Month: September 2022

Actors Deepika Padukone, Rashmika Mandanna, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, and comedian Kapil Sharma are all set to collaborate for an upcoming project ‘Mega Blockbuster’.

Further deets about the project have been kept under wraps.
Taking to Instagram, Deepika Padukone shared a poster of the upcoming project which she captioned, “Surprise! #TrailerOut4thSept #MegaBlockbuster.”

In the poster, the ‘Happy New Year’ actor can be seen in a pink suit salwar standing in a market in a happy mood.

Comedian Kapil Sharma, on the other hand, also dropped a poster which he captioned, “Yeh wali mere fans ke liye. Hope aapko pasand aaye . #TrailerOut4thSept #MegaBlockbuster.”

South actor Rashmika also dropped a poster captioning it as, “Fun stuff#MegaBlockbuster #TrailerOut4thSept.”

Apart from them, south actors Karthi and Trisha Krishnan also dropped their posters on social media.

The recent posts from Bollywood and south celebs have left the fans excited, as they want to see what’s brewing between all the actors.

The trailer of the upcoming project will be released on September 4, 2022.

Meanwhile, Deepika will be next seen in an upcoming action thriller film ‘Pathaan’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham which is all set to hit the theatres on January 25, 2023.

Apart from that, she also has ‘The Intern’ alongside Amitabh Bachchan and a Pan India film ‘Project K’ along with Prabhas and Amitabh.

Rashmika Mandanna, on the other hand, is currently enjoying the success of her recently released film romantic drama film ‘Sita Ramam’.

She will be soon making her big Bollywood debut with ‘GoodBye’ alongside Amitabh Bachchan and will also be seen in ‘Mission Majnu’ opposite Sidharth Malhotra and with Ranbir Kapoor in ‘Animal’. (ANI)

India’s star spinner Axar Patel has been named as the replacement for the injured Ravindra Jadeja in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

Ravindra Jadeja has sustained a right knee injury and has been ruled out of the tournament. He is currently under the supervision of the BCCI medical team.
Axar Patel was earlier named as one of the standbys in the squad and will join the team in Dubai soon.

Jadeja had played a key role in India’s victory over Pakistan in their opening Asia Cup match. The all-rounder played a crucial knock of 35 runs to guide the team to victory with Hardik Pandya anchoring the innings on the other end. India triumphed over Pakistan by five wickets in a tight contest.

In the second match, Suryakumar Yadav’s stylish 68* and Virat Kohli’s 59* helped India secure a spot into the Super Four round of Asia Cup 2022 after defeating Hong Kong by 40 runs here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

India have booked their place in the Super Four by defeating Pakistan and Hong Kong.

Pakistan and Hong Kong will meet on Friday to decide the second Super Four team from Group A. The super Four round of the Asia Cup 2022 will begin on Saturday.

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. (ANI)

The security around religious places is under review after some unidentified miscreants attempted to vandalise a church in Patti in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district on August 31, said the officials on Friday.

The review directions came in the wake of the desecration of idols in a church in the region.
“In the wake of the desecration of idols in a church in Tarn Taran, police personnel have been directed to review the security situation at religious places across the state. Our teams are working in this regard,” said Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, Arpit Shukla.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police, RS Dhillon, an FIR has been registered in this connection and an investigation has been taken up. The incident took place at Thakkarpura village in the district.

The SSP said police has obtained “vital clues” and hopes to solve the case soon.

“A few notorious elements attempted to vandalise the statue of Jesus and set ablaze a car at the church in Patti. We are investigating the matter and have vital clues. There were four people and we are behind the culprits. We hope to solve it soon. An FIR has been lodged,” the SSP told ANI.

The father of the Catholic Church, Patti, Father Thomas P said that the accused threatened the people on the campus and “held captive the security guard at gunpoint”.

“Four people came to our campus, destroyed the statues, and set our vehicle ablaze. They were here for 25 minutes. They threatened people and held the security guard at gunpoint,” he said while also adding that the Inspector General reached the spot and assured of action at the earliest.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called the incident “unfortunate” and gave an assurance that nobody would be allowed to disturb communal harmony in the state.

The Chief Minister took to Twitter to post in Punjabi that police will investigate the incident and strict action will be taken against the culprits. (ANI)

Terrorists on Friday morning fired upon a migrant labourer in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The victim identified as Muneerul Islam, a resident of West Bengal, was rushed to a nearby hospital where his condition is currently stable, Jammu and Kashmir Police said.
The police have cordoned off the area for safety purposes.

More details are awaited.

Last month a migrant labourer from Bihar was killed and two other labourers from the same state were injured after terrorists hurled a grenade in the Gadoora village of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in a case in which she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases. The apex court directed Setalvad to surrender her passport till the matter is considered by the High Court.

