A young man was stabbed by people of another community in Bihar for allegedly watching a video of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma, though police asserted that the incident had “no communal angle”.
The incident took place in Nanpur police station area of Sitamarhi district on Sunday where Ankit Jha, 23, was stabbed several times at a betel shop after which he was rushed to a hospital.
Jha, who has sustained grievous injuries, told reporters that he was going through his WhatsApp when some bystanders picked up a quarrel with him before attacking him.
A section of the press has quoted Jha’s family members as having alleged that an FIR was registered “only after” they deleted the reference to Sharma, in news for derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad in a TV debate, whose video the victim was watching on his phone.
However, Sitamarhi SP Har Kishor Rai asserted that there was “no communal angle” to the incident and that two of the four persons named in the FIR have been arrested.
A total of 31 people have been injured in the earthquake that hit Afghanistan’s Paktika on Monday, media reported citing province authorities.
As per Afghanistan’s local media outlet, TOLO News, Paktika’s Head of Information and Culture Department, Muhammad Amin Huzaifa said that 31 people were injured in Monday’s earthquake that hit Barmal, Giyan and Zirok districts and damaged dozens of homes.
He added that the injured have been evacuated and taken to nearby health centers. Notably, two earthquakes hit Afghanistan’s east and northeast regions on Monday evening, local media reported.
As per the Tolo News citing US Geological Survey, an earthquake measuring 5.1 jolted in the eastern Afghanistan region, at 4:52 (local time) while the earlier one was reported in the northeast with 4.3 magnitudes.
Another earthquake of magnitude 4.7 shook Afghanistan at 06:40:00 IST on Tuesday as well. Earlier, on June 22, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Afghanistan including the capital city Kabul killing over 1,000 people across Barmal and Giyan districts in Paktika province and Spera district in Khost province.
In addition, at least 1,455 people were injured across three of the six most-affected districts of Barmal, Giyan, and Spera – many of them seriously. Over 10,000 houses were destroyed.
The United Nations allocated USD 10 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Funds (UNCERF) to support the people of Afghanistan affected by the earthquake that struck the eastern part of the country.
Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) of Bahrain has entered into an agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to distribute relief aid to support people in Afghanistan affected by the recent earthquake.
India had also handed over the consignments of relief assistance to support the Afghan nationals affected by the earthquake.
The relief assistance handed over by the Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary (PAI), JP Singh consisted of essential items including family ridge tents, sleeping bags, blankets, sleeping mats, etc to support the people of Afghanistan in quake-affected regions.
India also deployed a technical team to the Embassy in Kabul to coordinate the efforts of stakeholders for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
An office-bearer of the Shiv Sena was attacked and injured by unidentified persons in Maharashtra’s Nashik city, police said on Tuesday.
Sena office-bearer Nilesh alias Bala Kokane sustained injuries in the attack that took place in the MG Road area of the city around 10.45 pm on Monday, an official said.
According to the police, Kokane was riding his two-wheeler when some unidentified persons attacked him with sharp objects.
Kokane sustained injuries and was rushed to a private hospital at Gangapur Road, where his condition is said to be stable, the official said.
On being alerted about the attack, patrolling squads of Bhadrakali and Sarkarwada police stations combed the area for the unidentified attackers, he added..
Joint opposition candidate for the vice presidential election Margaret Alva on Tuesday filed her nomination papers for the post and was accompanied by a host of leaders.
The vice presidential poll will be held on August 6 to elect the successor to M Venkaiah Naidu, whose term ends on August 10.
Alva, 80, is pitted against NDA’s Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned as West Bengal governor after being nominated on Saturday evening.
Several opposition leaders, including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, were present during her nomination filing.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja and MDMK’s Vaiko were also present during the nomination filing.
No leader from the Trinamool Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party was present during the nomination filing of the joint opposition candidate. Both the parties were not represented at the opposition meeting that decided on fielding Alva as their consensus candidate, but Pawar had said that he is in touch with both TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Tuesday is the last date for submission of nominations for the vice presidential election.
