COLOMBO: Over a hundred MPs of the ruling National People's Power (NPP) coalition on Monday wrote to the Parliament Speaker seeking removal of the suspended Sri Lankan police chief for bringing disrepute to the high office through his abusive conduct. Deshabandu Tennakoon, the suspended inspector general of police, is currently in remand custody at a central provincial jail in Kandy district in connection with a shooting incident in 2023. We have handed a letter with 115 signatures from our MPs

MUMBAI: The third battle of Panipat was a symbol of the bravery of Marathas and not the defeat, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the state assembly on Tuesday. Replying to a debate on the 'Last Week Motion' initiated by the opposition, Fadnavis said the state government is building a 'Shiv Smarak' (memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) in Agra. Land is also being acquired for building a memorial in Panipat (Haryana), where the third battle of Panipat was fought between the

NEW DELHI: The new Income Tax Bill will be taken up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Replying to the discussions on the Finance Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the new income tax bill, which was introduced in the House on February 13, is currently being vetted by the Select Committee. The Select Committee has been mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session of Parliament. ...we will take i

NEW DELHI: Congress member Hibi Eden on Tuesday demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the alleged discovery of large sums of unaccounted cash at the residence of a sitting Delhi High Court judge, terming the incident as extremely disheartening. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Eden called for discussion in the House to find robust and cogent solution to ensure greater judicial accountability and transparency in the country. The entire country is shocked by the alleged discovery of large s

NEW DELHI: The government on March 25 said it has never discriminated against any state in the release of MGNREGA funds amid a protest by opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha against the alleged delay in payment to some states for the rural employment scheme. As the issue was raised during the Question Hour, the Lok Sabha witnessed protests with DMK and Trinamool Congress MPs entering the well of the House. Speaker Om Birla urged them to return to their seats, but they did not budge. Following this,

NEW DELHI: With two associate organisations of Hurriyat - J&K Peoples Movement and the Democratic Political Movement announcing their decision to sever ties with the separatist outfit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday urged more groups to shun separatism. In an X post Shah said, Separatism has become history in Kashmir. The unifying policies of the Modi government have tossed separatism out of J&K. Two organizations of the Hurriyat, J&K Peoples Movement and the Democratic Political Move

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has convened a meeting of floor leaders of the House on Tuesday evening to discuss issues related to the judiciary, following allegations of a large amount of cash being recovered from the residence of a Delhi High Court judge . Dhankhar said that the matter extends beyond judicial concerns, impacting the sovereignty, supremacy, and relevance of Parliament. In his invitation to the floor leaders, Dhankhar highlighted the importance of upholding th

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday extended the tenure of the parliamentary committee scrutinising the two bills for simultaneous elections till the first day of the last week of Parliament's Monsoon session. The Joint Committee of Parliament Chairman P P Chaudhary moved the motion for the extension in the House, and it was passed with a voice vote. The Lok Sabha secretary general also informed the House that a new member from Rajya Sabha was being included in the panel. The 39-member committee

THANE: A 42-year-old man from Maharashtra's Thane city allegedly lost Rs 82 lakh to cyber fraudsters who lured him to invest in cryptocurrency, police said on Tuesday. The police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act on Monday and have identified the accused through their mobile phone numbers, an official from Kasarwadavli police station said. According to the complainant, the accused contacted him on social media in December last year and convinced h

BHARUCH: While governments resorting to 'bulldozer justice' has raised eyebrows, six villagers have been arrested here for allegedly demolishing the houses of a man and his relatives using a bulldozer as he was suspected of eloping with a married woman. The accused, including members of the family of the woman, decided to vent out their anger using the bulldozer after suspecting that the man, who belongs to another community, had run away with her, Vedach police station inspector BM Chaudhary sa

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on a plea by Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, who is in jail in a terror funding case, seeking permission to attend the ongoing Parliament session. A bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani, which was initially inclined to grant the permission, later said a detailed order would be passed. The bench deliberated on certain conditions which could be imposed on Rashid in case the plea is allowed, including

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: A video showing a local BJP worker arrested in a case of assault receiving a lenient treatment from the police in Maharashtra's Beed district has gone viral, with a senior official saying that strict action will be taken in the matter. Satish Bhosale, an aide of local BJP MLA Suresh Dhas, was arrested from Prayagraj earlier this month after an FIR was registered against him for allegedly assaulting a man with a cricket bat. Bhosale is facing other criminal cases too, i

SINHRAULI: A man was charred to death after two stationary buses caught fire at a bus stand in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district shortly after midnight on Tuesday, police said. The incident occurred at 12:20 am at the bus stand in Waidhan town, an official said. The two buses were parked at the facility. One of the buses caught fire which then spread to the other vehicle, Kotwali police station in-charge Nipendra Singh said. A driver, conductor and a helper were sleeping in one of the buses, h

