Author: LokMarg

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is probing a drug case linked with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020, alleged that his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty received multiple deliveries of ganja from other co-accused.

As per the NCB’s draft charges, Chakraborty, who was also arrested in the drug case and later walked out of the jail on bail, allegedly made payments and delivered ganja to the late actor.
She has been accused of committing an offence under sections 8[c] read with 20[b][ii]A, 27A,28, 29 and 30 of NDPS Act 1985.

“Rhea Chakroborty received many deliveries of ganja from Accused 6 Samuel Miranda, accused Showik Chakraborty and accused 8 Dipesh Sawant and others and handed over those deliveries to Actor late Sushant Singh Rajput and made payments for those deliveries at the instance accused 7 Showik and late Sushant Singh Rajput during the period March 2020 to September 2020 and thereby you have committed an offence u/s 8[c] r/w 20[b][ii]A, 27A,28, 29 & 30 of NDPS Act 1985,” read the draft charges.

Rhea Chakraborty was in a relationship with Rajput at the time of his death on June 14, 2020, when he was found dead in his bedroom.

The ED had on July 31, 2020, registered an Enforcement Case Information Report in the late actor’s death case after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by Rajput’s father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty in Bihar on July 28, last year. (ANI)

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday chaired the 17th Meeting of the Task Force on women’s safety in the national capital and issued specific instructions with regard to various agenda items.

At the outset, Saxena emphasized the need for changing the social mindset and basic approach of men towards women, even as steps were taken to mitigate crime against women.
He underlined the need to undertake a campaign of sensitizing young and adolescent boys through gender workshops and suitably amended curricula.

In the matter of illumination of dark spots and timely repair or replacement of street lights, the LG took exception to the fact that something as basic as street lighting, its installation, repair and maintenance, which should happen in the normal course, was being discussed and decided at his level.

Stressing that lighting provision should be incorporated right at the stage of planning flyovers, buildings and plantations etc., he also issued an instruction that the works on an integrated web portal for street lights owned by different agencies, currently being developed by IIIT-Delhi be expedited and directed the agencies or departments concerned to fix all non-functional street lights within 24 hours of detection or complaint thereof.

Instructions to fix the responsibility of the official concerned in case of rectification does not happen within a week were also issued.

Saxena highlighted the need to ensure illumination under flyovers, in parks and under overgrown trees and instructed officials to address them at the earliest.

With regards to the issue of fast-track courts for women’s safety, when informed that 35 per cent of the 22 additional posts of Judges sanctioned for as many additional courts to deal with rape and POCSO cases were yet to be filled, the LG asked Secretary, Law to try and get them filled at the earliest in coordination with High Court.

Similar directions were issued with regards to the filling up of 192 posts of ancillary staff for these 22 additional Courts, that had been pending since long.

Ruing the fact that investigations in only 55 per cent of the cases were being completed within the stipulated 120 days period, the LG informed that he had already issued instructions to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to expedite the disposal of cases and directed police officials to strictly enforce compliance.

With regards to the issue of ensuring last-mile connectivity, especially from Metro stations, the LG while expressing satisfaction over the proposed scheme of 1000 e-cabs/autos driven exclusively by women being put in place, directed officials to ensure their appropriate branding so that they could not only be identified easily across the city but also added to the visual landscape of Delhi.

Those present included the Chairpersons DCW and DCPCR, Chief Secretary, Chairman NDMC, Divisional Commissioner, Commissioner MCD, Commissioner Transport, Spl. Commissioners of Police, Secretary Law and Home Secretary apart from other officers of Departments concerned. (ANI)

India’s retail inflation eased marginally to 7.01 per cent in June from 7.04 per cent in the previous month helped by softening crude and edible oil prices, according to government data released on Tuesday.

Despite the marginal easing, the headline inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tolerance limit for the sixth consecutive month.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation had stood at 6.26 per cent in June 2021, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

During the month of June, the price rise was sharper in rural India than in the urban parts of the country. CPI-based inflation for rural areas rose marginally to 7.09 per cent in June from 7.08 per cent in May. In June 2021, rural inflation had stood at 6.16 per cent.

Urban inflation eased to 6.92 per cent in June 2022 from 7.08 per cent in May 2022.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday released All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Base 2012=100 and the corresponding Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for Rural (R), Urban (U) and Combined (C) for the month of June 2022 (Provisional) in this press note. CPIs for Sub-Groups and Groups for both All India and all States/UTs are also being released.

The Price data are collected from selected 1114 urban Markets and 1181 villages covering all States/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a statement.

During the month of June 2022, NSO collected prices from 99.7 per cent villages and 98.2 per cent urban markets while the market-wise prices reported therein were 89.8 per cent for rural and 93.7 per cent for urban.

