Jharkhand: Almost 90% of deleted ration cards belonged to real households, finds study

Almost 90% of the ration cards that the Jharkhand government declared invalid between 2016 and 2018 belonged to real households, a study by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab revealed on Thursday. Nearly 56% of these deleted ration cards were not linked with Aadhaar.

Delhi gangrape: Convict bangs head against wall in Tihar, seeks treatment for mental illness

One of the death-row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case moved an additional sessions court on Thursday to seek “high-level treatment” after he reportedly banged his head against the wall of his prison cell at Tihar Central Jail. The convict, Vinay Sharma, has cited “grievous head injury, fracture in his right arm, mental illness, and schizophrenia” in his plea seeking medical aid.

‘Retrograde step’: P Chidambaram criticises Centre for making crop insurance voluntary

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday criticised the Narendra Modi government’s move to make crop insurance voluntary, labelling it a “retrograde step” and an example of the Centre’s anti-farmer position.

Rajasthan: Two Dalit brothers beaten, stripped for alleged theft in Nagaur

Two Dalit brothers who were allegedly caught stealing money from a two-wheeler agency were violently assaulted up by the showroom’s staff members in Nagaur district of Rajasthan.

UP: School principal arrested for giving tips on cheating in board exams

A school principal in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district has been arrested after a video of him allegedly giving tips to students on how to cheat in the board examinations started doing the rounds on social media. The Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board exams started across the state on Tuesday.

26/11 prosecutor says Rakesh Maria did not claim LeT planned to pin blame on ‘Hindu terrorists’

The prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case on Wednesday said former Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria had denied claiming that the Lashkar-e-Taiba planned to pin the blame for the terror strike on Hindutva extremists.

J&K: Independent journalist Ahmer Khan wins AFP’s Kate Webb Prize for reports during restrictions

Freelance journalist Ahmer Khan was announced as the winner of the 2019 AFP Kate Webb Prize on Thursday for his ground reports from Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre rescinded the region’s special status in August last year.

Nagpur court grants Devendra Fadnavis bail in poll affidavit case

A Nagpur court on Thursday granted former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis bail in connection with a complaint seeking criminal proceedings against him, for allegedly not disclosing criminal cases in his election affidavit in 2014, PTI reported. Fadnavis appeared in court after Chief Metropolitan Magistrate PS Ingle gave him the last chance to do so.

J&K: British MP Debbie Abrahams says India not responding to allegations of human rights abuse

British MP Debbie Abrahams, who was denied entry into India earlier this week as she did not “hold a valid visa”, on Wednesday accused New Delhi of not responding to allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir. Abrahams, however, clarified, that she was not anti-India or pro-Pakistan but just wanted to see the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir, reported Hindustan Times.

Karnataka: Lingayat mutt in Gadag district to appoint Muslim man its pontiff

A Lingayat mutt in Gadag district of North Karnataka is set to make a Muslim man its pontiff, The Times of India reported on Thursday. Diwan Sharief Rahimansab Mulla, 33, will be appointed the head of the mutt on February 26. Mulla said he was influenced by the writings of 12th Century reformer Basavanna and would work towards promoting the ideals of social justice and harmony.

CAA: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad dares Centre to implement Citizenship Act, NPR, NRC

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has dared the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, the proposed National Register of Citizens, and the National Population Register, Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.

Jamia video controversy: SIT asks for duty roster of policemen on day of violence, says report

A special investigation team has asked the station house officers of police stations in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area to provide duty rosters of December 15 when violence broke out after a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The special investigation team was set up on Monday to conduct inquiries into videos that purportedly show Delhi Police personnel assaulting students inside the Jamia Millia Islamia University on the evening of December 15.

Greater Noida: Villagers mistake economic survey team for NRC surveyors, hold them hostage

Residents of a Greater Noida village allegedly held a state government team conducting an economic survey hostage on Tuesday, after they were considered to be surveyors collecting information on the National Register of Citizens, The Indian Express reported.

Uphaar fire: No further jail term for Ansal brothers as SC dismisses victims’ curative pleas

The Supreme Court has dismissed a curative petition on Thursday filed by the victims’ association in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case, reported PTI. The rejection of the plea prevents the accused brothers, Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal, from serving a further jail term.

