532 kg heroin worth Rs 2,700 cr smuggled from Pak, seized near Amritsar

AMRITSAR, June 30: In its biggest ever narcotics haul, the Customs Department seized 532 kg of suspected heroin worth Rs 2,700 crore, which was smuggled into India from Pakistan in a truck through trade route at the Attari border, officials said Sunday.

An official said the smuggling racket’s alleged mastermind, based in Kashmir valley, has been arrested and the importer of the rock salt consignment, who is based in Amritsar, has been detained for questioning.

The consignment of heroin and another 52 kg of suspected mixed narcotics was concealed under hundreds of bags of rock salt inside the truck which arrived at Attari through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) two days ago, Customs (Preventive) Commissioner Deepak Kumar Gupta said.

“In a major breakthrough in busting the international organised drug smuggling, the Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Amritsar has seized 532 kg of suspected heroin and 52 kg of suspected mixed narcotics in the import consignment at ICP, Attari,” he said.

“This is the biggest ever achievement in annals of the Indian Customs history,” he told a press conference here.

Tariq Ahmed, the mastermind of the organised smuggling racket based in Handwara, Kashmir, has been arrested with the help of Jammu and Kashmir police, Gupta said, adding that further investigations is underway.

“We are also questioning the importer of the consignment of rock salt,” he said.

The import consignment from Pakistan had arrived here two days ago and the truck driver had returned after unloading it.

Before clearing a consignment, the Customs Department carries out its detailed checking and examination.

On Saturday, at about 1330 hours, during examination of the consignment by customs staff at ICP, Attari, one sack was found containing white coloured powder substance.

On a detailed examination of 600 bags, 15 were suspected to contain narcotics. On further examination, all 15 bags were found to contain heroin with a net weight of 532 kg and mixed narcotics of 52 kg, Gupta said.

“The value of heroin in the international market is approximately Rs 2,700 crore,” he said.

The heroin was seized under provisions of the Customs Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Gupta said.

“This is one of the biggest seizures of heroin by Indian agency along the Indo-Pakistan border... It is the biggest success of Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Amritsar against organised smuggling of narcotics including heroin along Indo-Pakistan border through trade route,” he said.

I represent inclusive India: Nusrat Jahan on fatwa over attire

KOLKATA, June 29: After being criticised for sporting vermilion and bangles and not wearing a ‘burqa’ in Parliament, actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan on Saturday said that she represents an “inclusive India”.

“I represent an inclusive India which is beyond the barriers of caste, creed and religion,” Jahan said in a statement that she later shared on Twitter.

She also wrote that she “respects all religions”.

“I still remain a Muslim and none should comment on what I choose to wear. Faith is beyond attire and is more about believing and practicing the invaluable doctrines of all religions,” Jahan said.

Criticising her “un-Islamic” post-marriage appearance at her oath-taking ceremony in Parliament on June 25, a group of Muslim clerics had issued a ‘fatwa’ against the newly-married Member of Parliament.

Jahan tied the knot with businessman Nikhil Jain on June 19.

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel tears up while handing over state Congress president post

RAIPUR, June 29: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s eyes were filled with tears while speaking at the event organised for passing the post of President of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) to Mohan Markam.

Congress leader PL Punia and newly appointed CPCC president Markam were also present at the event held on Saturday.

In his speech, Baghel thanked all party leaders who worked with him over the past five years and remembered their contribution to the party in Chhattisgarh.

“I was appointed to the post by Rahul Gandhiji after we lost the elections in 2013. 2014 Lok Sabha elections were near. We were worried about the party’s prospects in the state after the 2014 elections. The fight we party leaders started after June 2014 continued till the time we came to power in Chhattisgarh,” Baghel said.

He praised the newly appointed CPCC President by saying Markam was a “hardworking and simple man”.

Earlier, Markam was appointed the president of CPCC through an All India Congress Committee (AICC) release signed by party general secretary KC Venugopal on June 28.

He replaced Baghel who had been the CPCC president since 2014 and was asked to continue in the post till his replacement was announced after he became the Chief Minister in December last year.

Kamal Nath's Dig At BJP's Akash Vijayvargiya Involves A Cricket Bat

BHOPAL, June 28: Days after BJP legislator Akash Vijayvargiya thrashed a municipal officer with a cricket bat, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath took an apparent dig at him by saying, "Cricket bat should be used to symbolise nation's victory, not defeat of democracy." The chief minister also advised youngsters, especially young lawmakers, to shun violence.

