Month: April 2022

A Nepal-based racketeer this week was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment after almost eight years of his involvement in a case linked to the recovery of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Abi Mohammed Ansar, a resident of Hariharpur in the Simraungarh area of Nepal’s Bara district, was awarded five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 by an NIA Special Court on Wednesday here in a case pertaining to the seizure of high-quality FICN seized from Indira Gandhi International Airport on April 18, 2014.

The NIA said that Ansar was caught with high-quality FICN of Rs 1,000 denomination having a face value of Rs 49,88,000 by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) from IGI Airport on April 18, 2014, which was re-registered by the NIA on June 25, 2014.

The NIA filed a charge sheet in the case against two accused persons on January 2, 2015, and subsequently, a supplementary chargesheet was filed against three accused persons on November 23, 2017.

Earlier, on April 4 this year, the NIA Special Court, New Delhi had convicted one accused in the case. (ANI)

University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) advised Indian students not to travel to Pakistan for pursuing higher education while stating that such degrees wouldn’t be recognised in India.

Secretary of UGC and Member Secretary, AICTE in joint advisory said that any Indian national/overseas citizen of India who intends to take admission in any degree college or educational institution of Pakistan shall not be eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India on the basis of such educational qualifications (in any subject) acquired in Pakistan.
The UGC and AICTE further informed students, “However, migrants and their children who have acquired higher education degrees in Pakistan and were awarded citizenship by India would be eligible for seeking employment in India after obtaining Security Clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.”

All India Council for Technical Education Chairperson Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe told ANI that there are many such institutes that are not good and the experience that has come with China and Ukraine after studying abroad, children get stuck after half of their education, that’s why it is necessary to warn the students and parents.

The AICTE further told ANI that after completing half of their education while coming to India, when the students would not get the benefit of that degree, the parent’s money goes waste. “So, the purpose is to caution the students,” he said. (ANI)

Security arrangements have been strengthened ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir’s Palli on Sunday.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address panchayats across the country on ‘Panchayati Raj Diwas’ tomorrow.
Every year, April 24 is celebrated as the National Panchayati Raj Day.

The Prime minister will address a gathering including more than 30,000 Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members of Jammu and Kashmir while PRIs from across the country will be connected virtually for the Prime Minister’s address.

Palli panchayat is in the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The date – April 24, 1993 – marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of power to the grassroots, with the institutionalization of Panchayati Raj, through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force with effect from that day.

Panchayat Palli in Jammu has been selected for the Panchayati Raj Diwas function this year and an exhibition showcasing the latest innovations will be put up enabling farmers, sarpanchs and village heads to improve their income and their produce.

Amongst important innovations that are planned to be showcased, are geospatial technology for rural development and farmers, apps usable by farmers for weather forecast for five days, lavender cultivation famously known as purple revolution, biotechnology innovation to increase the production of apple on the same land to increase farmers’ income, drone application for pesticide spray and waste treatment, the shelf life of fruits to be increased through atomic radiation, etc. (ANI)

The Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust in Mathura has stopped using loudspeakers to broadcast prayers of Lord Shri Krishna while complying with the direction of the Uttar Pradesh government.

The temple trust took the decision to stop using the loudspeakers on Wednesday. The decision came in response to the state government’s guidelines issued on Tuesday on the use of loudspeakers. The secretary of the temple trust Kapil Sharma said that the loudspeakers have been turned off since Wednesday.
The loudspeakers were installed on the top of the Bhagwat Bhawan.

Speaking to ANI on Friday, Sharma said, “We have stopped the use of loudspeakers as per the orders of the state government. This decision has been taken to maintain communal harmony here. Soon arrangements will be made to ensure that the sound from the loudspeaker remains within the temple premises only.”

However, a few devotees at the venue expressed their reservations against the decision. A devotee told ANI, “As per the Hindu traditions, it is believed that if you listen to these prayers on loudspeakers, you get God’s blessings while also finding a divine connection.”

“I do not feel happy following the decision to switch off the loudspeakers,” said another devotee.

On April 21, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that permission would be required to use loudspeakers at religious places. He also said that the sound of the loudspeakers must not be heard outside the premises. (ANI)

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jammu Zone Mukesh Singh on Friday said that the two Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists eliminated by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sunjwan were planning to inflict heavy damage.

Singh also added that the “intervention of intelligence agencies and security forces” helped avert major damage.
Speaking to ANI, the ADGP said, “With the kind of vest (IED vest) they were wearing it is clear that they had come here to inflict heavy damage and their designs were quite nefarious but with the timely intervention of intelligence agencies and the security forces, this major disaster has been averted.”

Briefing ANI about the incident, he said that an area in Sunjwan was cordoned based on inputs received by intelligence agencies in the wee hours of Friday.

“We maintained the cordon throughout the night. At around 4 am, terrorists tried to sneak out and attacked police personnel in which five personnel got injured,” Singh said.

Further, he added that the security forces had managed to keep the terrorists in the cordoned area, after which a search operation was launched and both the terrorists were killed.

“We have recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition and an IED vest. We’ve now cleared the site and operation is now formally over,” ADGP said.

Two terrorists were neutralised by security forces during an encounter that took place in the wee hours on Friday in Jammu’s Sunjwan area.

Two AK-47 rifles, arms and ammunition, satellite phones and some documents were recovered from them.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Friday said that the killed terrorists could be a part of a “big conspiracy” to sabotage Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the union territory.

According to the police, the terrorists killed were planning a suicide attack in any area with heavily deployed security.

