The New Indian Express News

SRINAGAR: Uncertainty has enveloped the 850 MW Ratle power project in Jammu and Kashmir after Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), the executing company, accused a local BJP MLA of interference and threatened to halt work on the project indefinitely. Harpal Singh, Joint Chief Operating Officer of MEIL, told this newspaper that the local MLA, Shagun Parihar, has been pressuring the company to remove workers who did not vote for her during last years assembly polls

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday criticised the Union government over the Cabinets approval of a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that the move reflects an attempt to erase Mahatma Gandhis legacy and mask what it described as the Centres neglect of the rural employment scheme. Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said the renaming was aimed at claiming credit for a programme th

PATNA: The multi-crore fodder scam has once again come into focus after Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and State Home Minister Samrat Chaudhary announced on Saturday that government schools would be opened in buildings previously confiscated from the accused. Chaudhary told the media that action would be initiated against those involved in the Rs 950-crore Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) scam, better known as the fodder scam, and that government schools would be set up in confiscated properties.

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand is set to transform its pilgrimage and tourism landscape with a major push for ropeway infrastructure, as nearly 50 proposals are under consideration and the state government has identified six priority projects following a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan on Friday. The meeting of the Steering Committee for Ropeway Development marked a decisive step towards streamlining approvals and fast-tracking construction. All proposed ropeway projects in th

NEW DELHI: Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat on Saturday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention against the permission granted to withdraw charges in the 2015 lynching of Dadri resident Mohammad Akhlaq. In her letter, Karat described the Uttar Pradesh governments decision as a wholly illegal and unjust attempt to subvert the processes of justice, noting that the main witness had already given evidence in the case. Sh

JAIPUR: In a major step to tackle the mounting backlog of cases, the Rajasthan High Court will now hold proceedings on two Saturdays every month, making it the first high court in the country to officially increase its number of working days to expedite the disposal of pending cases. The decision follows an initiative by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant, who recently wrote to all high courts urging them to consider increasing working days to reduce case backlogs. Sources said the

LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Lucknow Zone unit has issued a final summons to Shubham Jaiswal, identified as the kingpin of a codeine cough syrup smuggling racket, warning him that failure to appear on Monday will prompt the agency to seek a non-bailable warrant (NBW) and initiate proceedings for a Red Corner Notice against him through Interpol. Notably, Jaiswal has already been served two summons by the ED but has so far failed to appear to record his statements in connection with t

BHOPAL: Coming back to his home city Indore reportedly to fill up his Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter enumeration form recently, a hardened inter-state criminal landed in the Madhya Pradesh polices net. Identified as Abdul Rashid, alias Talwar Singh (54), the criminal is accused in around 100 cases, including robbery, theft and murder in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states. He had recently returned to Indore after many years just to fill up the SIR enumeration form. On December 3

PATNA: A 40-year-old man was lynched to death by a mob after ascertaining his religious identity in Bihars Nawada district, raising questions over the law-and-order situation prevailing in the state under the leadership of new Home Minister Samrat Chaudhary. The victim, Mohammad Athar Hussain, died on Friday night while undergoing treatment for injuries sustained during the mob attack on December 5 under Roh police station limits in Nawada district. He was a native of Gagan Dih village under Lah

NEW DELHI: The services of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force were joined by more than 700 officers, men and women on Saturday following the Passing Out Parades held at their respective academies. The Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, resonated with pride, tradition and military splendour as the 157th Passing Out Parade (POP) was conducted at the historic Drill Square, while the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) took place at the Air Force Academy (AFA), Dundigal, Hyderabad, on the s

BHOPAL: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans open-to-all official residence, Mama Ka Ghar, in the Madhya Pradesh capital has now turned into a heavily barricaded fortress following an increased security threat perception. A large number of metallic barricades have been erected outside the B-8B-9 combined bungalow in the high-security 74 Bungalows area of Bhopal. The bungalow, which has been Chouhans official residence since January 2024, was named Mama Ka Ghar after he shifted there

RAIPUR: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday affirming that the country will eliminate outlawed Maoism by March 2026, pledged to make the Bastar region in south Chhattisgarh as the most developed tribal division in India. Addressing the closing ceremony of the Bastar Olympics in Jagdalpur, Shah said that the country stands on the verge of completely wiping out the red terror and the Bastar Olympics next year will be organised in a Naxal-free Chhattisgarh. Previous year 1.65 lakh players par

MEHSANA: A couple from Gujarat's Mehsana district and their three-year-old daughter were allegedly taken hostage in Libya for a ransom of Rs 2 crore while trying to immigrate to Portugal, officials said on Saturday. Kismatsinh Chavda, his wife Heenaben and daughter Devanshi were kidnapped in the North African nation, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, en route to Portugal, where the man's brother is settled, Mehsana Superintendent of Police Himanshu Solanki said. He said that the family from Badal

DEHRADUN: Indian scientists are delving deep into the frozen continent of Antarctica, not just for knowledge but as a critical defense strategy against the looming threat of rising sea levels that could inundate India's coastal states. Researchers from the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), based in Goa, have uncovered 7,000-year-old black carbon embedded in a remote Antarctic lake. They are now urgently studying how this ancient pollutant accelerates the melting of polar ice.