Akash Vijayvargiya, a first-time BJP legislator who represents the assembly seat of Indore-3, has been sent to jail till July 7. A video of him assaulting the civic body official was widely shared on social media. He is the son of BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya.

In a release, Kamal Nath said, "India has two distinct features. First, it is the world's largest democracy and second, it houses the largest youth population in the world. Young public representatives, you have the duty to make laws, not to take law into your hands on the streets." Kamal Nath is a Congress leader.

Nath also praised the Indian cricket team playing in the World Cup. He also added, "As chief minister, I have the obligation to maintain a communication with my young and promising companions. Work for the victory of India in the field, not for the defeat of democracy on the streets."

BJP legislator Akash Vijayvargiya thrashed a civic body official in Indore with a cricket bat.

Earlier today, BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought a report on Akash Vijayvargiya's assault case from the party's Madhya Pradesh unit. The official, who was beaten up, was part of a team that was on an anti-encroachment drive in Indore when they were approached by Akash Vijayvargiya and his supporters. "You should leave within five minutes or else whatever happens after that will be your responsibility," Vijayvargiya told the officers.

On video, the young politician and his supporters are seen chasing the official with a cricket bat in the presence of policemen and television crews.

"In the BJP, we've been taught, pehle aavedan, phir nivedan aur phir danadan (first request and then attack)," he told reporters after the assault.

Vijayvargiya was arrested later in the day and a case was registered against him for assault, rioting and obstructing government work.

Encephalitis toll rises to 152, spreads to 20 Bihar districts; scare in Madhya Pradesh

PATNA, June 24: The death toll from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) reached 152 in Bihar, with medical officials stating that the disease has spread to 20 of the state’s 38 districts.

According to officials familiar with the matter, a child succumbed to the disease late on Saturday at the Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital in Muzaffarpur — the epicentre of the outbreak.

“AES has spread to 20 districts of Bihar but the total number of cases has come down. The death toll due to the disease has reached 152,” Bihar’s principal secretary (health) Sanjay Kumar said, adding that one fresh AES case was reported in the last 36 hours.

Since the first fatality was reported on June 5, the state government’s response has been criticised with many saying that Muzaffarpur’s “poor” healthcare system was overwhelmed by the scale of the outbreak. On Sunday, a portion of the roof outside the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at SKMCH collapsed. “A patch of plaster from the roof fell. Nobody was injured. It’s not inside any ward,” said hospital’s superintendent Sunil Kumar Shahi.

A Congress delegation met with public resistance when it visited SKMCH on Sunday. In another incident, an LJP MLA had to beat a hasty retreat when he visited Vaishali, where seven children had died on June 3. Villagers initially gheraoed the legislator’s vehicle and then took him to a hut and temporarily held him hostage, until his securitymen freed him and whisked him away, as some villagers even pelted stones at the MLA’S speeding vehicle.

Earlier, a five-member Congress delegation, led by state president Madan Mohan Jha and Bihar in-charge Birendra Singh Rathore blamed the state government for its failure to tone up healthcare, leading to AES deaths. The Congress said it was high time that the central team of experts should unravel the reason behind AES. The disease has been recurring every year since 1995.

Battling with the management of AES, the state health department placed under suspension Dr Bhimsen Kumar, a senior resident in the department of paediatrics at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for dereliction of duty. His suspension order, issued by the undersecretary of the state health department on Saturday, said Dr Kumar was absent from duty during an inspection of SKMCH late on June 20.

While placing him under suspension, the government also decided to terminate his residency tenure. A separate order, initiating departmental proceedings against the doctor would be issued later, the order said. Dr Kumar had been sent on deputation from PMCH to SKMCH on June 19.

Madhya Pradesh health officials are on alert after a man said doctors at a private hospital told him his eight-year-old son, who died on Sunday, was suffering from AES. “The doctors at the community health centre at Khategoan told me that my son was suffering from brain fever. I took him to a private hospital where a doctor said that he might be suffering from Chamki Bukhar [as AES is known locally in MP]. I admitted him to MY Hospital Saturday and he died on Sunday,” the boy’s father Ibrahim Khan said.

The doctors at MY Hospital did not confirm if the child was suffering from AES as they were still awaiting his reports. They said the boy had a viral fever but was not suffering from malnourishment, one of the underlying causes of death due to AES.

State health minister Tulsi Silawat said the boy’s blood samples will be sent to Pune’s National Institute of Virology to ascertain if he died due to AES. “A team of health department was also sent to the boy’s village to organise a camp and check the possibility of spread of the disease,” said Silawat.

