Notorious woman drug-peddler held in Mumbai, mephedrone worth Rs 9 lakh seized 2
The Mumbai police have arrested a notorious woman drug peddler in suburban Bandra and recovered from her mephedrone worth Rs 9 lakh, an official said here on Wednesday.
The woman, identified as Nilofer Hafiz Sheikh alias Nilofer Cendole (45), was nabbed from Qureshi Nagar locality in Bandra (west) on Tuesday, he said.
“Based on a tip-off, she was caught when she reached the place to deliver 50 grams of mephedrone. She is a close aide to Rubina Niyazu Sheikh and Sabina Sarfaraz Khan, who are already on the radar of the city police. Rubina and Sabina are sisters who operate a mephedrone drug supply network in the city,” the official of the Bandra police station said.
Mephedrone, commonly known as MD and meow meow, is banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
“The police found that Nilofer is a notorious drug peddler who was earlier arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and also named as an accused in other cases as well,” he said.
“Nilofer operates a business of supplying MD drugs from MHADA grounds in Bandra (west) with Rubina and Sabina,” he said, adding that more people are likely to be arrested in the case.
Nilofer was arrested under relevant sections of the NDPS Act and further investigation is underway, the official added.
Rahul Gandhi targets Adani group again on coal pricing issue 4
Citing a UK-based newspaper, The Financial Times, which claimed that the Adani Group was purchasing coal above its market value from Asian countries, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Wednesday that it is due to this reason that the prices of electricity in the country are getting inflated.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi alleged, “In a report from the famous Financial Times, London, now we know that Adani Group has committed another fraud of Rs 12,000 crore. So now the total corruption of the Adani Group stands at Rs 32,000 crore. They overinvoice their coal imports, and when the coal enters India, its price changes, leading to a surge in electricity prices. These Rs 12,000 crore are getting paid from the pockets of the common masses.”
Emphasizing that Congress is already providing subsidies in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi said,” We are also ready to provide subsidies in Madhya Pradesh. No media has an interest in this story. No one is interested in asking questions from the Adani group. This cannot happen without protection from the Prime Minister. Adani buys coal in Indonesia, and by the time the coal arrives in India, its price doubles. Our electricity prices are going up.”
Rahul Gandhi further alleged that Adani Group is involved in a direct theft of public money.”This time the theft is happening from the pockets of the public.When you push the button for a switch, Adani gets money in his pocket.Enquiry is happening in different countries, and people are asking questions, but nothing is happening in India,” he said.
Earlier last week, the Adani Group said there was a renewed attempt by the UK-based newspaper Financial Times and its collaborators to rehash old and baseless allegations to tarnish the name and standing of the Indian business conglomerate. In a media statement, Adani Group said on October 9 that these articles were part of an extended campaign to advance vested interests under the guise of public interest.
“Continuing their relentless campaign, the next attack is being fronted by Dan McCrum of the Financial Times, who, jointly with the OCCRP, put out a false narrative against the Adani Group on August 31, 2023. The OCCRP is funded by George Soros, who has openly declared his hostility against the Adani Group,” the Adani Group statement said.
Having failed earlier, the UK daily is making another effort to financially destabilize the Adani Group by raking up an old, baseless allegation of over-invoicing of coal imports, the statement added. Adani Group said in the case of Knowledge Infrastructure, one of the 40 importers mentioned in the General Alert Circular, the DRI’s Show Cause Notice alleging overvaluation in the import of coal was quashed by the appellate tribunal (CESTAT).
The question of over-invoicing price manipulation does not arise, as noted. Meanwhile, when asked why he was not raising questions about Sharad Pawar’s meeting with Adani despite INDIA alliance being united on the Adani issue, the Congress MP said, “I have not asked Sharad Pawar; he is not the Prime Minister of India. Sharad Pawar is not protecting Adani; Mr. Modi is and that’s why I asked Mr. Modi this question. If Sharad Pawar were sitting as PM of India and protecting Adani, then I would be asking Sharad Pawar this question.”
Earlier this year, an American short seller, Hindenburg Group, launched an attack on Adani Group in January through a report that allegedly claimed accounting fraud, stock price manipulation, and improper use of tax havens.
After the Hindenburg report, the group had erased close to USD 150 billion in its market value. Adani Group has been denying all allegations since the beginning of the controversy. The Adani Group had then attacked Hindenburg as “an unethical short seller”, stating that the report by the New York-based entity was “nothing but a lie”. A short-seller in the securities market gains from the subsequent reduction in the price of shares.
