The big news: Fresh arrest warrant against Tajinder Bagga, and nine other top stories
Other headlines: CBI raided properties of Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh in bank fraud case and and emergency was declared in Sri Lanka.
A look at the top headlines of the day:
1. Tajinder Bagga faces arrest again as Mohali court issues fresh warrant against him: The warrant is also related to making provocative statements. However, it was not clear if the case was also related to his allegedly provocative statements about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for which he was arrested from his Delhi home by the Punjab Police on Friday.
2. CBI raids properties of Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh in alleged Rs 40 crore bank fraud case: The case related to taking loans by hiding information, was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a Ludhiana branch of the Bank of India against Malerkotla-based private firm Tara Corporation Limited. The directors allegedly “concealed hypothecated stock and diverted book debts” while taking the loans, the CBI said. Singh was one of the directors.
3. Domestic LPG cylinder price increased by Rs 50: With this, a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder now costs Rs 999.50 in Delhi. Both LPG and fuel prices have been hiked several times since the Assembly election results of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Punjab were declared on March 10.
4. Emergency declared in Sri Lanka for second time in five weeks: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the announcement on Friday, hours after protestors tried to storm the country’s Parliament seeking his resignation. The demonstrators remained outside Parliament despite the police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. The Sri Lankan government had first declared a state of emergency on April 1, giving Rajapaksa sweeping powers to detain demonstrators and seize property.
4. Bailable warrant issued against TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s wife by Delhi court in coal scam: The court passed the order after the Enforcement Directorate said that Rujira Banerjee has failed to appear before it despite multiple summons. Abhishek Banerjee and Rujira Banerjee have been named as accused persons in a case of alleged illegal coal mining and theft from the mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited in West Bengal’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas.
6. Seven dead in Indore after fire breaks out in residential building: Authorities rescued nine residents from the spot, Police Commissioner Harinarayan Chari Mishra said. Most of the deaths took place due to asphyxiation.
7. Three Tamil Nadu policemen booked for alleged custodial death of Chennai man: Sub- Inspector Pugalum Perumal, Head Constable Pavanraj and Home Guard Deepak of Chennai’s GS Secretariat Colony police station have been booked. In a purported CCTV camera footage from a day after the man’s arrest, two policemen could be seen beating up Vignesh, the deceased man.
8. Reliance Industries becomes first Indian firm to earn over $100 billion in annual revenue: The company earned a net profit of Rs 60,705 crore from revenue amounting to Rs 7.92 lakh crore, or $102 billion. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate’s net profit for the quarter that ended in March increased by 22.5%. The company cited high margins in oil refining segment, growth in the telecom and digital sectors and strong momentum in the retail division for this figure.
9. HDFC hikes housing loan rates by 0.3% for all customers from May 9: The revised lending rates of HDFC will be applicable for both existing and new customers of the lender. The move came three days after the RBI raised India’s repo rate by 40 basis points, or 0.4%.
10. Lawyer assaults woman at court complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol: The incident took place Beohari town. The lawyer, identified as Bhagwan Singh, was representing the estranged husband of the woman. She had come to the court with her infant to attend a hearing. The police have filed an FIR against the lawyer.