Power Grid Subsidiary Commissions Raipur-Dhamtari Transmission Project

Power Grid had acquired POWERGRID Raipur Pool Dhamtari Transmission through tariff based competitive bidding process.

Centres team inspects Waqf properties in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: Amid the visit of a 10-member team from Centre to carry out the surveys of the Waqf properties in the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, the chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai in response to contention of his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee asserted that the laws passed by the Parliament remain applicable across the country. After the Waqf (Amendment) Bill became a law last week, a team from the ministry of minority affairs has been sent to Chhattisgarh to inspect the Waqf properties seen as charitable endowment rooted in Islamic laws, its status besides the issues related to dispute and encroachment. The team has initially covered districts of Dhamtari, Mahasamund and Raipur. They are mostly looking into Waqf properties, incorporating graveyards, various Idgah and dargah. The team, during its survey, were seen marking the Waqf properties they visited as Used or Unused, a senior officer privy to the matter told TNIE. Chhattisgarh has Waqf properties worth over Rs 5000 crore. Since the creation of Chhattisgarh state in November 2000, neither a single land belonging to the tribal community has been taken as Waqf property nor has the state Waqf Board staked its claim or ownership on their premises or lands, said Salim Raj, Chairman, Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board. Parliament passes Waqf (Amendment) Bill after Rajya Sabha nod In Chhattisgarh, non-Muslims, including the tribal, had not donated any land under Waqf. The entire evaluation of the Waqf properties is being carried out, including those lying vacant or encroached. There are people with vested interests using the Waqf properties as their personal assets, Salim Raj added. Under the present regime, the Chhattisgarh Waqf Board has apparently been in action mode during the last three months, the Chairman has issued over 500 notices to those assuming responsibility of the Waqf properties. Salim Raj said the misuse and encroachment of Waqf properties will not be allowed. Now there will also be a fresh agreement regarding rent fixed on all Waqf properties in accordance to approved norms of the Board and the guidelines of the collector. The visiting team, accompanied by the chairman and secretary of the state Waqf Board interacted with committees of mosques, caretaker and the people of the Muslim community. Besides taking feedback, the team is apprising them about the Waqf (Amendment) Act-2025.

Raipur police registered FIR over offensive posts targeting social activist, family on social media

RAIPUR: In a prompt action, the Raipur police lodged an FIR over a complaint of persistent mental distress caused by a series of offensive posts targeting a social activist for over a year through a social media platform X (earlier Twitter) created on a purported fictitious name. A resident of Raipur Kunal Shukla in his police complaint cited that a 55-year-old Nilesh Raichura has been routinely targeting him, his wife and daughter with disturbing filthy posts and offensive remarks. I initially ignored him. But he persisted in using abusive disgusting comments and began threatening me. I was scared as his unending aggression caused a long-drawn-out mental harassment. I was very concerned about the safety of my 11-year-old daughter. Left with no option, I had to approach the Raipur senior superintendent of police with my complaint seeking justice. I requested that the public decency and morality should be upheld. The police inquired into my grievances and after verification found it to be true, Shukla, who is also an RTI activist, said. Raichura, who resides in the neighbouring Dhamtari district, has created his profile X- handle in the name of Kathiawadi'. The Raipur police registered a case against Raichura under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 296 (performing obscene acts, comments or songs in public). Several social activists and netizens appreciated the move citing that the police having registered the case can set a good precedent for inculcating a sense of accountability for users on digital platforms.