“It’s a tough election without a doubt, but I’m not afraid to take on the challenge,” Alva had said on Monday while thanking opposition parties who have supported her candidature.
Former Rajasthan governor and Congress veteran Alva was unanimously chosen as the joint opposition candidate for the post of vice president on Sunday in the presence of leaders from 17 opposition parties.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, comprise the electoral college for the vice president’s election.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi for the second day on Tuesday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal phone tapping of NSE employees, officials said.
This is the second consecutive day that the retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is being questioned by the federal probe agency in this case.
Like Monday, the officer will continue to reply to questions on the business and operations of a firm floated by him for security audit of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and his statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, they said.
Pandey, a 1986-batch officer, retired from service on June 30. Before his four-month stint as Mumbai’s commissioner of police, he served as the acting Maharashtra director general of police.
CBI had said on Monday that it questioned Pandey and another former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in connection with the Rs 100 crore extortion allegations against former minister Anil Deshmukh.
Pandey is facing two ED and Central Bureau of Investigation FIRs — illegal interception of phones of NSE employees by iSec Services Private Ltd, a company founded by him, and violation of Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines in conducting NSE’s system audit.
He has been questioned early this month by the ED in the alleged co-location scam at the NSE.
Lendl Simmons announces retirement from international cricket 7
West Indies opening batter Lendl Simmons announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday.
Taking to Twitter, the Windies cricketer, who last played an international game in October 2021 against South Africa, issued a statement announcing his retirement.
“When I wore the Maroon Colours of the West Indies Cricket for the first time on debut in ODIs on December 7th, 2006, little did I know that my international career would have lasted 16 years but my passion and love for the sport fuelled me every day.
I am closing this chapter of International Cricket having played 144 matches and scoring 3,763 runs from all formats. I want to thank the West Indies Cricket Team for the opportunities, and I wish the new crop of WI players all the best and to keep on believing in yourselves and your abilities,” said Simmons in his statement.
“My family and friends are my true motivators as they kept me inspired for so long. Now, I have the time to be one cheering them on the sidelines. I really hope that I represented them well because I did it for them.
There were times when the odds were against me, but you stood tall alongside me. Of course, the FANS, whenever we meet in person, cheering on in the stands or messages on social media…Despite the ups and downs, you all gave me the energy that was needed to bat on for so long,” he added.
Simmons advised the youngsters not to be ashamed of dreaming big, saying that it takes a lot of determination, focus and a strong mind to get over the numerous hurdles, but it is all worth it in the end.
“Cricket allowed me to travel the world, meet great people and experience different cultures leaving uncountable and meaningful memories. I never cheated the game; I gave it 100 per cent of hard work and that is why I was able to play Internationally for almost 16 years,” he continued.
“I still do extensive training and keep myself relatively fit, so my focus is to continue playing franchise cricket for as long as my body permits. Hopefully, I can continue to entertain the people of my region and all over the world for a few more years as I am still timing the ball beautifully and beating bowling,” he concluded.
He leaves this sport as a player as a part of the West Indies team that won the ICC World T20 title in 2012 and 2016. His knock of 82* against India in the semi-finals of the 2016 edition of the event is one of the major highlights of his career.
In eight Tests for West Indies, he scored 278 runs at an average of 17.37. He has the individual best score of 49 in the format.
In ODIs, he has represented WI in 68 matches, scoring 1,958 runs at an average of 31.58. Two centuries and 16 half centuries have come out of his bat, with the best score of 122.
Finally, he has played 68 games for the Windies in the T20I format, scoring 1,527 runs at an average of 26.78. He has scored nine half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 91*
Thirty nine trains have been cancelled and 58 others diverted in over 30 hours after a goods train derailed and blocked the route in Gujarat’s Dahod district, the Western Railway said on Tuesday.
The cancelled trains include some local ones, while those diverted are all express trains.
Sixteen wagons of the goods train heading towards Vadodara from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh had derailed between Mangal Mahudi and Limkheda stations in Dahod at 12.48 am on Monday.
Eight of the wagons fell on the up line and as many on the down line, blocking the two routes, an official earlier said.
