Bhopal Diary | DFO alleges Congress MLA asked for money

Divisional forest officer (DFO), Neha Srivastava posted in a tribal-dominated district of MP, has written to top bosses of the forest department, alleging that the local Congress MLA Anubha Munjare demanded Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh as illicit monetary gratification from her. Not only did the legislator demand money from the DFO, but she also used intemperate and derogatory language about the forest department official as well as her family, she complained. The forest department has subsequently constituted a committee headed by an official of the rank of additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF) to probe the matter. MP plans Ujjain-Indore-Pithampur metro corridor The Madhya Pradesh government is planning a metro rail corridor between the holy city of Ujjain and the industrial town of Pithampur via Indore. The state cabinet meeting, chaired by CM Dr Mohan Yadav, has recently approved consultancy fees of `9 lakh per km (plus GST) for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) has been assigned the consultancy work for the project. In the first phase, the metro line will cover Shri Mahakaleshwar Ujjain to Luv Kush Square in Indore, and in the second phase, it will extend from Luv Kush Square to Pithampur, according to officials. Men Vs Women Kabaddi match triggers debate A Kabaddi match between men and women was organised in the Niwari district on National Sports Day (August 29) triggered a political controversy. The opposition Congress strongly objected to the match, saying that it amounted to indiscipline and questioned whether the match was held with the consent of the parents. Amid the controversy, the consent letters of the parents emerged. The ruling BJP, however, slammed the Congress for dragging sports into politics. Interestingly, the female players selected for the match had no problems with it. They said that they regularly practiced with male players at the district and state levels. Anuraag singh Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com

Two newborns bitten by rats in Indores MY hospital dies, probe ordered

BHOPAL : Both newborn babies who were allegedly bitten by rats inside the Neonatal Surgical Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Indores Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital have succumbed to their injuries and pre-existing medical conditions. While the first infant died on Tuesday , the second baby girl, who was on ventilator support, passed away on Wednesday afternoon. According to hospital authorities, the second newborn, whose parents hail from the neighbouring Dewas district, was suffering from congenital anomalies similar to the first child, who was from Dhar district. The baby girl who died around 1 pm on Wednesday was born with congenital intestinal anomalies. A successful surgical intervention was carried out, after which she was admitted to the NICU. However, her condition deteriorated over the past three to four days, necessitating ventilator support two days ago, said Dr. Jitendra Verma, Deputy Medical Superintendent, MY Hospital. Verma further said that the infant had abrasions on two fingers, suspected to be caused by a rat bite. Her condition worsened due to an uncontrolled septicaemic infection that spread throughout the body, he added. The infants body was handed over to her parents, Rehana and her husband, who declined a post-mortem examination. The tragic deaths come in the wake of reports that both newborns were bitten by rats on successive days, Sunday and Monday while undergoing treatment at the NICU. In a related development, Indore police have not been able to trace the parents of the first newborn, who passed away on Tuesday. Our teams visited the village in Dhar district, but were unable to locate the parents, a senior police officer said. The child was reportedly abandoned at the hospital during treatment. In the wake of the incident, the MGM Medical College, which oversees MY Hospital, has initiated administrative action. Two nurses have been suspended, the nursing superintendent has been removed, and show-cause notices have been issued to several staff members, including the head of the Paediatric Surgery Department. Additionally, a fine of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed on the pest control agency contracted by the hospital. A high-level committee comprising five doctors and a nursing officer has been formed to investigate the ingress of rodents into the NICU. The committee has been directed to submit its report within seven days. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh State Human Rights Commission has taken cognisance of the matter and sought a detailed report from the hospitals medical superintendent within a week. The State Government, through the Commissioner of Public Health and Medical Education, has also sought an explanation from the medical superintendent. MY Hospital is the largest government-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh and one of the most prominent tertiary care centres in central India. According to sources, rodent infestation within the hospital premises had been reported earlier, raising concerns over persistent lapses in sanitation and hospital maintenance.

Newborn bitten by rats in Indores MY hospital dies; nurses suspended, State HRC orders probe

BHOPAL: One of the two newborns who were reportedly bitten by rats on successive days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Madhya Pradeshs largest state government hospital, Indores MY Hospital, died during treatment on Tuesday. The low-birth-weight (LBW) baby girl, who weighed only 1.2 kg and had critically low hemoglobin levels, pulmonary complications, and other congenital anomalies, was on ventilator support. Two newborns were bitten by rats on the shoulder and fingers. Both were under treatment by the pediatric surgery department. According to doctors, the baby girl, who was around 57 days old and hailed from the adjoining Khargone district, had been abandoned at the hospital by her parents. She was in a moribund state and on ventilator support. The baby died due to septicemia, but the rat bite wasnt the cause, as the wound was too small, said Dr. Arvind Ghanghoria, Dean of MGM Medical College. The other child has undergone surgery and is currently stable on ventilator support, Dr. Ghanghoria added. Importantly, while the deceased baby girl was from Khargone district, the other newborn, a baby boy hails from the neighboring Dewas district. While maintaining that the rat menace had been present in the ICU facility for only the past 45 days, Dr. Ghanghoria detailed a series of actions taken in response. Two nursing officers, Akansha Benjamin and Shweta Chauhan who failed to inform the hospital administration despite having spotted rats in the ICU over the past few days, have been suspended, he said. Show-cause notices have also been issued to Head Nurse Kalawati Balavi, Pediatric ICU In-charge Praveena Singh, and the Head of the Pediatric Surgery Department, Dr. Manoj Joshi. Further action will be based on their responses and the findings of the ongoing investigation. Additionally, Nursing Superintendent Margret Joseph has been removed from her position and replaced by Dayawati Dayal. A fine of Rs1 lakh has been imposed on the company responsible for pest control, which has also been asked to explain why its services should not be terminated. The ongoing probe suggests that flooding near the hospital building due to recent heavy rains may have triggered the rat infestation. A high-level inquiry committee, comprising five doctors and a nursing officer, has been constituted by the Medical College. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a week, Dr. Ghanghoria said. Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital, which is not only the largest government hospital in Madhya Pradesh but also one of the biggest public-sector hospitals in central India, is affiliated with the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Medical College in Indore. Meanwhile, in a related development, the Madhya Pradesh State Human Rights Commission has directed the MY Hospital Medical Superintendent to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report within a week.

Indian Railways rolls out biometric sign-on system for TTEs

NEW DELHI: In a first, Indian Railways has introduced a new biometric sign-on and sign-off system for its ticket checking staff, marking a significant step towards modernising railway operations and enhancing accountability. The first digital TTE lobby of Indian Railways also became operational at Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction under the East Central Railway on August 29 this year. According to the Railways, this innovative system has already been successfully implemented in the Banaras Division of Northern Railway, Sonpur Division in East Central Railway, Ratlam Division in Western Railway, and TTE lobbies at CSMT, Pune and Solapur in Central Railway. It is also operational in Malda Division in Eastern Railway, Mysore Division in South Western Railway, Bhopal in West Central Railway, and Madurai, Palghat, Trichy in Southern Railway, along with the Kota Lobby in West Central Railway. Additionally, it is being phased in across various divisions of the North Central Railway, North Eastern Railway, and North Western Railway zones. The Jammu Division of Northern Railway is set to roll out the system shortly. ED I&P, Railways Ministry, Dileep Kumar said, The new system integrates biometric authentication with the Ticket Examiner (TTE) Lobby system, allowing staff to authenticate themselves using an Aadhaar-enabled biometric device. This ensures a tamper-proof, transparent, and privacy-compliant attendance process that accurately records working hours and duty status in real time. He outlined the objectives of the biometric system, stating that authentic attendance will ensure that attendance records are accurate and verifiable. He said that the system will also provide real-time data on staff availability and duty status, allowing for more efficient management. He further mentioned that the system also offers effective monitoring of working hours and lobby operations. He added that the system integrates with Hand Held Terminals (HHTs) and duty rosters for streamlined staff deployment. Detailing the initiative, Kumar said that the implementation of this system is a testament to Indian Railways commitment to improving efficiency and transparency. The biometric sign-on/off system will not only streamline staff deployment but also significantly enhance the overall efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the ticket checking staff, ultimately improving the experience for all passengers, he said.

Madhya Pradesh High Court judge recuses from illegal mining case, states BJP MLA attempted to contact him

BHOPAL: A Madhya Pradesh High Court judge hearing a writ petition, alleging illegal mining in the central Indian state, has withdrawn from hearing the case, stating that a ruling BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak attempted to contact him regarding the matter. Importantly, a petition was filed by Ashutosh Dixit (Mundwara-Katni resident) in the HC, in which the petitioner had stated that he had complained to the states Economic Offence Wing (EOW) about rampant illegal mining in Sihora and Gosalpur areas of Jabalpur district, besides Katni district. The petitioner had stated that the petition had to be filed in the HC, as no action was being taken by the EOW on the complaint. During the hearing of the petition, the EOW informed the HCs single bench that the complaint was made by the petitioner against M/S Nirmala Minerals and Anand Mining Corporation. Both companies are allegedly related to mining baron-turned-BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak, who was a minister in one of the previous BJP regimes led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan. During the hearing of the petition, intervenor applications were filed by Anand Mining Corporation and Nirmala Minerals (Sanjay Pathaks mother, Nirmala Pathak and son, Yash Pathak, were directors in the respective companies) through one Varun Kumar Gautam. While perusing the intervenor applications on Monday, the HC judge Justice Vishal Mishra, stated, Sanjay Pathak has made an attempt to call me to have a discussion regarding this particular matter, there, Im not inclined to entertain this writ petition. Let the matter be placed before the Hon'ble Chief Justice for listing the matter before the appropriate Bench for consideration. Taking to X over the issue, the opposition Congresss state chief Jitu Patwari wrote, Chief Minister Sir, the truth is now out in the open as evidence! You may pretend to be Dhritrashtra! Sanjay has understood the Mahabharata of corruption! Importantly, Sanjay Pathak is the fourth-time MLA from Vijayraghavgarh constituency of Katni district. Prior to him, his father Satyendra Pathak represented the same seat in the Vidhan Sabha as Congress legislator and was a minister in the Digvijaya Singh-led erstwhile Congress government. Counted among one of the richest politicians in the state, Sanjay Pathak quit the Vidhan Sabha and the Congress in 2014 and joined the BJP, before winning from Vijayraghavgarh in 2015 as the saffron partys candidate. He was a minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government between 2016 and 2018. He won the 2018 and 2023 elections from the same seat on the BJP ticket.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan lauds NCERT for modules on partition horrors, Op Sindoor

NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday lauded the National Council for Educational Research and Technology (NCERT) for its recent modules on the horrors of partition as well as Operation Sindoor. Taking part in a function held to mark the 65th Foundation Day of NCERT at its campus in Aurobindo Marg, Pradhan said, NCERTs efforts to highlight Operation Sindoor through a new module is appreciable. A similar effort has been made with the partition horrors. This also deserves much appreciation. Should the country forget about the horrors that happened? If we do not know what has happened in the past and connect it with our present, then we will remain misguided in the future. We will be confused in the future, he said. The module released for classes VI to VIII on August 15 resulted in a war of words between the Congress and the BJP. It generated much controversy as it held Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Congress and Viceroy Lord Mountbatten responsible for the partition. Pradhan called for the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in the Education system and the need to integrate digitalisation into it. He repeatedly lauded NCERT for the role they have played and continues to play in nation-building through their textbooks. NCERT books are the ones that everyone goes for any reference, the Minister said. He launched several new initiatives, including: Newly constructed entrance complex of the NCERT campus Primers in Hindi, Sanskrit, Ho-Hindi, and Koya, developed by the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru, and NCERT PM eVidya mobile application for accessing all key digital and broadcast initiatives PM eVidya DTH TV Channel No. 35 for Bal Vatika Virtual Reality labs at four schools, including Ajmer, Bhopal, and Bhubaneswar DIKSHA 2.0 with structured lessons and AI tools like Read Aloud, Closed Captioning, and translation of text into 12 languages Prashast 2.0 , enhancing mobile and web platforms for early identification of children with disabilities Kitab Ek Padhe Anek , to create Universal Design of Learning-based accessible digital and printed textbooks for inclusive classrooms, especially for divyangjan students and children from disadvantaged groups Utkal Jananinkarag Sujogya Santana , a book on 100 great personalities of Odisha who contributed to modern Odishas development and the National Freedom Movement Handbook on vocational education for key functionaries

Madhya Pradesh: Rodents bite fingers of two newborns at neonatal ICU of Indores MY Hospital

BHOPAL: Rodents have exposed the state of affairs at the Maharaja Yeshwant Rao (MY) Hospital in Indore Madhya Pradeshs largest government hospital, which is also counted among one of the largest public sector hospitals of central India. Two newborns were bitten by rats at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the premier government hospital in successive days Sunday and Monday. NICU is a specialized unit, which provides intensive care for premature, critically ill or low-birth-weight newborns. Such newborns often require advanced medical equipment, round-the-clock monitoring by skilled doctors and nurses and specialized treatments to help with breathing, feeding and other health complications, as they recover and grow stronger. As per informed sources at the hospital, the two newborns were shifted to the NICU within two-three days of birth. While the first incident was spotted on Sunday, the second incident of rodents having bitten the fingers in the hand of the newborn was noticed on Monday, prompting the doctors to start the necessary treatment of the two newborns already being treated for congenital anomalies (health complications existing since birth). While admitting to both the incidents, the hospitals medical superintendent Dr Ashok Yadav, who was in Bhopal for official reasons on Monday, said that both the newborns were safe and recovering well. Both the newborns were admitted at the neonatal ICU for congenital anomalies (health complications existing since birth). Theyve been shifted to another facility under continuous supervision and care. Well soon carry out an extensive pest control drive in the entire hospital, hospitals medical superintendent Dr Ashok Yadav told TNIE over phone. Importantly, the last pest control drive was reportedly carried out at the hospital five years back. According to hospital sources, bringing food to the hospital (even outside the intensive care units) often compounds to the menace of rodents. The incident sparked political outrage with the principal opposition party, Congress, targeting the government over the issue. The incidents have exposed the alarming state of public healthcare under the BJP government. It is a serious issue and a matter of concern. Even kids are not safe in the MPs largest state government hospital, state Congress spokesperson Dr Amit Chaurasia said. As per sources, while parents of the two newborns werent informed about the incidents to prevent panic, both the newborns are under constant observation of doctors and nursing staff. Sources added that a big rodent has been spotted often at the NICU (located on the first floor) and also been captured in a video. Menace of rodents isnt new to state government hospitals in MP, but it has largely been confined to dead bodies, instead of living patients. Back in June 2023, the ear of the body of a 50-year-old man was found nibbled inside the deep freezer of the mortuary at the state governments Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal. Prior to it in May 2023, the nose and hand of a 70-year-old mans body (he died in an accident) was found nibbled by rats inside the mortuary of the Vidisha District Hospital. Also, back in January 2023, an eye of the two dead men, whose bodies were kept in the deep freezer of the mortuary at Sagar District Hospital, were reportedly found nibbled by rats.

Avian influenza in Delhi Zoo: Surveillance, bio-security measures ramped up

According to a zoo statement, the two black-necked ibises died last Thursday, August 28, and their samples were sent to the National Institute for High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal; the zoo remains closed to visitors until further notice

Over 6.16 lakh ineligible beneficiaries found availing free ration in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: Its not just the below poverty line (BPL) people who are taking free ration from the Public Distribution System (PDS) shops in Madhya Pradesh. Even well-to-do individuals are taking free ration by posing as members of BPL families across the central Indian state. The e-KYC (electronic know your customer) updating of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)-Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) across the state has revealed that more than 6.16 lakh beneficiaries drawing free ration across the state, actually hail from well-to-do families. As per the ongoing e-KYC drive process earlier this month, a total of over 5.27 crore people were enrolled as beneficiaries under NFSA across the state, out of which more than 6.16 lakh have been identified as ineligible for free ration as they belong to well to do families. The top five districts with the highest number of ineligible beneficiaries are Bhind (50,619), Barwani (33,633), Khargone (29,909), Rewa (26,053), and Morena (25,230). Out of these five districts having the maximum number of ineligible beneficiaries drawing free ration from the PDS shops, Bhind and Morena are part of the Gwalior-Chambal region, the two neighbouring districts of Barwani and Khargone are part of the tribal dominated southwestern MP, while Rewa district is located in the Vindhya region, which neighbours Uttar Pradesh. Even the Madhya Pradesh capital, Bhopal, has 13,033 such beneficiaries. One village, Nalkheda, which is located in Berasia tehsil of the state capital, has 200-plus such people, whove received notices from the government, as to why their E-ration cards shouldnt be scrapped as they are ineligible for benefits under the scheme. One such family in Nalkheda village of Bhopal, actually owns a big house and not one, but two cars, but still figures in the list of those eligible for drawing free ration under the scheme focusing on free rice, wheat and sugar distribution for the impoverished lot. The government has already started the process of removing such ineligible beneficiaries from the list of those eligible for free ration under the NFSA, official sources said.