NEW DELHI: Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Saturday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, demanding her intervention in the Uttar Pradesh government's move to withdraw charges against the accused in the 2015 mob lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq. In a letter to the President, Karat called it a politically motivated step by the government, and also questioned the role of the governor. I write to draw your urgent attention to the role of the Uttar Pradesh governor in the matter of the mob lynching cas

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday laid foundation stones for development works worth over Rs 600 crore at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, where he launched multiple projects of the Surat Municipal Corporation and Surat Urban Development Authority. Patel took an indirect swipe at corruption and said, Congratulations to the corporation for taking only the amount of tax that belongs to the corporation. We will not get anything else except tax!, he added. Looking out

KOLKATA: Both ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition BJP lashed out at the organisers of an event featuring Lionel Messi in Salt Lake stadium on Saturday, which ended in chaos as irate spectators went on a vandalisation spree for not having a proper view of the football icon. Demanding action against the organisers, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said in a statement that the overzealousness of the organisers and people close to them to crowd Messi and take selfies with him prevented the spectato

KOLKATA: What was meant to be a once in lifetime moment turned into a day of heartbreak for thousands of football fans who thronged the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, hoping to catch a glimpse of Argentine football legend Lionel Messi Messi was not clearly visible, as he was surrounded by organizers and security personnel. The expected penalty shootout did not take place, leaving fans angry and emotionally drained. We travelled all the way from Malaysia to get a glimpse of the GOAT, but we ended

CHANDIGARH: Taking a dig at his political rivals, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday remarked that both senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu are alike as they want to be elected Prime Minister and Chief Minister respectively without first doing something for the people. Addressing a press conference here, Mann said, They have the same problem, both want to become Prime Minister and Chief Minister before performing. Rahul Gandhi

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat BJP has once again come under the spotlight as a verbal duel has erupted between two of its members, Rajpipla MLA Dr Darshana Deshmukh and Bharuch MP Mansukh Vasava. On December 7, BJP MP Mansukh Vasava, during a press conference, alleged large-scale corruption in the political leadership and administrative system of Narmada district. While the charge was sweeping, Vasava did not name any individual. Dr Darshana Deshmukh, while addressing the media on Friday, accused the M

GUWAHATI: A retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer was arrested in Assam for his alleged links with Pakistani operatives, while Arunachal Police arrested four Kashmiri residents over the past few days in an alleged espionage case. Retired Junior Warrant Officer Kulendra Sarma, a resident of the Patia locality of Tezpur in northern Assams Sonitpur district, was arrested late Friday night. Preliminary investigation revealed he had shared sensitive documents and information with Pakistani operative

NEW DELHI: IndiGo is all set to operate over 2,050 flights by the end of Saturday. This will mark the second consecutive day that it will be crossing 2,000 flights in operations. There were two last minute cancellations recorded yesterday (Friday) due to technical reasons. In an official release, the airline said, Demonstrating continuous operational normalisation and stability consecutively for the last five days, IndiGo is set to operate over 2,050 flights today, as per its revised schedule, s

NEW DELHI: Since 2019, a total of 1,106 LWEs (Left Wing Extremists) have been neutralised, 7,311 arrested, and 5,571 have surrendered across the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha recently. In 2025 alone (till December 1), security forces neutralised 335 LWEs, arrested 942, and facilitated the surrender of 2,167 LWE cadres. To prevent resurgence of CPI (Maoist) activity in areas now freed from Left Wing Extremism, the ministry has designated 27 districts as Lega

The Union Government on Saturday announced it has so far seized assets worth Rs 92 crore through a multi-agency coordinated action against Naxalite movements across the country. In a statement, the BJP-led Centre said it had inflicted severe moral and psychological damage on what it described as urban naxals by tightening control over their information networks. To meet the firm target of making the country completely Naxal-free by March 2026, the government has created a dedicated vertical in t