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly on Tuesday amid uproar by opposition members over MGNREGA dues for Tamil Nadu and other states. The opposition MPs were dissatisfied with Minister of State for Rural Developement Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani's response related to clearing of MGNREGA dues for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. The DMK members entered the well of the House, followed by some Trinamool Congress MP. Speaker Om Birla urged them to go back to their seats but when they did not

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court Bar Association on Tuesday began an indefinite strike to protest against the proposed transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to the high court here. Leading the protesting lawyers gathered at gate number 3 of the high court, Bar Association President Anil Tiwari told reporters, This protest is not against any court or judge but against those who have betrayed the judicial system. He added, Our fight is against those involved in corruption and agai

RAIPUR: Three Maoists in uniform were killed in an encounter in the strife-torn Dantewada district on Tuesday as security forces intensified operations against left-wing insurgency, the Bastar police said. According to Bastar police, a team of security forces launched an anti-Maoist operation based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists along the inter-district forest border area of Dantewada-Bijapur. At around 8 AM, an encounter broke out between the Maoists and the secur

UNITED NATIONS : India slammed Pakistan at the UN, saying the country continues to illegally occupy the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which it must vacate. These remarks were made on Monday by India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish during remarks at a UN Security Council Open Debate on Advancing Adaptability in UN Peace operations. Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always be an integral part of India. Pakistan continues to illegally occupy the territory of J

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has likened comedian Kunal Kamra's jibe at him to taking supari (contract) to speak against someone, and said there should be a decorum while making a satire, otherwise the action causes a reaction. Freedom of speech is there, but there should be a limit, Shinde said on Monday reacting to Kamra's comments. The Shiv Sena leader further said he does not focus on who says what as his work speaks for him. The 36-year-old stand-up comedian has k

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has likened comedian Kunal Kamra's jibe at him to taking supari (contract) to speak against someone, and said a decorum should be maintained while taking jibes, otherwise the action causes a reaction. Freedom of speech is there, but there should be a limit, Shinde said on Monday reacting to Kamra's comments. The 36-year-old stand-up comedian has kicked up a major political storm in Maharashtra for taking a jibe at Shinde's political career

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday slammed Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balajis counsel for adopting a technical defence that a formal notice has not been issued to his client in the plea seeking recall of the courts order granting him bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam. The court, however, in its order granted him 10 days time to respond, stressing that no further time will be granted. Expressing its displeasure over the conduct of senior lawyer and for

Comedian Kunal Kamra has been summoned by the Khar police following his controversial remarks about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra referred to Shinde as a raitor during a parody song at a recent stand-up comedy show. MIDC police had registered an FIR against Kunal Kamra for his remarks during a stand-up comedy show, which was transferred to Khar police for further investigation, news agency ANI quoted Mumbai police. Kamra has been instructed to appear before the invest

AURAIYA: Barely 15 days after he got married, a 25-year-old man was allegedly killed by a contract killer hired by his wife and her lover in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district, police have said. All three have been arrested. Sahar SHO Pankaj Mishra told PTI on Monday that the police received information about a man lying injured in a field on March 19. He was admitted to the community health centre in Bidhuna and his family members were informed. Dilip Yadav, the victim, was later taken to Saifai

MUMBAI : Police have registered an FIR against a woman teacher for allegedly beating up an 11-year-old girl student for talking in the classroom at a school in Mumbai, an official said on Tuesday. The teacher hit the class 5 student with a cane multiple times on her wrist, back and waist on March 21 at the school located in Chembur area, causing her injuries, the official said quoting a complaint lodged by the girl's father. The teacher punished the girl claiming she was talking in the class, wh

NEW DELHI: India should prepare for a nine to 10 per cent growth in peak electricity demand this summer with the country expected to experience more heatwaves, experts have warned. Last year, the all-India peak electricity demand crossed 250 gigawatts (GW) on May 30, which was 6.3 per cent higher than projections. Climate change-induced heat stress is one of the key factors driving electricity demand. Currently, industries, households and agriculture account for 33 per cent, 28 per cent and 19 p

KOLKATA: A consultant psychiatrist has claimed that the RG Kar hospital rape and murder victim was under acute mental stress for various reasons and had sought professional help from him around a month before her death on August 9 last year. Long duty hours, discrimination in allotment of shifts, and the 'knowledge about irregularities' in the state-run hospital had been giving the 30-year-old medic extreme mental discomfort, claimed psychiatrist Mohit Ranadip on Monday. Talking to a leading Ben