Ugandan national caught with cocaine and crystal meth worth Rs 2.2 crore in Bhopal

BHOPAL: Continuing its crackdown on narcotics smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a Ugandan woman from a Mumbai-bound train at Bhopal railway station, seizing drugs worth 2.2 crore. Acting on its own intelligence inputs, DRI officials tracked and apprehended the Ugandan woman, who was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai, at Bhopal Junction on Thursday. The woman was located in one of the air-conditioned coaches of the long-distance train. A thorough search operation was conducted, which led to the recovery of four white plastic packets containing 368.9 grams of crystalline methamphetamine and two packets containing 147.4 grams of cocaine. The substances tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine using the NDPS Field Test Kit, as confirmed by the DRI's official statement. The seized drugs, valued at over 2.2 crore in the international market, were confiscated under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985. The Ugandan national was arrested, and investigations are underway to uncover the trafficking network behind the operation. The drugs were reportedly intended for delivery in Mumbai. This operation marks the third significant narcotics bust by the DRI in Madhya Pradesh within the past 12 days. Earlier, on August 16, DRI officials, in coordination with law enforcement agencies from multiple states, dismantled an inter-state Mephedrone production and smuggling ring, seizing 62 kg of contraband worth 92 crore in the international market. Seven individuals were arrested in connection with the case. On August 20, DRI Indore officials, with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force, intercepted two passengers at Bhopal railway station carrying around 25 kg of Thailand-origin hydroponic weed, valued at 25 crore. This was part of a wider pan-India crackdown, leading to the seizure of 72 kg of ganja and the arrest of the syndicates mastermind and five associates.

Ugandan national caught with cocaine and crystal meth worth 2.2 crore in Bhopal

BHOPAL: Continuing its crackdown on narcotics smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a Ugandan woman from a Mumbai-bound train at Bhopal railway station, seizing drugs worth 2.2 crore. Acting on its own intelligence inputs, DRI officials tracked and apprehended the Ugandan woman, who was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai, at Bhopal Junction on Thursday. The woman was located in one of the air-conditioned coaches of the long-distance train. A thorough search operation was conducted, which led to the recovery of four white plastic packets containing 368.9 grams of crystalline methamphetamine and two packets containing 147.4 grams of cocaine. The substances tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine using the NDPS Field Test Kit, as confirmed by the DRI's official statement. The seized drugs, valued at over 2.2 crore in the international market, were confiscated under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985. The Ugandan national was arrested, and investigations are underway to uncover the trafficking network behind the operation. The drugs were reportedly intended for delivery in Mumbai. This operation marks the third significant narcotics bust by the DRI in Madhya Pradesh within the past 12 days. Earlier, on August 16, DRI officials, in coordination with law enforcement agencies from multiple states, dismantled an inter-state Mephedrone production and smuggling ring, seizing 62 kg of contraband worth 92 crore in the international market. Seven individuals were arrested in connection with the case. On August 20, DRI Indore officials, with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force, intercepted two passengers at Bhopal railway station carrying around 25 kg of Thailand-origin hydroponic weed, valued at 25 crore. This was part of a wider pan-India crackdown, leading to the seizure of 72 kg of ganja and the arrest of the syndicates mastermind and five associates.

Jab We Met re-run in real life: Young MP woman leaves home to marry lover, returns with another man

BHOPAL: Back in 2007, Bollywood movie 'Jab We Met' starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor sent cash registers ringing at the box office. 17 years after 'Jab We Met,' an eerie rerun of the movie has been reported in real life from 'Mini-Mumbai' Indore. A 22-year-old Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student Shraddha Tiwari (who resides in MIG area of Madhya Pradeshs commercial capital Indore) left home to marry her lover Sarthak. But to her utter shock, Sarthak didnt turn up at the Indore railway station and instead informed that he didnt want to marry her. Heartbroken, Shraddha boarded a train, without knowing where to go. She detrained few hours later at Ratlam station coincidentally the same station of western Madhya Pradesh, which featured in a similar situation in the 2007 movie. At the Ratlam station, Shraddhas life took a piquant turn, as she met Karandeep -- an electrician who worked at her college in Indore. Spotting her sitting alone, Karandeep went to her and came to know about the entire sequence of events which happened with her. He first advised her to return home and inform parents in Indore. But in no mood to return, Shraddha told Karandeep about having left home to get married, she would either marry or not stay alive. After his repeated attempts to convince her to return home failed, Karandeep proposed to marry her and Shraddha accepted the proposal. The duo subsequently travelled to the historically famous town Maheshwar in Khargone district and married there at a temple. From there they travelled to Mandsaur. Unable to find his daughter, Shraddhas father Anil Tiwari, had, meanwhile, announced Rs 51,000 reward for anyone giving clinching information about her. The family even performed the superstitious practice of hanging daughters picture upside down, which was performed two months earlier by the Raghuvanshi family of Indore for finding their missing newly married daughter Sonam Raghuvanshi, who ultimately turned out to be the mastermind of husband Raja Raghuvanshis honeymoon killing in Meghalaya. Five days after she left home, Shraddha rang her father from Mandsaur on Thursday and informed about being safe in Mandsaur. A relieved father Anil Tiwari in Indore, subsequently asked her to stay back at night at a hotel in Mandsaur and return home the next morning. However, with none of the hotels in Mandsaur ready to give her and Karandeep a room, Anil transferred money to Karandeep to buy the train tickets to Indore. Both Shraddha and Karandeep returned to Indore on Friday and went to the MIG police station, where Shraddha recorded her statement and stated that she had married Karandeep in Maheshwar. According to a senior Indore police officer, Shraddhas father was initially reluctant to accept the marriage, saying that his daughter was not mentally stable. But after the photographs of the marriage were presented, the family finally decided to accept the wedding. This eerie saga resembling the 2007 Hindi movie, happened less than a week after Archana Tiwari, a young advocate preparing for the civil judge exams in Indore suddenly went missing from train on way to home town Katni and was found two weeks later on India-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh. Police probe later revealed that with the help of a male friend, she had masterminded her mysterious disappearance to travel to Nepal to evade the marriage proposal of her family.

Delhi Zoo shut for visitors after painted storks test positive for bird flu

Samples from the two dead birds were sent to the National Institute for High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal on August 27. They tested positive for H5N1 on August 28, they said

RRC WCR apprentice recruitment 2025 opens for 2865 posts; check direct link to apply online

RRC WCR apprentice recruitment 2025: The Railway Recruitment Cell (RRC), West Central Railway (WCR), has announced 2865 apprentice vacancies under Notification No. 01/2025. Eligible candidates with 10th and ITI qualifications can apply online from August 30, 2025, to September 29, 2025. Vacancies span Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota, and other units. Selection will be based on a merit list from 10th and ITI marks. The application process is fully online via the official WCR website.

Against Party Line: BJP To MLA After Clash With Top District Official

Three days after sparking outrage by nearly assaulting Madhya Pradesh's Bhind Collector Sanjeev Srivastava, BJP MLA Narendra Singh Kushwaha was summoned to Bhopal and sternly reprimanded by the party leadership.

Tribal cop 'assaulted' with belt after senior officer's dog goes missing in MP, shows injury marks in video

BHOPAL: The alleged assault of a tribal police constable, Rahul Chauhan, by Reserve Inspector (RI) Saurabh Kushwah over the disappearance of the latters pet dog has sparked widespread protests by tribal organisations and the opposition Congress party in Khargone district, southwestern Madhya Pradesh. RI Kushwah was suspended on Wednesday night, and an inquiry led by the Additional SP of neighbouring Burhanpur district has been initiated. However, tribal outfits, including Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS), and the Congress continue to protest, now for over 32 hours. The protest began at 1 p.m. on Wednesday along the Khandwa-Vadodara Highway and moved to the Chittorgarh-Bhusawal Highway on Thursday afternoon, both locations in Khargone. Protesters have rejected the suspension as inadequate and are demanding that a case be registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the suspended RI and his wife. It is alleged that while RI Kushwah assaulted Constable Chauhan with a belt and slippers, his wife hurled casteist slurs at him. The incident has drawn significant political attention, with at least three Congress MLAs from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, Montu Solanki, Jhuma Solanki, and Kedar Dabar, joining the protests. Former Union Minister and ex-Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Arun Yadav, who belongs to the OBC category, has also demanded legal action under the SC/ST Act against the officer and his wife. According to reports, Rahul Chauhan, who was appointed to the police force on compassionate grounds, had been deployed by RI Kushwah at his residence and instructed to care for his child and pet dog. On the night of 23 August, after informing the RI, the constable went home. At around 1:30 a.m., RI Kushwah allegedly arrived at Chauhans residence in his official vehicle with three policemen, confiscated Chauhans mobile phone, and forcibly took him back to his bungalow. There, he was allegedly beaten with a belt and slippers for not locating the RIs missing Beagle puppy. A video later surfaced showing the constable displaying visible injury marks. Concerns have also been raised about the subsequent medical examination. While Chauhan was taken to a government doctor, only an alcohol test was reportedly conducted. The injuries allegedly caused by the RI were not documented. RI Kushwah, who also belongs to the OBC category, has denied the allegations. He claimed that he was in Indore on 23 August with permission from his seniors and had instructed the constable to supervise repair work at his house. Upon his return, he allegedly found the house in disarray, with liquor bottles, beer cans, and cigarette butts scattered around. He said loud music was reported by neighbours and nearby petrol pump staff. Kushwah further alleged that Chauhan had been drinking heavily, with a recorded blood alcohol level of 190.6 mg/100 ml, well above the legal limit. According to him, the Beagle puppy had been frightened by the loud music and was beaten and thrown into a drain by the constable, who believed it to be dead. The dog was found 36 hours later in the same drain, injured but alive.

MP government take action against 1,404 lakhpati families for availing free ration

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government has initiated action against at least 1,404 lakhpati families with annual income in excess of lakhs of rupees, but have reportedly been receiving free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) in the Guna district. The scheme is intended for families below the poverty line (BPL). These families, now categorised as suspicious beneficiaries by the authorities, have been given 15 days to explain why their E Ration Cards should not be cancelled. The beneficiaries include 1,098 families with annual incomes of over `6 lakh each. The list also includes 301 families whose members are listed as directors in registered companies, and at least five families whose annual business turnover exceeds `25 lakh. The ongoing probe has revealed that most of these suspicious beneficiaries reside in the urban areas of the Guna district. One such family resides in Ward No. 18 of Guna town, and its head is a foodgrain merchant with a turnover exceeding `25 lakh. The four-member family had been taking free rations in the name of the businessmans wife from the Indira Gandhi Sahkari Upbhokta Bhandar. Another family with a similar turnover lives in Chachauda town and has been getting free ration as a BPL family under the PMGKAY. In the Ahirkhedi area of Raghogarh, a six-member affluent family has been getting free ration. Another family in the same area was availing itself of the benefits until this June. A five-member Bamori family with an annual income of `6 lakh and a female beneficiary from a family with business income exceeding `25 lakh are also on the list. The Guna district supply officer Awadhesh Pandey said, All these well-to-do families were getting free ration. Notices have been issued to them, and their replies are sought within 15 days. After expiry of the stipulated time period, their names will be removed from the list of the free ration beneficiary BPL families. The list was prepared based on details shared by the Income Tax Department, the Ministry of Company Affairs, and the Central Board for Indirect Tax and Customs. Guna of the Gwalior-Chambal region is among three districts (including Shivpuri and Ashok Nagar) that are part of the Guna Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who said, There can be no crime bigger than stealing the foodgrain meant for the poor families.

BJP MLA Narendra Singh Kushwah tries to hit Bhind collector during spat

BHOPAL: High-voltage drama unfolded in Madhya Pradeshs Bhind district on Wednesday when ruling BJP MLA Narendra Singh Kushwah engaged in a noisy and abusive confrontation with District Collector Sanjeev Srivastava at the latters official residence. The incident, caught on camera, occurred after Kushwah, a three-time MLA from the Bhind seat, arrived at the collectors residence accompanied by a group of farmers. They were reportedly there to protest the shortage of fertilisers, with each farmer receiving only two bags. When the collector did not come out to meet him, Kushwah forcibly entered the residence along with his supporters. I will make the public enter your house today, the BJP legislator declared as he entered. Upon seeing the MLA inside, Collector Srivastava emerged, leading to a heated exchange between the two. The confrontation escalated after the collector warned Kushwah to stay within limits and stated that illegal sand mining would not be tolerated in the district. In a fit of rage, Kushwah labelled the district collector a chor (thief) and was seen on camera raising his hand as if to slap Srivastava. Throughout the heated exchange, the MLA used abusive language and urged the accompanying farmers and supporters to chant slogans such as Bhind collector chor hai (Bhind collector is a thief). The situation intensified as Kushwah and his supporters staged a dharna outside the collectors bungalow, demanding the immediate removal of Srivastava. They set up a tent, sound system, and air coolers, vowing not to end the protest until their demand was met. Supporters continued to chant slogans accusing the collector of corruption. Senior police and administrative officials, including SP Bhind Asit Yadav, rushed to the scene but were unable to defuse the situation. It was only after phone calls from a senior state minister and the Chief Ministers office that Kushwah finally ended the dharna, according to sources in Bhopal. Kushwah later accused the Bhind district collector of corruption and mismanagement, alleging that farmers were being deprived of essential supplies and that corruption was rampant in every department. Kushwah has a long political history in Bhind, having won the MLA seat on a BJP ticket in 2003 and 2013. He lost the 1998 and 2008 elections as a BJP candidate and contested the 2018 election as an SP candidate after being denied a BJP ticket, finishing third. He returned to the BJP ahead of the 2023 polls and won the seat in a three-cornered contest against Congress and BSP candidates by over 14,000 votes.

If we open third eye, bullies wont be able to stand: Shivraj Chouhan urges swadeshi push amid US tariff threats

BHOPAL: As the United States prepares to impose a 50% tariff on Indian goods, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan issued a strong warning on Tuesday, declaring, Those bullying us will not be able to stand anywhere if we open our third eye. Speaking at the 64th All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers' Meet in Gwalior, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister emphasised the government's unwavering commitment to protecting farmers' interests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that the interests of our farmers will not be compromised, no matter how powerful any Dada (global power) may be, he said. Chouhan reiterated Indias traditional values, highlighting its vision of global unity and peace. Since ancient times, India has seen the world as one family. But that does not mean we will bow to any pressure. We will take our own decisions. No global power can dictate terms to us. It is our self-respect that drives the nation forward, he asserted. Urging the people of India to embrace the Swadeshi spirit in their daily lives, Chouhan said, Let us pledge to use Made-in-India products for the rest of our lives. Swadeshi will create jobs, strengthen our economy, and ensure that profits stay within the country. He noted that India is already the worlds fourth-largest economy. We must soon become the third and, eventually, the largest. We have already overtaken those who once ruled us. With Swadeshi, we will surpass others too, he added. Issuing a stern warning, Chouhan said, Some powers are trying to boss us around, but if we open the third eye, they wont be able to stand. The minister also expressed disappointment over the lack of seriousness shown by certain state governments towards the wheat and barley research meet. Some states have failed to send appropriate representatives. I want to be briefed about all such states. I will raise this with the respective chief ministers and write to them directly. Highlighting the importance of agriculture, Chouhan said, Farming is the backbone of our economy, and the farmer is its soul. Sending junior officers to such important events is not acceptable. He also invited state agriculture ministers to the upcoming two-day Rabi Conference scheduled for 1415 September in Delhi. I especially invite Madhya Pradeshs agriculture minister Aidal Singh Kansana to attend, he said.