There was no casualty in the incident.
While the down line was fixed on Tuesday morning with a speed limitation of 20 kmph for trains, efforts were still on to clear the up line for the train movement to resume on the route, the Western Railway (WR) said in a statement.
Till 9 am on Tuesday, 39 trains were cancelled and 58 express trains diverted, it said.
Among the cancelled trains were those which started on Monday and scheduled on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from Dahod, Vadodara, Mumbai, Jaipur, Indore, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Patna, the WR said.
Besides, 58 express trains have been diverted from Ratlam, Surat, Vadodara, Bhestan (near Surat), Chhayapuri (near Vadodara), Nagda, and Bhopal stations, it said.
“Work is underway on a war footing with the help of cranes and other equipment to restart the rail lines,” the WR said.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday gave the suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha over problems in the MSP Committee that was constituted for the welfare of farmers and demands discussion on it.
In the notice to the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Chadha wrote, “I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for suspension of business listed for 19th July 2022: That this house suspends Zero Hour and other relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other businesses of the day to have a discussion on the Committee on MSP constituted by Government of India which is anti-farmer and violates the principles of federalism through non -representation of States, especially Punjab.”
“It is pertinent to note that most of the members of the above-mentioned committee had extended their support to the three draconian farm laws which were later withdrawn by the Government. Also, some of them are active members of the ruling political party. Therefore, one cannot expect them to do justice to the cause of farmers,” Chadha wrote.
The government on Monday formed a committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP), eight months after it promised to set up such a panel while withdrawing the three contentious farm laws. Former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agrawal will be the chairman of the committee. The government has made a provision to include three members from Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) as part of the committee but the farm organization has so far not given any names to be part of the panel.
Under the umbrella of SKM, thousands of farmers had held around one year-long agitation at Delhi borders and forced the government to withdraw the farm laws.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced on July 18 and will continue till August 12. There will be 18 sittings during the Session. This session is important given the fact that the Presidential Election and the Vice Presidential Election will be held during this period.
The Presidential Election will also be held on Monday while the Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6. Price rise, the Agnipath scheme and unemployment are some of the issues which are likely to be raised by the Opposition during the Monsoon session.
On Tuesday, Police arrested main accuse who wanted in the killing of five months old case in Maharashtra, official said.
The resident of Palghar town in Virar name Samar Singh alias Samay Vikram Singh Chouhan was shot to dead by unidentified persons at Manvelpada on 26th February Senior inspector Pramod Badakh from Virar crime unit said, Police arrest 12 people from Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Akilesh Shailesh Tiwari main accused is hiding at in various places like UP, Delhi, Bihar and Nepal to avoid arrest.
The police arrested accuse from Katihar in Bihar based on the tip off on Saturday, the official said.
The accuse is registered against relevant IPC, Maharashtra control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and Arms Act, he added.
Amid an impending split in the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is in the national capital to review on Tuesday the legal strategy on the disqualification petition against 16 MLAs supporting him filed by the Uddhav Thackeray camp.
The plea will come up for hearing in the apex Court on Wednesday. Shinde is also likely to meet the breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena MPs here on Tuesday, a day after he was anointed as the ‘chief leader’ of the party at the national executive meeting.
I will definitely meet MPs. Why only 14, we have 18 members in the Lok Sabha, Shinde said when asked by reporters about his meeting with the breakaway group of Shiv Sena MPs in the national capital.
Asked about his visit to Delhi, the chief minister said he was here for discussions with the legal team on the disqualification petition against 16 MLAs supporting him filed by the Uddhav Thackeray camp.
He will also hold discussions with the legal team on the Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations issue as the matter is expected to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court.
The Maharashtra government is committed to providing justice to OBCs, Shinde told reporters here. The breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena members is also expected to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday with a plea to recognize them as a separate group in the lower house.
To questions on a clutch of petitions related to the Maharashtra political crisis scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the chief minister said he has faith in the judiciary. We have unwavering faith and trust in our judiciary. In a democracy, the majority holds significance, Shinde said. We have unwavering faith and trust in our judiciary.
