Month: September 2022

The CBI on Monday refuted allegations made by Manish Sisodia on the alleged suicide of the agency’s deputy legal advisor and said that the “mischievous and misleading statement” by the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister “is an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing investigation in the Delhi Excise Policy case”.

CBI in a statement mentioned that Sisodia, an accused in the FIR pertaining to the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22, has alleged at a press conference that Jitendra Kumar, Deputy Legal Advisor in CBI, died by suicide because he was pressurized to make a strong false case against him.
“CBI strongly refutes this mischievous and misleading statement by Sisodia. It is clarified that the gentleman officer Late Jitendra Kumar was in no way connected with the investigation of this case,” the statement read.

The agency said that Kumar was Deputy Legal Advisor in charge of prosecution in which capacity he was supervising prosecutors who were conducting the trial of already chargesheeted cases in Delhi.

As per the Delhi Police, which is conducting an inquest into the death, the officer has not held anyone responsible for his death in his suicide note.

The Excise policy case is under investigation, the agency said. “As such no clean chit has been given to any of the accused.”

“The mischievous and misleading statement of Sisodia is an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing investigation in the Delhi Excise Policy case, and also amounts to interference in the inquest proceedings into the death of the gentleman officer,” CBI said.

On September 1, Kumar, 48, posted as a Deputy Legal Advisor with the CBI, was found dead at his house at Hudco Place in South Delhi.

Sisodia had addressed a press conference earlier in the day and alleged that “Kumar was managing the legal case involving the false FIR that was filed against me in the excise policy dispute”

“He (Jitendra Kumar) was looking after the legal matter of the fake FIR that has been lodged against me in the excise policy. The pressure was being put on him to make a wrong case and give legal approval to arrest me, which he was not giving permission to. There was so much pressure on him that he died by suicide.”

“It is painful that a CBI officer, who saw that the entire case against me was completely fake, was forced to give up his life,” he added.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta also accused Sisodia of trying to divert attention from the Delhi Excise Policy case.

“Manish Sisodia was trying to divert his involvement in Delhi excise policy case which he tried earlier also. The CBI today denied that Jitendra Kumar was handling the case at all and denied his (Sisodia’s) allegations also.” (ANI)

An 18-year-old boy named Nakul Kumar Das was apprehended by the PCR Van staff of PS Ranhola for the murder of a 40-year-old man.

PS Ranhola from Tarak Hospital received a call on Saturday, September 3 regarding the death of Jitender Mehto, a 40-year-old man, who hails from Delhi.
Post the Medico-Legal Case (MLC) it was revealed that the deceased was stabbed to death by someone at Tiranga chowk, Mohan Garden.

On further inquiry, it was revealed that the accused was under the influence of beer and have an altercation with the deceased while he was eating Momos near Tiranga Chowk he had an argument with the deceased, which led to a quarrel and thereafter he stabbed the deceased.

As per SHO Ranhola, the accused used a knife to stab the deceased, and the weapon of the offence has been recovered.

The accused was arrested under 302 of the Indian Penal Court.

Further probe on the investigation is awaited. (ANI)

The operational units of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in insurgency-hit areas and anti-terror operations will soon be able to use dogs for remote surveillance and sending equipment across camps, something that only the United States (US) Special Forces and Canadian Special Forces have been able to do so far.
This will happen through the procurement of K9 vision system and the Canine Remote Deployment System (CRDS).

A document accessed by the ANI reads that the operational Units of CRPF deployed in the IED prone region of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and Jammu and Kashmir are pressing hard for the provision of K9 teams. CRPF is in the process of procurement of working line breeding stock of K9s and pups of BSM (Belgian Shepherd Malinois).

The CRPF has released Qualitative Requirements and Trial Directives for the procurement of both systems.

“CRDS is a K9 mounted article delivered remotely as an UNDERDOG” attached to the release mechanism. The system is very effective in delivering a remotely wide range of articles i.e breaching charge, bugging devices, portable jammer, lifesaving medicines and technical gadgets inside the ‘Hot Zone’. The system proved to be extremely supportive in certain operational situations which are confronted quite often when human intervention is virtually impossible or not recommended in face of extreme threat. CRDS is currently used by Special Forces units of US and Canadian Special Forces in various operations,” read the document.

“The Weight of the payload should be maxing 80O grams. The system should be provided with a rugged, heavy-duty cover or casing for protection against damage or fall,” it added.