MP woman branded over 50 times with hot knife in dowry torture, alleges police complaint

BHOPAL: A woman who married just six months ago was allegedly held at gunpoint and branded with a hot knife at least 50 times by her husband inside their home in southwestern Madhya Pradeshs Barwani district. A case has been registered against the womans husband, but he and his family claim the wounds were self-inflicted. Alleging horrific torture by her husband, the young woman, identified as Khushboo, said he has disliked her since their marriage in February 2025 and has been repeatedly demanding dowry. Narrating the events on Tuesday, the woman said the episode happened on Sunday night in the Anjad area of Barwani district. Her husband, Dilip Pipliya, first beat her, then dragged her into the kitchen and locked her inside. He tied her hands and legs, before lighting the gas stove and heating a knife on the flame. Dilip then put a country-made pistol to her head and branded her with the hot knife on her hands, back, and hip. About 50 branding marks were visible on the young womans body. She first told her in-laws, who live on the first floor of the house, about the horrific act, but they dismissed the matter, alleging she had self-inflicted the injuries. Khushboo, who hails from the adjoining Khargone district, returned to her parents home with her brother on Tuesday morning. She and her parents then reported the matter to the Mengaon police station in Khargone district. She was subsequently taken to Khargone district hospital for a medical examination. Following this, a case was registered at the Jaitpura police station. Confirming the development, Khargone district police superintendent Dharmaraj Meena said, A case of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, wrongful restraint, and cruelty by a husband has been registered at Jaitpura police station in Khargone district against the womans husband, Dilip, under sections 115(2), 118, 126, and 85 of the BNS. The investigation will be transferred to Anjad police station in Barwani district, as the alleged incident occurred there. The woman is currently under treatment at Khargone district hospital. The woman and her parents also alleged that while she was returning to Khargone district, her husband and his associates arrived in two vehicles and threatened to kill her and her parents if she reported the matter to the police and did not return to Barwani. However, her husband, Dilip, and his in-laws have denied all allegations, claiming instead that she self-inflicted the wounds.

MP Police introduces QR codes for complaints to ensure peaceful Ganesh Utsav, Eid Milad in Khandwa

BHOPAL : Eyeing to ensure incident free and peaceful Ganesh Utsav and Eid-Milad-Un-Nabi, the police have introduced a QR Code-based quick response system in the communally sensitive Khandwa district of southwestern Madhya Pradesh. Standees bearing QR codes and images of Lord Ganesh will be on prominent display at all the Ganesh Puja pandals across the communally sensitive Khandwa city. Anyone who is facing problems of any kind can just scan the QR codes from the standees at the respective Puja Pandal. Scanning of the QR code will generate a Google Form, which can be duly filled by citizens along with details of the issues being faced by them and their cell-phone number, Khandwa district police superintendent Manoj Rai told TNIE on Tuesday. A dedicated team of the district police's cyber cell, which has been tasked with round-the-clock operation of the QR code-based security system during the entire ten-day festival, will connect each of the complaints (received through the QR code-based system) to the respective police station, followed by a quick police response to the concerned Puja Pandal. There will be at least 126 big Ganesh Utsav pandals in the 3 to 5 km city limits of Khandwa, all of which will be covered by the new system, which will start functioning with the beginning of Ganesh Utsav on Wednesday and continue till Anant Chaturdashi-Ganesh Visarjan on September 6. We'll ensure that each of the grievances received from the Puja Pandals is addressed within a maximum of five minutes by our round-the-clock patrolling teams, particularly in three urban police station areas, including Kotwali, Padam Nagar and Moghat Road, Rai said. Located in the southwestern part of Madhya Pradesh and neighboured by Maharashtra, the Khandwa district has long been counted among the most communally sensitive districts of the central Indian state. Festivals like Ganesh Utsav and Durga Puja have often witnessed communal tension and clashes in the past. The district has also been a fertile base for the activities of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) outfit. The district, which is part of the Indore Rural Police Range, is also among the top five districts in the state, that have reported maximum cases under the MP Freedom of Religion Act 2021, about religious conversion of girls and women through force, lure of marriage or money. The QR code-based system will have special focus on girl and women security as well as ensuring that the ten-days Ganesh Utsav as well as Eid-Milad-Un-Nabi (which falls on September 4-5) pass off peacefully, the SP-Khandwa added.

5 years after Kamal Nath-led Congress government in MP was toppled, a podcast interview revives debates on its cause

BHOPAL: Almost five and half years after Jyotiraditya Scindia and his 22 loyalist MLAs switched sides and toppled the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, a podcast interview has revived the debate around what actually caused the fall of the 15-month-old regime. What sparked the debate is the statements made by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and current Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh during a podcast interview with a senior journalist. The Congress had returned to power in Madhya Pradesh after 15 years under the leadership of former Union minister and then state party chief Kamal Nath in December 2018. The government, which relied on the support of seven MLAs four independents, two from the BSP and one from the SP lasted 15 months before 22 Congress legislators loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the party and the Vidhan Sabha to join the BJP. On 20 March 2020, Nath resigned, paving the way for the BJP's return to power. During a podcast interview on Saturday, Digvijaya Singh said that despite his sustained efforts to save the government, the Congress regime collapsed due to a personal clash between Scindia and Nath. There was no ideological clash, but instead clash of personalities (between Nath and Scindia), he claimed. Im often blamed for the fall of the Congress government in 2020, but the truth is that I continuously worked to save the government. I had even timely warned about the possibility of such a crisis (fall of government), Singh said. I met an industrialist who enjoys good relations with both the leaders (Nath and Scindia) and told him about the possibility of the government falling. A luncheon meeting was arranged at that industrialists house, where all three of us (Nath, Scindia and me) were present. I tried my best to ensure that the crisis was averted, he said. At that meeting some issues pertaining to the Gwalior-Chambal region were raised. It was agreed that whatever issues pertaining to that region were raised, would be addressed as per our (my and Scindias) joint wish-list. A joint wish-list pertaining to the Gwalior-Chambal region signed by me and Scindia was submitted the next day only, but nothing actually happened to address the issues and concerns mentioned in that wish-list. Had those issues been addressed (by Nath as CM), maybe the government wouldnt have fallen, he claimed. Just a day later, Kamal Nath took to X to respond to the statements. Recently, there has been rhetoric regarding the fall of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh in 2020, which was under my leadership. I just want to say that there is no benefit in digging up old matters. But its true that, apart from personal ambitions, Jyotiraditya Scindia felt that the government was being run by Digvijaya Singh. In the same resentment, he broke away the Congress MLAs and toppled our government, he wrote in an X post on Sunday. 2020 Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) August 24, 2025 Meanwhile, BJP took the opportunity to deny its involvement in toppling the Congress regime. Today, Kamal Nath has admitted that the government headed by him was actually being run by Digvijaya Singh. He (Singh) first ruined the state, then the Congress and finally Kamal Naths political career. Naths social media post has also established that the allegations about BJP having toppled Naths government too were false. Greetings to Nath for finally speaking the truth that his government fell due to Digvijaya Singh and other Congress leaders, state BJP spokesperson Ajay Singh Yadav said. Yadav too is a former Congress leader, who quit the grand old party to join the BJP in 2023. The latest controversy over the fall of the Congress regime surfaced on the same day the partys national leadership met 71 newly appointed district committee presidents in the national capital. While the meeting was held in New Delhi, Congress workers from Indore reportedly staged a protest outside against the appointment of former MLA Vipin Vankhede as Indore Rural district Congress chief.

Retired DySP tied up and assaulted by wife and sons over post-retirement benefits in MP

BHOPAL: In a shocking incident, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) was allegedly tied up and assaulted by his wife and two sons in a bid to obtain his post-retirement financial benefits, in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. The incident is believed to have taken place on 20 August at the residence of 62-year-old retired DySP Pratipal Singh Yadav in Chandavani village, under the jurisdiction of Bhonti police station. However, it only came to light after a video of the assault went viral on social media on Saturday. In the video, Yadav is seen wearing only underwear, with his legs tied with a rope while one of his sons restrains him to prevent escape. His wife, two sons, and another unidentified youth are also seen in the video, ensuring he remains confined. Confirming the incident, Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP, Pichhore) Prashant Sharma said that preliminary investigations revealed Yadav had retired a few months ago, with his last posting in neighbouring Sheopur district. Our probe has confirmed that the retired DySP, Pratipal Singh Yadav, was tied up by his wife Maya Yadav and sons Akash and Abhas Yadav. They assaulted him while he was held captive and later fled with his bank ATM card. A case of robbery and wrongful confinement has been registered against the accused, and a search is underway to locate them, Sharma said on Sunday. Yadav had reportedly been estranged from his wife and sons for the past 15 years. While he has been living in Madhya Pradesh, his wife and two sons reside in Jhansi district of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Their daughter is currently pursuing an MBBS degree in Gorakhpur. Following his retirement, Yadav received 20 lakh from his provident fund, while a further 33 lakh in post-retirement benefits is still pending. His wife and sons allegedly attempted to forcibly take him to Jhansi to access the funds. Failing to do so despite assaulting him on 20 August, they fled the village in Shivpuri district with his ATM card.

Among Whom I Live Is My Community

ByEr Rajesh Pathak, Bhopal At the onset of every summer season, theElectricity Departmentissues an advisory guiding citizens on how to reduce electricity consumption as well as control the rising temperature in the surroundings by taking a few precautions while usingair conditioners (ACs). According to the advisory,setting the compressor temperature of the AC below 27Cforces it [] The post Among Whom I Live Is My Community appeared first on Northlines .

Youth crushed to death by Ganesh Idol in MP; poor road conditions blamed

BHOPAL: A 24-year-old youth from Khandwa district tragically died after being crushed by a brand-new Ganesh idol, which reportedly toppled due to pothole-ridden roads in Burhanpur district, southwestern Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday night. The fatal incident occurred in the Lalbagh area of Burhanpur city when members of the Hatkeshwar Ganesh Mandal, based in neighbouring Khandwa district, were transporting a newly crafted 12-foot-high Ganesh idol for installation during the upcoming Ganpati Puja festival. The idol was being carried on a tempo trolley when it lost balance on a poorly maintained stretch of road near Tulsi Mall. It toppled onto 24-year-old Shashank Joshi, believed to be associated with the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Khandwa. Shashank was critically injured after being crushed under the collapsed idol. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The incident sparked outrage among locals, who blamed the authorities for failing to maintain the roads, leading to the tragedy. Om Azad, a local spokesperson of the Hindu Mahasabha, directly held the administration and municipal corporation responsible for the accident caused by dangerous road conditions. Upon learning of the incident, Burhanpur Circle SP Gaurav Patil rushed to the scene and managed to pacify the angry crowd. The post-mortem was conducted during the night, and Shashanks last rites were performed in his native Khandwa district on Sunday. Additional SP (Burhanpur) A.S. Kanesh and Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Veer Singh Chauhan were present at the hospital overnight to ensure the situation remained under control. Meanwhile, the damaged idol, meant for installation in Khandwa, was immersed in the Tapti River in Burhanpur on Sunday. Following the incident, the Burhanpur district administration reportedly sealed the Samrat Maurya Art workshop, where the Ganesh idol had been made. Around 40 idols, worth over 10 lakh, were stored there for delivery to various Puja pandals in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. According to official sources, the administration had capped the maximum height for Ganesh idols at 10 feet, but the workshop allegedly created idols ranging between 12 and 18 feet. Most of these were meant for pandals in neighbouring Maharashtra, where Ganesh Utsav is one of the most celebrated festivals. However, Sarita Maurya, head of the Samrat Maurya Art workshop, defended her team, stating, The idol was properly packed and handed over to the organisers. The mishap occurred due to poor road conditions, not any fault of the workshop. This was not the first incident of its kind in Burhanpur. Just two days earlier, another newly made Ganesh idol had collapsed due to poor road conditions on Ichhapur Road. Following that, authorities began patchwork repairs on the damaged roads. The incident also revived memories of a similar mishap in Gwalior in September 2024, when a 22-foot idol collapsed due to potholes on Shinde ki ChhawaniNawab Sahab ka Kuwa Road. That incident injured two people, including a woman, just hours before the idol was to be installed at a local Ganesh Puja mandal in Khallasipura. These recurring accidents have renewed public anger and raised serious questions about civic negligence ahead of one of Indias most important festivals.

Good News for Passengers: Bhopal-Lucknow Vande Bharat to launch soon, set to cut travel time by...

The train proposed to run between Bhopal and Lucknow is slated to be unveiled with 20 coaches. It is likely to be flagged off in the month of October.

1000 injured in ritualistic stone fight between two riverside villages in MP

BHOPAL: A centuries-old tradition rooted in a mythological love story resulted in injuries to around 1,000 residents of two riverside villages in MPs Pandhurna on Saturday. As has been customary, the famous Gotmar Fair was held on the banks of the Jam River on Bhadrapada Amavasya. The fair, linked to the mythological tale on the killing of two young lovers, saw residents of Pandhurna and Sawargaon villages indulge in the ritualistic battle of stones. It reportedly resulted in injuries to around 1,000 people in total. Two critically injured villagers, identified as Nilesh Janrao and Jyotiram Uike, have been rushed to hospitals in Nagpur. Knowing well that the fair, like the previous years, will result in injuries to a large number of people, the local authorities had created six temporary health centres, where 58 doctors and 200 medical/paramedical staff have been deployed. Although the Pandhurna district collector, Ajay Deo Sharma, had imposed prohibitory orders and deployed over 600 police personnel across the riverside fair area, the battle of stones still resulted in injuries. The fair began with the worship of Chandi Mata in the Jam river. As part of the ritual, residents of Sawargaon carried a freshly cut Palash tree from the forest and planted it in the middle of the river, marking it as their sacred flag. They subsequently defended the tree as their daughter, while Pandhurna, seen as the boys side, launched a barrage of stones to seize it. The clash continued until the flag broke, after which both sides united in worship, closing the circle of violence and faith. The fair has its origin in a 400-year-old legend about a youth from Pandhurna and a girl from Sawargaon trying to elope. As the couple reached the Jam river, villagers hurled stones to stop them killing them in the process. The tradition has not just resulted in injuries but also claimed few lives. Since 1955, at least 13 people, including three from one family have reportedly died in it.

Nitin Gadkari announces corridor to link four tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh

Nitin Gadkari announced a Rs 5,500-crore four-lane corridor connecting Madhya Pradesh's Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, and Pench tiger reserves to boost tourism and the state's economy. Additionally, a Rs 15,000-crore 255-km greenfield highway between Bhopal and Jabalpur is planned, with construction expected to begin by next April or May following land acquisition.

MP govt to launch campaign portraying Lord Krishna as rebel, not butter thief; opposition cries foul

BHOPAL: Already working on developing the Sri Krishna Patheya a religious tourism circuit connecting places related with Lord Krishnas life the Dr Mohan Yadav government is now set to launch a public awareness campaign to educate people that the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu was a rebel and not a makhanchor (butter thief). Lovingly referring to Lord Krishna as Makhanchor (butter thief) has been a practice among storytellers, bhajan singers and religious preachers since generations. Hailing from the ancient city Ujjain where Lord Krishna and elder brother Balram are traditionally believed to have studied Vedas Madhya Pradesh chief minister Dr Mohan Yadav has objected to the popular title of Makhanchor for Lord Krishna. While calling the popular title as misleading, the CM argued on the festival of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, that Krishna's childhood act of breaking butter pots (Matki Fod) was actually a stand of rebellion against his maternal uncle Kansas exploitation. There were thousands of cows in Gokul, and butter from there went to Kansas house. Krishna told his fellow cowherds: eat your butter, break the pot, but dont let it reach our enemy. This was not theft but a message of resistance. Krishnas leela is about love and protest against injustice, not about stealing, he said. Why will Krishna -- who was born in a prosperous family of Nana Baba that housed thousands of cattle and abundant milk, ghee and butter -- ever need to steal. He was a rebel and not a butter thief, Yadav said recently. After the CMs remarks, the states culture department is working now on a public awareness campaign that will portray Krishna as a rebel and not a butter thief. While confirming the move and the launch of a public outreach campaign by the state culture department, the CMs cultural advisor Sriram Tiwari said, The campaign will focus on educating the people that the act of butter-pot breaking was rebellion against Kansas cruelty and not any theft. The Hindu seers have also agreed with us to drop the butter-thief tag. Knowing well that Kansa was the enemy, Krishna by eating the butter or breaking the pots, ensured that butter stayed in the village and didnt reach Kansa, Tiwari maintained. For making the campaign a success, the department is working at roping in storytellers, priests and religious preachers. Leader of Opposition and fourth time Congress MLA Umang Singhar, however, has accused the CM and his government of unnecessarily fiddling with Hindu mythology just to garner political mileage. The CM wants to change the Krishna Leela as per himself. We also believe that Lord Krishna never stole butter. The CM should better tell people how he stole the peoples mandate for forming his government.

