The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad Tuesday picked up nine men for questioning from Mumbra in neighbouring Thane district and Aurangabad, over 340 kilometres from here, a senior official said.
Acting on a specific tip-off, the agency carried out an operation in both districts and picked up the men, the official added.
“They were on the ATS radar for a few days for their activities. Questioning is underway,” he said, refusing to divulge more details on the operation.
Maharashtra Finance Minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Tuesday demanded an inquiry against self-proclaimed cyber expert Syed Shuja over his claims that 2014 general elections were “rigged” through the electronic voting machines (EVMs), which, he said can be hacked.
The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which had won the last Lok Sabha polls by landslide, has alleged that the Congress had organised the EVM hackathon in London in which Shuja, seeking political asylum in the US, made these claims on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after attending Cabinet meeting here, Mungantiwar questionned the timing of Shuja’s claims.
“If there was truth in what Shuja was saying, why did he keep silent all these years? What did he fear and why is he saying all this now? Does he have evidence to back his claims? There should be an enquiry against this person. He should be caught and a thorough enquiry should be conducted into why did he keep silent till now?” the minister asked.
Mungantiwar questionned the locus of Shuja in making these “baseless” allegations sans evidence.
“I have spoken to chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis) on this. What proofs does he have? Are such claims made in press conferences? If there is any information, it should be provided in a police station or court,” the BJP leader said.
Mungantiwar said that an individual holding a press conference for creating a sensation in a bid to defame a political party or an individual, is a serious issue.
“The (Union) government will take this issue very seriously,” he said.
Shuja had also also said that he fled India in 2014 because he felt threatened in the country after the “killing” of some of his team members.
However, he provided no proof to back up his claim.
In New Delhi, the Election Commission had asserted that it firmly stands by the ‘foolproof nature’ of its machines even as it said it is examining as to what legal action “can and should” be taken in the matter.
East Vidarbha is likely to experience very heavy rainfall this week and farmers in the region should ensure safety of their crop, a statement issued on Tuesday by the Maharashtra government said.
According to the official release, Vidarbha, especially its eastern parts, is expected to witness very heavy rainfall between January 24 and 26.
Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Gondia, Bhandara, Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal and Wardha districts are expected to witness thunderstorms accompanied by very heavy rains.
“Farmers are advised to plan accordingly and ensure that their crop is safe. If the crop has been brought to the market committees, ensure its proper protection,” the statement added.
Hailstorm cannot be ruled out in these areas and the minimum temperature is expected to remain below average till January 29, it said.
Weather in Marathwada is also expected to be cloudy and Nanded district is expected to witness light rains, the statement added.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said that the state government was “essentially denying justice to litigants” by delaying a decision on allocation of a new building for the high court.
This, the court said, was forcing litigants and judicial staff to continue work from the current 138-year-old building which has inadequate space.
A bench of justices AS Oka and MS Sonak directed the Maharashtra government to take a decision within the next six months on allocating space for a new, spacious high court building with all requisite infrastructure.
The court gave the above direction in its verdict on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ahmad Abdi that highlighted the need to shift the court premises to a new, more spacious building.
The bench noted that the current building was meant to house just around six to seven courts.
However, the Bombay High Court has a sanctioned strength of 94 judges and, at any given time, there are around 35 to 50 judges serving in court.
The current building doesn’t have adequate space for as many court rooms, chambers for the judges and lawyers, as well as for thousands of litigants who come each day.
It said the state had not disputed the fact that the current building was inadequate to accommodate the above.
“Even the state is not disputing the fact that there is a need for more space. By continuing the functioning of the high court from the current building, the state government is effectively denying access to justice to litigants,” the bench said.
It then directed the state to take a final decision on the allotment of new land, and construction of the new building and requisite amenities.
The state has proposed allocation of around six hectares of land in Bandra East for the new building.
The bench, however, directed the state to consider allocating an additional 11.68 hectares.
Suspected Maoists shot dead three villagers on Tuesday in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on suspicion that their tip-off to police led to killing of 40 ultras in a massive operation in the region last year, a police official said.
A group of around 150 armed naxals from Chhattisgarh entered Kasnasur village near Kosfundi phata in Bhamragad taluka, around 950 kms from here in the wee hours, and went to the houses of Malu Madavi, Kanna Madavi and Lalsu Kudyeti, a police official said.
The ultras dragged them outside their houses and shot them dead, he said.
The official said that the Maoists suspected that the trio had tipped the police about their presence in forests which resulted into the Kasnur-Tumirgunda operation in this east Maharashtra district in April last year.
While leaving the village, Maoists put up a banner stating that they were avenging the April 2018 deaths of their comrades, he said.
Police forces have been rushed to Bhamragad, which is located on borders of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The official said that Tuesday’s incident was the first attack on villagers in Gadchiroli district after Maoist Nambala Keshav Tao alias Basavraju took over from Ganapathy, a top leader of the naxal movement.
Anurag Basu is working on a multistarrer dark comic anthology and the film will hit the screens on September 6.
The currently untitled movie centres on unavoidable jeopardies of life and has four different stories set in a quintessential Indian metro.
