The New Indian Express News

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Uttarakhand government over the grabbing of forest land, observing that the state government and its authorities were sitting like mute spectators, and initiated a suo motu case. A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the chief secretary of Uttarakhand to form an inquiry committee and submit a report. What is shocking to us is that the State of Uttarakhand and authorities are sitting like mute spectator

CHANDIGARH: The cash-strapped Punjab government has begun geo-tagging properties across the state to improve property tax recovery. At present, around 94,000 commercial property owners owe nearly Rs 1,100 crore in property tax, as identified by various civic bodies. Poor recovery has begun to affect revenue-dependent essential services. Of the total 1.55 lakh owners of commercial, industrial and other properties, 94,000 are commercial property owners. The Local Bodies Department has so far compl

BELDANGA: West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir on Monday floated a new outfit, Janata Unnayan Party, days after he was suspended by the TMC for laying the foundation stone for a Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad district. Addressing a public meeting in Beladanga, Kabir named a few candidates that his new party will field in the 2026 assembly elections in the state. Kabir, the MLA of Bharatpur, said he would contest the assembly polls from two seats, Rejinagar and Beldanga in Murshidabad. 'Will be kingm

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar is an accused. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh reserved the order for January 22 after the final arguments concluded in the case. Kumar was produced before the court amid heavy security. In February 2015, a special investigation team registered two FIRs against Kumar based on complaints of violence in Delhi's Janakpuri and Vikaspuri during the riots. The firs

RAIPUR: A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) constable shot his colleague dead inside the barrack camp during the intervening night of Sunday-Monday in Khairagarh district, about 130 km west of Raipur. The firing incident occurred in 17 CAF battalion at Ghagra base camp following an altercation between the accused jawan and his colleague. There was some heated arguments between the accused constable Arvind Gautam and the deceased Sonbir Jaat, a mess commander, over some issue late at night. The argu

PATNA: A beauty parlour owner was allegedly attacked with acid in Mokama on the outskirts of Patna, police said on Monday. The incident happened when the 40-year-old woman was returning home after closing her parlour on Sunday night, they said. Police said two men arrived on a motorcycle and allegedly threw acid on her. She suffered minor burns on her face. She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital by locals. Her condition is out of danger, SDPO of Barh Anand Kumar Singh told PTI . A case h

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed conviction of former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in a cheating and forgery case. A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Maharashtra government on Kokate's plea. Issue notice. In the meanwhile, conviction of petitioner shall remain stayed to the extent that there shall be no disqualification as a member of legislative assembly. However he shall not hold any office of profit, the bench sai

HOWRAH: Four members of a family were charred to death in a fire at their house in West Bengal's Howrah district, officials said on Monday morning. The incident happened in Sauria village in the Joypur police station area around midnight, they said. The deceased were identified as Durjodhan Dolui (72), his son Dudhkumar Dolui (45), daughter-in-law Shibani Dolui (40), and granddaughter Shampa Dolui (15). An investigation is underway to ascertain how the kuchcha house caught fire, officials said.

NEW DELHI: Congress MP and General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh, on Monday announced the party's plan to organise a public agitation campaign to repeal the abolition of MGNREGA. In a post on the social media platform X, Ramesh shared the background of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which is now replaced by the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgaar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM-G) . Sharing the timeline of how Congress laid

NEW DELHI: India and New Zealand on Monday concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) , marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral economic and strategic ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with his New Zealand counterpart, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, during which the two leaders jointly announced the conclusion of what they described as a historic, ambitious and mutually beneficial pact. Negotiations for the IndiaNew Zealand FTA were initiated during Pr

DEHRADUN: Legal pressures are intensifying dramatically for Shabab Hussain, the central figure in the massive Loni Urban Multi Credit and Thrift Cooperative Society (LUCC) scam that crippled thousands of depositors across Uttarakhand. Hussain, already facing scrutiny for the multi-crore cooperative society fraud that originated by aggressively courting investors in Uttarakhand starting in 2019, has now been summoned by a Mumbai court over a separate, high-value financial dispute involving an avi