The paramilitary force is also evaluating the efficacy of another gadget called the K9 Vision System, a canine camera system. It is in used by Special Forces around the world.

The system contains a front and rear camera, night vision, collar, pouch and radio integration to ensure the handler is connected to K9. A high-quality video and radio transmission means working in real-time to maximize operational capabilities.

As per the requirement placed by the CRPF, the system should be provided with a remote capable of full control over a minimum range of 450m with a wrist screen facility.

The capabilities of both systems will be displayed to the committee before confirming their procurement in the force.

“The sniffing power of dogs is the biggest advantage for CRPF personnel during anti-naxal operations and anti- terror operations in J&K. Every Battalion in Naxal areas have 14 dogs and every time a team goes out on patrol, dogs move ahead of the team to detect any ambush, explosives or landmines. And deployment of CRDS and K9 vision systems will give more power to patrolling units in these affected areas,” said a senior CRPF officer.

However, the CRPF has already specified that they will only be procuring and deploying Belgian Shepherd (BSM) breeds in LWE and Jammu and Kashmir areas because of their sound sensitivity and sight sensitivity.

“BSM is the best police dog in the world. It is a tried and tested breed. Different organizations use different breeds as per their requirement. Some forces use Labrador and cocker spaniel as they are public friendly dogs used for sniffing in metro, airports and other public places,” CRPF officer added. (ANI)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will visit Delhi on Monday afternoon to work for Opposition unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

He is likely to meet Opposition leaders in the national capital in his bid to unite them to fight against BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
This will be the first visit of Kumar after he broke his alliance with the BJP and joined hands with Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and other parties to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in Bihar.

Before, embarking on a Delhi visit, the Janata Dal (United) held its two-day national executive and national council meeting.

While addressing the executive meeting, Kumar said, “If all (Opposition) parties fight together, the BJP will be packed or limited to about 50 seats. we will work on that. BJP has disrupted the social and communal harmony.”

While lashing out at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Kumar said, “Everything was going good after we broke the NDA alliance earlier, but then we made the mistake of joining hands with them again in 2017, due to which many people from some states parted ways from us. But now that we split again, many of them said good going.”

Meanwhile, various posters of Nitish Kumar projecting him as a prime ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha election were seen in Patna on Thursday.

The posters put up by JD(U) promised good governance, and gave the slogan ‘Pradesh mein dikha, desh mein dikhega’.

Taking a swipe at BJP, another poster carried the caption, “Jumla Nahi Haqiqat Hai” (No lies only reality).

Additionally, Tejashwi Yadav had earlier stated that Kumar could be a “strong candidate” for the Prime Minister’s post in the 2024 elections.

In 2020, the BJP-JD(U) fought election in an alliance and went on to form the government with Nitish Kumar being given the Chief Minister’s post.

In less than two years’ time, Nitish Kumar flipped his choices and in a surprise move went on to stitch an alliance with RJD and Congress to form a ‘Grand Alliance’ government in Bihar. (ANI)

Actor Kangana Ranaut recently made a shocking revelation about the life of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. She alleged that his ‘real name’ was not Mahesh, but ‘Aslam’.

Taking to Instagram Story, Kangana shared an old video of Mahesh Bhatt in a series of posts.
Along with the clips, the actor – who made her Bollywood debut in the 2006 film Gangster, which was backed by Mahesh Bhatt – also made some statements about Mahesh and his ‘real name’ and religion.

“Mahesh ji casually and poetically inciting people for violence,” she captioned one of the posts.

Sharing another part from the same video, she wrote, “I am told his (Mahesh Bhatt) real name is Aslam… he converted to marry his second wife (Soni Razdan)… it is a beautiful name, why hide it?”

Another clip shared by Kangana was also accompanied by a statement on Mahesh’s name, which read, “He must use his real name, not represent a certain religion, when he has converted…”

This is not the first time that Kangana has targeted Mahesh Bhatt. She reportedly accused the filmmaker of nearly assaulting her when she turned down his daughter Pooja Bhatt’s film.

Earlier this year, she had taken an indirect dig at Mahesh Bhatt and his daughter Alia Bhatt ahead of the release of the latter’s film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’.

Kangana indirectly called Alia ‘daddy’s angel’ and Mahesh ‘movie mafia’. (ANI)

A Madrassa teacher from Hyderabad, has been arrested after he was accused of sodomizing a minor boy in the Santosh Nagar area.

