The New Indian Express News

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the 2017 Unnao rape case will immediately challenge in the Supreme Court a Delhi High Court order suspending the jail sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, convicted in the case, officials said on Wednesday. It was decided to file an SLP before the Supreme Court at the earliest against the orders of the high court, which granted bail to Sengar after suspending his life sentence, a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. The CBI fil

RANCHI: Modern facilities has failed to reach Budikai village in Jharkhands Khunti, even after 78 years of independence. Most affected of all amenities is education, as only a handful of students can afford to travel to the nearest school, at least 5 km away. Residents said the region was once considered a Maoist stronghold. Budikai village is home to just 35 families. The village lacks almost every basic facilityroads, schools, electricity and safe drinking waterforcing villagers to depend larg

NEW DELHI: Indias largest domestic airline, IndiGo, said on Wednesday that it has stabilised its operations since December 9 and was ready for the holiday season. The airline said it was operating between 2,100 and 2,200 flights daily and carries one million customers every three days. An official release said, We have been flying to and from all 138 operational destinations across our network while maintaining the IndiGo standards of On Time Performance. We confirm that we are fully prepared to

The Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj have formally announced an alliance for the BMC and other municipal corporation elections, but it is not an easy fight, given the BJP's strong network and well-oiled machinery. Here are the top five challenges in Mumbai for the Thackerays who have reunited after 20 years. Weakened network after party's division : Following the split in the Shiv Sena, the party's once strong network was divided between the two factions. Eknath Shinde aggressively poached sever

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has issued directives to the states for a complete ban on granting any new mining leases in the Aravalli Range. This measure aims to protect the range from unregulated mining activities. The Ministry has also instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify additional areas or zones within the entire Aravalli Range where mining should be prohibited, beyond those currently restric

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday issued a stern warning against the encroachment of government land, monuments and historical sites, asserting that his government would take strict action, including the use of bulldozers, against violators. Addressing the state Assembly during a discussion on the supplementary budget, the Chief Minister said improving the security situation in the state remained the foremost priority of the BJP government. He said the administra

NEW DELHI: More than 40 per cent of marginal farmers associated with agricultural cooperatives have reported an increase in household income and improved crop yields, according to a new study that has called for urgent reforms to make Indias cooperative framework more inclusive. The report, titled State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 , was prepared by the Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) and released on Farmers Day at NITI Aayog. It was unveiled by Dr K K Tripathi, Joint

LUCKNOW: Spread over 65 acres, next to the embankment of River Gomti on Hardoi Road on the outskirts of the state capital Lucknow, the memorial, Rashtra Prerna Sthal, dedicated to BJP icons Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyay, will be inaugurated by PM Modi on Thursday. Shaped like a lotus reflecting the BJPs election symbol, the memorial has three towering bronze statues of Vajpayee, Mookerjee and Upadhyay. Replete with poems and speeches of Vajpayee, nationali

The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that holding a womans hand, pulling her, and saying I love you amount to outraging her modesty under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case relates to a man who was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment by a trial court after being found guilty under various provisions of the IPC and the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was 19-years-old at the time of the incident. The man was convicted for holding the

NEW DELHI: Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, on Wednesday, after launching the book 'Economic Empowerment of Bharat in the Modi Era', praised the Modi government for steering the country towards prosperity from a past marked by poverty. He said, Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has moved from policy paralysis to purposeful governance, moved from a poverty mindset to a prosperity mission, and changed from dependence to self-reliance. Calling on citizens to celebrate a new Bharat, he desc

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the expansion of Delhi Metros project 5-A at Rs 12,015 crore, covering about 16 kilometres on three routes. The expansion will have 13 stations, including 10 underground and three elevated. Briefing the media after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the three lines approved include Ramakrishna Ashram Marg to Indraprastha, Aerocity to Airport

LUCKNOW: Observing that the termination of a professor of the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), Allahabad, for a consensual relationship with one of his students is shockingly disproportionate, the Allahabad High Court set aside his 19-year-old dismissal order. The court further observed that the relationship with the student amounted to misconduct but not sexual harassment as it was consensual. The single-judge bench, comprising Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, remitted th

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said India is not just becoming a dead economy but also a dead society after alleged ill-treatment of the Unnao rape survivor. Gandhi said the rape survivor, who was protesting in Delhi against the bail granted to accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar by the high court, should be treated with respect and that justice should be ensured to her, instead of giving her injustice and fear. Is such treatment of a gang rape survivor appropriate? Is it her 'fau

