A look at the day’s top stories:

‘Issued under rules made in 2009’: Centre clarifies its order allowing agencies to monitor computers

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday clarified that it had not conferred any new powers on any central security or law enforcement agency through its notification on the monitoring of data in computers.

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AgustaWestland deal: Court directs CBI to cancel Look Out Circular against former Air Force chief

A court in Delhi on Friday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to cancel a Look Out Circular issued against former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi, who is an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, PTI reported.

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‘Why am I being called a traitor?’: Naseeruddin Shah defends comment on importance given to cows

Actor Naseeruddin Shah on Friday defended his statement that the death of a cow is being given more importance than that of a police officer in present day India, ANI reported. His remark had triggered a debate on social media.

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Karnataka: Chamarajanagar temple food poisoning toll rises to 16

A 45-year-old man, who was undergoing treatment after eating a poisoned religious offering at a temple in Karnataka, died on Friday, taking the toll in the Chamarajanagar food poisoning incident to 16, PTI reported.

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External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj holds talks with Chinese counterpart in Delhi

Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Friday held talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who is on a four-day visit to New Delhi, PTI reported.

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National Herald: Publishers of Congress-linked newspaper told to vacate office building in two weeks

The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the National Herald newspaper to vacate the Herald House building in New Delhi, Bar and Bench reported.

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West Bengal: Calcutta High Court quashes single-bench order allowing BJP to hold public rallies

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside an earlier judgement by the single bench that allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to hold public rallies in West Bengal. The state government had moved an appeal challenging the single bench’s order.

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1995 ‘tandoor’ murder case: Delhi High Court orders immediate release of accused Sushil Sharma

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed authorities to immediately release former youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma, who is serving a life sentence for killing his wife Naina Sahni in 1995. The court was hearing Sharma’s petition seeking release.

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Goa: Woman alleges she was not allowed to write NET exam after she refused to remove hijab

A 24-year-old Muslim woman from Goa on Thursday claimed that officials conducting the National Eligibility Test did not allow her to write the paper when she refused to take off her hijab outside the examination centre in Panaji.

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New Delhi records coldest day in four years on Thursday as temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius

New Delhi recorded its coldest day in four years on Thursday, with the minimum temperature dipping to 4 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said, according to PTI. This is four degrees below normal for this time of the year. The maximum temperature was 22 degrees Celsius, which is normal.

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CBI’s Rakesh Asthana, who was facing 6 cases of corruption, is now being probed in only 1

The Central Bureau of Investigation has said that its Special Director Rakesh Asthana, who was facing investigation in six cases of corruption, is currently being probed only in one. On September 21, the CBI, headed by Alok Verma, had said that the agency was investigating Asthana’s role in “at least half a dozen cases”. In a Right To Information application filed on October 10, The Indian Express sought details of the six cases that the CBI had mentioned. The agency, in its reply, said it is only investigating Asthana in the case involving Qureshi.

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Hanuman was a Jat, claims Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Uttar Pradesh on Friday claimed that Hindu god Hanuman belonged to the Jat community. Minister for Religious Affairs Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary claimed that Hanuman, like members of the Jat community, would help out those in trouble without even knowing the concerned persons.

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‘An Orwellian state’: Opposition criticises Centre’s order allowing agencies to monitor computers

Opposition parties on Friday criticised the Centre for authorising 10 central agencies to monitor, intercept, and decrypt “any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer”. Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury criticised the move.

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Puducherry: Tamil writer and critic Prapanchan dies

Tamil writer Prapanchan, who was suffering from cancer, died in Puducherry on Friday at the age of 73. Prapanchan received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995 for his novel Vaanam Vasappadum.

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Odisha elephant deaths: NGT imposes Rs 4-crore fine on state electricity supplier for negligence

The National Green Tribunal on Thursday levied an additional fine of Rs 4 crore on Odisha’s Central Electrical Supply Undertaking for negligence in connection with the deaths of seven elephants in Dhenkanal district in October. The animals had died on October 26 after coming in contact with a live wire in Kamalanga village.