DRI dismantles hydroponic weed syndicate, seizes 72 kg of drug

BENGALURU: In a pan-India operation code named WeedOut, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Bengaluru, Indore and New Delhi this week dismantled a syndicate involved in smuggling of hydroponic weed into the country, and seized 72.024 kg of the contraband drug worth around Rs 72 crore in the grey market, along with illegal proceeds of Rs 1.02 crore under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. On August 20, in a coordinated effort, DRI officials intercepted suspect passengers at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station, Bengaluru, and Bhopal Junction and seized hydroponic weed. Search of baggage of two passengers, who had just boarded the KSR-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (22691) at Bengaluru, led to the recovery of 29.88 kg of hydroponic weed. In a coordinated action, 24.186 kg of the banned drug was recovered at Bhopal Junction from two passengers who had boarded Rajdhani Express at Bengaluru on August 19, said sources. Meanwhile, the associate mastermind of the syndicate was traced in New Delhi and proceeds of drug trafficking amounting to Rs 1.02 crore was recovered from his possession, they added. In a swift follow-up, a passenger who had arrived in Bengaluru from Thailand on August 20 was intercepted in the early hours of August 21 at a hotel in the city, which led to the recovery of another 17.958 kg of hydroponic weed. The associate mastermind and all five passengers involved were arrested. The syndicate used to reach out to college dropouts, part-time employed or unemployed youth via social media, said sources. Hydroponic weed or marijuana is grown using hydroponic methods in a controlled environment, with water and nutrients instead of soil. It has a higher tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content than traditional weed. THC can cause changes in mood, thoughts, and perceptions of reality. Of late, hydroponic weed, which is largely smuggled from Thailand, is increasingly gaining traction among youth, including students and young professionals, in India.

D link surfaces in inter-state synthetic drug cartel in MP

BHOPAL: Bhopal finds itself at the centre of a massive synthetic drug racket, this time with alleged links to the underworld. Investigators say the illegal mephedrone factory uncovered last week on the outskirts may have been controlled by Salim Dola Ismail, a trusted aide of Iqbal Mirchi, the right-hand man of Indias most wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim. Salim Dola, believed to be operating from Turkey, is suspected of running the cartel through his network across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. His nephew, Mustafa Kubbawala, against whom Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice, is said to be his key aide. The operation, code-named Crystal Break, was carried out by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) along with police teams from Maharashtra and Gujarat. On August 16, they raided a unit in Jagdishpur village near Bhopal, seizing 61 kg of liquid mephedrone worth `92 crore, more than 541 kg of chemicals, and a complete set of processing machines. Seven people have been arrested. Among them, Abdul Faisal Qureshi, a pharmacy diploma holder from Ashok Nagar, and his associate, Razzaq Khan from Vidisha, were running the factory. A cartel member caught in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, handled raw material supplies from Mumbai. Two suppliers and a transporter were nabbed in Mumbai, while a Surat-based hawala operator was caught arranging funds. Preliminary probe revealed that funds were being transferred from Surat and Mumbai to Bhopal via hawala channels for funding the cartels manufacturing facility. A close associate of the cartel was also apprehended in Surat. This was the sixth mephedrone factory busted by the DRI in the past year, and the second near Bhopal in 10 months. In October 2024, a unit in the Bagroda Industrial Area was found with 907 kg of mephedrone worth Rs 1,814 crore.

Young Muslim man from MP offers to donate his kidney for Hindu preacher

BHOPAL: In Madhya Pradeshs Narmadapuram district, a 26-year-old Muslim youth has offered to donate one of his kidneys to Hindu preacher Premanand Govind Sharan Premanand Ji Maharaj, calling it his contribution to communal harmony. The Vrindavan-based saint, belonging to the Radha Vallabh Sampradaya, has been suffering from polycystic kidney disease for nearly two decades. With both kidneys failing some 1819 years ago, he has survived on regular dialysis. Yet, at 56, he continues his daily spiritual practices, including the famous night padyatras, drawing admiration for his faith and resilience. Moved by his life and message, Arif Khan Chishti, an online consultant and legal documenter from Itarsi, wrote to the District Collector and the saint on August 20, offering his kidney. I saw a reel where Maharaj Ji spoke about Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri and Amir Khusrow with such respect. It struck me that he was working for brotherhood at a time when hatred is easily fanned. His long life is essential for keeping that spirit alive, Chishti said. He follows the Sufi tradition. He first consulted with his wife about the donation. I lost my mother in 2023, which nearly made me virtually lifeless. I was married a year back and have consulted my better half before writing to the authorities, offering to donate my kidney to ensure a long life and well-being of the Hindu religious preacher. My life is not bigger than the life of a spiritual guru who is working at promoting community amity and unity in the country, Chishti said.

New Smuggling Method? Weed Meant For Rajdhani Trains Seized In Bengaluru, Bhopal

Drugs worth Rs 54 crore meant to be smuggled on the Rajdhani Express, one of India's most premium trains, have been seized in Bengaluru and Bhopal.

MP Drug Traffickers' Rs 100 Crore Mansion Razed

High value properties, including a three-storey 30-room mansion built over an area of around 15,000 sq ft in Bhopal, of a family accused of drug trafficking, have been razed to ground after being termed as encroachment of government land.

Either perform or perish: Congress district chiefs put on 6-month probation in MP

BHOPAL: As the Congress works for rebuilding its organisation till the village level in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, where it faced drubbing in 2023 assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a six months deadline has been set for the 71 newly appointed district presidents for the task. There is no scope for any complacency, as every newly appointed district president will have to start with constituting partys committees at gram panchayat and ward levels, besides appointing heads at block, sector and mandals. Entire work will have to be completed within six months, MP Congresss media wing head and former minister Mukesh Naik told this newspaper on Thursday. Only those who live up to these parameters in six months will continue and those whose performance isnt found satisfactory will have to make way for someone better. This is to ensure proper accountability with the key organisational post in each district, Naik added. The district Congress committee chiefs are scheduled to be in Delhi on August 24, where they will be introduced to the partys top leadership who will spell out the detailed roadmap of tasks ahead for them. The 71 DCC chiefs were appointed last week, based on the report of the AICC-appointed observers in each district under the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan launched in the state by pary Rahul Gandhi in June. As per state Congress sources, the work of rebuilding the Congress in districts will also include working in villages with those who lost the previous gram panchayat polls, despite having polled significant number of votes. The party has also started working at finding the dedicated people for being made booth level agents (BLAs). Our target is to build an army of the most dependable and dedicated BLAs at least a year before the next assembly polls and then press them into door-to-door voter physical verification exercise to prevent any possibility of vote theft by the BJP, a state Congress leader said. Work cut out for them Every new district president will have to start with constituting partys committees at gram panchayat and ward levels, besides appointing heads at block, sector and mandals. Entire work will have to be completed within six months. Only those who live up to these parameters in six months will continue.

Unwilling to marry man of familys choice, woman lawyer planned mysterious disappearance from train

BHOPAL : Unwilling to buckle under family pressure to marry the man of their choice, a Madhya Pradesh-based young advocate, Archana Tiwari, who aspired to become a civil judge, masterminded her own disappearance from on board a train on August 7. 12 days after she disappeared and went underground in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu with the help of a close friend, Saransh Jokchand, who wanted to make a big in drone business, and Saransh's alleged fraudster friend Tejindar Singh, the 29-year-old advocate has been found near the Indo-Nepal border in UP's Lakhimpur district and brought to Bhopal on Wednesday. On August 7, the young advocate, who was travelling from her workplace in Indore to home city Katni for Raksha Bandhan in the B3 coach of the 18233 Indore-Bilaspur Narmada Express train didnt reach home on August 8, after which a missing persons complaint was filed by her family at the government railway police (GRP-Katni). The investigation was transferred the next day to the GRP-Rani Kamlapati station of Bhopal. With Archana's bag and some other things being found on her train's seat, the GRP police first started working on the theory of the woman having fallen from the train, despite its chances being low in the crowded AC-3 compartment. More than 2000 CCTV footage from over 500 cameras were examined in detail between Indore and Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh). Our teams comprising more than 70 personnel were deployed in the dense forest areas in central MP, where using drones and state forest department staff, extensive combing was done, police superintendent (GRP-Bhopal) Rahul Kumar Lodha said in Bhopal on Wednesday An SDERF team searched in an area of around 32 km in river Narmada, but found nothing incriminating, after which possibility of a mishap with Archana was ruled out. It consequently broadened the purview of our investigations, focussing more on digital and electronic methodology-based investigations, he said. Based on the call detail record (CDR) and Internet Protocol Detail Record (IDPR), it was found that Archana had been in contact with an Indore-based drone business startup operator Saransh Jokchand, since January. Related investigations also revealed that she and Saransh were in touch with one Tejindar Singh (who was residing in Itarsi-Narmadapuram), possibly via Saransh. But, before Tejindar could be grilled in detail by the GRP-Bhopal, a team of Delhi police arrested him from Itarsi in connection with a fraud case. Connecting the dots in the matter pertaining to the sensational disappearance, the GRP-Bhopal reached Delhi and grilled Tejinder in Delhi police custody, where he spilled the beans and admitted to his role in first embarking the Narmada Express train from Narmadapuram railway station on August 7 as planned by Archana and Saransh and then helping the young advocate deboard the train at Itarsi railway station, Lodha said. Knowing well about the nook and cranny of Itarsi railway station, Tejindar helped Archana deboard the train and get out of the station through blind spots, which werent within the peripheral vision of the CCTV cameras, he added. Subsequent investigations revealed that after detraining at Itarsi, Archana along with Saransh, went by road to his hometown Shujalpur, in Shajapur district in a car. Archana and Saransh then returned to Indore, but realizing that the matter was becoming big in the media, they decided to get out of MP. They went to southwestern MP's Burhanpur district and then reached Hyderabad, where they stayed for two days. But with the matter becoming bigger every passing day, it was decided that Archana would go to Nepal and get underground in Kathmandu with the help of Saranshs business client. The duo Archana and Saransh travelled from Hyderabad to Jodhpur to Delhi and then entered Nepal via road based on Saranshs ID on August 14. In Nepal, the young advocate planned to live for a few months as Sapna (her other name) and then return to pursue her preparations for the judicial services exam. Though, based on CDRs, Saransh had been questioned initially by the cops, the questioning of Tejinder in Delhi polices custody in the national capital, actually helped the GRP-Bhopal in establishing Saranshs actual role in the case. Saransh was picked up for questioning again on August 17, after which he narrated the entire saga about Archana's mysterious disappearance for staying away from marriage and focusing on judicial services exams preparations. It was Saransh who finally helped police in connecting Archana over phone in Nepal and convinced her to fly back from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi in Nepal and then reach the Indo-Nepal border in UP's Lakhimpur Kheri district on Tuesday. She was brought by the GRP-Bhopal team to MP capital on Wednesday morning by flight. Questioning of Archana (a former student leader), her close friend Saransh and Tejindar revealed that she didnt want to get married with a Patwari (revenue department staff) on familys wishes and wanted instead to focus on preparations to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming a civil judge. It was owing to it only that she masterminded the entire mysterious disappearance, believing that in many cases of missing persons complaints, the victim often remained untraced, Lodha said. She left her bag and some other belongings on the train seat during the journey to home city Katni and then threw her mobile phone in the jungles of Midghat in central MP to create an impression that she fell from the train and will never be traced, Lodha said. While entire plot was masterminded by Archana, the travel plans and other aspects were finalized by Saransh and Tejindar. Though weve spent 10-12 days with more than 70 cops working round the clock in the sensational case, Archana being a major, nothing untoward has happened to her, no criminal case can be made against her. We will still seek additional legal opinion to further decide in the matter, Lodha maintained. Importantly, investigations suggest that Archana had planned her August 7 mysterious disappearance from the train on August 5, along with Saransh and Tejindar at a dhaba in central MPs Harda district, where she had gone for arguing a legal case. Out of the two SIM cards being used by her, she shut one of her SIM cards much before the August 7 rail journey and in the middle of the train journey, threw her cell-phone in the Midghat jungles of central MP to give credence to her missing person plot. Saransh, on the other hand, kept his cell phone on aeroplane mode right since returning to Indore with Archana from Shujalpur on August 9. He then purchased a new phone, got a new number in his labourer fathers name and used it till he left Archana in Nepal and returned to Indore on August 15, just to ensure that the last location of his original phone remained in Indore only.

20 months after assembly polls defeat Congress alleges vote theft in 27 seats in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: More than 20 months after the Congress suffered one of its worst poll defeats against the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, the main opposition party alleged on Tuesday vote theft in at least 27 seats during the 2023 assembly elections in the central Indian state. Leader of opposition Umang Singhar, while sharing data-based graphics of the 2023 assembly polls with journalists, said the Congress lost to the BJP by very narrow margins in at least 27 constituencies. The narrow winning margins on these seats were less than the number of voters added on each of those seats in two months preceding the elections, which suggests that the BJP may have been given an unethical advantage on these seats, Singhar alleged. While the victory margin of BJP candidates on the 27 seats ranged between 28 votes and 15,671 votes, the number of voters added in the voter list on those seats in two months before the polls spanned between 3308 and 23,519 votes. The 27 seats, included Surkhi in Sagar district where Jyotiraditya Scindia-loyalist minister Govind Singh Rajput won by 2178 votes. As many as 8994 voters were added to the voter list in the same seat in two months before the elections. The Alirajpur-ST seat of western MP, which was wrested by BJPs Nagarsingh Chouhan (another minister in the present Dr Mohan Yadav government) saw Chouhan winning by a margin of 3723 votes on the seat, where 3975 voters were added in two months ahead of elections. Further, another minister of the current state government, Nirmala Bhuria, wrested the Petlawad-ST seat of western MPs Jhabua district by 5647 votes. As many as 7041 voters were added to the voter list of the same constituency within two months before the polls. In the Shajapur seat of western MP, the BJP candidate Arun Bhimawad won by a slender margin of 28 votes from the seat where 6134 voters were added within two months ahead of polls. Importantly, 18 of the same 27 seats were won by the Congress in the 2018 elections. The current LoP, Singhar, who was the forest minister in the 15-month-long Kamal Nath government, claimed that in seven months between January 5 and August 2, 2023, the total number of voters in Madhya Pradesh increased by about 4.64 lakh, while in just two months between August 2 and October 4, there was an unexpected rise of 16.05 lakh electors. Taking these figures into account means that 26,000 voters were added daily between August 2 and October 4, 2023 in the state, Singhar claimed. While alleging large-scale irregularities in the voter list, including abnormal increase in the number of voters, and duplicate entries, Singhar said the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission had issued an order on December 2, 2022, directing the removal of 8,51,564 fake/duplicate entries in the voter list but no district officer made the deletion report public. He claimed the relevant data was not made available even through the Right to Information route. The Congress MLA demanded that the Election Commission freeze the final voter list, get signatures of all political parties on the published roll and avoid any changes till the completion of elections. Singhar asked the EC to release complete data on voters in 'machine-readable format' and provide CVS (file format) instead of PDF images so that independent scrutiny of the list can be done. Responding to the LoPs vote theft allegations on 27 seats in the 2023 elections, MP minister Vishwas Sarang, questioned why did the Congress take 20 long months to wake from the slumber on the issue. According to the law, the poll results can be challenged/complaint made within 45 days of the declaration of the election results and even after the declaration of the election, up to 10 days before the last date of nomination, then where was Congress? Objection to the election can be made only through an election petition, not by holding a press conference. Congress, which falsely invokes the Constitution, neither follows constitutional arrangements nor respects constitutional institutions. There is a clear legal provision for every objection or correction related to the voter list. Under the Representation of People Act 1951, every citizen and political party can lodge an objection if they see any discrepancy in the list. The Election Commission revises the voter list every year. The Congress and its leaders who are making false allegations now, should tell the people of Madhya Pradesh about when they complain about discrepancies in the voter list, Sarang questioned. The assembly polls were held in a single phase in MP on November 17, 2023. The BJP scored a massive 163-66 seats, upsetting the calculations of most poll pundits.