Eating ant eggs for survival, says jobless farmer and Padma Shri awardee

BHUBANESWAR, June 24: Impoverished tribal farmer Daitari Nayak who was awarded the Padma Shri this year for digging a 3-km long canal through a mountain in Odisha wants to return the award saying it has proved to be a roadblock to make a living.

Nayak, a 75-year-old farmer of Talabaitarani village in mineral-rich Kenojhar district was awarded the Padma Shri early this year after his exploits of digging through the Gonasika mountains came to the fore. Armed with a hoe and a crowbar, Nayak dug through the moutainous roads between 2010 and 2013 that resulted in irrigation of 100 acre land in his area. Padma Shri is India’s fourth highest civilian award.

But the honour that followed seems to have pushed him to penury. ‘’Padma Shri award did not help me in any way. Earlier I used to get work as a daily labourer. People are not giving me any work as they think it is below my dignity. We are now surviving by eating ant eggs,” said Nayak. “I am now selling tendu leaves and ‘amba sadha’ (mango papad) to run my house. The award has lost all value for me. I want to return the award so that I can get some work.”

Nayak said it was difficult to run his large family with the meagre Rs 700 old age pension that he gets every month. The Indira Awas Yojana house he was allotted some years ago is lying incomplete forcing him to stay in his old thatched house. A frustrated Nayak has now hung the Padma Shri medal in his goatshed.

Nayak’s son Alekh who is also a labourer said the promises made to his father including construction of a road and stop erosion of the canal were not kept. “We were promised by officials that the rocky canal would be made a concrete one. Nothing happened,” he said. “My father is also frustrated that he is not able to anything for the people such as getting clean drinking water.”

Congress spokesperson Satya Prakash Nayak said the tribal farmer’s plight has showed how hollow was the promise of Odisha government to farmers. “Naveen Patnaik started Kalia scheme for farmers. But his administration cannot do anything for a farmer who dug up a canal for irrigation. This is pathetic,” said Nayak.

Keonjhar district collector Ashis Thakre said he would inquire into the causes as to why Nayak wants to return the award. “We would address his grievance and try to persuade him against returning the award,” he said.

Congress hits reboot in UP after crushing defeat, dissolves district panels

LUCKNOW, June 24: The Congress has dissolved all its district committees in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect, the first in the series of action being taken by the party after its crushing defeat in the national election. The Congress is also setting up a three-member committee to examine complaints of ‘gross indiscipline’ in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a move that is seen to follow up on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s message to party cadre that she will identify those who ‘did not work’ in the Lok Sabha elections.

Moves are also afoot for a major organizational revamp in the state party with Congress Legislature Party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu being appointed as the party’s in-charge to make organisational changes in east UP for ‘a defined period’ during which the changes will be effected.

“AICC has approved the proposals submitted by general secretaries in-charge for UP east and west,” said AICC general secretary KC Venugopal in a press statement. Both Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotirditya Scindia, general secretary in-charge of UP east and west respectively, had earlier this month held joint and separate meetings with senior party leaders, party’s office bearers, candidates and coordinators for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

After reviewing party’s performance in New Delhi, Priyanka held meetings with party workers of east UP in Rae Bareli on June 12, while Jyotiraditya met party workers of west UP at separate meetings in New Delhi and at Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) headquarters here on June 14.

A two-member team will oversee poll preparations and management on the 12 assembly seats where by-elections are due in coming months.

A decision on appointment of Congress’s in-charge for west UP will be taken soon by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (in-charge for west UP) Jyotiraditya Scindia, said Venugopal.

After Priyanka’s entry in politics, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had tasked both Priyanka and Jyotiraditya to build up party organization to ensure that a Congress government was formed in 2022 in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Raj Babbar has already offered to resign owing responsibility for party’s debacle in 2019 polls in the state. A decision about dissolving the Pradesh Congress Committee, however, has not been taken and there are indications that the party may decide to constitute a new committee once the organizational revamp takes shape at the grass roots level.

India's CJI seeks increase in number of SC judges

NEW DELHI, June 22: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to increase the strength of judges and raise the retirement age of high court judges to 65 years.

The primary reason cited by the CJI for increasing the strength of judges was that the apex court already had a huge backlog of cases, with 58,669 cases pending before it. Gogoi’s letter also says that in important cases dealing with questions of law, Constitution benches were not being formed because there was a shortage of judges.

"I request you to kindly consider, on top priority, to augment the judge-strength in the SC appropriately so that it can function more efficiently and effectively as it will go a long way to attain ultimate goal of rendering timely justice to the litigant public," wrote Gogoi.

