Prisoner dead after brawl with inmates in Tihar jail

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August 24, 2022

tihar jail 1 — Prisoner dead after brawl with inmates in Tihar jail 2

A 20-year-old prisoner of Tihar jail died after a brawl with the inmates, informed the officials on Wednesday.

The brief scuffle took place between two inmates in a barrack in Central Jail number 5 on August 22.

The deceased has been identified as Samir Khan who was lodged in a case of robbery.

“The two exchanged a few punches with each other, after which one of them viz. inmate Samir Khan suddenly collapsed, apparently due to injury suffered in the head, though there were no visible injuries. The whole incident is captured on CCTV,” said prision official.

The other co-inmates called out for help after Samir collapsed and he was taken to the jail dispensary from where he was referred to DDU Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

he 20-year-old was a resident of the Bhalaswa Dairy area.

The officials also informed that the inquest proceedings were being conducted by Metropolitan Magistrate.

Earlier on July 29, a Delhi Court recently directed the Director General (DG) of Prison Tihar to install CCTV cameras in the rooms of Jail Superintendents and Deputy Jail superintendents. The court has also directed the DG to file the compliance report.

While directing DG prison the court observed “Installation of CCTV Cameras in offices of Superintendent /Deputy Superintendent in Jails would rather dispel any false allegations against jail officials. It will further reflect transparency in the functioning of these offices.”

This direction has been passed in view of allegations of the beating of an inmate in the room of the deputy jail superintendent on March 27, 2022.

Additional Sessions Judge Sonu Agnihotri of Saket Court said, “I direct DG, Prisons, Tihar Jail to get installed CCTV cameras inside offices of Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent and to preserve CCTV recording as done for other parts of the jail as per rules/procedures.

Mumbai Police registered an FIR against 4 persons and a firm for submitting fake documents to get COVID-19 centre contracts

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PTI

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August 24, 2022

Covid Jumbo Centre, Mumbai, Covid, Corona Virus — Image: Agencies

The Mumbai Police registered an FIR on Wednesday against a hospital management firm and four persons for allegedly submitting fake documents to obtain contracts for COVID-19 care centres, an official said.

The FIR was registered at the Azad Maidan police station based on a complaint by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, the official said.

The case was registered against M/s Lifeline Hospital Management Service Firm, Dr Hemant Ramsharan Gupta, Sujit Mukund Patkar, Sanjay Madanlal Shah and Raju Nandkumar Salunkhe.

In his complaint, Somaiya alleged that these persons cheated the Mumbai civic body and people to obtain contracts of COVID-19 centres with the help of fake documents.

As per the FIR, in June 2020, the hospital management firm partners submitted an alleged fake partnership deed to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and obtained contracts for jumbo COVID-19 centres at NSEL, Worli, Mulund, Dahisar (in Mumbai) and Pune without having any experience in the medical field.

The firm had submitted bills of these centres to the BMC and collected Rs 38 crore, it said.

For their personal gains, these persons cheated the government machinery and common citizens. Many people lost their lives due to the alleged negligence of these persons, the FIR said.

After verification it was found that staffers and doctors at these COVID-19 centres did not have medical certificates and allegedly failed to provide proper treatment due to which people suffered, the FIR said.

The case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 304-A (causing death by negligence), 465, 467, 468, 471 (all for forgery) and 34 (common intention), the official said, adding that a probe into the case is on.

Three injured in LPG cylinder blast in Dombivli

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PTI

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August 24, 2022

Three persons including a three-year-old boy were injured in the explosion of an LPG cylinder in Dombivli city of Thane district on Tuesday evening, an official said.

The incident took place in a ground-floor flat at Parsan building in Gaikwad Wadi around 8 pm.

A 63-year-old woman who lived in the flat was injured. A woman and her three-year-old son were also injured as the door grill of the flat fell on them, the official said.

The boy suffered serious injuries. All three are undergoing treatment.

Banned tobacco products worth Rs 8.93 lakh were seized in Navi Mumbai

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PTI

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August 24, 2022

Tobacco Representative Image — Image: PTI

The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) has seized banned gutka and tobacco products worth Rs 8.93 lakh from a shop in Navi Mumbai, police said on Wednesday.

Based on a tip-off, the Navi Mumbai police’s ANC on Monday raided the shop located in the Taloja area and seized the banned items, the police said in an official release.

The police also seized Rs 1.26 lakh in cash, it said. Two persons – Mohmmad Hamza Mohammad Saheen Khan (26) and Arfan Siraz Ahmed Shaikh (22) – were arrested from the shop.

A case was registered against them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the release said.

The police were trying to find out from where the accused got these goods and to whom they planned to sell them. The sale and consumption of gutka, scented and flavoured tobacco has been banned in Maharashtra since 2012.

In 2018, the state government made the sale of gutka a non-bailable offence and enhanced the punishment for it from six months to three years.

NDTV shares hit 5 per cent upper circuit after Adani Group buys stake

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ANI

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August 24, 2022

The share price of New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) surged 5 per cent to hit the upper circuit limit on Wednesday a day after Adani Group announced that it would acquire a majority stake in the news channel company.