Madhya Pradesh approves new civil services leave rules with expanded benefits, modern provisions

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Tuesday approved the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Leave) Rules 2025, aligning the states leave regulations with those of the central government. The new rules which will replace the 1977 leave rules, to suit present-day requirements, include key provisions like eligibility for maternity leave for surrogate/commissioning mothers, academic cadre employees eligible for 10 days earned leave annually, 15 days paternity leave for adoption cases, child care leave extended to single male employees, half-pay leave to be credited in advance (10 days each on January 1 and July 1) and maximum limit of earned leave raised from 120 to 180 days. Further the new rules entail a simplified process for leave applications by seriously ill/divyang employees, allowing submission by family members and delegation of powers for leave approval. The new rules will have a negligible additional financial impact on the state exchequer, MP minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said while informing about Tuesdays state cabinet meeting decisions. Chaired by the CM Dr Mohan Yadav, the Tuesdays cabinet meeting approved the establishment of an Electronic Manufacturing Cluster at Bandikhedi village in state capital Bhopals Berasia tehsil, under the centres EMC 2.0 project. The cluster will promote the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector with world-class infrastructure and Common Facility Centres (CFCs). For the project, 210.21 acres of land has been allocated and in-principle approval for a project cost of Rs 371.95 crore granted, including Rs 146.63 crore as the centres share and Rs 225.32 crore as the states share. The EMC 2.0 scheme will play a key role in realising the vision of Digital India and Make in India, besides providing upgraded technical infrastructure, common facilities and a strong base for the electronics industry. The project will encourage new investment, create employment, increase government revenue through taxes, strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem and accelerate innovation and economic growth. The state cabinet approved the establishment of five new government Ayurvedic Medical Colleges and Wellness Centres in Narmadapuram, Morena, Balaghat, Shahdol and Sagar district, along with 1,570 posts (715 regular and 855 outsourced). This will mean that each division in the state has one Ayurvedic Medical College, strengthening Ayurveda-based healthcare and the wellness industry. The colleges will be funded under the National AYUSH Mission, with an allocation of Rs 350 crore (Rs 70 crore for each college) in a 60:40 ratio between the centre and the state. Each campus will include a college building, a 100-bed hospital, hostels for boys and girls, residential quarters and a pharmacy building as per prescribed standards. Aiming to promote reading, cultural and literary activities and providing well-equipped study centres in all urban local bodies, the cabinet approved the Geeta Bhavan scheme. The scheme will run from 2025-26 to 2029-30. The state government will provide financial support for construction, expansion and maintenance of Geeta Bhavans. Ownership will remain with the state, while new Geeta Bhavans will also be developed under PPP models such as Hybrid Annuity Model and Service Fee-based Model. The cabinet meeting also decided to provide scholarships for 12 months instead of the current 10 months system, for mess facilities in tribal hostels operated under the Tribal Welfare Department. The scholarships, based on student attendance, currently stand at Rs 1,650 per month for boys and Rs 1,700 per month for girls. Also, 70 years after its establishment, the Gandhi Medical College (GMC) in Bhopal will have Department of Endocrinology, along with 20 new posts including Professor (1), Associate Professor (1), Senior Residents (2), Junior Residents (2), Senior Nursing Officers (2) and Nursing Officers (12). One dietician will also be appointed on an outsourced basis. This will strengthen super-specialty health services, improve diagnosis and treatment of hormonal disorders, expand medical education and research, and promote innovation in endocrinology.

MP to have statewide Geeta Bhavans to promote culture and spirituality

Bhopal: In a significant decision aimed at deepening cultural roots and expanding access to spiritual education, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved the construction of Geeta Bhavans across all urban local bodies in the state. The initiative, which carries a budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore, will be implemented over the next five years. Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Second illegal mephedrone factory busted on Bhopals outskirts in major DRI operation

BHOPAL: Are the outskirts of Madhya Pradesh's capital turning into a fertile ground for the illegal manufacturing of synthetic drugs? A major drug cartel, reportedly operated by an overseas handler with key operatives active across multiple states, has been busted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) with the arrest of seven individuals from four different states. At the centre of the cartel was an illicit Mephedrone drug manufacturing unit operating from Jagdishpur (Islampur) village, on the outskirts of Bhopal. The factory, which was busted on Saturday, is the second illegal synthetic drug manufacturing unit to be dismantled in the vicinity of the MP capital within ten months. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, the DRI, working in coordination with police forces from multiple states, including Mumbai and Surat, raided the clandestine Mephedrone manufacturing facility as part of a focused and coordinated operation code-named Operation Crystal Break. The operation commenced on Saturday with the search of the illegal factory located in Jagdishpur (Islamnagar) village of Huzur Tehsil in Bhopal district. It led to the seizure of 61.20 kg of liquid Mephedrone, valued at 92 crore in the illicit market. Additionally, 541.53 kg of raw materials were recovered, including Methylene Dichloride, Acetone, Monomethylamine (MMA), Hydrochloric Acid (HCL), and 2-Bromo, along with a full set of drug-processing equipment, according to an official statement from the DRI released on Monday. The secluded factory had been deliberately concealed from all sides to avoid detection. Two individuals, including the chemist responsible for producing the Mephedrone, were arrested on-site while engaged in the illegal manufacturing process. The initial raid was swiftly followed by operations in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, which helped unearth the full extent of the inter-state drug cartel. A key operative was arrested in Basti district, eastern Uttar Pradesh, responsible for overseeing the supply of raw materials from Bhiwandi (Mumbai) to Bhopal. Two suppliers who had illegally provided the chemicals were apprehended in Mumbai, along with a logistics handler responsible for transporting the raw materials to the Bhopal facility. Preliminary investigations revealed that funding for the cartels operations was being routed through hawala channels from Surat and Mumbai to Bhopal. A close associate of the cartel managing the funds transfer was also apprehended in Surat. All seven arrested individuals have confessed to their respective roles in the illicit Mephedrone manufacturing racket, allegedly operating under instructions from an overseas kingpin involved in coordinating the synthetic drug trade across India. Mephedrone, a psychotropic substance listed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, is considered a serious threat to public health due to its psychoactive properties and effects similar to those of cocaine and amphetamines. This is the sixth clandestine Mephedrone factory dismantled by the DRI in the past year across India and the second such facility uncovered by central agencies in Bhopals outskirts in the last ten months. In October 2024, the largest illegal synthetic drug factory in the country was busted in the Bagroda Industrial Area near Bhopal, during a joint operation by the Gujarat Police Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Delhi. That raid led to the seizure of 907.09 kg of Mephedrone (in both solid and liquid forms), reportedly worth 1,814 crore in the international market. The facility had the capacity to produce 25 kg of Mephedrone daily, with an estimated street value of around 50 crore per day.

MP: DRI Busts Illicit Drug Factory in Bhopal, Seizes Mephedrone Worth Rs 92 Crore

Factory raided; 61 kg of drugs, 541 kg of raw material seized, 7 cartel members arrested

MP: Mohan Calls on PM, Invites Him to Launch Bhopal Metro Rail Service

Yadav briefs PM on Rs 30 lakh cr MoUs, invites him to farmers meet, metro launch

Safe Disposal of Bhopal Gas Tragedys Residues May Begin in October

MPPCB says site is safe for 30 years; heavy metals found in tiny amounts in ashes

Madhya Pradesh: Rain-related mishaps claim five lives in 24 hours in Khandwa, Bhopal and Indore

BHOPAL: At least five lives were claimed in separate rain-related incidents across Madhya Pradesh as rains have once again begun intensifying after a short-lived lull. One youth drowned in the river Narmada in Khandwa district, and another in a canal in Bhopal in the last 24 hours. Three labourers, aged between 20 and 55 years were buried alive, while the fourth was one was critically wounded after an under-construction wall collapsed in Indore district on Monday afternoon. 23-year-old software engineer Ramkrishna Birla drowned while bathing with friends from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the river Narmada at Omkareshwar in southwestern MPs Khandwa district on Sunday. When sustained rescue operations failed to show results, Birlas family had announced Rs 21,000 for the successful search of their son. After nearly 27 hours, multiple teams of divers and local residents found his body trapped in the deep waters at the same Ghat where he had drowned. In Bhopal, 27-year-old software engineer Krishna Singh reportedly died while bathing with friends in the Kajlikheda canal of Kolar area on Sunday evening. His body was recovered by rescue teams late on Sunday night. Currently working with a company in Nagpur, Singh couldnt come home for Raksha Bandhan, but as promised to his sister, he arrived in the MP capital for delayed Raksha Bandhan celebrations on August 15. He was scheduled to return to Nagpur on Monday, but the killer mishap claimed his life too soon. In Indore, on Monday afternoon, an under-construction wall collapsed amid heavy rains in Bijalpur (Rau) area, reportedly burying three labourers alive. The three deceased labourers, all hailing from Indore district, have been identified as Rameshwar (55), Gautam Rathore (25) and Titu (20). Another labourer identified as Sohan was injured in the same mishap.

10 ex-legislators, 6 MLAs get new roles in MP Congress

BHOPAL: Six MLAs, 10 former legislators some of them former ministers now have a new assignment in hand; rebuilding the Congress in respective districts of Madhya Pradesh. Two and half months after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched the ambitious Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan from Bhopal on June 3, the grand old party released its long-awaited list of district chiefs on Saturday. The 71 newly-appointed district party chiefs include six present MLAs; among them, former ministers Jaivardhan Singh as chief of Guna district and Omkar Singh Markam (Dindori) have been named. While 21 presidents have been reappointed, out of the total 71 district chiefs, 36 or 51% are from reserved categories, women and minorities includingm 12 OBC, 10 ST, eight SC, four women, and two from minority communities. While the appointments are aimed at reviving the state organisation after a dismal show in the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, protests and resignations have been reported against the decision.

Paving the self-hitting course

By Er. Rajesh Pathak, Bhopal Strict provisions incorporated in WTO compelled the countries to pave escape route out of it. And this culminated into the form of different mutual trade agreements. As one being Free Trade Agreement(FTA), under which the member countries impose least or no tariff on each other. Second comes the Custom-Union [] The post Paving the self-hitting course appeared first on Northlines .

'We did it': Bhopal woman secures Harvard admission, her family's teary celebration caught on camera will move you

The video has captured the attention of the internet, showing how an entire ecosystem is needed to make dreams come true and the overwhelming feeling when these goals are realised.

'Bhopal To Harvard': Indian Student's Emotional Family Reaction To Admission Goes Viral

The video has since captured the internet's attention, showcasing how it takes an entire ecosystem to build dreams and the sweet release when those goals are realised.

In A First, Bhopal Civic Body To Implant Microchips In Stray Dogs To Identify Sterilized Canines

The move comes amid raging controversy over the recent order by the supreme court for relocation of stray dogs to shelters in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) with animal rights activists opposing such a move: Reports

Cong cheated India by giving 80 pc Indus river water to Pak, but PM Modi suspended treaty: Chouhan

BHOPAL, Aug 13: Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday accused the Congress of cheating the country by giving 80 per cent water of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers to Pakistan, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam attack. A day after the Pahalgam terror attack claimed 26 lives on April 22, India took a series of punitive measures against Pakistan that included putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in abeyance. [] The post Cong cheated India by giving 80 pc Indus river water to Pak, but PM Modi suspended treaty: Chouhan appeared first on Daily Excelsior .

Chlorine gas leaks from Bhopal factory; situation under control

Bhopal: Panic gripped an industrial area in Bhopal on Wednesday after chlorine gas leaked from a factory, officials said. There are no reports of any inconvenience to people, and the situation is under control, Deputy Superintendent of Police Aditi Bhavsar, told PTI Videos. VIDEO | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh: Gas leak reported in Bhopals Govindpura Industrial Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Man who killed transgender lover, her son dies by suicide at hotel in MP's Satna

BHOPAL: A 30-year-old manwho was on the run after killing a young transgender Kajal Kinnar and her 12-year-old adopted son Dev in Uttar Pradeshs Kanpur districtallegedly died by suicide at a hotel in Madhya Pradeshs Satna district on Monday. The youth identified as Akash Vishwakarma was found hanging to death inside the room of Siddhartha Hotel, where he had checked in on Sunday night only. According to Satna district police sources, Akash, who hailed from UPs Kanpur district only, had first checked in at the hotel in Kolgawan area of Satna district on Saturday, but checked out on Sunday evening. He, however, returned to the hotel on failing to catch the train and checked in again at the same room on Sunday night, where he was found dead on Monday morning. A suicide note purportedly written by him was recovered by the police. The note mentioned Akash having killed two people in Kanpur, including the one (Kajal Kinnar) whom he loved. It was mentioned in the note that he killed the duo as they were blackmailing him. While confirming the incident, the Deputy Inspector General of police (DIG-Rewa Range) Rajesh Singh Chandel told TNIE that the suicide note points towards a love angle in the matter. Back on Saturday-Sunday intervening night, the bodies of a 25-year-old transgender Kajal Kinnar and her 12-year-old adopted son Dev (who was her maternal cousin also) were discovered in their residence in the Hanumant Vihar area of Khadepur in UPs Kanpur district on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. While Devs body was found on the floor, Kajals body was recovered from the neighbouring Diwan (sofabed).

Major bank heist of 14 kg gold, Rs 5 lakh cash in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur; no breakthrough yet

BHOPAL:A major heist at a bank by five helmet wearing men has stunned the police establishment in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The heist by the five men, one of whom had a firearm tucked under his belt, reportedly happened within just 18 minutes on Monday morning at the ESAF Small Finance Bank in Khitola area of rural Jabalpur. The 18 minutes incident led to the robbing of around 14 kg gold and Rs 5 lakh cash totalling over Rs 10 crore. Multiple teams have been constituted and an alert also sounded in adjoining districts also, to track and nab the robbers, Jabalpur district police superintendent Sampat Upadhyaya told TNIE . The early morning robbery which was caught on the CCTV cameras, happened at the bank, which didnt have a security guard. Five to six staffers were present in the bank at the time of the robbery by the five men, who came on motorcycles. Surprisingly, the incident was informed to the local police by the bank staffers, around 45 minutes after the robbery. As per police sources, the police are working on various angles in the case, including possibility of any insider involvement, as it seems that the robbers were well aware of the lack of security there. The concerned bank gave loans against mortgaged gold. The bank usually starts operations daily at 10.30 am, but due to the festive season, it is currently opening daily between 8 am and 9 am. Primary investigations have revealed that the robbers entered the bank one by one and threatened to shoot the staffers if they interrupted the robbery.

86,000 engineers, 4,800 doctors and 18,800 MBAs among over 25.68 lakh job seekers in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: More than 25.68 lakh registered job seekers, including over 86,000 engineers, 4,800-plus MBBS doctors and 18,800 MBAs, are eyeing government sector jobs in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, according to official data. The figures were revealed in the Vidhan Sabha during the recent monsoon session, in the state governments reply to a question by senior Congress MLA and former home minister Bala Bachchan. Bachchan had sought from the government details about job-seeking youth across qualifications, ranging from Class X pass-outs to post graduates and professionals. Minister of State for Skill Development and Employment Gautam Tetwal told the House that, as on June 30, 2025, graduates formed the largest group among registered job seekers on the MP Rojgar Portal (8.3 lakh), followed by Class XII pass-outs (6.22 lakh) and post-graduates (2.38 lakh). Government data shows 10.46 lakh aspirants belong to the OBC category, 6.34 lakh to the general category, 4.69 lakh to the SC category and 4.18 lakh to the ST category. OBCs form over half of the states population, while tribals account for around 22% and SCs about 16%. The minister said the highest number of registrations was in 2023 (33.13 lakh), followed by 31.54 lakh in 2019 and 30.64 lakh in 2022. The number stood at 26.18 lakh in 2024 and 25.68 lakh so far in 2025. Placement figures peaked in 2018-19 with 1.76 lakh offer letters issued, followed by 1.21 lakh in 2021-22 and 78,800 in 2024-25. The lowest was in 2019-20 with just 4,219. Tetwal told reporters that many registered youths are already employed and are seeking better opportunities, which is why the government has shifted from calling them unemployed to aspirational, the aspirants include highly qualified professionals, including doctors, engineers, and MBAs, are lining up for posts. They included as many as 4811 MBBS doctors, 86,000 engineers and 18,800 MBAs. According to figures shared by the state government during the Vidhan Sabhas recent monsoon session, as many as 80 private engineering colleges and 46 private polytechnics have shut down in Madhya Pradesh over the past decade, possibly due to waning interest among youths in engineering courses. Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta, however, alleged the numbers show the grim state of development, pointing out that highly qualified professionals were among the job seekers. He also questioned why registered applicants fell from 33.13 lakh in 2023 to 25.68 lakh in 2025 despite over 62.75 lakh registrations between 2018 and 2025. According to figures shared by the state government during the Vidhan Sabhas recent monsoon session, as many as 80 private engineering colleges and 46 private polytechnics have shut down in Madhya Pradesh over the past decade, possibly due to waning interest among youths in engineering courses.

Bigg Boss scam: Bhopal doctor duped of Rs 10 lakh after fake offer to enter Salman Khan show; files FIR against...

Dr. Abhineet Gupta from Bhopal has claimed that he paid Rs 10 lakh to a person named Karan Singh, who promised him he would make him a participant of Bigg Boss 16.