Moreover, the CJI has also sought for retired Supreme Court and High Court justices to be given tenure appointments under Articles 128 and 224A of the Constitution so that they can aid the clearing of the backlog of litigation.

Bihar's Encephalitis Toll Reaches 139

PATNA/MUZAFFARPUR, June 21: Three more children with symptoms of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) died at a hospital in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Friday taking the number of deaths to 139.

According to the Muzaffarpur district administration, all the three deaths were reported from the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, which alone has accounted for 104 casualties since June 1.

The Bihar health department had on Thursday released state-wide figures putting the total number of deaths following the outbreak, which has spread across 16 districts, at 136.

With the latest three casualties the number of deaths rose to 139, though unconfirmed reports claim that the number has crossed 150.

Hundreds of children are admitted to hospitals -- mostly at Muzaffarpur's SKMCH and privately-owned Kejriwal hospital -- for treatment of AES which is characterized by sudden onset of high fever and convulsions.

The high number of deaths this year has been blamed on hypoglycemia or sudden drop in blood sugar levels, which some experts attribute to malnutrition and consumption of unripe litchi -- a fruit grown in abundance in north Bihar -- on an empty stomach and failure to administer glucose within four hours of the onset of fever and other symptoms.

The Muzaffarpur administration said that 13.5 lakh packets of oral rehydration solution (ORS) have been distributed across the district and health workers are carrying out an intensive awareness programme, as part of which 8.5 lakh pamphlets have been distributed.

In Patna, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar refused to take queries from journalists when they tried to seek his reaction on the outbreak which had rocked both Houses of parliament.

Kumar was approached with queries outside the state Assembly premises which he had visited to accompany Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha by-poll.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Bhai Virendra alleged that Kumar's reproach to photo and video journalists inside the Returning Officer's chamber - when they started leaning on the backs of officials present inside - was "nothing else but giving vent to frustration over his government's inability to control the epidemic and having nothing to say to the media on the issue".

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, who also heads the state BJP unit, told reporters, "Our party has resolved to do its bit and all BJP Lok Sabha members in the state shall be donating Rs 25 lakh to the Sadar hospitals in their respective constituencies for setting up of a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)".

The state BJP office also circulated copies of a letter by Rai, dated June 19, whereby he informed the collector of Samastipur district -- wherein his constituency Ujiyarpur falls -- that he has decided to contribute Rs. 25 lakh from his MPLAD fund for PICU.

The BJP has the highest number of 17 Lok Sabha members in Bihar where the total number of seats is 40.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, at a pre-budget meeting of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with finance ministers of states, raised the issue of AES outbreak and sought a grant of Rs 100 crore for setting up a 100-bed pediatric ICU, a research centre and building a new AIIMS besides upgrading the state's medical colleges to a level comparable with the AIIMS.

Death toll in Muzaffarpur due to encephalitis rises to 104

PATNA, June 18: The number of children who have succumbed to suspected Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur rose to 104 on Monday even as the National Human Rights Commission issued notices to the Union Health ministry and the State government over the increasing number of deaths due to encephalitis.

Separately, the State government ordered the closure of all schools till June 24 as it tries to minimise the toll from a heatwave that has claimed as many as 90 lives till Monday. In Gaya, the district administration enforced Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure people stay indoors and are not exposed to the blistering heat.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held meeting with top State and health department officials to take stock of the situation soon after his return from New Delhi. Earlier, Kumar had announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh to the families of those who had died due to encephalitis and heat stroke in the State.

A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is likely to visit Muzaffarpur on Tuesday to monitor the treatment of children hospitalised with AES.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to heat stroke in the districts of the State’s Magadh region including Aurangabad, Nawada, Gaya, Jehanabad, Rohtas and Arrah climbed to almost 90.

“Though there is no official figure on this yet, but, yes not less than 90 people have died in these districts in last four days due to intense heatwave,” said a health department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Aurangabad and Gaya have been worst hit. State health minister Mangal Pandey visited the government hospital in Gaya and met patients suffering from heat stroke. More than two dozen people have died in Gaya district alone due to the heatwave.

Gaya district magistrate Abhishek Singh also issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 to compel the public to stay indoors in order to avoid the heatwave. The district administration also banned construction and other outdoor activities that involve intense manual labour between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the district. “Any work related to MGNREGA too will not be done after 10:30 a.m.”, the Gaya district administration said in its order.

