Removing Alok Verma as CBI chief is an insult to the Constitution, illegal: Rahul Gandhi

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the removal of Alok Verma as the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation was illegal and an insult to the Constitution. The Centre’s decision to send him on leave “at 2 am” was a panicked reaction as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was worried he would get caught for corruption, Gandhi claimed.

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Delhi University panel suggests removing Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s books from postgraduate syllabus

The Delhi University’s Standing Committee on Academic Matters on Wednesday resolved to recommend removing three books by Dalit writer-activist Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd from the political science syllabus because of their “controversial content”. The committee has also suggested discontinuing the use of the word “Dalit” in academic discourse.

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Power-hungry BJP is forcing ailing CM Manohar Parrikar to hold on to post, says ex-Goa RSS chief

Former Goa Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Subhash Velingkar on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of forcing ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to continue to remain in office. Velingkar alleged that the “power-hungry government” is “fooling the people” about the situation.

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Aircel-Maxis case: ED files chargesheet listing nine people, including P Chidambaram, as accused

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed the chargesheet in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case, naming Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram as the prime accused, NDTV reported. A total nine accused have been named.

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Amritsar tragedy: Forensic team visits mishap site, victim files case against Navjot Kaur Sidhu

A forensic team from Mohali visited Amritsar on Wednesday and examined the site of the train mishap on October 19 that claimed 62 lives. Meanwhile, one of the accident victims filed a complaint against local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, as well as Congress councillor Vijay Madaan’s son Saurabh Madan, the Hindustan Times reported.

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YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy stabbed in arm at Visakhapatnam airport

YSR Congress Party leader and Leader of the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was stabbed in the arm by an unidentified assailant at Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday. The politician suffered a minor injury on the left arm. He called the attack an “act of cowardice”.

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Details of the investigation in Muzaffarpur rapes are ‘horrible’ and ‘scary’, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the details of the investigation into the rape of several girls in a Muzaffarpur shelter home were “horrible” and “scary”. “What is going on? This is horrible,” Justice Madan Lokur said while perusing the status report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

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President rejects plea to disqualify 27 AAP MLAs accused of holding offices of profit

President Ram Nath Kovind has dismissed a plea to disqualify 27 Aam Admi Party legislators in Delhi for allegedly holding offices of profit. The petition was filed with the Election Commission, challenging the MLAs’ appointment as chairpersons of Rogi Kalyan Samitis, or patient welfare committees, in various Delhi hospitals.

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#MeToo impact: Chennai’s Music Academy drops seven musicians from December cultural season

The Madras Music Academy, has decided to drop seven musicians against whom allegations of sexual harassment have been made from the list of performers in the December music season. The musicians who have been dropped are N Ravikiran, OS Thyagarajan, Mannargudi A Easwaran, Srimushnam V Raja Rao, Nagai Sriram, R Ramesh and Thiruvarur Vaidyanathan.

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Bhima Koregaon case: SC to hear Maharashtra government’s plea against Bombay HC order on October 29

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a petition by the Maharashtra government challenging the Bombay High Court’s order which set aside the extension granted to complete the inquiry into the Bhima Koregaon case. The court will hear the plea on October 29, Bar and Bench reported.

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CBI infighting: Fresh plea in Supreme Court seeks SIT inquiry into allegations of corruption

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider a petition seeking an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team into the allegations of corruption against the Central Bureau of Investigation, including former Special Director Rakesh Asthana, PTI reported.

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PNB scam: ED attaches Nirav Modi’s properties in Hong Kong worth Rs 255 crore

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday attached properties worth Rs 255 crore in Hong Kong belonging to absconding businessman Nirav Modi in the Punjab National Bank fraud case, media reports said. With this, the total value of attached assets in the case has reached Rs 4,744 crore.

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Madras High Court upholds Speaker’s decision to disqualify 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs

The Madras High Court on Thursday upheld Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal’s decision to disqualify 18 MLAs of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam loyal to sidelined leader TTV Dinakaran. The legislators were disqualified in September 2017 after they supported Dinakaran.