Bhopal Diary: Scindia-Singh bonhomie catches all by surprise

Scindia-Singh bonhomie catches all by surprise The inauguration of Shrewsbury International School Indias campus in Bhopal witnessed a remarkable bonhomie between two bitter political rivals Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and former MP CMDigvijaya Singh. Scindia, who had once orchestrated the fall of the grand old party regime in MP in March 2020 by joining the BJP, was at the inauguration event. Spotting Singh, and his better half Amrita Rai, in the front row, Scindia walked down from the stage, greeted the couple, before holding the septuagenarian MPs hand to bring him to the stage. The surprise amiability from Scindia not just earned him praise from netizens, it also made Singh take to social media to express his heartfelt gratitude for the Guna MPs comity. Ex-minister gets snared in digital arrest bid A former MP minister recently came on the crosshairs of cyber fraudsters who ensnared him in a digital arrest. But before the thugs posing as Mumbai crime branch sleuths could force him to pay up a major sum to evade jail in a money laundering case, the ex-minister rang the cops, having realised he was being scammed. After remaining under digital arrest for some hours, the minister disconnected the call. The fraudsters not only threatened the politician with jail term in a money laundering case, but spooked him by sending forged notices bearing the name of a Supreme Court judge, CBI and the ED. Concerned over his reputation, the former minister, however, hasnt lodged a formal complaint with the police. Rumours rife as BJP may get new state secretary A month after second-time MLA Hemant Khandelwal was elected the state BJP president, now the ruling party circles in Bhopal are abuzz with the possibility of the party getting a new state general secretary (organisation). State BJP insiders also feel that the incumbent of the key organisational post Hitanand Sharma, hailing from Ashok Nagar district, will be succeeded by someone from outside the state. Sharma has been holding the post since March 2022. There are also murmurs within MP BJP circles about a possible rejig of states council of ministers after key appointments to state corporations, boards and commissions. Anuraag singh Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com

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Saifs Royal Inheritance Battle Gets A Breather

SC pause revives decades-old fight over Bhopals Pataudi estate

Religious content in Hindi alphabet charts in Madhya Pradesh school sparks row; probe ordered

RAISEN: A controversy erupted in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district after the principal of a convent school allegedly distributed alphabet charts with Islamic references, prompting the education department to launch an inquiry, officials said on Saturday. They said Baby Convent School principal IA Qureshi allegedly handed Hindi alphabet charts mentioning 'Ka' for Kaba, 'Ma' for Masjid and 'Na' for Namaz to students. Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged a protest on Friday and gheraoed Qureshi. Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Pratibha Sharma said police personnel brought the situation under control. The matter is related to the education department and referred to the district education officer (DEO), Sharma said. DEO D D Rajak said an investigation is being conducted into the allegations. As per the Education department's guidelines, study material containing religious symbols of any particular faith cannot be taught in schools, he added. Principal Qureshi admitted her inadvertent mistake, stating that one or two such books with mixed Urdu-Hindi multiplication tables had reached students. She claimed the charts of alphabets were sourced from Bhopal, and due to the seller's error, three to four such items, generally used in madrasas, were included.

Ma for masjid, Na for namaz: ABVP accuses MP school of using 'Islamic content' in Hindi charts; probe ordered

Baby Convent School in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district is under scrutiny after distributing alphabet charts with Islamic references. The charts, allegedly defining Hindi letters with Islamic terms, sparked protests from groups like ABVP. Authorities have launched an inquiry, with the principal claiming the material was sourced from Bhopal and contained an inadvertent error.

81 AAI-run airports suffer Rs 10,853 crore loss in 10 years; 22 now non-operational

NEW DELHI: Eighty-one airports operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have suffered a cumulative loss of Rs 10,852.9 crore in past 10 financial years. Today, 22 of these airports have become non-operational. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol presented the data in the Rajya Sabha on August 4 while replying to a query posed by Congress MP Jebi Mather Hisam. The MP wanted to know details of Indian airports operating at a loss and if there were any plans to shut those with negligible flight operations. She also wanted to know if any financial aid was being offered to underperforming airports. Data released for the years from 2015-2016 to 2024-2025 reveals the 81 airports across the country have cumulatively suffered a Rs 10,852.9-crore loss. Delhis Safdarjung airport has suffered the most, incurring a loss of Rs 673.91 crore. Agartala airport with a Rs 605.23-crore loss stands second, while Hyderabad, with Rs 564.97 crore, Dehradun with Rs 488.01 crore, and Vijayawada with Rs 483.69 crore in losses figure among the top five loss-making airport nationwide. Asked for a reason, a senior Aviation Ministry official said Safdarjung airport, though the main airport in the national capital, is now a thing of the past, as it is not actually operational for commercial flights presently. It serves to ferry VVIPS to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, he said. Among other major loss-making airports are Bhopal (Rs 480.43 crore), Aurangabad (Rs 447.83 crore), Tirupati (Rs 363.71 crore), Khajuraho (Rs 355.53 crore), Imphal (Rs 355.19 crore). Airports closed for operations The airports which have become non-operational are Donakonda, Daparizo, Jogbani, Muzaffarpur, Raxaul, Deesa, Chakulia, Dhalbhumgarh, Khandwa, Panna, Shella, Aizawl, Thanjavur, Vellore, Nadirgul, Warangal, Kailashahar, Kamalpur, Khowai, Asansol, Balurghat and Malda. Mohol also said the Regional Connectivity Scheme Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) was launched on October 21, 2016, to boost regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country. The scheme provides Viability Gap Funding to airlines to bridge the gap between operational costs and expected revenues. The budget allocated for the RCS-UDAN for the financial year 2025-2026 is Rs 300 crore, the minister said. This provided financial incentives and concessions to the airlines from the Central and state governments, Union territories and airport operators to lower operational costs and thus promote their operations, he added. A total of 92 unserved and underserved airports, including 15 heliports and two water aerodromes have been operationalised under the scheme, he pointed out.

Top Court Stays Madhya Pradesh Order In Saif Ali Khan Family Property Dispute

The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on a Madhya Pradesh High Court order remanding a decades-old property dispute involving the royal estate of Bhopal's last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, to the trial court for fresh adjudication.

Big Relief For Saif Ali Khan: SC Stays MP High Court Order In Bhopal Royal Estate Dispute

The Supreme Court has stayed a MP High Court order in a property dispute involving Saif Ali Khan's family over the inheritance of Bhopal's last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan's estate.

Action against 2 medicos for ragging junior

BHOPAL: Two second-year MBBS students of Dr Laxmi Narayan Pandey Government Medical College in Madhya Pradeshs Ratlam have been expelled from the hostel for the course for allegedly ragging a junior. The duo, identified as Amolik and Ayushman, had reportedly sneaked into the hostel housing first-year students while in an inebriated state on Wednesday night, when there was no security guard around. Once inside, the two consumed more liquor and harassed their juniors. Before slipping away, they also cut a first-year students hair and threatened the juniors with dire consequences if they reported the incident. Undeterred by the threats, the hostellers brought the matter to the attention of the warden, Dr Devendra Chauhan, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. Taking a serious view of the episode, the anti-ragging panel of the college held a meeting on Thursday morning. The authorities subsequently debarred one of them from academic activities for one year and the other one for six months. Further, both have been expelled from the hostel for the entire MBBS course.

Kanwar Yatra turns tragic: Four pilgrims die in stampede amid uncontrolled influx of devotees

BHOPAL: At least four devotees from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh have died in the past two days during the massive Kanwar Yatra at Kubereshwar Dham in Madhya Pradeshs Sehore district, as authorities struggled to manage the overwhelming influx of pilgrims. The victims include Jaswanti Ben (56) from Rajkot, Gujarat, and Sangita Gupta from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, who reportedly died in a stampede on Tuesday, just hours before the main procession led by religious preacher Pradip Mishra began at midnight. The same day, two more devoteesChatur Singh (50) from Gujarat and Ishwar Singh (65) from Rohtak, Haryana, collapsed and died, likely due to heart complications after being trapped in suffocating crowds amid humid weather. The fatalities occurred as over 2.5 lakh devotees from across India descended upon the religious site, overwhelming infrastructure and leading to a complete breakdown of basic amenities, including drinking water, food, and sanitation. Traffic chaos compounded the crisis, with the Indore-Bhopal Highway gridlocked since Tuesday night, leaving vehicles stranded for hours. Despite official restrictions on heavy vehicles and alternate routes, enforcement was either poorly executed or ignored entirely. Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Govind Rajput acknowledged the lack of preparedness, stating, Such a massive crowd wasnt expected, which has actually led the system to fall short. I urge the administration to take control and ensure that such a tragedy doesnt repeat. Meanwhile, former MP minister and Congress MLA Rajendra Singh questioned accountability, asking, Who will take the responsibility for the deaths which happened at the Kubereshwar Dham in the last two days? Will the authorities or those associated with the religious event, who is to be held responsible for it? The incident has raised serious concerns over crowd management at large religious gatherings, with calls for stricter safety measures to prevent further tragedies.

Violence against police escalates in Madhya Pradesh: 5 killed, over 600 injured since 2024

BHOPAL: In the past 18 months, police personnel in Madhya Pradesh have faced a alarming surge in violent attacks, resulting in the deaths of five officers and injuries to 612 others. According to data provided by the state government in response to a legislative query, a total of 461 incidents targeting police personnel were recorded between January 2024 and July 2025. The fatalities occurred in Chhindwara, Shahdol, Satna, Mauganj, and Seoni districts, while injuries were reported across various ranks of the police force. The state capital, Bhopal, witnessed the highest number of attacks, with 28 incidents across urban, rural, and railway jurisdictions, leaving 30 officers injured. Neighboring Rajgarh district followed closely with 26 cases, resulting in injuries to 40 personnel. Notably, seven of these attacks occurred in the Boda police station area, including one violent clash that injured ten officers. The region is known to have villages inhabited by the Sansi community, which has been associated with criminal activities. Indore, the states commercial hub, reported 23 attacks on police, injuring at least ten personnel. Meanwhile, Guna district recorded 15 incidents but saw a disproportionately high number of injuries40 in totalprimarily due to clashes during raids on criminal hideouts. In the Bundelkhand region, Sagar and Gwalior districts each reported 19 attacks, injuring 22 and 16 officers, respectively. Tikamgarh and Singrauli also saw significant violence, with 17 and 15 cases, respectively, the latter leaving 27 cops wounded. Other districts with double-digit attack cases included Ujjain (14 cases, 20 injured), Shahdol (13 cases, 12 injured), Ratlam, Dhar, and Sehore (12 cases each), Panna (11 cases), and Bhind and Damoh (10 cases each). The single most violent incident took place in Jhabua districts Kotwali area, where 12 officers were injured in an attack. The data highlights a growing threat to law enforcement in Madhya Pradesh, particularly in regions with entrenched criminal elements. The state government has yet to outline specific measures to address this escalating violence, raising concerns over police safety and public order.

Bogus hospital received Rs 50L from CM relief fund, MP govt admits in assembly

Bhopal: A hospital in Guna district which had ceased to operate received Rs 40 to 50 lakh from the Chief Minister Relief Fund fraudulently, the Madhya Pradesh government stated in the assembly on Wednesday. The admission came in response to a question asked by Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh during the Question Hour. Singh had asked Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Madhya Pradesh man brutally murdered over alleged extra-marital affair, two arrested

BHOPAL: A 35-year-old man who played dholak in a Bhajan Mandali was brutally murdered over an alleged extra marital affair by two scheduled tribe (ST) men in tribal-dominated Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. The incident happened at a village in Khalwa area on Monday-Tuesday intervening night, when 35-year-old Devi Ram Banjara was caught at around 3 am by a tribal man outside his house. Alleging Devi Rams extra marital affair with his wife, the tribal man with the help of his brother-in-law (wifes brother) tied Devi Ram to a tree, flogged him mercilessly with a leather belt and then with wooden sticks. The savagery which reportedly continued for around an hour, ultimately led to Devi Rams death. Confirming the incident, the Khandwa district police superintendent Manoj Rai told TNIE that both the accused men were arrested, produced before the court and sent to jail on courts order on Tuesday. Primary probe revealed that Devi Ram, who hails from a backward caste, was an agricultural labourer and also played dholak with a bhajan mandali in the village. He has a 12-year-old son. Sometime back, he reportedly developed close relations with the tribal mans wife and started meeting her. The tribal man had cautioned him on repeated occasions and asked to stay away from his wife. The brutal murder happened ten days after a 17-year-old scheduled caste Class XII student was tied to a tree, his head tonsured before being brutally beaten to death by the family of a teenage girl he loved in Ratlam district of western MP. All the accused in that case too have been arrested.

MP's anti-conversion law sees 58% acquittals, only seven convictions in five years

BHOPAL: More acquittals and less convictions have marked the first five years of Madhya Pradeshs stringent anti-religious conversion law which is often dubbed as the anti-Love Jihad law of the BJP-ruled central Indian state. The Dr Mohan Yadav-led government provided in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday, the detailed data related to cases which were registered between January 1, 2020 and July 15, 2025 under the MP Freedom of Religion Ordinance 2020 and its successor MP Freedom of Religion Act 2021. According to the data shared as part of the written reply to the third-time BJP MLA from Khategaon (Dewas) seat Ashish Govind Sharma, as many as 283 cases were registered under various provisions of the anti-religious conversion law and ordinance in the first five and half years (January 1, 2020 and July 15, 2025) across MP. While 197 or 70% of the registered 283 cases are under trial in different courts, in as many as 86 or 30% cases, the accused have either been acquitted, convicted or the police investigations are still underway. In out of those 86 cases, the accused have been acquitted in 50 cases or 58% of those cases, while the accused have been convicted and awarded punishments by courts in just seven cases, which is merely seven percent of the 86 cases. In one case registered in state capital Bhopal, the case ended following the Razinaamaa agreement between both sides. Among the seven cases in which the accused have been convicted, in one case lodged at Nalkheda police station of Agar-Malwa district and a case of Burhanpur district, the trial court awarded life sentence to the convict. In one case of Mandsaur district, which also involved Section 376 IPC (rape), the accused was convicted and sentenced to ten years in jail. Among the four other cases in which the accused were convicted/awarded punishments by the court, two related to Dhar district, one from Vidisha and one from Rewa district. As per state police sources privy to probe in such cases, lack of evidence to corroborate the prosecutions facts in the cases and many female victims turning hostile during the course of trial, have led to more acquittals and less convictions in the cases. In many cases, during the course of trial in the cases, the female victims stated before the court that they were in consensual relationship with the man of the other religion, they married men from other religion on their volition and were staying with them on their own, bereft of any fear, threat, pressure or enticement, an informed source told TNIE. During the course of trial in some cases where the victims were minor girls, it came to the fore that the families of some victims even got the FIR registered under the anti-religious conversion law due to societal pressures. In many of such cases, the victims and their family members turned hostile before the court, resulting in the acquittal of the accused, sources added. In the 283 cases registered till July 15, 2025, as many as 71 victims were girls aged below 18 years. Maximum cases under the anti-religious conversion law were registered in western and south western MP (Malwa-Nimar region), which is a tribal dominant and communally sensitive region. A district wise break-up of the 283 cases revealed that Indore reported maximum 74 or 26% of all cases, while state capital Bhopal reported 33 cases, followed by Dhar with 13 cases, 12 each in CMs home district Ujjain and Khandwa district of southwestern MP, 11 in Chhatarpur and 10 in Khargone districts. The states administrative-political capital Bhopal and commercial capital Indore with a total 107 cases, constituted 38% of the 283 total cases registered across the state. The state government also informed the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday that a state-level special investigation team (SIT) was constituted in May 2025 to probe all the cases registered under the concerned law so far. The MP Freedom of Religion Ordinance 2020 and its successor MP Freedom of Religion Act 2021 were promulgated to regulate religious conversions in the state.It aims to prohibit conversion through coercion, force, misrepresentation, undue influence, allurement, fraud, or marriage. The Act requires individuals seeking conversion, and those performing or organizing the conversion, to declare the proposed conversion to the District Magistrate 60 days in advance.Violations can result in imprisonment and fines.

Engineering courses lose popularity in Madhya Pradesh; 126 private colleges closed within a decade

BHOPAL: As many as 80 private engineering colleges and 46 private polytechnics have closed in Madhya Pradesh during a decade. Importantly, the state capital Bhopal tops the list, with 45 private colleges (28 engineering colleges and 17 polytechnics) having closed between the period April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2025. The states higher education minister Inder Singh Parmar, in written reply to questions on the issue by two seniors Congress MLAs -- present Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar and former LoP Ajay Arjun Singh -- attributed the growing inclination among students for other courses (non-engineering courses) at national and state level, for the closure of the engineering colleges. Out of the 80 private engineering colleges which closed between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2025, maximum 16 colleges closed in 2016, followed by 15 in 2018, 12 in 2017, 11 in 2015, eight each in 2019 and 2021, five in 2022, three in 2023 and two in 2020. No private engineering college, however, closed during 2024 or the first three months of 2025. In case of private polytechnics, a maximum 13 colleges shut down operations in 2018, followed by six each in 2021, 2022 and 2024, followed by five in 2016 and three each in 2017 and 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic years 2020-2022, as many as 15 private engineering colleges closed in the state, while 14 private polytechnics also shut down their operations. Among the 80 private engineering colleges which closed in a decade, 28 closed their operations in states administrative and political capital Bhopal, followed by 17 in Indore, 16 in Gwalior and seven in Jabalpur, which meant that 85% or 68 of them were operating in the four major cities. In the case of the 46 private polytechnics, which downed their shutters within a decade, as many as 30 colleges or 65% of those colleges were located in the four prime cities. Out of those 30 colleges, a maximum 17 were in Bhopal, six in Indore, four in Jabalpur and three in Gwalior. According to the higher education minister Inder Singh Parmar, currently there are around 1.71 lakh students enrolled in 124 private engineering colleges and over 18,600 students enrolled in 69 private polytechnics in the state.