“Situation in other districts of south-west Bihar too is alarming as government hospitals there are crammed with patients suffering heat stroke,” the health department official added.

For the last four days, south-west parts of Bihar, including Patna, have been reeling under 45° Celsius heat and meteorology department official Anand Shankar told The Hindu over phone that “heatwave is likely to continue in these districts until June 22… after that some rain showers may bring in some relief.”

BJP picks Om Birla for Speaker

NEW DELHI, June 18: The Bharatiya Janata party has named Kota MP Om Birla as its candidate for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. BJP said that they have spoken to the Congress and the party will not oppose Birla's candidature.

Birla is just a second term MP and the BJP leadership ignored many veterans to choose the 56-year-old MP of Kota in Rajasthan. Birla won his first parliamentary election in 2014 and got re-elected from the desert state that the BJP swept despite losing the last year’s assembly election.

Om Birla is a three-term member of Rajasthan assembly, and has worked closely with former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. He was a parliamentary secretary to the government of Rajasthan between 2004 and 2008.

Considered close to Home Minister Amit Shah, Om Birla was also the national vice president of BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha, that he had once headed in Rajasthan for six years. Birla has earned for himself the reputation of a social worker who helped differently-abled persons and helpless women.

He led a relief team of more than 100 voluntary workers including doctors to help the victims of Gujarat earthquake in January 2001. He was also imprisoned during movement to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The BJP polled 58.47% votes in Rajasthan, second highest after Himachal Pradesh, and the overwhelming support reflected in the union council of ministers, which has 3 members from the desert state. While Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is a cabinet minister; Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kailash Choudhary are ministers of state in the union government. Birla is the fourth leader from the state to get a ‘position of prominence’, a senior BJP leader said.

“The generational change that happened in the BJP is also reflected in Birla’s appointment,” the leader said. Birla’s predecessor Sumitra Mahajan was 76 and she did not contest election this time. Many other veterans such as Sushma Swaraj, Maneka Gandhi and Suresh Prabhu did not a ministerial position when PM Modi put his new team together.

“Many leaders unknown to Delhi’s power corridor got ministerial position,” a second leader said. “There is a message in it.”

The BJP on Monday appointed 58-year-old Rajya Sabha member JP Nadda – among the GenX leaders of the party – as its working president. He will be formally appointed as party chief after organisational elections are complete in January.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is Congress leader in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI, June 18: The Congress on Tuesday named Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, its five-time MP from Bengal’s Berhampore as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, a day after the Budget session of Parliament began.

After a lengthy meeting of the Parliamentary Core Committee in the morning at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s house, the party wrote to the secretary general of the Lok Sabha, informing him of its decision of entrusting Chowdhury with the responsibility of taking up all matters of the party in Parliament.

Sources said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, Thiravanthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Mavelikkara MP Kodikunnil Suresh were also in the running for the post. Party leaders were also keen to have Rahul Gandhi lead in the Parliament.

The 63-year-old Chowdury said he will continue to fight got the Congress. “I have been given this responsibility (the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha). I was asked to stand in the front. I said okay. I am a foot soldier and foot soldiers stand in front. So I will fight as a foot soldier,” he said.

A party leader said that Chowdhury’s appointment as Lok Sabha floor leader was also necessitated by the need for the party to rebuild itself in the east. “The party’s president is from south India, but the Congress now needs to work on the states in the east,” said the leader. Chowdhury is the party’s lone Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal where Assembly elections are scheduled in 2021.

Although the Congress is the largest party opposition party in the Lok Saba with 52 members, it fell short by three members to be accorded Leader of Opposition status.

Chowdhury has been representing Berhampore since 1999. He is also the president of the Bengal unit of the Congress. The Congress which had won four of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014, managed to win only one this time with Chowdhury retaining his seat.

Chowdhury replaces Mallikarjun Kharge who was the Congress floor leader in the last Lok Sabha . Kharge lost the elections this time from Karnataka’s Gulbarga.

Jaish operative, owner of car used in Pulwama attack, killed in Anantnag encounter

SRINAGAR, June 18: An Army soldier was killed in a gunfight with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag on Tuesday. Two Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives were also gunned down in the encounter. One of them has been identified as Sajjad Bhat, the owner of the vehicle used in the Pulwama terror attack of February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

Tawseef Ahmed Bhat, who is also linked to the Pulwama attack, was the other militant killed on Tuesday.

Sajjad Bhat of Bijbehara was the owner of the Maruti Eeco, laden with 25kg of explosives, used in the Pulwama terror attack. Investigators of the NIA had said Bhat, a student of a madrasa in Shopian, had been missing a few days before the attack.