NEW DELHI: The Opposition and the treasury Benches locked horns in Lok Sabha on Monday over issues such as US tariff, GST and fund allocation for states during a debate on the Finance Bill 2025. Initiating the debate on the Finance Bill, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticized it, calling it a classic case of patchwork and labeling Indias GST as the most complex tax in the world. On the other hand, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra accused the government of favoring crony capitalists over small b

NEW DELHI: Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday announced that the government has decided to reduce export duty on onions by 20%, effective from April1, to ensure that farmers receive a remunerative price. In 2023, a 40% duty was levied on onions to discourage farmers from exporting, as increased domestic demand pushed up the retail price. Now the price of onions started falling and farmers started getting less price, so the government decided to reduce

NEW DELHI: Taking note of the increasing suicide deaths in higher educational institutions across the country, the Supreme Court on Monday formed a National Task Force for a mechanism to prevent student suicide deaths on campuses and address their mental health issues. The two-judge bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan directed Delhi Police to register an FIR on the complaints by family members of two students who died by suicide while studying at the Indian Institute of Techno

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked a Maharashtra civic authority to respond within four weeks to a mans petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against it over demolition of his house and shop in Sindhudurg district for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match. Kitabullah Hamidulla Khan, a 40-year-old scrap dealer, had moved the apex court alleging violation of the Supreme Courts November 13, 2024 verdict which restrained demolit

Biodiversity conservation group Aaranyak has facilitated the Assam forest department in deployment of an anti-poaching K9 dog along with a trained handler in rhino-populated Laokhowa-Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, part of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, in Nagaon district. The K9 sniffer dog unit of Belgian Malinois (female) breed will be available round-the-clock to support forest personnel in mounting surveillance. The K9 unit has been crucial for prevention of crimes against wildlife through syner

NEW DELHI: The reservation issue once again took centre stage in Parliament as the BJP and Congress locked horns over Muslim reservations in Karnataka. Both houses witnessed ruckus over Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumars alleged remarks of bringing changes to the Constitution, a charge the Congress refuted as baseless and misleading. BJP President and MP JP Nadda accused Congress of violating constitutional principles by introducing 4% reservations to Muslims in public contracts. H

Several states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, have recently sub-classified Scheduled Caste (SC) categories to give targeted benefits to historically marginalised SC sub-groups. The move follows last years Supreme Court ruling on sub-classification of SCs and STs, which ignited a widespread debate on its political and social consequences. In an exclusive interview with Preetha Nair, Kishor Makwana, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), shares his view

Stand up comedian Kunal Kamra on Monday said he will not apologise for his controversial remarks he made about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a show. In a statement on X, Kamra said, I will not apologise. What I said is exactly what Mr.Ajit Pawar (1st deputy CM) said about Mr. Eknath Shinde (2nd Deputy CM). I don't fear this mob & I will not be hiding under my bed, waiting for this to die down. To the political elders threatening to teach me lesson, Our right to freedom o

BHOPAL: A Namibian female cheetah, Jwala, and her four cubs were reportedly pelted with stones by villagers in Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh, while attempting to hunt a cattle calf. Jwala and her cubs are among the three sets of African female cheetahs and their offspring born in India and released into the free-ranging forests of Kuno National Park (KNP) since 5 February. The mother and cubs had strayed out of KNP and were roaming near the Sheopur-Gwalior railway line when they caught hold o

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over its high handed demolition in Prayagraj saying it had shocked its conscience. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan also frowned upon the manner in which the houses were bulldozed within 24 hours of serving notices without the time to appeal. It shocks our conscience how the residential premises were demolished in a high handed manner. The manner in which the whole process has been conducted is sh

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside an Indore family courts February 8, 2025 order which denied relief to Jain couples seeking divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. On February 8, the First Additional Principal Judge Family Court-Indore Dhirendra Singh had refused multiple Jain couples relief under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act (which deals with divorce by mutual consent). The family court while returning the divorce applications of t

TIRUNELVELI: Tamil Nadu State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Chairperson Dr Justice S Tamilvanan has stated that caste-related conflicts are more prevalent in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu compared to the northern regions. His remarks come two days after Assembly Speaker M Appavu claimed that there are no caste-related issues in the state. Tamilvanan made these observations after visiting a Class 11 Scheduled Caste student who was brutally attacked near Srivaikundam.