Maharashtra's Akola district emerges as new link in the fake passport racket case; MP ATS grills Afghan kingpin

BHOPAL:Eastern Maharashtras third largest city -- the communally and politically sensitive Akola has emerged as the fourth major link of the recently busted inter-state fake passport racket allegedly run by an Afghan man from Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Sohbat Khan, the alleged mastermind of the racket , is revealing key details during questioning by the Madhya Pradesh Police's anti-terrorism squad (ATS). As per sources privy to the probe, Sohbats questioning has revealed that a place of worship in Akola district of Maharashtra was a common meeting place of Afghans living in India. It was in Akola, where Sohbat possibly came in contact with Akbar and Iqbal, two other Afghans, who have been illegally living in West Bengal and have managed to get fake Indian passports with the help of the alleged racket operated by Sohbat and local contacts in MPs Jabalpur district. When the first three arrests were made in the case, there were just three cities/states on our radar, including Jabalpur (MP), West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. But Sohbats grilling and the disclosure of Akola in Maharashtra playing an important part in his linkages with Afghan men living illegally in India, has made eastern Maharashtras communally sensitive city too a part of our investigations, a senior cop associated with the probe told TNIE on Monday. Sources added that before coming to Jabalpur in around 2010, Sohbat had lived in parts of Maharashtra also, including Nagpur and Akola. So far six arrests have been made in the case by the MP ATS. While four of the arrests, including Sohbat Khan, his two key aides Dinesh Garg (a forest guard working at the district collectorates election cell), Chandan Thakur (who claims to be an advocate) and Mahendra Kumar Sukhdan have been arrested from Jabalpur, two others Akbar and Iqbal (both Afghans living illegally in India) have been arrested by the ATS from West Bengal, including Howrah. Ongoing investigations by the MP Polices ATS, have revealed that Khan had not only managed to get his Indian passport made with fake documents in 2020, but was helping other Afghan youths living illegally in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh get Indian passports made with fake address proofs and birth certificates of Jabalpur district. The probe has so far revealed that Khan, who has been living in Jabalpur since 2010 and had married a local girl also, had managed to first get a driving licence made with the help of fake address proof and birth certificate which showed him as a permanent resident of MPs cultural and judicial capital. In 2020, he managed to get an Indian passport with the help of the same fake documents, with whose help he had secured Aadhar, PAN and voter ID cards. Along with his aides Garg, Sukhdan and Thakur, Khan subsequently started using the same modus operandi to help other Afghans (living illegally in India, particularly West Bengal and Chhattisgarh) in getting Indian passports. So far the MP ATS sleuths have found evidence about the racket having succeeded in getting Indian passports for three Afghans, including Akbar and Iqbal, who are now in the MP police custody. The same racket was also helping 15-17 other Afghans in getting the Indian Passport, by showing all of them residents of MPs Jabalpur, using fake documents and related Aadhar manipulations.

Monsoon fury claims 252 lives in Madhya Pradesh; over 3,600 rescued so far

BHOPAL: As many as 252 people have lost their lives due to heavy rains, floods, lightning strikes, and related mishaps during the ongoing monsoon in Madhya Pradesh, according to the latest official data. The fatalities include 47 people who died directly due to heavy rainfall, 132 who were swept away by swollen rivers and streams, 60 struck by lightning, and 13 others killed in incidents involving collapsing trees and houses. Animals too have borne the brunt of the deluge. At least 432 animalsmostly milch cattleand around 1,200 poultry perished in the flood-hit areas. The incessant rainfall also caused the complete collapse of 128 houses and partially damaged 2,333 others across the state. Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Sunday said that 3,628 people have been safely rescued by combined teams of the Indian Army, NDRF, State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF), police and home guards. Of these, 3,065 are currently sheltered in 53 relief camps. So far, a total of Rs 28.49 crore has been disbursed as immediate relief to affected families across various districts. The state government has sanctioned a total of Rs 3,600 crore for ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts. Madhya Pradesh has received 711.3 mm of rainfall so far, which is 59% above the seasonal average. Of the states 55 districts, 40 have recorded above-normal rainfall and nine have received normal rain. Mandla district in the Mahakoshal region, notably, received 51% of its 1,107 mm average rainfall within just four days. The excessive downpour has disrupted infrastructure as well. A total of 254 rural roads were affected, though all have since been restored. Additionally, 94 culverts on highways and major roads were damaged, but alternate routes were provided promptly to maintain vehicular movement. So far, 432 rescue operations have been conducted, leading to the safe evacuation of 3,628 people and 94 animals. To stay ahead of further emergencies with nearly six weeks of monsoon remaining, the state has pre-positioned NDRF teams in Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Dhar, while SDERF teams have been deployed in vulnerable areas. Disaster Response Centres have been set up in 259 sensitive zones, backed by 111 Quick Response Teams and 3,300 trained 'Aapda Mitras' (disaster volunteers) to support local communities.

How a viral salute video led to the reunion of a Bhopal policeman after 42 years

A crisp salute from an elderly resident at a Bhopal old-age home, identified as former sub-inspector Puran Singh, sparked an emotional reunion after 42 years. DSP Santosh Patel's viral video helped trace Singh's identity, revealing his past service and struggles with mental health after his wife's death.

Malegaon blast case verdict is victory of Hindutva: Pragya Singh Thakur

Bhopal, Aug 3: Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur on Sunday said the special courts verdict acquitting her in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case was a victory of Hindutva and a slap on the face of people who coined the term saffron terror. The special court on July 31 acquitted Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others in the case, noting that the prosecution had not adduced cogent and reliable evidence to warrant conviction and prove the case [] The post Malegaon blast case verdict is victory of Hindutva: Pragya Singh Thakur appeared first on Daily Excelsior .

Pragya Thakur makes controversial claims after Malegaon blast verdict

New Delhi: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, recently acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Sunday claimed that she was tortured for refusing to spread false information during the investigation. Speaking to the media at Bhopal airport on Sunday, the former Bhopal MP said, I was asked to spread fake information, which I did not Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Three Class XII students drown in waterfall in Madhya Pradeshs Narsinghpur district

BHOPAL : Three Class XII students of two different schools reportedly drowned while bathing in the Hathinala-Bildha waterfalls in Madhya Pradeshs Narsinghpur district on Friday. The three teenagers aged between 17 and 18 years, identified as Tanmay Sharma (son of a revenue department Patwari), Ashwin Jat, and Akshat Soni were close friends and students of two different schools. On Friday, the Tourism Department organized a quiz contest in schools. As a result, a holiday was declared for all students except the participants. The holiday had already been notified in advance on Thursday. The three teenagers who lived in separate localities of Narsinghpur town left their homes, telling their parents that they are going to school. When the trio didnt return home till evening, their families reported about it to the police at around 6 pm, after which search operations started. The three boys had left home on two two-wheelers, including a scooter and a motorcycle. As the GPS system was installed in the scooter, it was tracked near the Hathinala-Bildha waterfall, which is located in jungles, around 40 km from Narsinghpur district HQ, local police station in-charge BL Tyagi said. A team of home guards, local police, and divers was pressed into action, after the school uniform and school bag of one boy and clothes of the two other boys were found close to the waterfall. Subsequently, three bodies were retrieved from the deep waterfall between 11 pm and 1 am. A local diver, Babulal, played a key role in extricating the three bodies with the help of a plastic rope fitted with an iron hook.

Afghan kingpin behind fake Indian passport racket busted in Jabalpur, MP

BHOPAL: A major racket facilitating illegal Afghan nationals in acquiring Indian passports has been busted in Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested three individuals, including the alleged kingpin, an Afghan national identified as Sohbat Khan, who had been living illegally in Jabalpur for the past decade. Khan, who had married a local woman during his stay and managed to obtain an Indian passport in 2020 using forged documents, was reportedly helping other Afghan youths residing illegally in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh to obtain Indian passports using fake address proofs linked to Jabalpur. The two local aides arrested alongside Khan have been identified as Dinesh Garg (40), a resident of Jabalpurs Vijay Nagar area and a forest guard posted at the election cell in the Jabalpur district collectors office, and Mahendra Kumar Sukhdan (45). Afghan national arrested with forged Indian passport at Bhubaneswar airport According to the ongoing probe by Madhya Pradesh Polices ATS, Khan not only secured his own Indian passport fraudulently but also facilitated the same for at least 20 other Afghan youths. Two such individuals, Akbar and Iqbal, both living illegally in West Bengal, have already managed to obtain Indian passports using fake Jabalpur address proofs. Investigations have revealed that original Aadhar cards bearing West Bengal addresses were altered to reflect addresses from Jabalpur. Khan and his aides reportedly paid local youths in Jabalpur to help create forged documents, assist in police verifications, and facilitate the issuance of passports through local post offices. Monetary transactions totalling approximately Rs 10 lakh have been traced so far in connection with the racket. ATS officials are currently interrogating Khan to uncover the wider network, especially individuals involved in forging documents and facilitating official clearances. Khans illegal stay dates back to 2015, when he first obtained a driving licence from Jabalpur, which later helped him secure an Indian passport five years later. The investigation is ongoing, with further arrests and revelations anticipated.

International travels script Indias aviation growth story

NEW DELHI: The desire for international travel among Indians is triggering aviation boom, says the Airports Authority of India. And smaller airports, compared to those in capital cities, have picked up patronage. The AAI Air Traffic Data for the first three quarters of this financial year shows nearly two crore flyers went abroad this year, marking a 7% rise in international travel. The overall passenger growth stands at 5.6% with 105.15 million flyers taking to the skies in April-June 2025 over the 99.54 million of April-June 2024. The domestic growth figure is 5.3% with 85.32 million travelling this quarter as compared to 81 million in the corresponding period last year. As expected, following the Pahalgam attack and air spaceclosure, Srinagar airport has taken a massive hit. Bhopals Raja Bhoj airport, whose international destinations cover West Asia and South East Asia, has recorded an 80% growth figure over the past year, the maximum among all airports in the country. It is followed by Pune airport, which has recorded a 76.7% growth, and Bagdogra with 72.4% growth. Coimbatore, Surat, Mangaluru, and Guwahati have all recorded growth figures of over 33%. The hubs of international travel, IGIA and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport are inching along with a 3% (52,40,482 passengers) and 4.5% (38,96,278) increase, respectively, in international patronage. Post the opening of the second terminal, the growth of Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport appears unstoppable with 17,33,432 international travellers. It has recorded the maximum surge among the big airports.

Political row erupts over Malegaon blast verdict

NEW DELHI/BHOPAL/MUMBAI/LUCKNOW : Following the acquittal of all accused in the Malegaon blast case, the BJP on Thursday accused the Congress of having concocted the theory of Hindu terror during its tenure in power, to allegedly thwart the political rise of Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The BJP claimed the Congress devised this narrative as part of a strategy to appease Muslim voters. The Congress can go to any extent in its vote bank politics, stated former Law Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad at a media briefing. He demanded an apology to the nation from former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Prasad demanded that those discharged from the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, be compensated adequately. Thakur supporters celebrate In Bhopal, supporters of Pragya Thakur danced and distributed sweets after hearing the verdict. They want a grant celebration after Thakur returns from Mumbai to her B-29, 74 Bungalows residence in a couple of days. Five kilometres away, supporters burst crackers outside the residence of former CM Uma Bharti at 6, Shyamala Hills. She turned emotional, recounting her meeting with Thakur while the latter was incarcerated. Bharti recalled, I met Pragya at the Nashik Jail, when no one went there to meet her. A Maharashtra police officer had told me that she was tortured unimaginably. I was in tears while meeting her and still remember her confirming that she had been tortured beyond imagination. She called Thakur Durga, who preferred torture in custody to succumbing under pressure. Bharti pointed out, No ordinary woman could have tolerated such extreme torture. At Nashik Jail, she told me, tell all people, that Ill prefer dying and never allow Hindus and the colour saffron to get kalankit (tarnished). Bharti said thanks to the verdict, even I stand acquitted in the court of my soul. He stated, All those who coined the term saffron terrorism should now either apologise to the Hindus or jump into the Ganga or Narmada. Maha slugfest Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X, Atankwad bhagwa na kabhi kha, na hai, na kabhi rahega (Terrorism was never saffron, is not, and will never be). Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said the verdict was delayed justice, adding that bomb blasts were frequent when the Congress was in power for which innocents were framed. He said, Shiv Sena never had any doubt that the accused were falsely framed and would get justice. Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and seven others have had to endure immense mental and physical torture due to this allegation. The Hindu people will never forget this injustice. A Hindu can never commit anti-national acts, because patriotism is a religious act for Hindus. On Fadnaviss reaction, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, His tweet reveals his political mindset. This is precisely why questions have been raised about the attitude of the investigative agencies. These people view terrorism through a political lens as well. People associated with the BJP and RSS, for their political interests, had even called a brave officer like martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor. Sawant reacted to Fadvanis, saying, Was it due to this political mindset that Rohini Salian ji was asked to adopt a soft stance towards the accused and to slow down the pace of the investigation? Witnesses were offered inducements. A witness like Randhir Singh was even given a ministerial position in Jharkhand. However, this verdict is not surprising, as the NIA had already given a clean chit. Former CM Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress asked, The question remains, then why no one is guilty and convicted for this crime? Then, who killed these five people who died in the bomb blast? In contrast, Congress ally Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray welcomed the verdict. While Thackeray did not react, his party party MLC and leader of Opposition said, Satya Mev Jayate truth has prevailed. Both factions of the Sena appeared to be on the same side on the verdict. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, The NIA courts verdict has erased the stigma on Hindus today. There is no doubt that the slogan Garv se kaho hum Hindu hai will now be echoed a hundred times louder. Yogi takes shot at Cong Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Malegaon verdict was a reflection of the Congress partys anti-India, anti-justice and anti-Sanatan character. The exoneration is a living testament to the phrase Satyamev Jayate. The verdict again exposes the Congress which coined the false term, saffron terror, and defamed crores of Sanatan believers, saints, and patriots, he said. The case Trail Sept 27, 2008: An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque at Bikku chowk in Malegaon town Sept 29, 2008: An FIR was lodged at Azad Nagar police station at Malegaon Oct21 , 2008: Maharashtra Terrorist Squad (ATS) took over this case Nov 27, 2008: ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed in a terrorist attack in Mumbai Oct 23, 2008: ATS made the first arrest in this case, namely Sadvi Pragya Singh as well as three other accused Oct 23, 2008: ATS arrested Lt Col Prasad Purohit for involvement and conspiracy Jan 20, 2009: ATS filed chargesheet and charged them under MCOCA & UAPA July 2009: The special court said that the MCOCA was not applicable in the case Aug 2009: Maha govt moved against the special court in Bombay High Court July 2010: Bombay High Court overturned the special court order and upheld the charges under MCOCA Aug 2010: Accused Pragya and Lt Colonel Purohit moved SC against the HC order Apr 13, 2011: NIA took over case and held Lokesh Sharma & Dhan Singh; total arrested 14 Apr 2015: The SC sent back the case to special court to reconsider the applicability of MCOCA Feb 2016: NIA told court that theyd sought AGs view and MCOCA was applicable May 2016: NIA filed another chargesheet in special court and asked to drop MCOCA against the accused and give a clean chit to all seven Apr 25, 2017: The Bombay High Court granted bail to Sadvi Pragya Singh but no relief to Lt Colonel Purohit Sept 21, 2017: Lt Colonel Purohit finally got the bail via the Supreme Court. Later all accused arrested in this case were granted bail Dec 27, 2017: The special court of NIA dropped the charge that the accused was a member of the terrorist organisation and raising funds for it Dec 3, 2018: The trail began with examinations of first witnesses Sept 14, 2023: Court examined 323 prosecution witnesses; 37 turned hostile July 23, 2023: The examination of defence witnesses were completed Aug 12, 2023: The special court recorded the final statement of accused Apr 19, 2025: The special court closed the trail for the judgment July 31, 2025: Special court judge LK Lahoti acquitted all seven accused

Former Union minister Uma Bharti recalls emotional jail meeting with Pragya Thakur after Malegaon blast verdict

BHOPAL: A distance of five kilometres separates the official bungalows of two saffron-clad women politicians of the ruling BJP in Bhopal. But the celebrations at the residences of these two former Bhopal MPs, to mark the acquittal of one of them, Pragya Singh Thakur, in the 2008 Malegaon blast case , stood in sharp contrast. While Thakur was in Mumbai for the NIA courts judgment in the 17-year-old terror case, a handful of her supporters at the B-29 residence in the 74 Bungalows area danced to drumbeats and distributed sweets, awaiting her arrival in Bhopal two days later for the grand celebrations. Five kilometres away, outside the 6 Shyamala Hills residence of former Madhya Pradesh CM and ex-Union minister Uma Bharti, it was the sound of bursting crackers that marked the acquittal of Thakur and others in the blast case. Recounting her visit to Nashik Jail, where Thakur had been lodged, Bharti, who is considered one of the prominent BJP figures in the Ayodhya Ram Temple movement, turned emotional. I met Pragya at the Nashik Jail, when no one went there to meet her. A Maharashtra police officer had told me that she was tortured unimaginably. I was in tears while meeting her and still remember her having confirmed to me about having been tortured beyond imagination. I didnt carry anything for her it was she who had kept a garland for me, Bharti said. 2008 Malegaon blast: Mere suspicion can't replace real proof; no evidence for conviction, says court She is Durga (goddess), who preferred tolerating extreme mental and physical torture in custody, rather than succumbing under intense pressure. No ordinary woman could have tolerated such extreme torture. At Nashik Jail, she told me, tell all people, that Ill prefer dying and never allow Hindus and the colour saffron to get kalankit (tarnished), Bharti added while recounting her meeting with Thakur in the jail. Welcoming the NIA courts judgment, Bharti said the verdict had not just absolved Thakur and others from allegedly false charges, but had also given her personal relief. Even I stand acquitted in the court of my soul, she said. Bharti alleged that the 2008 blast incident had been deliberately chosen as part of a larger conspiracy to coin the term saffron terrorism as a counter-narrative against Islamic fundamentalism. Lies were added in the case, and those arrested were subjected to horrific torture just to force them to take certain names. Had they taken those names, then most office-bearers of nationalist organisations and most BJP leaders would have been put behind bars and subjected to similar torture, she alleged. All those who coined the term saffron terrorism should now either apologise to the Hindus or jump into the river Ganga or Narmada. The people now need to decide what extraordinary punishment should be given to those politicians, including P Chidambaram, Rahul Gandhi, Digvijaya Singh and those from left parties, for their deliberate attempts to create fear among Muslims for the consolidation of the minority communitys votes by creating the fake narrative of Hindu fundamentalism to counter Muslim fundamentalism, she added. 'Terrorism was never saffron': Fadnavis hails Malegaon blast verdict; BJP demands Rahul, Sonia Gandhi's apology

'No Helmet, No Fuel' For Two-Wheeler Riders In Bhopal, Indore From August 1

Starting August 1, two-wheeler riders without helmets will be denied petrol in Bhopal and Indore.