The exchange of fire in Marahom village of Anantnag district on Tuesday took place after the joint force had started a cordon and search operation following intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area earlier in the day. The militants fired at the security personnel killing a soldier and injuring two others. The injured have been shifted to a hospital.

The army said that weapons and warlike stores have been found from the encounter site.

The army and other forces have stepped up security across the valley, especially in the militant hotbed of south Kashmir, after the CPRF troopers were killed in the Pulwama strike, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

The moves involved changes to protocols for how troops are moved in these areas, with mass movements and repeated use of the same stretch or at predictable timings being identified as vulnerabilities.

On Monday, Major Ketan Sharma from the 44 Rashtriya Rifles was killed and Major Rahul Verma was injured during a gunfight that also left a militant dead in south Kashmir’s Anantnag.

The incident came less than a week after another terror attack in the town that claimed the lives of five Central Reserve Police Force troopers and one police officer.

In a separate incident, around a dozen soldiers were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) ripped through an army patrol in Pulwama district on Monday evening. Two soldiers who were injured in the blast in Arihal succumbed to injuries on Tuesday, the army said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incidents, which come at a time of heightened security over the Amarnath Yatra that is due to begin on July 1.

Security forces have killed 113 militants this year so far, including some top commanders of militant outfits in different parts of Kashmir. After the February attack, more than 85 militants have been killed and 26 security personnel have lost their lives.

Modi sets goal to make India 5 trillion dollar economy

NEW DELHI, June 15: Soon after his return form the SCO summit in Bishkek, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Satuyrday unveiled his vision of the Indian economy in his address at the Niti aayog’s first meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Modi said the goal to make India a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024. The PM noted that the task was challenging but achievable.

29 children dead in Bihar due to suspected acute encephalitis

PATNA, June 12: Alarmed over deaths of children in various north Bihar districts due to symptoms akin to that of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), a seven-member team of experts from the central government is arriving here soon to find out exact reasons for the epidemic.

More than 29 children have died in Muzaffapur and its adjoining districts like Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Motihari this season. About 19 deaths in this season were reported from the SKMCH in Muzaffapur alone, while 10 children suffering from the symptoms of AES died at Kejriwal Maternity Clinic (KMC), Muzaffarpur.

Principal secretary (health) Sanjay Kumar said the experts would visit the affected areas to take stock of the situation and suggest effective measures to deal with it. “So far, no death has been confirmed due to Japanese encephalitis (JE). About 80% of the deaths were caused due to hypoglycemia,” he said, adding that as many as 222 primary health centres (PHCs) of 12 districts had been stocked with medicines and equipped with other facilities to treat AES cases.

Following deaths of more than 40 children in 2012 due to similar symptoms, the Centre had set up a group of ministers (GoM) and sent a team of experts.

The experts had a consultation with local medical experts at Patna AIIMS and later stipulated a standard operating practice (SOP) to follow to contain fatalities. The then Union health minister Harsh Vardhan had also visited Bihar.

On Monday, state’s health minister Mangal Pandey also met Vardhan, who is holding the health portfolio in the Union cabinet.

The principal secretary said that pediatric intensive care units had been opened at seven government hospitals, including at Darbhanga, Muzaffapur, Gaya and Patna, to deal with the situation. Additionally, three other government hospitals have also been equipped with PICU to attend to AES affected children.

Modi guarantees brighter India

TIRUPATI, June 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took a veiled dig at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying the top opposition leader could not still come out of the impact of election results which showed “weakness.”

The Prime Minister asserted that his party-led government would further accelerate work for the betterment of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu people though the BJP could not win Lok Sabha polls in these two States.

“Given the huge mandate we got, some people think expectations and aspirations (on the government) have increased.

They also wonder what can Modi do. We should see it as India’s fortune and a great opportunity. I see it as a guarantee for a brighter India,” he said.

Modi addressed a thanks-giving public meeting organized by the Andhra Pradesh BJP at Renigunta near here.

Apparently taking potshots at Rahul Gandhi over his recent comments in Wayanad that Modi’s election campaign was filled with “lies, poison and hatred”, the Prime Minister remarked that some people could not still come out of the impact of election results.

“That is their weakness. For us the chapter of elections has ended. A new chapter of serving the 130 crore people of the country has opened for us,” Modi said.

Noting that strong governments were formed at the Centre as well as in Andhra Pradesh, the Prime Minister wished the state would surge ahead on the development path under the leadership of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“AP has infinite possibilities for growth. We will fully extend all co-operation from the Centre for the development of the state,” the Prime Minister assured.