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Centre suspends IPS officer Rajnish Rai, who investigated Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case

The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended Gujarat-cadre Indian Police Service officer Rajnish Rai, who had arrested three police officers while investigating the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in 2007.

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Parliament: Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid protests over Cauvery, special status for Andhra

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday, the ninth day of the Parliament’s Winter Session, as MPs of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam created a ruckus over the construction of a dam on the Cauvery river

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All 22 accused in Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter acquitted due to lack of evidence

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Mumbai on Friday acquitted all 22 accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case due to lack of evidence. Judge SJ Sharma in the order said that the witnesses and evidence collected were not satisfactory to prove conspiracy and murder.

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Ten central agencies can now monitor information on any computer

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday issued an order authorising 10 central agencies to monitor, intercept, and decrypt “any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer”.

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India rejects Pakistan’s claim over Jinnah House, says it is government property

India on Thursday said Jinnah House in Mumbai is government property and rejected Pakistan’s claims of ownership of it.

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Sensex, Nifty fall over 1% in morning trade as global selloff continues

The BSE Sensex fell over 400 points in morning trade on Friday, as a global selloff continued two days after the United States Federal Reserve raised interest rates.

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West Bengal moves appeal after Calcutta High Court allows BJP to hold public rallies

The West Bengal government on Friday moved an appeal challenging a single bench order of the Calcutta High Court that allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to hold statewide public rallies for which the state government had earlier denied permission.

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‘MTV Ace of Space’ star Danish Zehen dies in car crash in Mumbai

MTV Ace of Space star and YouTube blogger Danish Zehen died in a car crash early on Thursday. Zehen, 21, and his friend, Shehzad Sharif Sayyed, were travelling from Kurla to Mankhurd in Navi Mumbai after attending a wedding, when the car crashed.

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Goa: Man arrested for allegedly raping British tourist and stealing her belongings

Goa Police on Thursday arrested a man for allegedly raping and robbing a British woman near Palolem beach in the southern part of the state. The police have identified the accused as Ramchandrappa, 30, a resident of Tamil Nadu, and registered a case against him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

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Delhi High Court rejects Sajjan Kumar’s plea seeking more time to surrender

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s plea seeking more time to surrender, following his conviction in the 1984 anti-Sikh violence case. Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 17.

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‘Today, death of a cow is more important than killing of a police officer’, says Naseeruddin Shah

Actor Naseeruddin Shah said that the death of a cow is being given more importance than that of a police officer in present day India. His comments come after violence in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, in which police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was killed on December 3 following the discovery of cow carcasses in the area.

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Verdict in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case likely to be delivered today

A special court in Mumbai will deliver the judgement in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case on Friday nearly 13 years after the incident.

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Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel appoints journalist accused in alleged sex video case as his advisor

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday appointed journalist Vinod Verma, who is an accused in an alleged extortion and sex video scandal, as his political advisor. The General Administration Department of the government also appointed three other advisors to the chief minister.

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Mumbai: Eight injured in stampede at Mithibai College during rap concert

At least eight people were injured in a stampede at Mumbai’s Mithibai College during a concert by rapper Divine on Thursday evening. They were admitted to RN Cooper Hospital in Juhu, but three of them are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

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‘You see deaths of two people, not 21 cows’: BJP MLA responds to open letter on Bulandshahr violence

A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Uttar Pradesh’s Anupshahr on Thursday wrote an open letter to former bureaucrats who had demanded Chief Minister Adityanath’s resignation over the mob violence that erupted in Bulandshahr district. Sharma blamed them for only noticing the deaths of two people and termed their demand “politically motivated”.

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Chit fund scam: Editor of Bengali daily arrested in Kolkata

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested Suman Chattopadhyay, the editor of a leading Bengali daily, in connection with a chit fund scam in West Bengal. He has been booked for alleged money laundering and round tripping of funds by creating bogus companies and routing illegal money using multiple transactions.

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