MUMBAI: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday stayed the demolition of Nagpur violence accused Fahim Khans house and criticised the administration for its high-handedness. Ahead of the hearing, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) began demolishing the two-storey house in Sanjay Bagh Colony, Yashodhara Nagar, using bulldozers. The house is registered in the name of Fahim Khans wife. The demolition was initiated after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned of bulldoze

BHOPAL: A teenage couple who had been missing from Kanpur Dehat district in Uttar Pradesh since 25 January 2025 were found dead in a rented house in Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. The 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy, both students of the same school, died by suicide in the same room, police said. The two had been living in the Panagar area of Jabalpur with the help of the boys uncle for the past month and a half. While the girl was in Class XI, the boy was in Class XII in the same schoo

Any mention of Udayamperoor, a suburb nestled between Poothotta and Tripunithura in Ernakulam, is often accompanied by references to the famous Synod of Diamper an epoch-making event in 1599 that shaped the regions church history. The Synod brought the ancient Nasrani Christians of modern-day Kerala, who trace their origins to St Thomas the Apostle, under the Catholic fold. Led by the Portuguese Archbishop of Goa, Dom Aleixo de Menezes, it passed a series of decrees aimed at purging so-called u

NEW DELHI: After years of neglect, the historic murals on the main gate walls of Punes 18th-century fort, Shaniwar Wada, have been meticulously restored, giving them a new lease of life. The delicate Maratha masterpieces had been buried under layers of lime, dust, dirt, and smoke, with flaking paint, chipped edges, and faded colours. Now, a team from the Science Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), known for its conservation work on the Ajanta and Ellora paintings, has reversed th

BELAGAVI: The Belagavi police arrested a couple on charges of killing their newborn and dumping the body in a garbage bin. Police said Mahabalesh Kamoji (31) and Simran alias Muskan (22), both from Ambadgatti village, near Kittur, were in a relationship for the past three years and were supposed to get married shortly. No one in Muskan's family realised that she was pregnant and she eventually gave birth on March 5. According to Belagavi Superintendent of Police, Bhimashankar Guled, Muskan had l

LUCKNOW: A case of human trafficking has come to light, with a 17-year-old girl accusing her mother of selling her for Rs 5 lakh and forcing her into the flesh trade in Gurugram. The victim stated that she somehow managed to escape from her mothers clutches and returned to her village under the Rewna police station area in Kanpur. However, instead of rescuing her, the Rewna police handed her back to her mother. The teenager alleged that her mother wanted her to engage in wrongful activities. Whe

CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Haryana on April 14 to inaugurate air services from Maharaja Agrasen International Airport in Hisar and lay the foundation stone for an 800 MW unit at the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant in Yamunanagar. These projects aim to enhance regional connectivity and strengthen the states power infrastructure. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Haryana on April 14 and will gift two major proj

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday granted the Central Government time until April 21, 2025, to decide on the cancellation of Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition and Congress MP from Rae Bareli, is facing allegations of holding British citizenship, as claimed in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Karnataka-based BJP worker S. Vignesh Shishir. The PIL sought a CBI probe into Gandhis alleged foreign citizenship. Vignesh h

CHENNAI: The nature of the Indian Premier League (IPL) doesn't lend itself well to the primacy of scouts. Because of the absence of transfer fees and presence of auctions, teams may, at some point in time, be forced to release players they shaped and built in their own image. Some franchises, though, have continued to unearth and develop players despite the talent drain. Mumbai Indians have a penchant for doing this. Over the last 14 years or so, they have scouted and onboarded the likes of Kul

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to recall its earlier order granting bail to former Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra over allegations that witnesses were being threatened in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. A two-judge Bench of the apex court comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh refused to pass any order recalling its earlier direction of granting bail to Mishra. The police report did not substantiate the allegations that a person close to Mishra ha

CHENNAI: A group of more than 20 people, alleged to be sanitary workers, barged into the residence of YouTuber Savukku Shankar at Kilpauk on Monday morning and allegedly assaulted his mother who was alone at the time and dumped sewage inside his house. In her complaint, Shankars mother A Kamala (70) said the group verbally abused her before attacking her. She also said that they broke the backdoor of the house to gain entry and proceeded to ransack the house. The incident may have followed a vid

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has demanded the impeachment of Delhi High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Verma, following the discovery of large sums of unaccounted cash at an outhouse of his residence last week. The call for impeachment was made on Monday during a meeting where the association also strongly opposed the Supreme Court collegiums decision to transfer Justice Verma to the Allahabad High Court after stripping him of all judicial responsibilities. The cash was

SRINAGAR: Cyber Police has arrested eight persons for glorifying militancy and radicalising youth on social media. A police spokesman said that Cyber Police Srinagar has initiated legal action against the misuse of social media platforms for glorifying militancy, radicalizing youth, and spreading anti-national propaganda online. He said during cyber surveillance and patrolling, eight youths operating adverse social media handles were identified for posting content that promoted militancy and ext