BENGALURU: Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday strongly criticised the Union government's VB-G RAM G Act 2025 that replaced MGNREGA, claiming that changes in the new legislation weaken and undermine the previous act's core promise as a rights-based rural employment programme. In a post on social media platform 'X', Priyank Kharge said the act would gradually make the scheme untenable by transforming it from a demand-driven legal entitlement into a supply-driven arrangement, thereby strip

A Mumbai-bound Air India Boeing 777 aircraft returned to Delhi on Monday morning after the crew detected a technical issue with the right engine, officials said. The oil pressure reportedly dropped to zero, prompting the return. Flight AI887, carrying around 335 passengers, took off from Delhi at about 6.30 am and was airborne for nearly an hour before making an air turn-back. The aircraft landed safely in Delhi and all passengers and crew disembarked without incident. Air India said the decisio

A Mumbai-bound Air India Boeing 777 aircraft returned to Delhi on Monday morning after the crew detected a technical issue with the right engine, officials said. Flight AI887, carrying around 335 passengers, took off from Delhi at about 6.30 am and was airborne for nearly an hour before making an air turn-back. The aircraft landed safely in Delhi and all passengers and crew disembarked without incident. Air India said the decision to return was taken shortly after take-off in line with standard

BIJNOR: Four people, including an Islamic scholar, were killed after a car rammed into a dumper from behind here, police said on Monday. Circle Officer, Najibabad, Nitesh Pratap Singh, said the accident occurred around 11.30 pm on Sunday on the Haridwar road near Jalpur village under Nangal police station limits. The car hit the dumper that was moving ahead of it. Due to the impact of the collision, the car was left badly mangled and police had to cut open its doors to retrieve the bodies, he sa

RAIPUR: A 20 year old engineering student of O P Jindal University in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district allegedly died by suicide in her hostel room on Saturday late night. The deceased has been identified as Princy Kumari, 20, a native of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand who was pursuing her second year B.Tech Computer Science. Speaking to TNIE, Raigarh ASP Akash Markam said the incident came to light after the hostel warden found her body hanging from a ceiling fan. The body was sent for post-mortem exam

THANE: A 68-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs 23.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with digital arrest in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday. This is a second such incident reported in the district this week, an official said. Based on a complaint, the Kalyan police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, Assistant Inspector Vinod Patil of Mahatma Phule police station said. The complainant alleged that two unidentifi

A 23-year-old man from Gujarats Morbi district, currently in Ukrainian custody for allegedly fighting on behalf of Russia, has appealed to the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for help in securing his release. In video messages sent to his family, he also warned Indian citizens planning to go to Russia for studies or work to be cautious of scams. The man, Sahil Mohamed Hussein Majothi, a resident of Morbi, first came into the spotlight earlier this October after Ukrainian autho

NEW DELHI: The Standing Committee on Railways has warned that the objective of fully electrified dedicated freight corridors with exclusive high-capacity tracks could be undermined unless operational constraints, particularly crew shortages, are addressed without delay. The committee, in its sixth report on Increasing freight-related earnings of Indian Railways and development of dedicated freight corridors, presented to the Lok Sabha recently, examined aspects of freight operations, including c

Congress may be leading the charge against the G-RAM-G Bill, but Rahul Gandhis no-show during the Lok Sabha debate has left party corridors buzzing and not in a good way. With the Leader of the Opposition in Germany, visuals of him inspecting BMW cars and bikes in Munich on the very day of the debate sharpened the unease. The BJP predictably pounced on the optics, but the piercing murmurs were within the INDIA bloc itself. Allies and Congress leaders privately felt that Rahul should have anchor

NEW DELHI: Senior functionary of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Secretary, Border Management Rajendra Kumar on Sunday visited Moreh in Manipurs Tengnoupal district to review security arrangements along the IndiaMyanmar border. Officials said that the Secretary asked the personnel on ground to ensure better coordination among agencies and take measures to improve effectiveness of border surveillance. A senior MHA official said, During the visit on 20-21 December, Kumar inspected bor

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force is working towards the upgradation and modernisation of its Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) which served as the nerve centre during Operation Sindoor. The IACCS is undergoing the third phase of its up-gradation and modernisation, a source said. It is to cater to Long Range vectors, Network centricity and Precision Strike with a focus on the Beyond Visual Range capability. According to sources, the IACCS played a central role in both offensive and