AHMEDABAD: A multi-crore land scam (non-agricultural) has rattled Gujarats bureaucracy after the Enforcement Directorate raided top officials homes in Surendranagar, arrested a Deputy Mamlatdar with Rs 67.50 lakh cash and seized over 100 sensitive files. The ED raid has exposed a deep-rooted nexus of middlemen, speed money, and misuse of power. Gujarats administrative corridors shook on December 23 when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stormed into Surendranagar, launching coordinated raids at t

mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) has begun negotiations with the Congress for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, demanding 50 seats, after efforts to reach a workable seat-sharing arrangement with the Thackeray brothers failed. After Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray left little space for other parties in seat-sharing talks, the former Union agriculture ministers party decided to explore an alliance with the Congress. According

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has scripted a major renewable energy milestone by installing more than five lakh rooftop solar systems, generating a combined capacity of 1,879 megawatts, firmly placing the State at the forefront of Indias clean energy transition. Achieved under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojna, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the feat reinforces Gujarats dominance in rooftop solar adoption and will take centre stage at the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Renewable Conference (VGRC) in

DEHRADUN: In a significant development linked to alleged large-scale irregularities in Uttarakhands Forest Department, a Division Bench of the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday took cognisance of the matter. It issued notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Central Government, the Uttarakhand Government, the Survey of India and the Supreme Courts Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The court action follows a petition pointing to the disappearance of 7,375 forest boundary pilla

KOLKATA: Violence broke out between two rival Matua groups affiliated to Union minister of shipping and BJP MP Shantanu Thakur and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Mamatabala Thakur in Thakurnagar, the administrative headquarters of the Matua community in West Bengal, on Wednesday. The clash took place amid heightened tensions over the deletion of nearly one lakh Matua voters names following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. The clash followed comments made b

NEW DELHI: Security personnel in Delhi on Wednesday prevented the Unnao rape survivor and her mother from addressing the media and allegedly forced the survivors elderly mother to jump off a moving bus, according to reports and eyewitness accounts. The incident occurred a day after the Delhi High Court suspended the jail sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was serving a life term following his conviction in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The court suspended the sentence pending the d

CHANDIGARH: One person was killed and five others injured after a leopard carried out a series of attacks at three different locations in the Balh Ghati area of Himachal Pradeshs Mandi district on Tuesday morning before being shot dead by locals, officials said. The leopard attacked people in Chandiyal, Bhadyal and Malwana villages, triggering panic among residents. According to officials, the animal first struck at Chandiyal, after which it moved to Bhadyal, injuring several people, and finally

AHMEDABAD: Ahmedabad woke up to a crime on December 23 when a dispute inside a Gujarat Housing Board residence in the Bapunagar area ended in murder and death by suicide, coming to light only after a mobile phone flashlight revealed blood on the floor and lifeless bodies inside the house. Police said Mehul Thakor murdered his wife Neeta by attacking her neck and left hand with a sharp weapon and then died by suicide by hanging himself. The couple had been married for four years and lived in the

JAIPUR : The Rajasthan State Election Commission has begun preparations for the upcoming local body elections by issuing two separate notifications for Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies, announcing a major revision in campaign expenditure limits while simultaneously tightening rules on campaigning. In a significant decision, the commission has doubled the election expenditure limits for candidates contesting posts from sarpanch to district council member, and has also substantia

KOLKATA: Fresh incidents of demonstrations in Kolkata and several districts across West Bengal were reported on Wednesday in protest against the brutal killing of a Hindu Bangladeshi youth, Dipu Chandra Das, in Mymensingh. Violence erupted at Howrah Station this afternoon when police prevented demonstrators belonging to the BJP from reaching the Howrah Bridge, the prime lifeline connecting Kolkata and the south Bengal districts. The demonstrators were protesting against the Mymensingh incident i

KOLKATA: Fresh incidents of demonstrations in Kolkata and several districts across West Bengal were reported on Wednesday in protest against the brutal killing of a Hindu Bangladeshi youth, Dipu Chandra Das, in Mymensingh. Violence erupted at Howrah Station this afternoon when police prevented demonstrators belonging to the BJP from reaching the Howrah Bridge, the prime lifeline connecting Kolkata and the south Bengal districts. The demonstrators were protesting against the Mymensingh incident i

CHANDIGARH: The Canadian Police have identified the suspect who murdered a 30-year-old Punjabi woman in Toronto. A countrywide warrant for the arrest of the suspect has been issued. In a statement, the Toronto Police Service stated that it is making the public aware of the homicide. On Friday, December 19, at approximately 10:41 p.m., police responded to a call for a missing person in the Strachan Avenue and Wellington Street West area. It is alleged that police commenced an investigation into a

