Top News / The New Indian Express
PATNA: In a bizarre and allegedly fraudulent attempt to obtain a government document, someone tried to get a residence certificate issued in the name of Sonalika Tractor by using the photograph of Bhojpuri actress Monalisa in East Champaran district. The applicant allegedly submitted a photo of the popular Bhojpuri actress along with a residence certificate application under the name Sonalika Tractor, listing the mothers name as Car Devi. The fathers name was mentioned as Swaraj Tractor. The mat
JAIPUR: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association has sought the intervention of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma in the alleged suicide of a student from Jammu, blaming college harassment and institutional neglect for her death. The tragic death of Shweta Singh, a final-year BDS student from Doda, Jammu and Kashmir, has triggered strong reactions from student groups demanding accountability. Shweta died by suicide on 24 July at the Pacific Dental College and Research Centre in Udaipu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reaffirmed that Pakistan had pleaded for a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor, and asserted that no world leader asked India to stop its counter-terror operation. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Pahalgam terror attack and the Centres military response, Modi said India received support from nearly every country across the globe, barring just three. We had said from day one that our action was non-escalatory. No leader in the world asked us
NEW DELHI: A major overhaul of the security architecture is on the cards in Jammu and Kashmir after the completion of the Amarnath Yatra, with a special focus on tourist spots, as a sizable number of forces will allegedly be available for redeployment in the Union Territory (UT), sources said on Tuesday. According to the sources, as part of the exercise, there will be a readjustment in the deployment plan of security forces, a re-calibration of responsibilities of multiple agencies, and a revamp
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the government over the lapses that led to the Pahalgam terror attack and said Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even her mother's tears in Lok Sabha but did not answer why the war against Pakistan was halted. Citing that after the Mumbai terror attacks the then Maharashtra Chief Minister and the then Home Minister resigned, Priyanka Gandhi questioned why the home mi
RAIPUR: A Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district, about 500 km south of Raipur, on Tuesday, the Bastar police said. Three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) also sustained injuries in a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast during the operation. A gunfight broke out between security forces and Maoists, and the intermittent exchange of fire continued in the forested terrain along the inter-district border region of Sukma-Dantewada. Bas
NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday said a delegation of Left party leaders was barred from meeting the catholic nuns who were arrested on allegations of human trafficking in Chhattisgarh's Durg. CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby on X condemned the action and called it an attempt to suppress the truth. The effort to prevent the Left leaders from meeting the nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh is a desperate attempt to suppress the truth. We will not be cowed down by such delaying t
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday challenged the Delhi Police, a day after they refuted her allegation that officers had brutally beaten a child and her mother, members of a Bengali migrant workers family, in the national capital. On Sunday, Banerjee had posted a video on her X handle and made the allegation for the first time. In her address at a public meeting at Bolpur in Birbhum district on Monday, she reiterated the claim. Later on Monday evening, Delhi Polices
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 4
DEHRADUN: The picturesque Naini Lake, the very heart of Nainital's burgeoning tourism industry, is currently grappling with a disturbing and pervasive problem: a strong, foul odour emanating from a significant number of dead and partially eaten fish. This unwelcome stench is threatening to mar the serene experience for visitors, raising urgent concerns for the hill station's critical tourism economy. Tourists visiting the popular destination have reported an unpleasant smell across various parts
NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said Home Minister Amit Shah must take responsibility for the security lapse that led to the Pahalgam terror attack, demanding that accountability be fixed and whosoever is responsible should quit. Participating in the Special discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive 'Operation Sindoor' in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam in the Rajya Sabha, he attacked the government citi
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reject US President Donald Trump's repeated claims on brokering a ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan. Speaking in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the Operation Sindoor, Rahul Gandhi pointed out that Trump had made the claim 29 times and stressed that if he was lying, then PM Modi should say so in his address to the House. US President Donald Trump has said 29 times he brought about India-
PATNA: Milk producers in Bihar have reasons to rejoice ahead of the state assembly elections. The Bihar cabinet on Tuesday approved the setting up of five dairy plants, including two milk powder plants, at an estimated cost of Rs 316 crore in the state. Giving a nod to the State Animal and Fish Resources Departments proposal, the state cabinet led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved a SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF) loan for setting up a dairy plant each with a 2 lakh litre capacity at