A bench of Chief Justice UU Lalit, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said that in its view Setalvad is entitled to release on interim bail.
The bench also said that Setalvad shall be produced before the concerned court for interim bail and the concerned court shall release her in bail subject to such conditions that the concerned court deem fit.

In its order, the top court noted that Teesta, a lady, has been in custody since two months and the investigative machinery has had the advantage of custodial interrogation of her for seven days.

“In our view, the appellant (Setalvad) is entitled to the release on interim bail… We are not considering whether Setalvad is released on bail or not and High Court shall decide the same. We are only on during the pendency of such application, should the custody of the appellant be insisted upon or be granted interim bail. We have considered the matter only from the standpoint of interim bail… Thus, we grant Teesta Setalvad interim bail,” the bench stated in its order.

It added, “The entire matter on merits shall be considered by the High Court independently and uninfluenced by any observations made by this court. It is clarified that the order passed considering facts including that she is a lady and shall not be used by other accused and submissions of other accused be considered purely on their merits.”

The order of the apex court came on a plea of Setalvad seeking interim bail. She has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19.

Yesterday, the apex court bench took objection on the conduct of the Gujarat High Court where the High Court had issued a notice of Setalvad’s plea on August 3 but posted the matter for further hearing after six weeks on September 19.

It had asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Gujarat to give it a case where a lady is in confinement on charges like this and the High Court has given a date after six weeks and asked if is the normal pattern in bail cases like this.

Mehta today produced orders passed by High Courts in which long dates were given saying that Setalvad was not singled out and this has been the uniform practice in High Court in similar cases.

Solicitor General argued that there is sufficient material apart from FIR pointing towards the involvement of Setalvad in the offences alleged.

Earlier, the top court filed an affidavit and told the apex court there is a strong case made out against Setalvad for some of the most serious offences whereby criminal conspiracy was hatched for and by fabricating false evidence with a clear intention to get a conviction of several persons for capital punishment 2002 Gujarat riots.

The affidavit of the Gujarat government has stated that the FIR against Setalvad for falsifying evidence related to the riots, is not solely based on a top court judgment but is backed by evidence.

Systematic efforts were made to ensure that both oral and other evidence is fabricated, the affidavit stated.

Setalvad and Sreekumar had approached the High Court after their bail applications were rejected by the Ahmedabad city sessions court.

On July 30, the Ahmedabad sessions court had refused to grant bail to Setalvad and Sreekumar while noting that the accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives.

They were arrested by the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch on June 25 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences) of the Indian Penal Code.

The SIT formed to probe the case has alleged that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt is also an accused in the case.

The FIR against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt was registered after the Supreme Court had on June 24 dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots.

Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the violence at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. Zakia Jafri has challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the State.

She had alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the post-Godhra incident riots.

However, the SIT in the apex court had opposed the plea of Jafri saying there is a sinister plot behind the complaint to probe the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 Gujarat riots and the original complaint by Jafri was directed by Teesta Setalvad, who levelled allegations just to keep the pot boiling. (ANI)

Comedian Raju Srivastava, who has been undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following cardiac arrest, has shown further minor improvement.

A source gave the update regarding Raju Srivastava’s health and also revealed that the comedian is still on the ventilator and under observation.
The 58-year-old stand-up comedian was admitted to AIIMS on August 10. Srivastava had collapsed after experiencing chest pain while running on the treadmill in a gym. He underwent an angioplasty the same day.

His trainer took him to the hospital. At the time of the heart attack, Raju Srivastava was in Delhi to meet some leaders of the state.

Earlier, Raju Srivastava’s younger brother shared a video message revealing his health details.

In the video, he expressed gratitude to the fans for their prayers for the well-being of the comedian’s health and refuted farcical rumours about his health. Deepu Srivastava also called Raju Srivastava a fighter. In a video message, he said, “He is a fighter and will soon come back winning the battle and will entertain everyone with his comedy.”

Earlier, Bollywood actor and comedian Rajpal Yadav had sent his best wishes to Raju Srivastava via an Instagram video. “Bhai Raju Srivastava, get well soon. We are all praying for you and eagerly waiting for you. Your family, your ‘sansaar’ and your well-wishers, everyone is praying for your speedy recovery,” he said.

Srivastava has been working in the entertainment industry since the late 1980s and received recognition after participating in the first season of the stand-up comedy show ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ in 2005.

He has featured in films like ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya’, ‘Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon’ among others. (ANI)

Having played over 200 international matches, Navjot Kaur has been an integral part of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team’s success over the past few years.

Since her debut in 2012, she has represented the country at all the major tournaments and featured in some of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team’s greatest victories.
However, the 27-year-old player missed out on her third appearance at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games after testing positive for COVID-19.

Navjot, who had to return home even before the Indian team’s campaign began at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, spoke about the disappointment, “To be honest, it was disappointing to leave like that. It was very difficult and hard for me to accept. I haven’t missed out on any major tournament ever before, so I was dealing with this situation for the first time in my career.”