2008 Malegaon blast: Mere suspicion can't replace real proof; no evidence for conviction, says court

MUMBAI: A special court while acquitting seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case on Thursday observed mere suspicion cannot replace real proof and that there was no cogent or reliable evidence to warrant conviction. No religion teaches violence, the court said. Terrorism has no religion, but the court cannot convict on mere perception, it observed. There is also no evidence to prove that explosive substances were transported or stored by Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit in his house or that he had assembled the bomb, the court said. The judge also held that provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) were not applicable to the case as there was no proper application of mind before grant of sanction for the same. An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others. The court on Thursday acquitted the seven accused - former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Purohit, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni. Special judge A K Lahoti, presiding over National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases, while reading out the judgment said there was no eliable and cogent evidence against the accused that proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution's case was that the blast was carried out by right wing extremists with an intention to terrorise the Muslim community in the communally sensitive Malegaon town in Nashik district. The court in its judgment flagged several loopholes in the prosecution's case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt. Mere suspicion cannot take the place of real proof, the court said, adding that in the absence of any evidence, the accused persons deserve the benefit of doubt. The overall evidence does not inspire confidence in the court to convict the accused. There is no reliable and cogent evidence to warrant conviction, the judge said while reading out the judgment. The court further said it was not established that the motorbike used in the blast was registered in the name of Thakur, as claimed by the prosecution. The prosecution has proved that the blast took place but could not prove that the explosive was fitted in the motor bike, it observed. On the prosecution's case that the accused persons had attended several meetings in Bhopal and Nashik where the conspiracy for the blast was hatched, the court said no witness has supported this theory and hence, neither the meeting nor the conspiracy hatched could be proved. While there is evidence to show that money was distributed by right wing group 'Abhinav Bharat', there is no evidence to prove that the same was used to fund terrorist activities, the court observed. The money seems to have been used by Purohit for the construction of his house, it added. There is also no evidence to prove that explosive substances were transported or stored by Purohit in his house or that he had assembled the bomb, the court said.

Meet woman, who studied 8 hours a day to fulfill IAS dream, cracked UPSC exam on 3rd attempt with AIR...; know about her preparation strategy and more

She went to APJ School, Noida, where she studied PCM with Economics. After school, she took a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, from 2016 to 21.

Army rescues 300 from flood-hit Shivpuri as 2,900 evacuated across Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: Around 300 people were rescued by the Indian Army, NDRF, SDERF, local police and administration from a flood-hit village in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior-Chambal region on Wednesday. Continued heavy rains have caused flooding in various rivers across northern Madhya Pradesh districts, particularly in Shivpuri, Guna and Ashoknagar. While thanking the Army for their role in the rescue operations in Shivpuri district, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav said that to expedite relief work, the state government has requested helicopters from the Ministry of Defence. A helicopter from Lucknow is currently deployed and actively engaged in relief and rescue operations in Ashoknagar district. After conducting a live review of the ongoing rescue operations in the flood-hit areas from the state command centre in Bhopal, the Chief Minister said 2,900 people have been safely rescued from Morena, Guna, Shivpuri, Rewa, Raisen, Damoh and Ashoknagar and moved to relief camps. Food, clothing, medicines and other essentials are being provided at these camps. Rescue teams have been deployed in full strength with all necessary resources. Considering the likelihood of continued rainfall over the next two to three days, all district administrations have been directed to remain on high alert and in a constant state of readiness. He appealed to citizens to remain cautious, avoid waterlogged areas and open drains, stay away from electric hazards and dilapidated buildings, and immediately report any emergency to their local tehsil or district flood control room. He reassured the public that the government is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of every citizen. The IMD has issued an alert for heavy rainfall in many districts of the state over the next 24 hours. It has predicted 8 to 9 inches of rain in several districts, including Bhopal, Vidisha, Narmadapuram, Raisen, Sehore, Ashoknagar, Guna, Shivpuri and Rajgarh.

More than 23,000 women, girls missing in MP for over a month and up to 1.5 years

BHOPAL: Over 23,000 women and girls have been missing for at least a month and up to 1.5 years in Madhya Pradesh. The information was shared by the state government, while replying to the question on the issue by former home minister and senior Congress MLA Bala Bachchan during the ongoing monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha. As per the written reply to the ex-home ministers question, as on June 30, 2025, more than 21,000 women and 1900-plus girls were missing for more than a month in the state. Surprisingly, those numbers included women and girls, who went missing between January and December 2024 and January and June 2025. The detailed break up of the data shared by the government revealed that in as many as 30 districts the total number of missing women was more than 500. These districts included states political and administrative capital Bhopal, commercial capital Indore, cultural and judicial capital Jabalpur, Sagar, Gwalior, Chhatarpur, Dhar and Rewa districts. The other districts where more than 500 women and girls were missing since more than a month, include Shivpuri and Guna in the Gwalior-Chambal region, Khargone, Khandwa and Barwani in southwestern MP, the districts of Mandsaur, Ratlam, Neemuch, Dewas, Ujjain (CM Dr Mohan Yadavs home district), Jhabua and Dhar in western MP. Those districts also included Katni, Balaghat, Seoni and Mandla (all in tribal dominated Mahakoshal region), Raisen, Vidisha and Narmadapuram in central MP, besides Satna and Rewa districts of Vindhya region and Damoh, Sagar and Narsinghpur in Bundelkhand region. The information shared by the state government also revealed that around 1500 persons accused in various cases of crime against women, among them rape and other sexual offences, besides those accused in abduction of girls and disappearance of women are yet to be tracked by the state police. The accused on the run, included those booked for rape of women and minors. While 292 accused were absconding in cases pertaining to rape with women, as many as 283 were on the run in cases of sexual assault/rape with minors. As many as 443 others were on the run in cases of other sexual offences with women, while 167 persons, who were accused in similar cases of sexual offences with girls too, were untraceable. This meant that as many as 575 accused in cases of rape with women and girls were still on the run, while 600 accused are on the run in cases related to other sexual offences with women and minors. When it came to those accused, who are absconding in the cases pertaining to missing minors and those behind the disappearance of women, as many as 76 were on the run in cases of missing women, while 254 were absconding in cases of abduction of minor girls. As per the state governments reply in the Vidhan Sabha, more than 23,000 women and girls have been missing in Madhya Pradesh for more than a month as on June 30, 2025. The missing 23,000-plus women and girls, include over 21,000 women and more than 1500 girls. In at least 30 districts, the number of women and girls who remain untraced was more than 500. Around 1500 accused in various cases of crime against women remain untraced. Those on the run, included 575 in rape cases and 600 in cases of other sexual offences. As many as 76 accused in cases in missing women and 254 accused in cases of missing girls too are untraced.

Heavy rains in MP: Army called in Shivpuri; 2,900 people rescued in various districts

BHOPAL: Several people, including school children, were stranded in parts of Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district due to a flood-like situation after heavy rains, prompting the authorities to call the Army for rescue and relief work, officials said on Wednesday. A flood-like situation has also arisen in Guna district, where a bridge on a culvert caved-in. People from several villages in Guna have been asked to move to safer places, they said. Due to heavy rains, Dindori, Vidisha, Jabalpur, Narmadapuram, Alirajpur, Rajgarh, and Betul districts were also witnessing a similar situation and rapid relief and rescue operations were being carried out by the administration, as per the officials. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav took information about the current situation from officials at the Home Guard headquarters and gave necessary instructions to the collectors and other officials of the districts facing heavy rainfall. Nearly 2,900 persons have been rescued from various districts, including Morena, Damoh, Raisen, Guna, Ashoknagar, Shivpuri, Sagar and Vidisha, he told reporters. We will provide full help to the victims. The government will make all arrangements, including of food, shelter and clothing. This weather condition is going to remain for two to four more days. We are alerting people in the state, Yadav said. The government is fully prepared to help the flood victims. Helicopters have been sought from the Defence Ministry for two districts and they will soon start operations, he said. The IMD has issued an alert of heavy rain in many districts of the state in the next 24 hours. It has predicted 8 to 9 inches of rain in in many districts over the next one day, including Bhopal, Vidisha, Narmadapuram, Raisen, Sehore, Ashoknagar, Guna, Shivpuri, and Rajgarh. Due to continuous rain and overflowing rivers and streams, many villages of Shivpuri have been inundated. In view of the situation, the district administration called the Army from Jhansi on Tuesday night, an official said. More than 250 people were shifted to safer places in the Kolaras assembly constituency while more than 100 persons were trapped in the floods, the official said earlier in the day. There was also a report of nearly 30 school children being stranded at Pachavali village in Shivpuri. Kolaras SDM Anoop Srivastava said keeping in view the safety of villagers, the Army has been called. A team was evacuating the stranded villagers and also providing food items and essential relief material to the needy, he said. Army Major Shivam Ganguly, who was commanding the relief and rescue operation, said two of their teams were engaged in relief work in different areas and a medical team was also deployed. In Guna district, due to a flood-like situation in the tribal-dominated Bamori development block, residents of eight villages have been advised to move to safer places, another official said. Guna Collector Kishore Kanyal said due to the damage caused to the Kalora dam of Bamori, people from Singapur, Tumda, Kudka, Bandha, Umradha, and Baniyani villages have been advised to shift to safer places. In Bamori area, a bridge on a culvert caved-in, disrupting road connectivity with Rajasthan, an official said. CM Yadav said, Our government will make arrangements for everything -- from food to clothes -- for the flood victims. The CM said he inspected the rescue centres across the state on Wednesday from the Home Guard Flood Disaster Centre in Bhopal. We have seen the entire flood situation and understood it. Wherever there is a flood, our soldiers have done a good job there, he said. All possible help will be provided to the districts and no negligence will be tolerated in the rescue and relief work, the CM said. Yadav also said people from the society who were helping in flood-like situations will be honoured on August 15. Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia spoke to the collectors of Guna, Shivpuri and Ashoknagar districts through video conference late Tuesday night and directed them to immediately provide security, food, pure drinking water and medical facilities in the affected areas. He also asked them to use boats, helicopters and other resources if required. No laxity or delay in relief and rescue operations will be accepted, he said in a post on X. All departments concerned were instructed to work in coordination so that no family is deprived of relief, he said. Scindia said he was in constant touch with the Union Home Ministry and Defence Ministry and regular information about the situation was also being shared with CM Mohan Yadav. The central and state governments are fully committed to conduct the relief operations smoothly, he said.

7,418 SC, ST women allegedly raped, 558 murdered in MP between 20222024

BHOPAL: A total of 7,418 Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women were allegedly raped, 558 murdered, and 338 gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh between 2022 and 2024, according to information shared by the state government in the Vidhan Sabha. The data, presented in response to a question raised by Congress MLA Arif Masood, indicates that on average, at least seven SC/ST women were allegedly raped every day in the state over the past three years. Importantly, around 38% of the central Indian states population belongs to these two marginalised sections, with SCs comprising approximately 16% and STs 22% of the total population. As many as 558 SC/ST women were allegedly murdered in Madhya Pradesh between 2022 and 2024. Of these, 411 were tribal women and 147 were from scheduled castes. The same period also saw 338 cases of gang rape against women from the two communities, 186 victims were from ST groups, while 152 were from SC communities. A total of 5,983 SC/ST women were allegedly molested during the same period, translating to five molestation cases every day. Of these, 3,367 victims were Dalit women, while 2,616 were tribal women. Further, the data reveals that while tribal women were allegedly more vulnerable to violent and sexual crimes such as rape, gang rape, and murder, Dalit women were comparatively more at risk of domestic violence and molestation. Out of 1,906 cases of domestic violence against SC/ST women, 1,352 victims were from scheduled castes and 554 from scheduled tribes. This indicates that two SC/ST women on average faced domestic violence each day during the three-year period. As per the official figures shared in the House, a total of 44,978 cases of crimes against SC/ST women were registered in Madhya Pradesh during the three years, which works out to an average of 41 such cases per day. The shocking statistics have brought renewed focus to the vulnerability of women from marginalised communities in the state and the urgent need for targeted measures to ensure their safety and justice.

'Social media misuse' constitutes bulk of cybercrime cases in MP, youngsters most affected

BHOPAL: Social media misuse forms the bulk of cybercrime cases in Madhya Pradesh, particularly affecting the young and most productive section of the State. Out of the 1021 total cybercrime cases reported across the central Indian State in 2022, as many as 542 cases, which accounted for more than 53 per cent of the total cases, pertained to misuse of social media. In 2023, when the total number of cybercrime cases declined to 927 (a dip of 9%), the cases related to social media abuse comprised 46% or 428 cases out of the total cases. In 2024, as many as 1082 cases of cybercrime (which was the highest in three years) were registered by police in the State, out of which 37% or 396 cases were related to social media abuse. Out of the 511 cybercrime cases reported this year, more than 47% cases (242 cases) are related to social media misuse. Cyber criminals posing as IAS officers attempt to dupe people in Madhya Pradesh According to the reply given by the State government to the question by first-time BJP MLA Riti Pathak on the second day of the Vidhan Sabhas ongoing monsoon session on July 29, banking fraud and other types of fraud constitute the next biggest chunk of cybercrime cases. The youngsters who form the most productive segment of population in the State are emerging as the worst affected by cyber-crime. In 70% or 717 cases out of the total 1021 cases in 2022, the victims were youngsters, followed by 76% of 927 total cases in 2023, 65% of the total 1082 cases in 2024 and 67% of the 511 cases reported so far in 2025. The resolution of the cases, however, could be a cause of concern, as its percentage has been on constant decline. Out of 1021 cases registered in 2022, around 70% or 719 stood resolved. In 2023, however, 66% or 605 out of the total 927 cases could be resolved, even while the number of cases declined by around 9% compared to the previous year. While the number of cybercrime cases was highest at 1082 in 2024, the percentage of cases resolved plummeted to just 47% or 505 cases. The rate of resolving the cases so far in 2025 has been abysmal, with just 27% or 137 of the 511 registered cases being resolved. Two fake call centres busted in Madhya Pradesh in three days, 29 arrested for aiding cyber fraud

Man Takes Sick Woman To Hospital, Spends 13 Months In Jail After She Dies

In a cramped, makeshift room in Bhopal's Adarsh Nagar slum, Rajesh Vishwakarma sits quietly, trying to piece together a life that was unjustly snatched away from him. For 395 days, he lived in jail -- not because he committed a crime, but because he

Bhopals urban tigers & humans live and let live