National Museum removes meat dishes from Harappan menu at event on culinary history: Report

The National Museum in Delhi has barred “meat dishes” from being served at the ongoing Historical Gastronomica - The Indus Dinning Experience, an exhibition-cum-event on culinary history, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The event, which is being held on the museum lawn from February 19 to 25, promises to offer India’s ancient food through an “ethno-archaeological kitchen of the Harappan culture”.

Chennai: Three assistant directors killed in accident on set of Kamal Haasan’s film

Three people were killed and nine injured in a crane accident on the set of actor Kamal Haasan’s upcoming film, Indian 2, in Chennai on Wednesday, the police said. While Haasan was unhurt, the injured have been taken to hospital, reported PTI.

The accident took place at suburban Nazrathpet when the crane employed to erect the set crashed, the police said. The shoot was being held at a private cinema studio. All the three deceased were assistant directors for the film, NDTV reported.

Tamil Nadu: 17 killed after Kerala state bus crashes into lorry in Coimbatore

At least 17 people were killed when a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus met with an accident in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district on Thursday, The News Minute reported. The accident took place around 3.15 am in Coimbatore’s Avinashi town when a lorry rammed into the volvo bus. At least 22 people were wounded in the incident. The bus was headed to Erode city in Tamil Nadu.

Bidar sedition case: Students were ‘counselled’, not interrogated, Karnataka government tells HC

The Karnataka government claimed in the High Court on Wednesday that 17 students of Shaheen School in Bidar were “counselled” and not “interrogated” following an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act play at the school on January 21, News18 reported. The High Court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Nayana Jhawar, questioning the investigating officer’s conduct and asking whether rules were followed during examination of minor students at the school.

Modi government doesn’t acknowledge the word ‘slowdown’, so can’t expect solutions: Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi-led government does not acknowledge the word “slowdown” and so, is unlikely to find credible answers to take corrective action, PTI reported.

Singh was speaking at the launch of former Planning Commission chief Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s book Backstage in Delhi. “I think these issues will be debated and should be debated because we have today a government that does not acknowledge that there is such a word as slowdown,” the former prime minister said. “I think this is not good for our country.”

Rakesh Asthana bribery case: Delhi court raps CBI for not conducting lie detector tests

A special court in Delhi has pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation for not carrying out psychological and lie detector tests on the agency’s former special director Rakesh Asthana in a bribery case, reported PTI. The agency had cleared Asthana and Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar of the charges in the case on February 11.

Ram temple construction panel to be led by PM Modi’s former principal secretary Nripendra Misra

Nripendra Misra, the former principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Wednesday elected the head of the temple construction committee of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, PTI reported.

The trust held its first meeting at its office, which is located at Supreme Court lawyer K Parasaran’s home in New Delhi’s Greater Kailash locality, to work out the modalities to speed up the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai were elected the president and general secretary of the trust.

Uttar Pradesh: BJP MLA among seven booked for allegedly raping a woman for a month in 2017

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ravindra Nath Tripathi and six others in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district were booked on Wednesday for allegedly raping a woman multiple times over a month in 2017, reported PTI.

The complainant claimed that Tripathi’s nephew Sandeep Tiwari, who is one of the accused, first raped her in 2016, and continued to sexually exploit her. However, she did not approach the police then as Tiwari had promised to marry her, said Superintendent of Police Ram Badan Singh.

‘If someone comes to die, how can he stay alive’: Adityanath on deaths during CAA protests

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Wednesday claimed that not a single person was killed by police bullets during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the state on December 20 and 21, PTI reported. In the state Assembly, the chief minister said protestors died in firing among themselves.

The biggest demonstrations as well as the largest crackdown on people protesting against the amended law was witnessed in Uttar Pradesh. At least 22 people died in the violence during the protests, most of whom had succumbed to “firearm injuries”. In the state’s Bijnor district, a police official had also admitted that he shot a protestor in “self-defence” during protests.

UN chief flags statelessness risk due to CAA, says reports of abuse in J&K must be taken seriously

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has voiced concern about India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, saying laws like this create “a risk of statelessness” for those who are denied citizenship. In an interview with Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Guterres said it was essential to prevent statelessness when nationality laws were changed.