Islamic Jihad behind hospital rocket mishap: Israel PM Netanyahu 8
After an explosion that struck a Gaza hospital on Tuesday and killed hundreds of people, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel Defense Forces operational systems have indicated that rockets were fired by terrorists in Gaza.
Netanyahu said that intelligence from several sources revealed that Islamic Jihad was responsible for the unsuccessful rocket launch.
“An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al.
Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,” he posted on social media platform X.
“Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza,” he added.
“The entire world should know: It was barbaric terrorists in Gaza that attacked the hospital in Gaza, and not the IDF,” Netanyahu said in another post on X.
“Those who brutally murdered our children also murder their own children,” he added.
Confirming the same, the spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces posted on X, “From the analysis of the operational systems of the IDF, an enemy rocket barrage was carried out towards Israel, which passed through the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit. According to intelligence information from several sources, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is responsible for the failed shooting that hit the hospital.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, told CNN that the IDF “does not target hospitals.”
“We only target Hamas strongholds, arms depots, and terror targets,” he added.
Heinrich made his remarks after Palestinian sources said that initial estimates suggest an Israeli attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City resulted in 200 to 300 fatalities.
An Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday claimed the lives of hundreds of people, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, as reported by Reuters.
A Gaza civil defence chief stated on Al-Jazeera television that over 300 people were killed in the explosion at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital.
Initially, at least 500 deaths were reported, according to a source from the Gaza Health Ministry. The Hamas-run government is in charge of both departments, Reuters reported.
However, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has stated that reports of a possible Israeli airstrike against a hospital in Gaza are still under review.
The initial investigation by the IDF shows that the explosion in the hospital in Gaza was caused by a failed Hamas rocket launch, as reported by the news organization i24NEWS.
According to local media reports, Hagari said he is still gathering information and will share more information as soon as it is available. He added that he is still ‘unsure’ of the cause of the explosion, which is said to have killed hundreds of people.
“There are a lot of airstrikes, a lot of failed rockets, and a lot of fake reports by Hamas,” he said as reported by The Times of Israel. As Israel continues to retaliate against Hamas, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that Hamas thought Israel would break, but
“We will break Hamas,” reported The Times of Israel.
As Israel continues to retaliate against Hamas, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday last week said that Hamas thought Israel would break, but “We will break Hamas,” reported The Times of Israel.
During the weekly cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister along with ministers stood in silence for a minute and paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the deadly Hamas attack.
“Hamas thought we would break; we will break Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
He further stressed that Israel is working in unity and it conveys a clear message to Hamas and to the world.
“We are working around the clock as a team, with a united front,” he said.
“Our unity conveys a clear message to the people, the enemy, and to the world,” he added.
More than 500 people were killed in an Israeli strike at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night, reports said.
The number of people killed has reached 500 following the alleged air strike on the Al Ahli Arab hospital, according to the Gaza Health Ministry spokesman, the BBC reported.
It quoted an Israeli Army spokesperson saying the cause of the incident is not known and the army is looking into the details.
The hospital is funded by the Anglican Church, and Richard Sewell, Dean of St George’s College – one of the church’s top figures in Jerusalem – said that it took “a direct hit from an Israeli missile”, the BBC said.
Sewell, in a post on X, said early reports suggest hundreds of women and children have been killed, and calls the act the “deliberate killing of vulnerable civilians”.
“The bombs must stop now. There can be no possible justification for this.”
British-Palestinian surgeon Professor Ghassan Abu Sittah, who was working there when the strike occurred, told the BBC that parts of the hospital were on fire.
“I don’t know whether that is the emergency department. But it’s certainly the operating suite, part of the roof has fallen. There is glass everywhere,” he said, adding that there were lots of people taking refuge at the hospital.
The BBC also quoted an unnamed doctor at the hospital that there was total devastation at the scene of the attack – where some 4,000 displaced persons were seeking refuge.
He added that 80 per cent of the hospital was out of service, and that hundreds of people were killed or injured in the blast.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared three days of mourning following the air strike on Gaza’s Al Ahli hospital, Palestinian state media reported.
He has also reportedly cancelled his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Jordan on Wednesday.
Protests have broken out in Ramallah in the West Bank.
World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he “strongly condemns” the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital, adding early reports indicate hundreds of deaths and injuries.
“We call for the immediate protection of civilians and health care, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed. #NotATarget,” he posted on X.
Earlier, the UN said a school in central Gaza where 4,000 people are sheltering was also hit, killing at least six people.
Same-sex marriage: Right to choose life partner lies at the root of Article 21 of Constitution, says CJI 11
Delivering the verdict on pleas seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Tuesday that queerness is not an urban or elite concept and the right to choose a life partner lies at the root of Article 21 of the Constitution.
