Major fire in under-construction Nagpur hospital; none hurt

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January 9, 2019

A major fire occurred on Wednesday in an under-construction hospital building located in a residential area close to the Nagpur railway station, officials said.

No casualties have been reported so far but one person was admitted to a nearby hospital for inhalation of smoke.

A major tragedy was averted as labourers working inside the under-construction building rushed out using staircases immediately after the blaze erupted, a Fire official said.

Though he didn’t specify the exact number of workers present in the building at the time of the incident, eye-witnesses said around 300 labourers were inside.

The blaze occurred in the third floor of the ten-storey building at around 2 PM when interior works were underway, said Nagpur Municipal Corporation fire officer Rajendra Uchke.

It didn’t spread to upper floors.

After the fire broke out, eight labourers got stuck inside due to heavy smoke for some time before they were rescued by fire personnel, he said.

“No casualty has been reported so far. One person was admitted to hospital for inhaling excessive smoke,” he said.

Uchke said the building interior work was going on when the fire started from the third floor auditorium where chairs were being fixed.

He said sparks from welding might have triggered the blaze.

A total of eight fire tenders were pressed into service for dousing fire. Meanwhile, as thick smoke enveloped the area, staffers of a high school adjacent to the building evacuated students as a precautionary measure.

Residents of nearby residential buildings also rushed out as smoke billowed out from the third floor of the under-construction building.

The flames were put out completely at around 3:30 PM.

Inclusion of castes in OBC group: HC seeks Maha response on PIL

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January 9, 2019

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought to know if the Maharashtra government had conducted any study or survey before issuing a notification in 1967 inducting several castes in the OBC category for reservation.

A division bench of Chief Justice N H Patil and Justice N M Jamdar was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist B A Sarate challenging the inclusion of several castes in the Other Backward Class (OBC) group.

Sarate’s counsel V M Thorat told the HC that out of the 96 castes included in the OBC category, nearly 40 per cent were not even eligible for reservation.

“Inclusion of these castes is unconstitutional. There is a procedure laid down while deciding which caste should be included in a particular category for reservation. The government is not following this procedure,” Thorat said.

The bench then sought to know if the government had carried out any study or survey before issuing the Government Resolution (GR) in 1967 inducting a particular caste in the OBC category.

The petitioner has challenged the GR enlisting 180 castes and sub-castes for inclusion in the OBC category, and also another GR, dated March 1994, which increased the OBC quota percentage from 14 per cent to 32 per cent.

The petition claimed that various castes or communities were included in the OBC category without any survey, quantifiable data, investigation to determine the social, educational and economic backwardness.

“There has to be a comprehensive commission to carry out study and collect data. This is what the petition also seeks,” Chief Justice Patil said.

The bench then directed that the petition be placed for hearing before an appropriate bench next week.

Hockey India sacks men’s hockey coach Harendra after disappointing 2018

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January 9, 2019

Indian men’s hockey coach Harendra Singh was Wednesday sacked from the position following a disappointing 2018 and offered the task of helming the junior squad by the national federation.

Constant chopping and changing of coaches is a frequent phenomenon in Indian hockey and Harendra, who was appointed in May, is the latest casualty.

“Though the year 2018 was very disappointing for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team with results not going as expected, Hockey India believes investing in the junior program which will reap long-term benefits,” HI said in a statement explaining the reasons behind Harendra’s axing.

The Junior World Cup-winning coach took charge after India’s medal-less showing at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games but was unable to change the team’s fortunes.

India were also below-par in the Asian Games in Indonesia, settling for a bronze after going into the tournament as the defending champions. They ended the year with a quarterfinal loss in the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

“Hockey India will shortly be advertising and will invite applications for the position of the Chief Coach of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team which will be returning to training camp in February 2019 for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup scheduled to commence from 23 March 2019.

“In the interim the team will be overseen by Hockey India High Performance Director, David John and current Analytical Coach, Chris Ciriello,” said Hockey India in a statement.

Would love to see more challenging wickets for batsmen in FC cricket: Tendulkar

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January 9, 2019

Legendary Sachin Tendulkar wants Ranji Trophy and other domestic matches to be played on “challenging tracks” which will test a batsman’s ability and also raised the “standard” of competition.

“Domestic cricket of course, I feel if we could keep more challenging wickets for batters, it would help the standard of playing. We have had a number of opinions on this but I have always felt that (if) you play on good, difficult tracks, your standard of playing automatically goes up,” Tendulkar said during a promotional event.