At 7.01 per cent, the headline inflation in June has remained above the RBI’s toleratance limit of 6 per cent for the sixth consecutive month. (ANI)

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have been in the UK for almost a month now, and it looks like the lovebirds are quite enjoying the company of friends and family there. Recently, their close friend Alexandra Galligan shared adorable pictures of the couple and the internet has ever since been in awe!

Alexandra also shared a cute selfie of Kareena with her little boy Jeh. She captioned the photo, “Sunday vibes … chilling whilst chef Ali khan is hard at work in the kitchen!”

In another photo, Saif is seen donning the chef’s hat as he prepared a meal for the bunch. Alexandra captioned the photo “The perfect Sunday with Chef Ali Khan cooking up a storm in the kitchen for us. Delicious!!”

In another picture, everyone is seen saying cheese for the camera. They are all seated at the dining table, waiting to savor a delicious meal prepared by Saif. Sharing the photo, Alexandra wrote, “Great weekend with the greatest of friends.”

On the weekend, Kareena was in Winchester with Saif and the kids. Kareena shared a photo of Saif and Taimur on Instagram on Sunday. Later, Kareena also shared a photo of Taimur’s godfather.

Bebo and Saif have been in the UK for almost a month. Kareena’s sisters Karisma, Riddhima, and Nandani are also in London. Besides, her best friends Amrita and Natasha Poonawalla are also soaking in the London sun. Earlier, Kareena, sister Karisma Kapoor, Amrita Arora, and Natasha Poonawalla hit the streets of London in style. Kareena shared a photo with the girls on Instagram and wrote, “You can’t sit with US…but you can stand and pose with US..cause that’s what we love to do”.

On the work front, Kareena will next be seen in ‘Laal Singh Chadha’ opposite Aamir Khan. The film is slated to release on August 11. She also recently wrapped up shooting her OTT debut project helmed by Sujoy Ghosh. The film is based on the Japanese novel ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’, which also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma in the lead roles. (ANI)

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday took a dig at opposition parties over their allegations of “distortion” in the depiction of lions in the National Emblem cast on the roof of the New Parliament Building, saying that the ‘experts’ should know the difference in size with the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.

He said one needs to appreciate the impact of angle, height and scale when comparing the two structures and if the Sarnath emblem was to be scaled up or the emblem on the new Parliament building is reduced to that size there would not be any difference.
He said that the bronze National Emblem above the new Parliament building was “a perfect replica”.

The minister, who made a series of tweets, shared a pictorial representation of the Emblem with measurement and said that the original placed in Sarnath is at ground level while the new emblem is at a height of 33 meters from the ground.

“If an exact replica of the original were to be placed on the new building, it would barely be visible beyond the peripheral rail. The ‘experts’ should also know that the original placed in Sarnath is at ground level while the new emblem is at a height of 33 meters from the ground,” he said.

The Union Minister said that the original Sarnath Emblem is 1.6 meters high whereas the emblem on the top of the new Parliament building is huge at 6.5 meters height.

“Sense of proportion and perspective. Beauty is famously regarded as lying in the eyes of the beholder. So is the case with calm and anger. The original Sarnath Emblem is 1.6 meters high whereas the emblem on the top of the new Parliament building is huge at 6.5 meters height,” the minister said.

“One needs to appreciate the impact of angle, height and scale when comparing the two structures. If one looks at the Sarnath emblem from below it would look as calm or angry as the one being discussed. If the Sarnath emblem was to be scaled up or the emblem on the new Parliament building is reduced to that size there would not be any difference,” he added.

PM Modi had unveiled the national emblem cast on the roof of the new Parliament building on Monday.

Congress, RJD and Trinamool Congress leaders accused the government of “distorting” the national emblem. The opposition parties also objected to the manner in which the emblem had been unveiled.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the Centre should check if the national emblem of Parliament represents “the statue of Great Sarnath” or “is a distorted version of GIR lion”.

“Please check it and if it needs, mend the same,” he said in a tweet.

He said the unveiling event held on Monday has drawn a flurry of questions “including constitutional propriety, let alone democratic values”.

Trinamool Congress MP Jawahar Sircar said the depiction of Ashokan lions is ” unnecessarily aggressive and disproportionate”.

The National Emblem above the New Parliament Building is made of bronze with a total weight of 9500 kg and is 6.5 m in height. It has been cast at the top of the central foyer of the New Parliament Building. A supporting structure of steel weighing around 6,500 kg has been constructed to support the Emblem.

The concept sketch and process of casting of the National Emblem on the roof of the New Parliament Building went through eight different stages of preparation from clay modelling and computer graphics to bronze casting and polishing. (ANI)

Kerala High Court on Tuesday set aside the lower court’s order and acquitted all accused who are all RSS workers in the case of allegedly murdering CPI-M local leader Vishnu in 2008. The Court acquitted 13 RSS workers in this regard.