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, while hearing a Suo Motu Cognisance (SMC) case, on July 29, said that if a person is merely acting as a lawyer, then he should not be summoned by probe agencies for rendering a legal opinion or for representing a client who is under investigation. The top court had on July 8 initiated SMC, after it took note of the fact that the ED summoned seniorlawyersArvind Datar and PratapVenugopalfor their offeringof legal opinions or representation of parties during the invest
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Governments controversial land pooling policy, aimed at acquiring nearly 65,000 acres across the state for residential and industrial development, has come under legal scrutiny, with a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging it in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A PIL was filed stating that this policy fails to comply with statutory safeguards, including social and environmental impact assessments, fair compensation, and rehabilitation of affected families. The pet
SUKMA: A Naxalite was killed and three security personnel were injured in an IED blast during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Tuesday, a police officer said. He said a joint team of security personnel on an anti-Naxal operation and Maoists exchanged fire in the forest along the Sukma-Dantewada inter-district border. The operation, involving personnel of the Special Task Force (STF), District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was launched on Monday base
CHANDIGARH: A full-scale multi-state disaster mock drill 'Exercise Suraksha Chakra will be conducted in Gurugram, Rewari, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal districts of Haryana on August 1. It will be conducted by the Revenue and Disaster Management department of the State, along with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), to strengthen real-time emergency response capabilities for the entire National Capital Region (NCR). Haryana Financial Commissioner Revenue Dr Sumita Misra said that the
LUCKNOW: Muslim cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi had to face a tough time at the office of a TV news channel when he was attacked by a few Samajwadi Party workers in Noida on Tuesday. Rashidi had been hitting headlines after making derogatory and misogynistic remarks on Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav during a televised debate over her visit to a mosque with her husband and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and other SP MPs recently. Even a criminal case against the cleric was registered by one Pravesh Yadav at Vibh
CHANDIGARH: All 29 air quality monitoring stations in Haryana operated by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) have been offline since April 2 this year due to the previous maintenance contract having lapsed. The pollution data is now coming from only two stations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) -- one in Gurugram and the other in Panchkula. The state pollution board said it's actively working to finalise the tender process for a new maintenance contract for air quality
KOLKATA: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari on July 29, wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, alleging that Mamata Banerjee was attempting to intimidate Booth-Level-Officers (BLOs) in West Bengal. He urged the Election Commission of India to take cognisance of this matter and act swiftly to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in West Bengal. In his letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Adhikari alleged that Banerjee made public st
LUCKNOW: A Ghaziabad court sent Harsha Vardhan Jain, accused of impersonating a diplomat representing multiple self-declared or fictitious micronations and running a fake consulate from his rented residence in Kavi Nagar, on a five-day police custody remand (PCR). The remand, granted on Monday at the request of the Special Task Force (STF) of UP Police, came into effect from July 29 to August 2. According to Bhaskar Verma, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Kavi Nagar circle, it was imperat
NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges between the Opposition and treasury benches after Leader of the House J P Nadda made some objectionable remarks against Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge that he later withdrew and apologised. Rising soon after Kharge spoke over one hour during the discussion on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack, Nadda first accused him of losing his mental balance as he made some remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda de
NAINITAL: Despite grand government claims of connecting every village with a road network, the harsh reality in Uttarakhand paints a starkly different picture. Just a mere three kilometres from the bustling Nainital district headquarters lies Gairkhet, a village frozen in time. Its residents are grappling with the profound isolation of living without a single motorable road. This lack of basic connectivity doesn't just hinder development; it dictates every aspect of life, from education, healthc
LUCKNOW: A new flavour of power struggle is palpable in the air of Lucknow with Uttar Pradeshs Energy Minister AK Sharma having taken an unexpected swipe at his own government, raising serious questions over the decision to privatise Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal power companies. A post on his X handle argued that such major decisions were not made by the minister in isolation, but with full approval of the states task force led by the Chief Secretary. The minister, while releasing a statement, a
BHUBANESWAR: In a major drug haul, the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate on July 29 seized hydroponic weed from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) and detained three persons from Uttar Pradesh in connection with the case. Sources said the contraband, the highly potent variety of ganja, grown using the hydroponic method, was recovered from six bags that arrived on a flight from Bangkok. Suspicious about the luggage, the customs officials checked them during their routine check. Upon ins