However Tendulkar made it clear that “challenging tracks” by no means should be under-prepared where the bowler just comes and takes wickets.

“That is what I would encourage the (custodians of) our domestic cricket to do — to keep surfaces which are challenging for the batters but that does not mean the bowler should just come and roll their arm over (to get wickets). For bowlers also, to be able to control their seam or spin, it is a skill and (it) should not happen on its own (with aid of surface),” he added.

Recently former Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keefe had made fun of India’s domestic cricket but Tendulkar said that no one should be bothered by what outsiders have to say.

“I am really not concerned about what XYZ in Australia or in England or in South Africa says. They have got nothing to do with Indian cricket and I don’t think we comment on Australian cricket or (for that matter) any other cricket (ing) (nation) in the world. Let us stick to our domain and have opinions related to our country. It is as simple as that,” he said.

IPL has made the transition from domestic to international cricket easier for the young Indian players, feels the icon.

This year, the 12th edition of the IPL will be held in India and will begin from March 23, though the detailed schedule is yet to be announced by the BCCI.

“Its given exposure to our youngsters, to believe that they can compete against anyone in the world. I think, we are in that fortunate position to go out and dominate world cricket,” added the legendary batsman.

According to Tendulkar, who played in the IPL for Mumbai Indians, if a player does well in the tournament, then everyone recognises him.

“The latest talent I would say would be Prithvi (Shaw). Mayank (Agarwal) has done well. We have the right balance but overall I feel you do well in the IPL, everyone takes notice. Those guys may have done really well in Ranji Trophy or (in the) Duleep Trophy but the rest of the world does not know about it.

In response to BCCI show cause, Pandya expresses sincere regrets

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January 9, 2019

Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya on Wednesday responded to the BCCI show cause notice by saying that he was “sincerely regretful” for the comments he made on a TV show, which were slammed as sexist and misogynistic.

In his response to the notice, which gave him 24 hours to explain himself, Pandya said he did not realise that his comments would be found offensive.

“I made an appearance on the chat show where I have made certain statements without realising that these could be disrespectful and offend sensitivities of viewers for which I am sincerely regretful,” he wrote in his response, which is in the news agency’s possession.

“I would like to assure you that there was no malice or any sort of ill-intent on my part to offend anyone or portray any section of the society in bad light. I made these statements in the flow of the show and had not comprehended the extent to which my statements would be found offensive,” he added.

The 25-year-old, who is here for the ongoing series against Australia, vowed never to repeat the behaviour.

“Rest assured I hold the BCCI in highest regard and will exercise complete discretion and prudence to ensure that such incidents are never repeated in future,” he said.

Pandya appeared on the show with teammate K L Rahul, who was a lot more restrained in his responses to questions on women and relationships.

It is learnt that Pandya has unreservedly apologised to the Indian team management and his teammates here.

Although seen in high spirits in celebratory videos circulating on social media after India’s 2-1 series’ win over Australia, Pandya has since laid low. He wasn’t part of the optional practice session at the SCG on Wednesday.

He is said to have spoken with coach Ravi Shastri and other senior members of the Indian ODI team, expressing his regret over those remarks made on “Koffee with Karan”, a chat show hosted by film-maker Karan Johar.

A source, close to the player, told agencies that Pandya was “drawn into making those comments as the show producers coaxed a carefree attitude” from him and Rahul.

SC rejects Gujarat govt’s plea on fake encounters report

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January 9, 2019

Rejecting the Gujarat government’s plea, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the final report of the Justice H.S. Bedi Committee on 24 alleged fake encounter cases from 2002 to 2006 in the state be given to parties that approached the court.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it would decide later on whether to accept or reject the final report of the Justice Bedi Committee on encounter cases.

The Supreme Court was hearing two PILs filed in 2007 by veteran journalist B.G. Verghese and poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar, seeking a direction for a probe by an independent agency or the CBI, so the “truth [about the encounters] may come out”. Verghese passed away on December 30, 2014.

The bench, which was on Wednesday hearing a plea to make the Justice Bedi Committee’s report public, did not accept the Gujarat government’s contention that the final report not be given to Akhtar and Verghese’s counsel as it may prejudice matters against persons it might have named in the report.

The Supreme Court bench, also comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and S.K. Kaul, granted the Gujarat government and the counsel of Akhtar and Verghese four weeks to file their responses to the report submitted by Bedi, who was appointed the chairperson of the committee, which was appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the encounter cases.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked Bedi, a former apex court judge, whether he had shared his final report with other members of the panel.