Modi made a special mention of Tamil Nadu, along with AP, thanking people of the two states for playing a crucial role in strengthening democracy.

“Whether or not we secured victory here, our objective always is to serve the people.

We (BJP) are a dedicated system of workers and I am a part of it. Even after the elections, we will not lower our efforts to ensure happiness of people and betterment of their lives.

We will increase our efforts in this regard at the Centre and will especially show it in AP and Tamil Nadu,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he has confidence in 130 crore Indians.

“With their contribution and support, I am confident we can give a new direction to the country,” he said.

Two good occasions beckoned the country in the near future, Modi pointed out, referring to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in October 2019 and the 75th anniversary of the nation’s Independence in 2022.

“These are two important occasions that could be inspirational, which the country should not miss.

They give us a chance to recall the sacrifices of the freedom fighters and take a pledge for doing something for the country,” he said.

He sought the blessings of Lord Venkateswara to realise the dreams of 130 crore people of India and said States and the Centre should work together towards this and create a New India.

“When we dream of a New India, we also wish that every state also should progress in the same manner. Only then can we build a New India. Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, jisme raajyom ka bhi saath, jan saamanya ka bhi saath.

Jan saamanya ka vikas, rajyom ka vikas. We are moving ahead with that determination towards making this a reality,” Modi said.

“If that happens, I am sure, we will succeed in the right earnest and prosper,” the Prime Minister added.

Observing that winning elections was the aim only in the electoral battlefield, the Prime Minister said winning people’s hearts should be the constant endeavour, “all 365 days a year.” The government, Modi pointed out, should be useful only for building the nation and not the party.

“This is not our nature, nor are we used to it. In the last five years, people have seen a government that is solely committed to the welfare of Bharat Mata.

Hence, they gave us a renewed mandate to serve them for the second time,” he added.

Over 500 men try to force women dancers to strip at cultural event in Assam

GUWAHATI, June 10: A mob of over 500 men allegedly tried to force women dancers of a troupe to strip during a cultural programme in Assam’s Kamrup district, following which police arrested two persons involved in the incident, officials said Sunday.

The two men, Shahrukh Khan and Subahan Khan, were arrested on Sunday after a case was filed on the basis of a complaint registered by the cultural troupe against the organisers of the programme, which was held at a village under Chaygaon Police Station limits.

The dancers of the group were heckled by the spectators who demanded that they strip and dance, according to the FIR. The dancers managed to escape from the programme at Asolpara and their vehicles were also pelted with stones, it added.

It was alleged that the organisers had sold tickets to people at very high rates claiming that the troupe was coming from Coochbehar in West Bengal to perform strip dances on Friday.

Police said further investigations are underway and a hunt is on to nab others involved in the incident.

Outrage as three more minor girls raped in UP, two in MP

LUCKNOW, June 10: A series of heinous crime cases, especially those of rape, with victims being minor girls were reported from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, with three cases coming from UP, where people are still in shock after the brutal murder of a three-year-old in Aligarh’s Tappal village.

In the three cases in Uttar Pradesh, a 12-year-old girl was dragged from her house and allegedly gang-raped by six men in Kushinagar district, a 15-year-old was allegedly raped by a teacher inside a seminary in Kanpur, and the unclothed body of seven-year-old girl was found in a field on Sunday in Jalaun.

In Madhya Pradesh, a 10-year-old girl, who went missing from a slum in Bhopal on Saturday night, was raped and murdered, police said. In the second case in MP, a 16-year-old boy was detained for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in a village in Jabalpur district on Sunday.

In UP’s Kushinagar district, six men allegedly dragged a 12-year-old girl out of her home and raped her on Friday evening, the police said on Sunday. The suspects were allegedly embroiled in a dispute with the girl’s family over construction of a drain. A first information report was lodged on Sunday, two days after the incident. Four of the six suspects have been arrested. Two are on the run. The victim was undergoing treatment at a hospital, police said.

Meanwhile, a madrasa teacher allegedly raped a 15-year-old Class 9 student inside a seminary in Kanpur on Sunday.

The alleged rapist was arrested after the victim’s parents approached the police and lodged an FIR. The accused has been charged under POCSO act, apart from charges of rape, the police said.

In Jalaun, the naked body of a seven-year-old girl was found in a field on Sunday, leading to suspicion about possibility of rape. Jalaun superintendent of police (SP) Swami Prasad said a case of murder has been registered on complaint of the girl’s father and the body had been sent for a post-mortem analysis.