On the BSE the share price of NDTV opened at Rs 380 and hit the upper circuit limit of Rs 384.50 soon after the opening of the trade on Wednesday against its previous day’s close at Rs 366.20.

This is the highest level of NDTV shares in the past year. The 52-week low of NDTV share is Rs 71.15.

NDTV shares have surged after Adani Group announced that it has acquired a 29.18 per cent stake in the news channel company by converting debt into equity.

Adani Group has also announced that it would acquire another 26 per cent stake in NDTV through an open offer.

AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), has acquired a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV.

Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL), has exercised the rights to acquire 99.5 per cent of the equity shares of RRPR Holding Private Limited, a promoter group company of NDTV.

AMNL’s wholly owned subsidiary VCPL holds warrants of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPR) entitling it to convert them into a 99.99 per cent stake in RRPR. VCPL has exercised warrants to acquire a 99.5 per cent stake in RRPR. Such acquisition will result in VCPL acquiring control of RRPR, Adani Group said in a statement on Tuesday.

RRPR is a promoter group company of NDTV and holds a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV.

VCPL, along with AMNL & AEL (persons acting in concert), will launch an open offer to acquire up to 26 per cent stake in NDTV, in compliance with the requirements of the SEBI’s (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011, Adani Group said.

NDTV recorded a Revenue of Rs 421 crore with an EBITDA of Rs 123 crore and a net profit of Rs 85 crore in the financial year 2021-22 with negligible debt.

“This acquisition is a significant milestone in the journey of AMNL’s goal to pave the path of new age media across platforms,” Sanjay Pugalia, CEO, of AMG Media Networks Limited, said in a statement.

“AMNL seeks to empower Indian citizens, consumers and those interested in India, with information and knowledge. With its leading position in news and its strong and diverse reach across genres and geographies, NDTV is the most suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on our vision. We look forward to strengthening NDTV’s leadership in news delivery,” Pugalia said.

China’s tensions with Indonesia may spike over Natuna Islands

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ANI

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August 24, 2022

The joint combat exercise between Indonesia and US held this month has reminded China that it can’t afford to ignore Jakarta which is strategically critical to the Indo-Pacific region.

Under the banners of 14 nations, the 16th annual Garuda Shield exercise, the cornerstone of the military partnership between the US and Indonesia, was held this month. Expanding from a bilateral training event between the Indonesian Army and the US Army, this year’s “Super Garuda Shield” is now one of the biggest joint, multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific region.

The strong and diverse Super Garuda Shield 2022 featured a number of “firsts,” including the first-ever trilateral airborne jump among the United States, Indonesia, and Japan, which concluded early today. The multinational exercise’s planning, operations, exchanges, and activities increase all participating nations’ military defence capabilities and work to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

More than 4,000 combined forces personnel, including first-time participants Australia, Singapore, and Japan Ground Self Defense Force, are participating in support of the exercise. Other participating nations include Canada, France, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and the United Kingdom.

“When we’re together like this, we are stronger,” said Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific, General Charles Flynn. “Together as a multinational force, Garuda Shield is an important expression of our teamwork, our interoperability and our unity as a group of nations that seek to have a free and open IndoPacific and maintain a rules-based order.”

Indonesia is seemingly taking the lead in stopping arrogant China’s ‘unstoppable’ march decimating small and middle countries in and around the Indo-Pacific region, according to Global Strat View analysis.

While Indonesia and China enjoy generally positive ties, Jakarta has expressed concern about Chinese involvement in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

Regional experts say that Indonesia’s ties to China seem to have taken a dip due to the Natuna Island issue. This has been exacerbated by reports of Jakarta’s plan to turn the Natuna Regency into a special economic zone (SEZ)

This prospect has not gone well in China but for Indonesia, the designation will introduce an array of incentives to bolster the region’s tourism, fishing, energy, and security sectors.

At the request of the Natuna Regency office, a government working group has conducted studies to convert the island group into an SEZ. Indonesian president Widodo Joko even signed an order to divide the Natuna marine area into regulated zones.

The declaration of Natuna island as SEZ will likely cause tension between China and Indonesia

Protests erupt in Karachi after prolonged load shedding

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ANI

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August 24, 2022

Protests erupted in different parts of Pakistan’s Karachi on Tuesday due to the unannounced and prolonged load shedding, local media reported.

In different areas of Karachi, residents participated in protests after an unannounced and prolonged load shedding in the city, ARY News reported.

Meanwhile, the resident also staged protests outside the K-Electric office and in Sir Syed Town Kalyana of the North Karachi area.

The residents of Quaidabad held a protest near Daud Chawrangi and blocked a road for traffic.

Earlier, on August 12, frustrated by prolonged and unannounced load shedding, angry residents of Sachal Goth had marched towards the K-Electric (KE) office and attacked it.

The protestors had pelted stones at the KE office and broke the windows of its vehicles. On their way to the office, the protestors also burnt tyres against the prolonged load shedding, reported ARY News.