The Supreme Court had asked the monitoring authority to place before it preliminary reports relating to the alleged fake encounters between 2002 and 2006 in Gujarat, purportedly showing a pattern that people from the minority community were targeted as terrorists. These reports were submitted periodically.

Suspected Pak spy monitoring Army units in Arunachal arrested

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January 9, 2019

A man suspected to be a spy of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been arrested in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district, near the India-China border, Indian Army sources said.

The accused has been identified as Nirmal Rai, a resident of Sadiya in Assam’s Tinsukia district, the sources said. State Director General of Police (DGP) S.B.K. Singh, when contacted, said Rai had been working as an Indian Army porter at Kibithu and Dichu, two border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Rai was arrested on January 6 by Indian Army personnel and handed over to Arunachal Pradesh Police a day after, the DGP said.

“Rai belongs to a Nepali community. He worked at a burger shop in Dubai between 2016 and 2018 before moving to Kibithu,” he said, adding that more details in the case will be available after interrogation. Army sources told PTI that Rai was under surveillance for over a month due to his suspicious behaviour.

Rai was probably trained and recruited by a Dubai-based handler of ISI, an Indian Army official said.

“He was involved in passing on sensitive information on location and deployment of Army units, weapon profiles and artillery guns at Kibithu, as well as infrastructure development along the LAC,” he said on condition of anonymity.

A smartphone has been seized from the possession of Rai, the official said, adding that the arrest was made under provisions of Official Secrets Act, Section 120B of the IPC for criminal conspiracy and section 72 of the IT Act for breach of privacy.

Left’s relations with TMC ‘bitter’, to skip Jan 19 rally

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January 9, 2019

Left parties will not attend the opposition rally convened by the TMC in Kolkata on January 19 as they share a “bitter” relationship with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said Wednesday.

The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) has called a “federal front” rally of opposition parties on January 19 in the West Bengal capital.

“As our relations are bitter with Mamata Banerjee and TMC in West Bengal, the Left cannot participate in that meeting,” Reddy told agencies.

“We have decided to avoid that meeting,” he said.

“If other parties want to participate, we have no objection. But as far as we are concerned, we are prepared to have some sort of a joint platform (of opposition parties) at the national level, but at the state level, in West Bengal, we cannot do it,” the CPI leader said.

Meanwhile, describing the Union cabinet’s decision to grant 10 per cent quota to economically weaker sections from the general category as an “election jumla”, Reddy said the step will open a Pandora’s box.

He said that if the government was serious, it should have convened an all-party meeting as it was an issue of national importance, and not a party one.

“Once 10 per cent is given, many upper castes will not be satisfied with this; they will demand more. Ultimately, there will be no reservation,” the CPI General Secretary claimed.

Educational and social backwardness is a criterion for reservation and not economic backwardness, as per the Constitution, he argued.

Reddy said the constitutional amendment bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions to economically backward section in the general category cannot be rushed through Parliament.

He added the decision was an election ‘jumla’ (gimmick) by the BJP-led government to gain electoral benefits in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

IAS Shah Faesal resigns to protest ‘unabated killings’ in Kashmir

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January 9, 2019

Shah Faesal, the 2010 batch IAS topper, Wednesday said he has decided to resign from the Indian Administrative Service to protest the alleged unabated killings in Kashmir and marginalisation of Indian Muslims.

He made the announcement in a Facebook post.

“To protest against the unabated killings in Kashmir and lack of any sincere reach-out from the Union government; the marginalization and invisiblisation of around 200 million Indian Muslims at the hands of Hindutva forces reducing them to second-class citizens; insidious attacks on the special identity of the J&K state and growing culture of intolerance and hate in the mainland India in the name of hyper-nationalism, I have decided to resign from IAS,” he said.

CJI nominates Justice AK Sikri on panel to decide CBI Director Verma’s fate

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January 9, 2019

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has nominated Justice A K Sikri, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court after him, to be part of the high-powered selection committee which will decide the fate of CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma.

The apex court sources said that Justice Sikri will be a part of the selection committee which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

The selection committee comprises the Prime Minister, the CJI and the leader of the single largest opposition party.

Since the CJI was a part of the bench and author of the Tuesday’s verdict which reinstated Verma as the CBI Director, he opted himself out of the panel’s meeting which was ordered to be convened within a week.

Verma’s two-year tenure as CBI director ends on January 31.