He said that Article 15 of the Constitution prohibiting discrimination on the basis of ‘sex’ must be read to prohibit all forms of discrimination based on ‘sexual orientation’. CJI Chandrachud said that the doctrine of separation of power does not take away power of judicial review and any directions or orders issued for enforcement of fundamental rights cannot be termed as violation of doctrine of separation of power.
He directed that the committee set up by the Union government will take steps to decide the rights and social entitlements of same-sex couples. During the hearing, the top court had asked the Centre to find a way to give same-sex couples basic social benefits, like joint bank accounts or nominating a partner in insurance policies, even without legal recognition of their marital status.
In May, the Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices S.K. Kaul, S.R. Bhat, Hima Kohli, and P.S. Narasimha, reserved its judgment on the issue as to whether same-sex marriage be given legal recognition.
The batch of petitions challenged certain provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act and other marriage laws as unconstitutional on the ground that they deny same-sex couples the right to marry, or alternatively, to read these provisions broadly so as to include same-sex marriage.
The Centre, in its written submissions, had told the Supreme Court that demand for same-sex marriage is a “mere urban elitist views for the purpose of social acceptance”, and recognising the right of same sex marriage would mean a virtual judicial rewriting of an entire branch of law.
The central government had stressed that petitions which “merely reflect urban elitist views” cannot be compared with the appropriate legislature which reflects the views and voices of a far wider spectrum and expands across the country.
It contended that legal validation of same-sex marriage will cause “complete havoc” with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and in accepted societal values.
Supreme Court declines to allow same-sex marriages 13
The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday declined to allow same-sex marriages in the country.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India heard arguments in the case between April and May and had reserved its order on May 11.
Delhi CM Kejriwal approves proposal to dismiss CWC chairperson for misconduct 15
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved a proposal for the dismissal of the chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for misconduct, officials have said.
The proposal was submitted by Delhi Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Atishi. Approving the proposal, Kejriwal said on Monday that the Delhi government will not compromise on the care and betterment of children and those who show negligence “will not be forgiven”.
“In our government, there is a policy of zero-tolerance for officials’ negligent behavior within the administration. The Child Welfare Committee deals with highly sensitive cases related to the care and safety of children. The role of the CWC chairperson is crucial in this regard,” Kejriwal said.
“Therefore, any laxity or irresponsible conduct by individuals in meeting the needs of children can have serious consequences,” he added.
Atishi said that several complaints were received against the CWC-IX chairperson, including delays in decision-making for critical cases involving children in need, improper conduct towards staff and committee members, misuse of powers, and issuing orders without the consent of committee members.
“In response, an inquiry was ordered. Based on the recommendations from the inquiry report, the government has decided to terminate the CWC-IX chairperson with immediate effect. Children’s welfare is non-negotiable and the Delhi government will continue to ensure that those in positions of authority uphold their duties with the utmost sincerity,” she said.
SC seeks reply of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband on CBI’s plea in loan fraud case 17
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of former ICICI Bank CEO-cum-MD Chanda Kochhar and her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar on a plea by the CBI challenging the interim bail granted to them by the Bombay High Court in a loan fraud case.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued notice on the plea of the CBI and sought the response of the couple in three weeks.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the CBI, said the high court proceeded on the wrong presumption that an offense is punishable with a maximum of seven years imprisonment without considering Section 409 of the IPC (criminal breach of trust by public servant), which entails a sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment.
The bench asked Raju how Section 409 of the IPC came into play when it was a private bank. Raju replied that the bank may be private but it involves public money.
The bench said it is issuing notice and seeking their reply in three weeks.
On January 9, the high court pulled up the CBI for arresting the couple in a “casual and mechanical” manner and “clearly without application of mind” in the loan fraud case and granted them interim bail.
The CBI arrested the Kochhars on December 23, 2022 in connection with the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan fraud case.
SC refuses to lift interim stay on CBI probe against Karnataka Dy CM Shivakumar 19
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to lift the interim stay put by the Karnataka High Court on a probe against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in connection with a corruption case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a petition in the apex court challenging the interim stay by the high court. The bench, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi, hearing the plea, issued a notice asking Shivakumar to file his response to the CBI’s appeal.
Earlier, in July, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Karnataka High Court’s order granting an interim stay on a CBI probe against the Congress leader.
In February, the high court stayed CBI proceedings in a corruption case against Shivakumar and also directed the probe agency to submit an action taken report in the case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PMLA). The corruption case was filed against Shivakumar after a search was carried out by the Income Tax Department in 2017.