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the composition of a state-appointed five-member committee, formed to assess the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, on the ground that it did not include any member from minority communities. A bench of Justice Niral S Mehta dismissed the plea moved by Surat-resident Abdul Vahab Sopariwala. Dismissed, the court said while pronouncing the judgement. A detailed order is awaited. On February 4 this year, st
AHMEDABAD: In a cyber fraud mirroring the recent Rs 19 crore scam in Gandhinagar, a retired forest head clerk from Gujarats Rajkot, has fallen prey to a digital arrest con and lost Rs 8.93 lakh. Posing as officials from TRAI and Maharashtra Cyber Crime, the scammers extorted money from the elderly man by threatening him with criminal charges and arrest. The victim, a former Forest Head Clerk at Bahumali Bhavan, lives near Patidar Chowk in Rajkot. On November 28, 2024, he received a call from a w
NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday asked the government in Lok Sabha to fix responsibility for the intelligence failure that led to the Pahalgam terror attack, saying it cannot get away after such incidents by merely admitting to a lapse. Participating in the debate on Operation Sindoor in the Lower House, Yadav raised questions on India ending the conflict with Pakistan abruptly and asked, Under whose pressure was the ceasefire done? The former Uttar Pradesh chief minist
LONDON: A 41-year-old man, believed to be of Indian heritage, has appeared in court in Scotland, charged with assault and endangering the safety of an aircraft after disrupting a flight from London Luton airport to Glasgow with loud chants. Abhay Devdas Nayak, who was arrested after the easyJet flight landed at Glasgow on Sunday morning, did not enter any guilty or not-guilty plea as he appeared on Monday at Paisley Sheriff Court, bordering the Scottish city of Glasgow. Videos circulating on soc
NEW DELHI: Three of the terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam attack have been eliminated by security forces in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police near Srinagar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The terrorists were killed Monday in an operation dubbed Mahadev but officials had held back in identifying them conclusively as the Pahalgam attackers. Participating in a special discussion on Operation Sindoor, Shah also attacked the o
NEW DELHI: The US team will visit India on August 25 for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries, an official said on Tuesday. The official added that the two sides continue to be engaged in an interim trade deal as the August 1 deadline is approaching. August 1 marks the end of the suspension period of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent). The US team is visiting for the six
JAIPUR: In the wake of the tragic Jhalawar school wall collapse incident that claimed the lives of seven children, fresh incidents from Jaisalmer and Udaipur have once again highlighted the crumbling condition of government school buildings in the State. Two rooms of a government school in Kotada, Udaipur, collapsed around 8 pm on July 27. Fortunately, since the incident did not occur during school hours, another potential disaster was prevented. Upon receiving the information, residents, includ
NEW DELHI: Three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack have been killed by Indian forces , Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed Parliament on Tuesday. Initiating a debate on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha, Singh congratulated the forces for killing three terrorists who were involved in the attack in which 26 people were killed. I congratulate the forces for killing three terrorists who carried out Pahalgam terror attack in April. These are the terrorists who killed people in Pahalg
The Assam government has begun a massive eviction drive in the Golaghat district, targeting over 1,500 Bengali-origin Muslim families to clear more than 3,600 acres of forest land that the administration claims they have encroached upon, PTI reported, citing officials. Contrary to the government's claims that the area was encroached, according to locals, there were houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), government schools under S
LUCKNOW: After going through the rigours of the recruitment during the biggest ever recruitment drive to appoint 60,244 constables in UP Police, over 3568 candidates selected have left the job at the onset. After the selection process for 60,244 posts, comprising 48195 for men and 12049 for women, under -- Recruitment 2023 -- was completed, 3568 candidates did not even join the job. Over 100 candidates joined the department but resigned after participating in the initial sessions of training. Th
GUWAHATI: The Kaziranga National Park in Assam, of one-horned rhino fame, has scripted a success story in tiger conservation. According to the Status of Tigers in Kaziranga, 2024 report released by authorities on the International Tiger Day on July 29, Kaziranga has the worlds third-highest density of tigers 18 per 100 sq km. During a 103-day camera trapping survey, 13,157 trap nights yielded 4,011 tiger images in 242 locations. The right-flank stripe patterns were used to identify 148 adult ti
SRINAGAR: Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi would be adopting 22 children, who were orphaned by the Pakistani shelling during Operation Sindoor in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district. Rahul Gandhi will be adopting 22 children, whose parents were killed in the Pakistani shelling during Operation Sindoor in Poonch, J&K Congress chief spokesman Ravindra Sharma told the TNIE . According to him, Rahul would be bearing the total cost of education of 22 children orphaned