GUWAHATI: An uneasy calm prevailed in the Kheroni area of Assams West Karbi Anglong district on Wednesday after two days of violence over the demand to evict outsiders from some village grazing reserves (VGRs) and professional grazing reserves (PGRs). Official sources said no untoward incident was reported throughout the night and on Wednesday morning. The violence had left two persons dead and over 45 others, including 38 police personnel, injured on Tuesday. A protestor from the tribal Karbi c

NEW DELHI: Air travellers are set to get more choice in the domestic aviation market, with three new airlines preparing to take to Indian skies in the near future. Of these, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the Centre this week, while Shankh Air had earlier secured its clearance. The development assumes significance in the backdrop of the IndiGo disruption in the first week of December, which drew sharp criticism of the government over alleged m

MUMBAI: Cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on Wednesday formally announced an alliance between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other municipal corporation elections, appealing to Marathi voters not to allow divisions, warning that such a split would weaken the authority of the Marathi manoos over Mumbai. Addressing a joint gathering, Uddhav Thackeray said that the unity of Marathi people was crucia

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) boss Raj Thackeray on Wednesday announced the alliance of their parties ahead of the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, putting months of speculation to rest. Addressing a joint news conference with Raj, Uddhav said the two parties have come together to stay together. Raj, however, did not share details of the seat sharing between the two parties for the high-stakes BMC elections. Mumb

BHOPAL: With the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh concluding on Tuesday, around 21% of voters have been removed from the draft electoral list in the state capital, Bhopal. Out of the 21.25 lakh-plus registered voters of the districts October 2025 voter list, around 4.38 lakh voters (20.63% or more) in seven assembly segments of Bhopal district, have been removed from the draft voter roll which was published on Tuesday. The highest number of

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the release of web series UP 77, which is reportedly based on the life of slain gangster Vikas Dubey. Justice Sachin Datta, who was hearing a plea by Dubey's wife Richa seeking to stop the release of the web series, said the court is not inclined to interfere with its release at this stage. UP 77 will release on the Waves OTT platform on Thursday. The court recorded the statement of the web series' producers that it is a work of pure f

JAMMU: A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Army died in a firing incident inside a military camp in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesperson said on Wednesday. The incident occurred late Tuesday night and is under investigation, they said, ruling out any terror angle behind the shooting. A JCO of an Army unit in Samba sustained a gunshot wound while on duty in Jammu and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries in the line of duty. At this stage, the terror angle has been

The Congress on Wednesday accused the Centre of misleading the public and pushing through a fatally flawed redefinition of the Aravalli hills, despite objections from key expert bodies and advisers to the Supreme Court. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the revised definition had been opposed by the Forest Survey of India, the Supreme Courtappointed Central Empowered Committee, and the courts amicus curiae. It is by now abundantly clear that the Union Minister of Environment, Forests

SINGAPORE: An Indian-origin former lawyer M Ravi, widely known for representing death row inmates, including Malaysians, in Singapore, has died on Wednesday at 56. He was found dead in the early hours of December 24, according to a report by The Straits Times. Police are investigating a case of unnatural death, said the daily report. Ravi, whose full name was Ravi Madasamy, was born in 1969 and was a lawyer for more than 25 years. He had also been in the news over his conduct, and was an advocat

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated ISRO for placing the heaviest satellite in orbit from India using the LVM3 rocket and strengthening the foundation for future missions such as the Gaganyaan. The prime minister also said that the success of the heavy-lift LVM3 rocket also reinforced India's growing role in the global commercial launch market. ISRO's LVM3 rocket places the 6.5 tonne Bluebird Block 2 satellite of US-based form AST Space Mobile into a 520 km circula

SRINAGAR: An avalanche warning was issued in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday in view of the recent heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the Union territory, officials said. The low danger avalanche warning has been issued for Doda, Ganderbal, Kishtwar, Poonch and Ramban districts. The avalanche is likely to occur 2,800 metres above these districts during the next 24 hours, they said. People have been asked to avoid avalanche-prone areas and follow official advisories. Most of

SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti seeking the repatriation of undertrial prisoners from jails outside the Union Territory. A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal found Mehboobas petition to be misconceived. It observed that courts cannot be employed as an instrument for achieving electoral advantage. The court termed the plea v

NEW YORK: US border patrol agents have arrested 30 Indian nationals, living illegally in America, operating semitrucks with commercial driver's licenses. Border Patrol agents in the El Centro Sector in California arrested 49 illegal immigrants with commercial driver's licenses during vehicle stops at immigration checkpoints and in interagency operations, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement last week. Between November 23 and December 12, agents apprehended 42 illegal indivi