“I tested positive when I was in Nottingham where we were training before checking into the Games village. I had no major symptoms and was hopeful of getting back to the team by the time we moved to the village. I was being tested every day and unfortunately, it kept showing positive readings,” she added.

However, Navjot mentioned the team’s support that kept her in the right spirit throughout this ordeal. She said, “Our Chief Coach Janneke Schopman, staff members and my teammates were in constant touch with me throughout. They were checking on me every day during the isolation phase. I feel lucky to be part of such a wonderful team, they were really supportive and helped me during the tough time. Even mindfulness had helped me deal with the situation, to stay calm and be in the present moment.”

Sharing her experience of watching the team’s historic Bronze medal win at the Commonwealth Games from home, Navjot said, “I watched all the matches with my family. It was heartbreaking to see the team lose against Australia with a very narrow margin. But, the way the team bounced back to win the Bronze medal was really inspiring. The World Cup campaign was also disappointing. We were playing quite well, it’s just that the results weren’t in our favour. But, really proud of the team for the way they fought back and ended the long Europe tour with a historic Bronze medal.”

Having returned to the training camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, Navjot is raring to get back into the groove.

“We have got a good amount of time to prepare for the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup in December 2022, which will help us qualify for the next edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League,” she concluded. (ANI)

Olectra Greentech Limited (Olectra) said on Friday it has received an order to supply 100 electric buses to Assam State Transport Corporation.

This is the first order bagged from Norther-Eastern states. The company has received on an outright basis and which shall be delivered over a period of 9 months and shall be responsible for maintenance of these buses for a period of 5 years, Olectra said in a statement.
Olectra Greentech Limited has received a Letter of Award from Assam State Transport Corporations for 100 electric buses. The value of these 100 buses supply would be approximately Rs 151 crore for Olectra.

Reacting to the deal K V Pradeep, Chairman and Managing Director, Olectra, said, “We feel happy to get the first order from the North-Eastern States and Assam. With this order, our buses are running all the corners in India. Ours clocked over 5 crore kilometres on Indian roads, and reduced carbon emissions significantly.” (ANI)

Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Friday issued guidelines for Ganesh Utsav, Durga Puja and other upcoming festivals.

The Committee directed the idol makers and sellers to use natural clay and biodegradable materials for the manufacture of idols. The Committee said POP (Plaster of Paris)-based idols shall not be allowed for immersion in water bodies (ghats/ponds) except in designated places identified by authorities.
“Safety measures are to be taken at the banks of river Yamuna during immersion of idols as detailed in the guidelines. As far as possible, encourage immersion of idols in a bucket of water or artificial ponds. Worship materials may be collected separately for disposal,” the committee said.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day long festival that began on August 31 and will end on September 9 with Visarjan (immersion of idols in water bodies). This festival marks the birth of Lord Ganesha.

Celebrated in Shukla Paksha of the month Ashwin in the Hindu calendar (September-October), Durga Puja celebrations this year starts from September 25 with Shasthi falling on October 1.

The 10-day festival marks the worship of Goddess Durga. Months before the festival, artisanal workshops sculpt idols of Durga and her children (Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh) using unfired clay.

The festival marks its beginning on the day of Mahalaya when the ritual of ‘pran pratistha’ is done by painting the eyes on the goddess idol. Sasthi, Saptami, Ashtami…every day the festival has its own significance and set of rituals. The celebrations culminate on the tenth day known as Vijaya Dashami when the idols are immersed in water bodies. (ANI)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who strongly opposes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stirred up a hornets’ nest after praised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) saying that “all are not bad in the Sangh Pariwar” and a section of right-wing organisation does not support the policies followed by the BJP.

“RSS was not so bad earlier, I don’t think they are bad now either. There are many people in the RSS who are good and don’t support the BJP. They will also break their silence one day,” said West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
Reacting to this, senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakrabarty hit back at the Chief Minister calling her an “opportunist” and “product” of the RSS.

“It is once again clear that TMC is not trustworthy in the fight against BJP,” said Sujan Chakrabarty.

The sharpest reaction came from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. “In 2003 too Mamata had called RSS “patriots”. In turn RSS had called her “Durga”. RSS wants Hindu Rashtra. Its history is full of anti-Muslim hate crime. She’d defended BJP govt in Parliament after Gujarat pogrom. Hope TMC’s “Muslim faces” praise her for her honesty & consistency.”

Owaisi, which contested the assembly polls in Bengal, failed to win a single seat, including Muslim majority constituencies, where it positioned itself as opposed to both TMC and BJP. He had targeted the RSS, saying it wants “Hindu Rashtra.”

According to Owaisi, Mamata defended the BJP government in the Parliament after Gujarat riots.

Meanwhile, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said neither the RSS nor the BJP needs a certificate from CM Banerjee. (ANI)