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday scheduled the Presidential Reference hearing between August 19 to September 10, on whether the Court will lay down timelines and procedures for the President and State Governors when considering Bills passed by State legislature. While fixing the schedule of hearings for parties supporting the reference and opposing it, the apex court on Tuesday said the hearing schedule would not be altered under any circumstance. The apex court also appointed Advocates A
JALNA: Reservation activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday accused the Maharashtra government of betraying the Maratha community by failing to implement key promises and warned of launching a fresh hunger strike in Mumbai on August 29. Addressing the media at Antarwali Sarthi village in Jalna district, Jarange said the state government had deceived the community by not fulfilling four major demands, despite repeated assurances. The government has once again betrayed the Maratha community. We have wait
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, alleging that his recent speech in Parliament proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. Taking to X, Sarma wrote, Speech delivered by our MP from Jorhat in Parliament yesterday proved beyond doubt that he acts on behalf of Pakistan. His secret trip and close ties with the Pakistani establishment speak volumes. The Chief Minister further claimed that Gogois wife and
CHANDIGARH: At least three people have died and one injured missing in Mandi town of Himachal Pradesh due to heavy rain overnight. More than 20 vehicles have been submerged and around two dozen houses partially damaged; the Chandigarh-Manali national highway, Chandigarh-Dharamsala, Mandi-Pathankot and Shimla-Mataur highways have been blocked. Sources said that a flash flood struck Mandi district early Tuesday morning. Four members of a family had reportedly come out of their house in the wee hou
CHANDIGARH: At least three people have died and one person has gone missing in Mandi town of Himachal Pradesh due to heavy rain overnight. More than 20 vehicles have been submerged and around two dozen houses partially damaged; the Chandigarh-Manali national highway, Chandigarh-Dharamsala, Mandi-Pathankot and Shimla-Mataur highways have been blocked. Sources said that a flash flood struck Mandi district early Tuesday morning. Four members of a family had reportedly come out of their house in the
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Election Commission (EC) is a constitutional authority and it is deemed to act in accordance with law, but if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the court will step in. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar, and said that hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 a
The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar , and said that hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 and 13. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioners challenging the poll panel's decision to file their written submissions by August 8. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners, once again allege
Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday shared a social media post featuring a patriotic verse about Bharat ki baat along with a news report discussing why he and fellow Congress leader Shashi Tharoor did not participate in the Lok Sabha debate on Operation Sindoor. The post, subtle yet telling, appeared to signal Tewaris quiet disagreement with the partys decision. The media report Tewari shared was headlined, Spoke in favour of govt: Why Congress benched Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari during Opera
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed smooth functioning of the Question Hour for the first time since the beginning of the Parliament Monsoon session on July 21. The House has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the Opposition's demand for a debate on electoral roll revision in Bihar and Operation Sindoor. While the debate on Operation Sindoor commenced in the House on Monday, the Opposition disrupted the first half of the day demanding an assurance from the government that a discussi
After an intense debate in the Lok Sabha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will initiate a discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, July 29. Operation Sindoor was India's military response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed. On Day 6 of the Parliament Session, the Rajya Sabha was active for around five minutes due to repeated adjournments caused by opposition chaos. The upper house was adjourned twice due to protests from the o
NEW DELHI: A red alert was issued for Delhi on Tuesday as heavy rains lashed the city , leading to traffic snarls and waterlogging during the morning rush hour. Areas such as ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Naraina, Patel Nagar, Vijay Chowk, Jangpura, RK Puram, Lajpath Nagar, Talkatora road, Rafi Marg and Rohini received heavy showers. Waterlogging was reported from multiple locations, including Panchkuian Road, Moti Bagh, ITO, Mukharjee Nagar and Pul Prahladpur, affecting vehicular movement. The India Meteor
NEW DELHI: Heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms affected several regions of Delhi, providing a respite from the prevailing humid weather conditions on Tuesday morning. IMD predicts heavy rainfall across India until August 4. Northwest India, including East Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, is expected to experience extremely heavy rainfall on July 29, with heavy showers in Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana. West India, including Konkan and Gujarat, will see isolated heavy rain on July 29 and
MUMBAI: The BJP in c has decided to go solo in the states local body elections, although some contests will be held as friendly contests with Mahayuti alliance partners. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, addressing party workers, stated that while the BJP would contest most local body elections independently, in certain areas, it would cooperate with alliance partners in a non-confrontational manner. We are sharing power with our allies, so even if we contest separately, we wo