here in Rajasthan was caught by the Border Security Force, an official said on Saturday. He was caught in the Shahgarh area of the district and was later handed over to the local police for questioning. Police said the person was roaming in the restricted area. During questioning, he identified himself as Chandrapal Umar (45), a resident of Uttar Pradesh. His replies were not satisfactory as he could not explain why he was visiting Jaisalmer, the police said, adding that he was being interrogated further.

Over 50 international delegates reached Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday to participate in a G20 meeting. After landing at the Hollongi airport, they travelled to Itanagar where they visited an exhibition in which various tribal arts and cultures were showcased, besides budding innovators of the state exhibiting their innovations. After attending a meeting, the delegates visited Thupten Gatseling Monastery. After enjoying a cultural musical performance at the monastery, the delegates visited the Jawaharlal Nehru State Museum where they were briefed about the history and rich culture of the northeastern state. In the evening, the delegates witnessed a cultural programme at the state assembly.

Stepping up its campaign on the alleged question paper leak of a recruitment test conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC), the BJP on Saturday demanded the resignation of State IT Minister K T Rama Rao and probe by a sitting judge into the issue. Rama Rao, however, dismissed the resignation demand, saying the TSPSC is an autonomous institution. Addressing a 'Maha Dharna' organised here by his party against the paper leak issue and seeking jobs for unemployed youth, State BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar asked as to why Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has not responded so far on the paper leak issue that concerns about 30 lakh youth in the State.
Demanding investigation by a sitting judge into the issue, he said why the BRS government is not ready for it.

A court on Saturday adjourned till April 5 the hearing on the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in implementing the now-scrapped excise policy in Delhi. Special Judge MK Nagpal adjourned the hearing after Sisodia's counsel sought more time to prepare a detailed response to ED's submission on the bail plea. Sisodia moved the bail plea on Tuesday and the court sought the Enforcement Directorate's response by March 25. On Wednesday, after seven days of questioning by the ED, the court sent him to 14-day judicial custody.