According to the Police, the 14-year-old minor was sodomised by the 21-year-old Madrassa teacher and the teacher has been booked and sent to judicial custody.
“A 14-year-old was sodomised by the Madrassa teacher. After the victim’s family filed a complaint, the case was booked against him under the relevant sections of POCSO. The accused was arrested and has been sent to judicial remand,” a higher police official told ANI.

Sodomy is an act of performing unnatural or abnormal sexual intercourse on a person, which can be anal or oral in nature.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government on August 31, announced that it will conduct a survey of unrecognised madrassas to ascertain the number of students, teachers, curriculum and affiliation with any non-government organisation of these institutions.

The survey will be carried out as per the requirement of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in connection with the availability of basic facilities to the students in madrassas, Minister of State for Minority Affairs Danish Azad Ansari said.

Meanwhile, the government has also ordered holding a survey of unrecognised madrassas by October 5, teams will constitute officials of the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) and District Minority Officers. (ANI)

A swing broke mid-air in Punjab’s Mohali during a fair on Sunday and crashed down from a height of 50 feet with nearly 50 people on board.

The injured persons which included children and women were shifted to the hospital soon after the incident.
According to an official, the organisers of the fair had permission to organise the event till September 4, however, a board notifying the extension of the deadline of the fair was put up at the spot which mentioned September 11 as the deadline.

“What we have come to know so far is that they had the permission to organise the show. However, no one would be spared if there is mistake committed on their part. Strict action will be taken according to the law. We have admitted all the injured persons to the civil hospital,” said DSP Harsimran Singh Bal.

Civil doctor Dr Subhash said that as many as five persons were admitted and “were not in serious condition”.

However, the locals who were present on the spot during the incident claimed that no safety measures were taken in the conduct of the fair.

“Their private bouncers came nearly 20 minutes late. There was a lady who was their head. She said that nobody is dead. Who will take responsibility for the incident? How is this business running without the availability of any medical aid? The public is being stopped by the police. Nearly 50 persons would be injured. There were no safety measures taken. No big official reached the spot,” the person present on the spot alleged.

Another person present at the spot alleged that the management “suppressed the public”.

“Two children fainted after the incident. A lady (from the management team) said that there has not been any loss of life,” said another person present at the spot.

Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI)

Amidst the political uncertainty in the state, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren will seek a trust vote in the special one-day Jharkhand Assembly Session on Monday.

The session has been called after the Jharkhand Cabinet recently approved the motion to hold a special Assembly session on Monday. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) MLAs staying in Raipur resort flew back to Ranchi on Sunday to attend this special session.
Notably, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and its allies shifted their MLAs to a resort in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh last week amid fears of poaching.

Sources said those who went to Raipur include 13 from Congress including four ministers and 18 MLAs of JMM.

Soon after the return of the MLAs from Raipur, CM Soren met them at the circuit house.

The legislators spend the night at the circuit house and will depart at 10 am in the morning for a one-day session at the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

According to government sources, the ruling alliance will bring the confidence motion in favour of Soren in the House today.

However, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had denied that he was harbouring the Jharkhand UPA MLAs in his state and trying to save the Jharkhand government.

On asked about the Jharkhand UPA MLAs in Raipur, Baghel said, “Who am I to save anyone (Jharkhand govt)? …They are guests in my state.”

The statement comes days after CM Baghel said the UPA coalition government in Jharkhand shifted its MLAs to Raipur to protect them from being poached in view of the BJP’s “horse-trading” tactics.

Notably, a political crisis emerged in Jharkhand after a petition by the BJP sought Soren’s disqualification from the Assembly in an office of profit case.

Soren could be disqualified as an MLA, nearly 31 MLAs and ministers of the ruling coalition in Jharkhand were in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur.

Soren told the reporters at the Ranchi airport that the ruling alliance is prepared to face every situation.

“No unforeseen incident is going to take place. We are ready for everything, the situation is under control. I will let you know if I will go with the MLAs”, he said.

The BJP has sought the disqualification of Soren as an MLA accusing him of allocating a mining lease to himself while he held the state Mining portfolio in 2021.

In February this year, the BJP submitted a memorandum to the state Governor Ramesh Bais seeking disqualification of Soren from the House under Section 9(A) of the Representation of People’s Act.