Akin to Basu’s hit 2007 directorial “Life In A… Metro”, the slice-of-life film will have intersecting stories at its core.
The film will be produced by Bhushan Kumar of T-Series.
“It is my pleasure to be working with Bhushan Kumar for my next that is a dark comic anthology. It’s our first collaboration but doesn’t seems like one.
“I am extremely happy to have found this talented new generation cast, though I will trust my old friend Pritam for music as always,” Basu said in a statement.
According to the makers, Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanya Malhotra and Pankaj Tripathi have already been signed on for the project.
The director already shot major sequences with Bachchan in Mumbai and Kolkata last year, the release stated.
Basu was shooting with Rao and Shaikh in Bhopal recently.
Details about the actors’ roles are still under wraps. More names are set to be part of the ensemble cast.
Kumar said he is looking forward to his first collaboration with the director.
“The characters, the story is so compelling yet the treatment is so amusing. We have tried to bring on board a terrific cast who perfectly fit the roles that are written.
“The way the script and shooting is in process, Anurag and I are already planning on doing another project. I am keen on doing more films with Anurag and his team,” the producer said.
Besides Kumar, Basu, Tani Somarita Basu and Krishan Kumar are also attached as co-producers.
The film is set for a box office clash with Kareena Kapoor Khan and Akshay Kumar-starrer “Good News”.
Veteran Leander Paes and his partner Samantha Stosur suffered a second round defeat in the mixed doubles event, ending India’s campaign at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The unseeded pair of Paes and Stosur won the first set 6-4 against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah but conceded the second set with the same scoreline.
The third set went into tiebreak with the fifth seed German-Colombian duo emerging victorious 10-8.
Paes and Stosur had beaten the pair Dutch-Czech pairing of Wesley Koolhof Kveta Peschke in the round of 32.
The 45-year-old Paes had made a first round exit in the men’s doubles event with partner Mexican Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela.
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and his partner Nicholas Monroe were also knocked out in the opening round of the event.
In the men’s singles, Prajnesh Gunneswaran had also made a first round exit after coming through the Qualifiers while Ramkumar Ramanathan, Ankita Raina and Karman Thandi could not make it to the singles main draw.
Filmmaker Karan Johar says digital medium is a boon as well as a bane for artiste and cinema lovers but he believes the best part is that it pushes the writers to develop better content.
The filmmaker is conflicted as to how the newest medium affects the cinema as it also poses danger to the concept of watching films in theatres.
“Let’s look at the positive side. Today we have many more verticals of entertainment. Digital is the new addition and it provides platform to writers, story tellers, actors.
“On the flip side, it does pose a threat to the footfalls to the cinema and that is where we have to up our game. That is the challenge and that will only improve our content,” Karan told PTI.
Karan recently announced the launch of his new digital division called Dharmatic.
“We will be content providers to OTT platforms. We are storytellers.”
Ask him if he will direct something for the web,”There are some thoughts and we are working on it.”
In terms of storytelling, Karan believes that with time, cinema has undergone change.
“We have seen anti-establishment, love take over in the 90s. Today, we are in the age of high concept films like ”, ‘Raazi’, “Badhaai Ho’ or big event films like ‘Simmba’.
“One of these two is the future of Indian cinema and that is the way we can combat the forces of the digital medium that are coming towards us,” Karan adds.
Former India hockey player Raghbir Singh Bhola, a two-time Olympic medallist, has passed away aged 92, his family said on Tuesday.
Bhola, who breathed his last on Monday, represented India in the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics, winning a gold and silver medals respectively for the country.
His dedication and passion for field hockey continued in various aspects throughout his life and he served in diverse roles such as member of the IHF selection committee, FIH international umpire, manager of the Indian hockey team, TV commentator and government observer at the Olympic Games.
He successfully captained the Indian Air Force hockey and Services team from 1954-60 and won the Inter Services Hockey Championship three times and the National Hockey Championship on two occasions.
In 2000, he was honoured with the Arjuna Award for his achievements in hockey.
Bhola is survived by his wife Kamla Bhola, three daughters and three grandsons.
Kangana Ranaut’s much-awaited film “Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi” will feature the actor in various Khadi attires. Kangana and her co-stars will be seen in different Khadi costumes which have been sponsored by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
The costume crafted in Khadi for the title character showcases both strength and courage on screen and it has been meticulously crafted in khadi fabrics like, raw cotton, brocade and paithani.
We all know that in 1926, Gandhiji had upheld Khadi as the symbol of swaraj and spun the final yarn of India’s fabric of Independence. But, perhaps few people know that some several decades before Gandhiji’s tryst with Charkha, a girl born in Varanasi as Manikarnika or Manu, not only mastered reading the Vedas and Puranas, riding and sword fighting, but also learnt weaving before being proclaimed as the Queen of Jhansi, KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said in a statement.
Saxena also revealed that the Khadi costumes have been designed by noted fashion designer Neeta Lulla. I think mainstream cinema will be able to do full justice in promoting the fabric to the millennial generation and the masses alike.
The much ambitious period-drama features Kangana in the titular role and is directed by Krish and Kangana, the film is to release on January 25.