Earlier, numerous people took to the streets on Monday and gathered in front of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company office in Saidu Sharif, after the excessive rise in fuel cost adjustment (FCA) charges on electricity bills.

Due to the imposition of taxes on energy bills, residents of Amankot, Faizabad, Rahimabad, Saidu Sharif, Gul Kada, Panr and other suburbs of Mingora marched from their respective areas and held protests and subsequently marched towards the Swat Press Club where their leaders, including local government members, claimed the current month’s bills were heavily laden with FCA and other taxes, reported Dawn.

Maha Council clears bills on direct election of sarpanches, municipal council, Nagar panchayat heads

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PTI

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August 24, 2022

The Maharashtra Legislative Council on Tuesday passed two bills that will enable the election of gram panchayat sarpanches, presidents of municipal councils and Nagar panchayats directly by voters.

The bills were cleared by the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Tabling the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965, in the Upper House, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the move was aimed at increasing accountability of these local bodies.

So far, members of gram panchayats, municipal councils and Nagar panchayats had been electing chiefs of these bodies.

Opposing the bills, Ambadas Danve, the Leader of Opposition and Shiv Sena legislator, asked what would be the situation if the president is elected from one party, while councillors of another party have a majority.

Danve and Eknath Khadse (NCP) asked Shinde the reason behind changing his stand as it was the Urban Development Department under him in the previous Uddhav Thackeray government that had taken a decision to indirectly elect presidents of municipal councils and Nagar panchayats.

Replying to the debate, the chief minister said the decision to elect presidents of municipal councils directly was a collective stand of the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

During a debate on the bill amending the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act, introduced by Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, Danve said the move will lead to the concentration of power in the hands of one person.

The bill will enable direct election for the post of gram panchayat sarpanch.

India voices concern over situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in UNSC

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ANI

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August 24, 2022

Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj — India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj

India on Tuesday said it remained concerned with the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, saying that any accident involving nuclear facilities could potentially have disastrous consequences.

Addressing a United Nations Security Council briefing, the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said that India continues to carefully follow developments regarding the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and it attaches high importance to ensuring the safety and security of these facilities.

The ambassador said India also accords high priority to the discharge by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its safeguards and monitoring activities, in accordance with its Statute in an effective, objective and efficient manner.

“India remains concerned over the situation at the Zaporizhya Nuclear Power Plant. We support the ongoing efforts including that of the IAEA to reduce tensions and steps to ensure nuclear safety and security at the facility,” Kamboj said.

This concern comes as recent weeks have seen an escalation in shelling in and around Europe’s largest nuclear facility.

The UNSC meeting was requested by Russia, whose forces have occupied the plant since March, or shortly after the start of the war, while Ukrainian personnel continue to carry out their on-site operations.

“We have noted the latest information available with regard to the nuclear power plants and facilities in Ukraine, including the updates published on August 19 by the IAEA. We hope the proposed visit by a team from IAEA to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and its surrounding areas will be agreed by the two sides, as indicated in their recent statements,” she added.

The Indian envoy to the UN said that New Delhi will continue to reiterate that the global order is anchored on international law, the UN Charter and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

Speaking at the same briefing, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said that an agreement is urgently needed to reestablish the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine as purely civilian infrastructure and prevent a potentially “catastrophic” disaster.

DiCarlo reiterated the UN’s ongoing grave concern over the dangerous situation, recalling the Secretary-General’s appeals for common sense, reason and restraint, as well as dialogue. The UN has again called for the parties to provide the IAEA with immediate, secure, and unfettered access to the nuclear plant.

Mining lease case: Arjun Munda hits back at Hemant Soren, says EC’s decision to come soon

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ANI

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August 24, 2022

Image: ANI | Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda

Taking a jibe at Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Union Minister Arjun Munda said the Election Commission will soon make a decision regarding the stone mining case.

Speaking to ANI, Munda said, Jharkhand is going through a very poor time. I do not feel it appropriate to make political remarks on the matter which is under discussion with the Election Commission.

The system impacted the lives of people and the public work is not being handled. The state’s economy is in extremely poor shape. Reacting to the stone mining case, the Union Minister said people are keeping an eye on it and the investigation is ongoing.

The Election Commission’s decision will be revealed shortly. The Election Commission will make a decision in this matter. The BJP had complained to the Governor that the stone mining concession had been granted by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. His membership in the assembly should be revoked because this is against the Representation of the People Act, Munda said.

Meanwhile, rumours that Chief Minister Soren may step down from the position have grown more intense. The choices of CM are also being discussed at the same time.

There are speculations about Kalpana Soren perhaps succeeding her husband as Chief Minister. He further said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) charged Soren with abusing his position as Mining and Environment Minister to secure a 2021 stone mining lease in Ranchis Angara block.

Meanwhile, Nishikant Dubey, a BJP member, exacerbated the rumours in a tweet. Johar, Jai Shri Ram, finally, the work is done in Jharkhand, Dubey tweeted.

Munda commented on the present political commotion in Jharkhand by saying, I don’t want to comment on Nishikant Dubeys Twitter, this is his personal tweet, but yes, it is a matter of truth that the situation in Jharkhand is really pitiful.