The Governor had forwarded the BJP complaint to the ECI and the poll panel in May had issued a notice to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader. (ANI)

At least 10 persons were killed and 15 injured in stabbing attacks on Sunday (local time) across Saskatchewan Province. Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) has issued dangerous persons alert as the suspects are still at large.

Melfort RCMP has issued a province-wide dangerous persons alert after multiple people were stabbed in the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan, reported CBC.
RCMP said in a press conference at 3:40 CT that they found 10 people deceased in 13 locations, and at least 15 people have been hospitalized.

“There could be more injured,” Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, said.

“We are currently actively looking for it, dedicating maximum resources to this.”

RCMP said they received a report that the two suspects, identified as Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson, may have been travelling in the Arcola Avenue area in Regina. Regina Police said the suspects were seen around 11:20 am, reported CBC.

“As the suspects are at large, we have also asked for the alert to be extended to Manitoba and Alberta,” RCMP said in a news release just after noon Sunday.

In an alert issued at 8:20 a.m. CT Sunday, RCMP said two male suspects are believed to be in a black Nissan Rogue with Saskatchewan licence plate 119 MPI. As the suspects may have access to a vehicle, the RCMP have expanded the alert province-wide.

Blackmore said at the press conference the location and direction of the suspects’ travel is unknown.

“We don’t know if they have changed their vehicle,” she said.

Police are asking Regina residents to take precautions and consider sheltering in place. RCMP said residents should be careful about allowing others into their homes and not leave a secure location, reported CBC.

A 10 am CT update from the Saskatchewan RCMP said there are multiple victims in multiple locations and it appears victims are being attacked at random.

Weldon is located about 50 kilometres southeast of Prince Albert, and about 25 kilometres southwest of James Smith Cree Nation.

In response to the “mass casualties” on James Smith Cree Nation the community, along with the Chakastaypasin Band of the Cree Nation and Peter Chapman Band, declared a state of emergency at noon Sunday, reported CBC.

It’s set to remain in place until 5 pm on Sept 30.

The alert was first issued at 7:12 am CT Sunday and has since had several updates.

Residents in the Regina area are also being advised to not approach suspicious persons and to not pick up hitchhikers.

Instead, the RCMP said they should report suspicious persons, emergencies or information to 911.

They are also being asked to not share the locations of police.

Police checkpoints have been set up throughout Saskatchewan, at least from Prince Albert to Regina, with officers checking identification. (ANI)

As many as two people died and 10 others are injured after a major fire broke out at Levana hotel in the Hazratganj area of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, said Manoj Agarwal, CMO Lucknow.

“The incident of fire in a hotel was reported this morning, after which the rescue operation is on. A fire incident took place in Levana Hotel in Hazratganj this morning, after which patients are being admitted to the hospital. So far 10 people have been admitted to the Civil Hospital, out of which 2 people are brought dead,” Agarwal said.
However, rescue and relief operations are underway at Hotel Levana as several people are feared to be still trapped.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took note of the fire that broke out in a hotel in Lucknow on Monday and directed the officials to provide treatment to the injured.

“The Chief Minister has directed the officials of the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured. Along with this, the District Magistrate and senior police officers have been instructed to reach the spot immediately and speed up the relief and rescue work,” read a statement by the chief minister’s office.

With an aim to douse the fire at the earliest, all the gas cylinders are being taken out from the hotel while flammable items are also being removed from the spot.

Police and firefighters are constantly engaged in rescue operations.

” Cause (of the fire) is being ascertained. There’s a possibility that it happened due to a short circuit. 18 of the total 30 rooms were occupied & probably 35-40 people were there. The people who were stuck were evacuated and they have been sent to Civil Hospital,” said District Magistrate, Suryapal Gangwar.

“Rooms are filled with smoke making it difficult to go in. Work is underway to break window panes and grills. No info on any casualties so far, 2 people have been rescued, but there is no response from 1-2 rooms. Attempts are being made to enter those rooms,” said DG Fire, Avinash Chandra.

Three ambulance vehicles arrived at Levana Sweets Hotel after the incident was reported while the injured are being taken to the hospital. The security personnel and firefighters were seen entering the hotel with oxygen masks.

An SDRF team also reached the spot.

The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also took note of the incident.

“I came to know about the tragic incident of fire in a hotel in Lucknow. I have inquired about the situation from the local administration. Relief and rescue operations are on. My office is in constant touch with the local administration. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident,” tweeted Singh.

A fire broke out at a hotel in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area in the morning hours of Monday.

The incident was reported at Levana hotel.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)