The High Court acquitted them while considering an appeal filed by the accused challenging the order of the Additional Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram which sentenced 11 accused to double life imprisonment, one accused to life imprisonment and the remaining one to 3 years of jail.
The court observed that sufficient evidence is not there to prove the offence.

The acquitted men are T Santhosh, Manoj alias Kakkotta Manoj, Binukumar, Harilal, Renjith Kumar, Balu Mahendra, Vipin, Satheesh Kumar, Bose, Manikantan, Vinod Kumar, Subash, Sivalal.

Vishnu was murdered on April 1, 2008, in front of the Kaithamukku passport office at Thiruvananthapuram. Vishnu, who was the Branch committee member of CPIM was accused in a case related to attacking RSS workers and the RSS office with crude bombs.

The trial was completed in seven months on special directions from the High Court. Around 77 witnesses were cross-examined and 162 documents and 65 material evidence were examined during trial. They were found guilty by the Sessions Court on December 17, 2016, and awarded the sentence on December 19. (ANI)

Amidst the onset of torrential monsoons in the state, a red alert has been issued for Kolhapur, Palghar, Nashik, Pune, and Ratnagiri districts for heavy rains till July 14.

An orange alert has been issued for Mumbai for the next three days.
A high tide hit Marine Drive in Mumbai on Tuesday amidst heavy rainfall.

Earlier today, IMD predicted moderate to intense spells of rain to occur at isolated places in the districts of Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ghat areas of Pune and Satara, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, and Latur.

In Mumbai, the IMD has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall for the next 24 hours in the city and its suburbs, with the possibility of heavy rainfall in isolated places. The maximum and minimum temperature of the metropolitan has been forecast as 28 degrees Celcius and 24 degrees Celcius, respectively.

On Monday, various temples submerged under the Godavari river in Nashik, due to incessant rain for the past three days.

The IMD has predicted a fresh intense wet spell likely over Madhya Maharashtra from today. According to its weather bulletin, isolated/scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy falls is very likely over the ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra from July 12 to July 14.

The weather is likely to be squally, with wind speeds of 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these seas.

Several parts of Maharashtra have been witnessing heavy rainfall over the past few days amidst the wet spell on the state since the onset of a torrential monsoon.

According to the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Department report on Sunday, a total of 76 people have died (till July 10) since June 1 and as many as 839 houses were damaged due to the rain-related incidents in the state.

“At least 4,916 people have been shifted to safer locations, and 35 relief camps were set up by the disaster management department and rehabilitation department,” it said.

The SDMD said 125 animals have also lost their lives in rain/flood-related incidents in Maharashtra since June 1.

Several rivers in the state have reached the warning level. The Kundalika river has crossed the warning level and the water level of the Amba, Savitri, Patalganga, Ulhas and Garhi rivers is slightly below the warning level. (ANI)

Despite heavy rainfalls in the holy region of Kedarnath in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, the journey to the world-famous sacred Dham resumed on Tuesday.

The rain has caused a slight drop in the number of devotees travelling to Kedarnath. However, despite the rain and slick roads, pilgrims are enthusiastically continuing their journey to Baba Kedar’s temple.
The entire town of Kedarnath is undergoing a chilly spell due to haze clouding in the region. Amidst the downpour, the Rudraprayag administration has been halting the passengers at safer locations for a while to ensure their safety.

Due to torrential monsoons in the state, there has also been a significant decrease in the number of pilgrims.

Last month, around eight to ten thousand passengers could be seen arriving per day. But currently, only around two to three thousand pilgrims can be seen travelling to the Dham.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted isolated heavy rainfall (64.5 to 115.5 mm) accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning over Uttarakhand on July 12, and isolated heavy rainfall on July 13.

Earlier on Saturday, the Kedarnath Yatra had been stopped to ensure the safety of the pilgrims amidst the apprehensions of untoward incidents due to ongoing heavy rainfalls from Sonprayag onwards in Uttarakhand

On June 30, the Rudraprayag police at the Sirobgad area had informed about the district being closed till 4 am after the debris and stones kept falling from the hill, which resulted in the traffic being jammed on both sides of the highway.

Badrinath highway was also blocked due to the falling of several boulders at the Birahi and Pagal Nala area, following the overnight rainfall on June 25.

Meanwhile, on May 17, the traffic movement was disrupted on the Badrinath route, NH7, near Panchpulia in Karnaprayag after the boulders fell from the hill.

Kedarnath Yatra is one of the four pilgrimages carried out to the religious sites of the Himalayas, where lakhs of pilgrims visit the Kedar Baba’s temple. The other three pilgrimage sites are Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Badrinath.