CHANDIGARH: A day ahead of the local body polls in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday slammed the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for accusing AAP government of high-handedness. He accused the parties of ellyaching after sensing defeat in the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. Targeting the Congress and SAD, Mann said they have accepted their defeat in the polls. They're aware that the people are not with them. That is why they have started alleging that AAP loot

LUCKNOW: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to get its party chief for the Uttar Pradesh unit on Sunday. The nomination process for the election of the new state chief took place at the BJP headquarters in the state capital here on Saturday afternoon, with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary leading the race. Chaudhary filed his papers, and his name was proposed by 10 senior BJP leaders, including UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to sources, Chaudhary is

The police detained Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake stadium on Saturday. Chaos erupted at the stadium after spectators, who had paid hefty sums to see Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, protested after being unable to catch a clear glimpse of the legend as he remained surrounded by security personnel and others. The situation prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early. Datta was detained for alleged mismanagemen

NEW DELHI: With the Cabinet approving a Bill to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Congress on Saturday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing this to claim credit, and the move is othing but a cosmetic change to paper over the deliberate neglect being meted out to this scheme. The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a Bill to rename the MGNREGA and increase the number of work days, sources said. According to them, the scheme will now be renamed

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to entertain the bail plea of Mihir Shah, the son of a former Shiv Sena leader, in the 2024 Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, saying hese boys need to be taught a lesson. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih took into account that the accused belonged to an affluent family and his father was associated with the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena. He parks his Mercedes in the shed, takes out his BMW and crashes it and

LUCKNOW: In a significant decision, the Allahabad High Court set aside an order passed by the lower court of Gautam Buddh Nagar mandating a man to pay maintenance to his estranged wife, observing that she earned her living and did not reveal the true salary in her affidavit. The bench comprising Justice Madan Pal Singh also allowed a criminal revision petition filed by the man Ankit Saha. A perusal of the impugned judgment indicates that in the affidavit filed before the trial court, the opposit

KOLKATA:Stating that she was shocked and deeply disturbed by the mismanagement at the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata , Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced the constitution of a high-level committee to probe the incident. Banerjee said she was on the way to the Salt Lake stadium to attend the event, along with thousands of fans, who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the football icon. I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unf

BALLIA: A man was arrested here for allegedly kidnapping a 17-year-old girl and taking her to Mumbai and Pune, where he raped her multiple times for around 25 days, police said on Saturday. The accused, Baburam (21) kidnapped the girl on November 14. Based on her fathers complaint, a case was registered against the accused, they said. Chitbaragaon Station Officer (SO) Dinesh Pathak said the minor was rescued from an area under the police station. She told police that Baburam kidnapped her and ha

CHANDIGARH: The cash-strapped AAP-led Punjab government, whose outstanding debt touched Rs 3.98 lakh crore till October this year, hopes to generate Rs 3,000 crore through monetisation. It has identified parcels of unused land to be developed and sold under the three-decade-old Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Lands (OUVGL) Scheme to fulfil its pre-poll promise of providing a Rs 1,100 per month honorarium to all women in the state. With only 14 months left for the Assembly elections, the

RANCHI: An IndiGo flight suffered a tail strike while landing at the Ranchi airport, officials said on Saturday. The incident happened around 7.30 pm on Friday when the Bhubaneswar-Ranchi flight was landing with around 70 passengers on board, they said. The tail of the aircraft touched the runway during landing. Passengers experienced a sudden jolt. However, they were all safe and unharmed, Ranchi airport Director Vinod Kumar told PTI. The plane was grounded following the incident, as it was fou

KOLKATA: As West Bengal heads into an election year, a spate of templemosque announcements, scripture spectacles and date-sensitive symbolism is pushing the states politics into unfamiliar territory, sharpening communal polarisation in a borderland shaped by Partition memories, demographic anxieties and a coexistence periodically tested by political mobilisation. From the bordering Murshidabad district to the planned township of Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, faith has emerged as t

NAGPUR: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said officials responsible for registering documents should have refused to process agreements that were not permissible under the law and clearly informed the parties concerned about such limitations. His comments come against the backdrop of a notice issued by the deputy registrar to the firm of his son, Parth Pawar, seeking Rs 21 crore in stamp duty and penalties in connection with a controversial land deal in Pune. Recently, th

CHANDIGARH: Three Indian-origin Punjabi truck drivers have been arrested by Canadian police following a shootout between two rival tow-truck groups in Brampton, Ontario. A search is underway for a fourth suspect. Releasing video footage of the incident, Peel Regional Police said they had arrested three men from Caledon in connection with a tow-truck-related shooting in Brampton and were seeking one remaining suspect. The shooting occurred at around 10.45 pm local time on 7 October in a parking l

Thousands of football fans braved the December chill and stayed awake past midnight to welcome Argentine superstar Lionel Messi as he arrived in Kolkata early Saturday for his three-day, four-city GOAT India Tour 2025, triggering scenes of near-hysteria across the city. Messis private Gulfstream V aircraft touched down at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 2.26 am, setting off a frenzy among supporters who had gathered in large numbers at the international arrivals terminal.

