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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stated that Muslim youths would not have to “fix punctures” if waqf land had been properly utilised for the community’s benefit. Speaking in Hisar, Haryana, after laying the foundation stone for a new airport terminal, Modi claimed that vast amounts of waqf land could have helped the poor if used correctly.

He accused the “land mafia” of exploiting waqf properties for their gain.

Modi asserted that the newly amended waqf law would stop the exploitation of the poor, particularly poor Muslims and Pasmanda (Dalit and backward caste) Muslims, by ensuring that land or property belonging to them cannot be touched by the waqf board. “This is real social justice,” he said.

His remarks came amid violent protests against the law in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district that have left three dead. More than 200 persons have been arrested in connection with the protests. In Assam too, a protest in Cachar district against the Act turned violent on Sunday. Read on.

Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium following India’s extradition request related to the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. Choksi, wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, was detained on Saturday.

His lawyer confirmed the arrest, stating they would appeal, citing Choksi’s ill health and ongoing cancer treatment as the grounds for his release. Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is accused in the 2018 PNB scam, which involved fraudulent transactions worth Rs 11,380 crore.

A few officials of the public sector bank had allegedly issued fraudulent Letters of Undertaking to Modi’s companies, resulting in the loss of Rs 6,097.6 crore to Punjab National Bank.

Choksi fled India in January 2018, securing citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda. Read on.

The Telangana government has notified the Scheduled Castes Rationalisation of Reservations Act, 2025, becoming the first Indian state to implement sub-categorisation within Scheduled Caste groups. The move follows a Supreme Court ruling permitting sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas.

Based on recommendations by a one-man commission, the state split 59 SC communities into three groups within the existing 15% reservation quota: Group 1 (1% for 15 most backward sub-castes), Group 2 (9% for 18 sub-castes) and Group 3 (5% for 26 relatively better-placed sub-castes). Read on.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has received a fresh death threat via a message sent to the Mumbai traffic police’s WhatsApp helpline. The message, which arrived around 6.30 am on Sunday, warned of a bomb attack on Khan's car and also threatened to kill him in his home.

The police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal intimidation. Khan has been on the radar of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang since 2018 due to his involvement in a 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

In April 2024, suspected Bishnoi gang members fired shots outside his residence, and the gang has previously threatened Khan over the case. The Mumbai Police has also alleged that former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique’s murder in October was linked to his perceived proximity to Khan. Read on.

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