In the case from Bhopal, the body of a 10-year-old girl who went missing from a slum on Saturday night was found in a sewer on Sunday morning hardly 20 metres away from her home, said police. According to the post-mortem report, she was strangulated to death after the rape, said police. As many as seven police personnel were suspended after the girl’s family complained that the police did not act promptly on their complaint.

The cases prompted Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati to hit out at the state government. In a statement on Sunday, Akhilesh Yadav said there had been an alarming increase in crime, including rape of minor girls, since the Lok Sabha poll results were declared last month. “Uttar Pradesh has become a crime state,” he said.

“First Aligarh, then in Hamirpur a minor girl was abducted, raped, and murdered. People are unnerved, angry and agitated over the incidents. To prevent such incidents, the society and the government need to be more strict,” Maywati tweeted.

Rape of married woman is different: UP minister

GONDA (Uttar Pradesh), June 10: Water Resources, Forest and Environment Minister Upendra Tiwari on Sunday came out with a new classification of the heinous crime - rape, saying that “rape has its nature and rape of a married woman is different.”

When asked to comment on the incidents of rape in the state, Tiwari, while talking to media persons here, said: “Rape has got its nature. Rape of a minor is rape, but when you come across an incident where a middle-aged woman is raped, it is different.”

The minister’s comment comes at a time when Uttar Pradesh is reeling under a spate of rape incidents, including the killing of two and a half years old girl in Aligarh over some financial dispute. The main accused, Zahid, has been arrested by the police.

Referring to the recent arrest of a journalist for allegedly making ‘objectionable’ statements against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Tiwari said: “The journalists are responsible for what they disseminate in the form of news.”

“Every media person should check the facts before publishing anything on social media. If the woman has any facts to prove her claims, let her show those proofs,” he said.

A freelance journalist, Prashant Kanojia, was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday for making certain ‘objectionable comments’ against Chief Minister Adityanath on social media and for ‘spreading rumours.’

He had allegedly uploaded a video on Twitter in which a woman is heard making some claims about Adityanath. Kanojia had posted a comment with the video, that says “Ishq Chhupta Nahi Chhupane Se Yogi ji.”

Kanojia has been booked Sections 500 (defamation), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).

Nitish Kumar expands cabinet, no space for ally BJP

PATNA, June 2: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday inducted eight new ministers in his cabinet, all from the JD(U). Allies BJP and LJP were left out of the cabinet expansion.

After the cabinet expansion, Nitish Kumar said the BJP was offered a berth but it was not too keen. He tried to play down speculations of a rift between the BJP and the JD(U). “There was large number of vacancies in the JD-U quota. The quota of allies with departments is decided at the very outset. At present only JD-U’s quota has been filled as the house session is on the cards and some key portfolios were vacant. All these portfolios were with JD-U,” he said.

Bihar deputy CM and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi seconded Kumar and said the party was indeed offered a berth. “The BJP decided to fill it in future,” Sushil Modi tweeted.

The Bihar cabinet expansion came just two days after Nitish Kumar opted out of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government after disagreement over berths. The JD(U) was offered a single berth in the Union cabinet but Kumar refused it saying that representation should be proportional to the strength of the parties in Parliament.

The JD(U) chief was present for the oath-taking ceremony of Modi and his ministers on forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

The JD(U) rules Bihar in alliance with the BJP. The Nitish Kumar-led party had won 16 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the BJP won 17. The JD(U) was not part of the Modi government in the last tenure and had walked out of the Congress –Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance in Bihar in 2017 to be part of the NDA.

After the present expansion, three berths have remained vacant – one each of JD-U, BJP and the LJP. JD-U had nine vacancies and it has now filled eight of them. Bihar can have a maximum of 36 ministers, including the CM, as per the House strength. As per the provision, the cabinet strength in no case can exceed 15% of the strength of the Legislative Assembly.

In the new expansion, first since Kumar switched over from grand alliance to NDA, caste calculations have been kept in mind with two berths each going to upper castes, backwards, EBCs and Dalits. The caste configuration is apparently aimed at getting the equation right for 2020 assembly polls. Bima Bharti is the sole woman in the Nitish cabinet. After the resignation of former social welfare minister Manju Verma last year, there was no woman in the cabinet.

Governor Lalji Tandon administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at Raj Bhavan. This is the second time in two years when Nitish Kumar expanded his cabinet. On July 29, 2017, he has inducted 27 ministers from all three NDA constituents, the JD(U), the BJP and the LJP.