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Four men detained for allegedly snooping outside home of CBI’s Alok Verma in Delhi, say reports

The Delhi Police on Thursday morning detained four people outside the home of ousted Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma for allegedly lurking around the building and trying to snoop. The men reportedly belong to the Intelligence Bureau and were keeping a watch on Verma, the news channel reported, quoting unidentified officials.

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Delhi Court grants bail to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP MLAs in chief secretary assault case

A court in Delhi’s Patiala House Courts complex on Thursday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and other AAP legislators accused of assaulting Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February. They have been granted bail on the surety that they will not tamper with evidence reports. The court will scrutinise documents next on December 7.

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Income Tax Department raids four sand mining firms in TN and Andhra Pradesh for alleged tax evasion

Income Tax officials raided four sand mining companies at 100 locations in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on Thursday morning. The raids were conducted as part of an investigation against mining and mineral export companies into tax evasion, PTI reported. The offices of garnet exporting firm VV Mineral were among those searched.

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Sensex, Nifty fall sharply in early morning trade after rout in global markets

The Indian markets fell steeply in early trade on Thursday following a rout in global equities. The BSE Sensex fell by as much as 321 points, and the National Stock Exchange Nifty50 by 99 points, before recovering slightly.

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In Supreme Court petition, former CBI chief Alok Verma accuses Centre of interfering in agency

Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma, who was sent on leave by the government late on Tuesday, has told the Supreme Court that the investigating agency’s autonomy was being compromised as “certain investigations into high functionaries do not take the direction that may be desirable to the government”.

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Modi calls for ‘tax plus one’ approach to building nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said at a town-hall meeting in New Delhi that citizens need to adopt a “tax-plus one” approach to do more for the society besides honestly paying taxes. He said more people were now paying taxes as they have faith that their money is being utilised well. He added that he does not believe in the culture of criticising companies or industrialists.

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Kerala Police begin search for 210 people suspected of violence at Sabarimala

The Kerala Police on Wednesday launched major search operations for 210 people it suspects of being involved in violence at Sabarimala, Pamba and Nilakkal towns last week, during protests against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women to enter the Sabarimala shrine.

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Amnesty India seeks ‘independent, impartial’ inquiry into Kulgam civilian deaths

Amnesty India on Wednesday called for an “independent and impartial” investigation into the deaths of seven civilians in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on October 21. The NGO said those responsible for the deaths should be “brought to justice”.

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Santragachhi stampede: Four-member panel to investigate incident

The Indian Railways on Wednesday formed a four-member committee to investigate the stampede at Santragachhi junction in West Bengal’s Howrah city on Tuesday, which killed two people and wounded at least 14. Passengers had rushed towards railway platforms when three trains arrived at the junction at 6.30 pm, causing a stampede on a foot over bridge.

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TDB to not file review petition in Supreme Court

The Travancore Dewaswom Board, which administers the Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala’s Sabarimala, on Wednesday decided not to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the court’s verdict granting women of all ages entry to the shrine. The board said that such a petition “has no relevance now”.

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Panel probing Jayalalithaa’s death gets another extension

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday granted an extension of four months to the commission investigating the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The one-man commission is expected to submit its report on February 24.

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Israel to supply Barak 8 missile defence systems to India for $777 million

Defence firm Israel Aerospace Industries has won an additional $777-million (over Rs 5,600 crore) contract to supply Barak 8 LR-SAM air and missile defence systems to seven ships of the Indian Navy, the company said on Wednesday. The state-owned firm said the contract is with Bharat Electronics Limited, which is the main contractor in the project.

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Rafale deal: Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Prashant Bhushan move SC seeking CBI inquiry

Former Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, and advocate Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the Rafale jet deal between India and France. Bhushan and Shourie had met CBI Director Alok Verma on October 4 and sought an inquiry into the agreement. But late on Tuesday night, Verma was sent on leave by the government, pending an investigation.

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