Chhattisgarh urban body polls: Congress fields more Muslim candidates than BJP

RAIPUR: The participation of minorities in the electoral process are not usually seen as encouraging despite their assumed role in playing unspecified determining, may be small, in the fortune of political parties. Chhattisgarh is yet again into the season of polls after the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. And the poll-battle in the upcoming urban body is likely to be bipolar with a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress across the state. The political parties are seen in the middle of the campaign after the distribution of tickets in which the minorities apparently got a better share from Congress than the BJP. Out of the 542 wards going to polls for electing the Corporations in the Chhattisgarh urban bodies, the Congress has given tickets to 40 Muslim candidates while only four from the community get tickets of the saffron party. The urban body elections in 10 municipal corporations, 49 municipalities, and 114 nagar panchayats are scheduled for 11th February, with the counting of votes set for 15th February. In Raipur municipal corporation, among the 70 wards, the BJP has not given any ticket to Muslim while the opposition has selected five seats for Muslims. Overall, the Congress has given tickets to nine candidates in Bilaspur, five in Raipur, seven in Ambikapur, two in Chirmiri, two in Durg, three in Jagdalpur, three in Rajnandgaon, two in Raigarh and one in Dhamtari. The BJP has fielded one candidate belonging to Muslim community each in Bilaspur, Durg, Ambikapur and Raigarh to contest for election for a Corporator. The Congress has given 7.38 per cent of its tickets to Muslim candidates and the BJPs share for Muslim faces is 0.73 per cent. It remains to be seen how the caste and winnability factors of the Muslim candidates as calculated by respective parties are going to turn the table on their rivals with allegations and appeals. BJP's manifesto titles 'Atal Vishwas Patra' was recently released by the Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai while the Congress president Deepak Baij unveiled the partys 34 promises in its manifesto, titled Jan Ghoshna Patra.

Three boys killed, one injured as tractor overturns in Chhattisgarh

Boys skipped school for tractor ride; accident occurred in Dhamtari district

Chhattisgarh urban body polls: Congress announces candidates for all 10 mayoral seats

Congress state unit in-charge general secretary (organisation and administration) Malkeet Singh Gaindu is the party's candidate for the mayor's post in Jagdalpur, Nikhil Dwivedi in Rajnandgaon and Vijay Golchha in Dhamtari

Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': Ex-minister Lakhma 'utilised' proceeds of crime in cash, claims ED

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday claimed it has gathered evidence showing that Chhattisgarh Congress MLA and former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma utilised in cash proceeds of crime generated from the alleged liquor scam. The federal agency had raided the premises of Lakhma and his son Harish Lakhma on December 28 in Raipur, Sukma and Dhamtari districts of the state as part of a money laundering investigation. The ED said in a statement that the search operation was carried at the residential premises of Lakhma, who allegedly was the main recipient of the proceeds of crime in cash, during his regime as excise minister. As a result of the search operation, ED has been able to gather evidence pertaining to utilization of proceeds of crime in cash by Kawasi Lakhma during the relevant period of scam, the agency said. The search also led to the seizure of multiple digital devices elieved to be containing incriminating records. Lakhma, as per the ED, used to receive substantial amount in cash on monthly basis out of the proceeds of crime generated from liquor scam. Lakhma, 71, is a six-time MLA from Konta and has served as the excise minister in the previous Congress government. Harish Lakhma is stated to be a panchayat president in his district. Earlier, the Chhattisgarh Congress had alleged that the raids were part of a conspiracy by the BJP to harass the opposition party's leaders ahead of urban body and panchayat polls. The alleged liquor scam in the state, as per the ED, was orchestrated between 2019-22 when Chhattisgarh was ruled by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government. The Chhattisgarh liquor scam resulted in massive loss to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore illegal proceeds of crime, the agency had claimed earlier.

NIA seizes cellphones in raid against Maoists

NEW DELHI: In a move to combat left-wing extremism in the Naxal hotbeds of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted searches at multiple locations in both states, officials said on Saturday. The houses and premises of suspects and Naxal operatives were extensively searched by multiple teams of the NIA, which seized several mobile phones and SIM cards, `1.5 lakh cash, and other incriminating material, they added. A senior NIA officer said, The raids were prompted by the arrest of Krishna Hansda, a Naxal cadre of the proscribed terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist). Hansda, a regional committee member of CPI (Maoist), was arrested in the Lucio forest area of Dumri in January 2023. During the probe, the NIA, which took over the case in June 2023, unearthed the links of several suspects and Naxals believed to be involved in supplying logistics and electronic items to CPI (Maoist) in the Parasnath area of Giridih. In Chhattisgarh, the probe agency conducted raids in remote villages in a CPI (Maoist) attack on a polling and security team during the Assembly elections in 2023. Searches were carried out at the locations of at least 11 suspects in the villages of Rawandiggi, Semra, Mainpur, Ghoragaon, Kerabahra and Gariyaband in the sensitive Maoist-infested areas of Gariyaband and Dhamtari districts, the officer said. He said, The Mainpur-Nuapada division was behind the IED blast that killed a head constable of ITBP adhoc 615 battalion in the attack on the polling team during the state elections in November last year.