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Friday saw an unusual brief adjournment as no cabinet minister was present in the House when the session began. The proceedings were halted for 10 minutes after the Opposition raised the absence of any cabinet minister. Shortly after the Upper House paid homage to those who foiled the terror attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001, Opposition MPs pointed out that no cabinet minister was present. Chairman CP Radhakrishnan said he would take up the matter with the g

NEW DELHI: Setting the stage for a major overhaul of the countrys flagship rural jobs scheme, the Union Cabinet on Friday approved the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana. The government also proposes to increase the guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days of work per rural household each year. It also plans to revise the minimum wage under the scheme to `240 per day, along with additional budgetary allocations to

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Kerala High Courts finding that over 400 acres of land in Munambam in Ernakulam district is not waqf property and ordered status quo on the dispute over the holdings of over 600 families. A two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, however, clarified that it has not stayed the inquiry by the C N Ramachandran Nair commission. The bench issued notice to the Kerala government while hearing a plea fil

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a meeting with her cabinet colleagues, chief secretary, home secretary, DGP and senior officials at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Monday to review preparations for the Gangasagar mela to be held mid-January in South 24 Parganas district. Lakhs of Hindu pilgrims from across the country gather at the fair ground every year on Makar Sankranti to take holi dip at Gangasagar. The fair is likely to draw a bigger turnout this time in the absence

SRI NAGAR: After a series of encounters and brief gunfights in the forest belts of Jammu region in the last six months, security forces have launched a major winter offensive to track down militants hiding in the dense and rugged forest areas. With winter restricting civilian movement to the higher reaches, officials say the conditions offer a strategic opportunity to track down the armed militants. Sources said Army, paramilitary forces and Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K police are carry

LUCKNOW: A newly constructed police post was inaugurated on Friday, just 100 metres away from the residences of Samajwadi Partys Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq. The uniqueness of the outpost lies in the fact that it has been built using the same bricks and stones that rioters had thrown at the cops during a violence which had seen loss of five lives leaving scores, including the cops, injured in the western UP district on November 24, 2024. The post, named Deepa Sarai Police Outpost, was inaugura

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Friday cleared a proposal to set up a single higher education regulator to replace multiple bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC). Sources said the government is likely to present a bill in the ongoing Parliament session, which concludes on December 19. The billpreviously called the Higher Education Commission of India Billhas been renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill. The move is in line with the National Education Policy, which moots

Washington DC: Three members of the US House of Representatives on Friday (local time) introduced a resolution aimed at terminating President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration that imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on imports from India, calling the measures illegal and harmful to American workers, consumers, and bilateral ties. The resolution, spearheaded by Representatives Deborah Ross, Marc Veasey, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, follows a bipartisan Senate measure to end similar tari

KOLKATA: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday revealed about 59 lakh deletions of dead, duplicate, permanently shifted, and absent voters in West Bengal. Besides the deletion of such a massive number of voters, the ECI has also found some serious discrepancies after analysing data from enumeration forms (EFs) in the state. In Bengal, 11 December was the last day for submitting EFs under the SIR exercise. The date re

SRINAGAR: In the wake of the Delhi car blast, police have launched a massive Kashmir-wide crackdown on vehicles operating without mandatory ownership transfers following sale or purchase. The drive targeting outside-UT registration numbers is aimed at streamlining vehicle ownership records, curbing misuse of non-transferred or non-local registrations, and enhancing overall road safety. A police spokesman said vehicle checking was intensified across Awantipora in south Kashmir as part of an enfor

PATNA: The Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), led by former Bihar minister and Lalu Prasads estranged son Tej Pratap Yadav, on Friday announced that it will contest forthcoming assembly elections in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Speaking to the media after launching the partys membership drive in Patna, Tej Pratap said the party will field candidates in the upcoming assembly elections in both states, with the state committee set to take the final decision. The assembly polls in West Bengal are schedul

BHOPAL: A day before his government completes two years in power, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav termed the end of naxal cadres through the elimination and surrenders policy as the biggest achievement of his government so far. The naxal menace is as old as 37-38 years. Various naxal dalams had been formed way back in 1988-89. In 1995, an entire bus carrying 17 police personnel was blown into pieces. Four years later, a minister in the then Congress government (transport minister Li