PM Modi’s visit to Jammu’s Samba is scheduled on Sunday (April 24), on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Diwas, to address the panchayats of the country from Palli, Jammu and Kashmir.

He also stated, “The sudden launch of terrorists in the area and their immediate action for the task assigned makes it appear like a fresh infiltration, as no terrorism background was found.” (ANI)

The ongoing war in Ukraine has led to a humanitarian disaster with over 5 million people fleeing the country apart from civilian deaths and military casualties for both Ukraine and Russia. Devastating pictures of destruction and death have come out of Ukraine due to the war.

Russia has claimed victory in the battle for the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol but not much is known about Russian causalities in the war that began in the last week of February. There have been reports of Russia imposing an extra level of secrecy about its war losses.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine on Friday gave figures about the scale of losses suffered by Russia in the course of what Moscow calls “military action” in Ukraine.

According to MFA-Ukraine, the Russian military might have lost as many as 21,200 soldiers.

In terms of military equipment, the Russian losses seem heavy too. MFA-Ukraine said Russia has lost 2,162 armoured personnel vehicles, 176 aircraft, 153 helicopters, 838 tanks, and 1,523 other vehicles.

The Russian losses include UAVs, Short-Range Ballistic missiles (SRBM) systems, and several boats and the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, Moskva. (ANI)

After a 300-year old temple was bulldozed in Rajasthan’s Alwar, District Magistrate Shivprasad Nakate on Friday said that a “consensus” decision was taken during the municipality meeting to remove the illegal encroachments present on the roadside.

He further claimed that before the encroachment drive, the temple priests shifted the idols to another place.

“A consensus decision was taken during the municipality meeting to remove the illegal encroachments present on the roadside. Before the encroachment drive, the temple priests shifted the idols to another place,” Nakate told ANI.

A 300-year-old Shiva temple was demolished using bulldozers in Sarai Mohalla, Alwar district. A complaint has been registered at Rajgarh Police Station in connection with the matter.

A 300-year-old Shiva temple, 86 shops and homes were demolished with bulldozers in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Sunday, to clear the way for a road.

Rajasthan Congress has alleged that Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister when BJP had promised a road called the “Gaurav Path” at the spot where the demolitions took place.

Earlier today, BJP Rajasthan president Dr Satish Poonia said, “I have constituted a 5-member committee for the factual investigation of the Rajgarh (Alwar) temple case. This committee will go to the spot, prepare a factual report and submit the report to me.” (ANI)

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that India has emerged as the world’s largest pharmacy and vaccine manufacturing country.

“Today, we are pharmacy of the World and India is also the largest vaccine manufacturing country. We’ve exported more than 17 crore of vaccine doses to over 100 countries. Vaccination drive is also moving forward in India,” Mandaviya said during a press briefing on the announcement about the 7th edition of the India Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Conference 2022, which is being scheduled from April 25 to April 27.

The Union Minister said during the COVID-induced lockdown India fulfilled the requirement of the country and also supplied medicines to 150 countries.

“We globally fulfilled the requirements of pharma, the health sector isn’t a business but also a service, during lockdown also we fulfilled the requirement of the country and also supplied medicines to 150 countries,” he added.

Mandaviya further said that the Indian vaccines are more affordable as compared to other countries and many countries are showing interest in our vaccines.

“Indian pharma industry is known globally for its affordable and quality drugs. We shall soon get the competitive edge in medical devices too with research and innovation,” he added.

This year, India Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Conference 2022, is planned around the theme: ‘India Pharma-Vision 2047: Transformative agenda for future’. For India Medical Device, the theme is ‘Transforming Healthcare through Innovation and Integrated Services’.

The discussions planned in a span of 3 days will bring in new opportunities and ideas to make Indian the global leader in quality medicines and to ensure the availability, accessibility, and affordability of drugs and medical devices in the country. (ANI)

The national capital reported 1,042 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours (77 more than yesterday), the highest since February 10 this year, according to the health bulletin by the Delhi government on Friday.

The city had reported 1,104 cases on February 10.

With this, the active cases in the national capital breached the 3,000 mark and currently stand at 3,253. This is the highest since February 15 when the active cases in the city stood at 3,397.

The daily case positivity rate of the city stands at 4.64 per cent.

As many as 757 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic in the city to 18,43,282.

Two patients succumbed to the virus during this period. The death toll in the city climbs to 26,164.

As many as 22,442 COVID samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Under the vaccination programme of the government, 47,064 beneficiaries were vaccinated during this period taking the cumulative vaccine doses jabbed to 3,30,59,731.

Meanwhile, India’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise as the country reported 2,451 fresh COVID-19 cases (71 cases higher than yesterday) with 54 fatalities on Friday. (ANI)

A blast occurred in the mosque of Afghanistan’s Imam Sahib district of Kunduz, killing at least 33 people including children and 43 wounded, Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban said.

“At least 33 people including children were killed and 43 were wounded in the mosque attack in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz, Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Twitter. Condemning the attack, he said efforts are ongoing to bring the perpetrators to justice,” TOLOnews reported.

A blast took place on Friday at the Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque in the Imam Sahib district of northern Kunduz province in Afghanistan.

Hafiz Omar, police chief of Imam Sahib district of Kunduz, said that this afternoon a blast took place at the Mawlawi Sikandar Mosque in the district, TOLOnews reported.

Earlier, security sources and eyewitnesses said that over 30 people were killed and injured in the incident, TOLOnews reported.

The victims were taken to the district hospital.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, blasts and attacks have become a regular affair.