The four sites – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath – together make up the Char Dham Yatra, which means “four tours to religious desitnations”. (ANI)

Indian Coast Guard is on alert and will ensure that no influx takes place from Sri Lanka, said the Indian Coast Guard Director General VS Pathania on Tuesday.

“We are always present along the coastline and the international boundary. Our presence is 24×7 and with the situation on the other side building up, we are just monitoring and the unit has been sensitized. We are alert and basically, our job is to ensure that no illegal immigration happens no influx happens and we are prepared for that,” Pathania told ANI.
DG Indian coast guard also referred to the rescue operation during the Valsad floods in Gujarat and mentioned that the helicopters stationed along the coast rescued stranded residents successfully.

“Coast Guard basic charter is search and rescue, whether we do it at sea or at land. And, we have the helicopters positioned all along the coast at our Coast Guard stations. Yesterday we received information at about 09:30 from the district administration of Daman, regarding the floods on the river Ambika and the helicopters were launched. They found a few people who were stranded on the rooftops because of water levels. These people were shifted to safety and the helicopters are generally on alert during the monsoon season,” he added.

Expressing satisfaction over the rescue efforts, Pathania highlighted that, “the helicopters are meant for lifesaving and I think they’ve done a good job because visibility range is restricted. And we have to be extra cautious because human lives are valued and it has to be saved and helicopters are meant to rescue people. the universality of the machine and Coast Guard will never let people down.” (ANI)

Reiterating India’s support for Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the situation in the island nation is very sensitive and New Delhi is focusing on ways it can help Colombo economically at this time of need.

Addressing a press briefing in Kerala, Jaishankar said, “The situation in Sri Lanka is very sensitive and complicated. Even as we speak there are developments taking place. Our commitment is to support the Sri Lankan people because they are our neighbours. They are friendly people. We want to help them as they are going through a very difficult phase. We want to help because of this feeling of friendship. We have been extremely supportive of the island nation in the last few months.”
“Our focus is on Sri Lanka’s economic situation and how we can help them. We are not involved in the other matters. Only focused on economic aspects of the issue and we are not concerned about other factors. We can not respond to everything that comes on social media,” the Minister added.

Jaishankar on Sunday said that India has been providing assistance to Sri Lanka and is monitoring the developments in the island nation adding that there is no refugee crisis now.

“We have been supportive of Sri Lanka, are trying to help, and have always been helpful. They are working through their problem, we will see what happens. There is no refugee crisis right now, said Jaishankar upon his arrival in Kerala as part of intensifying the BJP’s efforts to make gains in South India.

Jaishankar’s comments reflect how India continues to stand by its neighbours amid difficult times. His remarks particularly hold more importance as Sri Lanka faces an unprecedented political and economic crisis.

Under the ‘neighbourhood first policy’, India has responded with urgency to government of Sri Lanka’s request for assistance for overcoming hardships and will enhance economic linkages between the two countries be it through infrastructure connectivity and renewable energy.

“India has delivered aid of around 3.5 billion dollars which has been given through currency swap, financing of food, and fuel. medicines and fertilisers,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said earlier.

Responding to a question on India-Sri Lanka ties, he said “We have responded with urgency to government of Sri Lanka’s request for assistance for overcoming hardships,” adding that “India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka and works in their best interest.”

Underlining the fact that India has been giving priority to ‘neighbourhood first policy’, Arindam Bagchi said, ” India will try to enhance economic linkages between the two countries be it through infrastructure connectivity and renewable energy.”

In line with its “neighbourhood first” policy, India has been highly active to help Sri Lanka during its economic crisis. More than 25 tons of drugs and medical supplies which were donated by the Government and people of India during the last two months are valued at close to SLR 370 million. This is in addition to the economic assistance of around USD 3.5 billion and supply of other humanitarian supplies such as rice, milk powder, kerosene.

These humanitarian supplies are in continuation of the Government of India’s ongoing support to the people of Sri Lanka in multiple forms such as financial assistance, forex support, material supply and many more. These efforts prove that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy which places people-to-people engagement is still active.

India is becoming a stronger and more mutually beneficial partner to Sri Lanka. Apart from assistance during the pandemic and fertilizer chaos, India is also donating basic products to the island nation.

Sri Lanka has been suffering a diesel shortage since February, which led to hours of daily power cuts. Presently, Sri Lanka is struggling with acute food and electricity shortages, forcing the country to seek help from its neighbours.

The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a clampdown on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is unable to buy sufficient fuel and gas, while the people are being deprived of basic amenities as well.

Meanwhile, several dramatic videos have been doing the rounds on social media after Saturday’s upheaval where thousands of protesters stormed his official residence in the capital of Colombo. Amid the political unrest and massive demonstrations, the President and Prime Minister both have decided to resign from their position. (ANI)