PANAJI: A Goa court has granted bail to two managers of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub who were arrested in connection with the fire that killed 25 people at the entertainment hotspot earlier this month. District Judge D V Patkar on Tuesday granted bail with certain conditions to Rajveer Singhania and Priyanshu Thakur, both managers of the club, while it rejected a similar application by a third manager, Vivek Singh. All three were arrested on December 7, a day after a devastating fire ripp

SRIHARIKOTA: In a historic Christmas Eve mission, ISRO's heaviest rocket, LVM3-M6, successfully placed a US communication satellite into orbit on Wednesday. The Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said the LVM3-M6 has successfully placed the BlueBird Block-2 satellite into its intended orbit. The Bluebird Block-2 mission is part of a global LEO (Low Earth Orbit) constellation to provide direct-to-mobile connectivity through satellite. This constellation would enable 4G and 5G voice and video ca

AHMEDABAD : Families of 197 Gujarat fishermen, allegedly detained in Pakistan jails for six years, held a protest at the secretariat in Gandhinagar, demanding immediate government intervention, diplomatic push, and a timeline for their return. Coming from coastal belts of Somnath, Junagadh, Una, Kodinar, Diu and vicinity, the families travelled over 1,000km on Monday to submit a memorandum to authorities, seeking Prime Ministers intervention. They said the fishermen were apprehended after their

Madhya Pradesh is likely to have open jails for women inmates. If the state clears the jail departments proposal, the eight existing open jails will house women inmates too. Presently the eight open jails house only men. Sources said 10% of the existing open jails capacity may be earmarked for female inmates. In MP, women prisoners form 4% of inmates in all jails. Currently, only Maharashtra and Rajasthan have open jails for women. An open jail is a minimum-security correctional facility without

BHOPAL: Over 42.74 lakh voter names, which account for 7 per cent of the total 5.74 crore voters, were removed from the draft electoral roll of 230 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh as the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter list was completed on Tuesday. While 42,74,160 names were excluded, a total of 8,65,832 remained unmapped, as their parents or grand-parents details were not found in the SIR 2003 voter roll. Notices will be issued to those 8.65 lakh plus un

MUMBAI: The deadlock within the Mahayuti alliance over seat-sharing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections continues, with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena refusing to accept the BJPs offer of 50 seats against its demand for 8090 seats. The BMC has 227 seats. The BJP has proposed contesting 150 seats, offering 50 to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and allocating the remaining 27 seatsmostly from minority-dominated areasto the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Sources said Shinde

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Madras High Court granting bail to a man who was accused of murdering a key eyewitness in an attempt-to-murder case when he was out on bail. After the alleged murder, the trial court had cancelled his bail, but the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had overruled the trial court order, and had restored the bail of the accused. The appeal was filed in the Supreme Court this year against that HC order. Noting that the bail order of the

RANCHI: Under continued pressure from the Jharkhand High Court over delay in Implementation of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), the state Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the Panchayat Provisions (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Jharkhand Rules, 2025finally putting in place a long-awaited legal framework vital for grassroots governance in tribal areas. In all, the cabinet okayed a total of 39 proposals. The approval of the Jharkhand PESA rules comes amid ongoing proceedings

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suspended the life imprisonment awarded to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case and granted him bail during the pendency of his appeal. A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar granted the relief to Sengar while hearing his appeal against the trial court order that sentenced him to life imprisonment. However, the court imposed strict conditions, directing him not to enter within a five-kilome

KOLKATA: 13 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment for the lynching of a man and his son during the protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act by a court in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Tuesday. The court also directed the state to give Rs 15 lakh compensation to the family of the victims. Special public prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee said this is the country's second conviction in a mob lynching case and first in West Bengal. Haragobinda Das (72) and his son Chandan Das (42) were killed

BHOPAL: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda joined the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Tuesday, in laying the foundation of two medical colleges in two tribal-dominated districts of the state. The two medical colleges which will be built in Dhar district of western MP and Betul district of central MP respectively, will be the first medical colleges in the country, to come up under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The two colleges are part of four PPP-

NEW DELHI: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR and adjoining areas has issued Show Cause Notices to six coal-based Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) located within a 300 km radius of Delhi. These notices were issued due to non-compliance with the mandatory provisions regarding the co-firing of pellets or briquettes made from crop residue, as specified under the Environment (Utilisation of Crop Residue by Thermal Power Plants) Rules, 2023. The affected power plants include two i