NEW DELHI: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday described the new controversy in West Bengal over the use of the term Babri Masjid as a political plot aimed at reigniting an old dispute for electoral gains. Building a Babri Masjid again and restarting the dispute is a political conspiracy for votes. This is neither in the interest of Muslims nor of Hindus. The dispute was gradually coming to an end and a healthy sense of goodwill was developing, but now efforts are being made to widen the divide ag

The stray animal issue been pinching the ruling BJP in election after election, and not to anyones surprise, it was CM Yogi Adityanath who fell victim to the menace. A cow intruded into the CMs convoy during his recent visit to Gorakhpur. As soon as the CMs entourage halted, Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan stepped out of the car, followed by CM Yogi. Suddenly, a cow rushed towards Yogi. However, the security personnel jumped into action and saved the CM. However, the Gorakhpur Municipal corporation sup

SUNDARBANS/GUWAHATI: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday said the Centre has sought a report on the death of elephants in a train collision in the Changjurai village of Assams Hojai district. Talking to the press after meetings on Project Elephant and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) at the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, Yadav said, All states have been asked to monitor elephant movement along railway tracks and coordinate with forest departments. Seven elephants d

PATNA: The Congress will launch a comprehensive campaign to revive the party in Bihar after its dismal performance in the recent Assembly election by strengthening its organisation at the grassroots level. After the inauspicious period of Kharmas ends on January 14, the party will launch the campaign to empower the partys organisation down to the panchayat level, identify organisational weaknesses, and infuse new energy into the party workers. As part of the partys initiative for revival, senior

When the monsoon first touches the Deccan, a million tiny rivulets knit themselves into rivers. It is not a thunderclap that turns water into force; it is patient joiningstream to stream, village to villageuntil the flow is confident enough to light a city. Indias journey with the atom has felt like that: quiet channels of science converging over decades, now gathering into a river strong enough to power a data centre at midnight, sterilise a meal in the afternoon, and help a clinician save a ch

BHOPAL: Police are on heightened alert in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur city, after protests by Hindu right-wingers alleging religious conversion by Christian missionaries triggered violent scuffles between the two religious groups at two separate places in two successive days. The first incident happened in Gorakhpur police station area on Saturday, while the second incident happened in the Madhotal police station area on Sunday. The first incident happened behind the premises of a Church near the H

CHANDIGARH: The Gurugram Administration has issued an advisory recommending that private institutions and corporate offices encourage employees to work from home from December 22 until further orders, following the Commission for Air Quality Managements Stage IV measures under the Graded Response Action Plan. The advisory has been issued following a sustained spike in air pollution across Delhi and the National Capital Region, with authorities tightening controls to limit emissions and prevent f

RANCHI: The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Sunday distanced itself from the remarks of Health Minister Irfan Ansari , who offered a job to the female Muslim doctor who was allegedly assaulted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during a public event in Patna last week. JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said that there is no provision empowering the minister to offer a job with a salary of Rs 3 lakh per month. I dont think a minister can provide a Rs 3 lakh job to anyone. However, the issue

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra urban local body election results are not unexpected, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party. However, the Congress has shown its political prowess in the polls, posing a minor challenge to the ruling alliance. Dalits, Muslims, and other socially weaker communities stood with the Congress in times of major crisis, and reposed their faith in Indias oldest political force. The success is credited to Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress Lok Sabha MP Pratibha

The recovery has prompted the authorities to beef up security in Jammu including areas around major government and military installations.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government said that the sale of meat, tobacco, alcohol, and other intoxicants is now prohibited in the 'holy cities' of Amritsar, Talwandi Sabo and Anandpur Sahib in a video message shared by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday. The CM said that there are five takhts that are of significance to Sikhs, three of which are in Punjab: Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Amritsar), Sri Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda) and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib (Sri Anandpur Sahib). These

RAIPUR: The Centre has sanctioned significant financial assistance to promote the development of semiconductor and electronics industries at the new capital city Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sanctioned the release of the first instalment of Rs 22.50 crore for the Common Facility Centre (CFC) being set up in Nava Raipur under the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme. The CFC project is being developed in Sector-22 of Nava R

NAGPUR: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the BJP has set a record in local body polls with 48 per cent of councillors winning on the party symbol, and its candidates elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils. He attributed the Mahayuti alliance's success in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections to the BJP organisation and development agenda of the government. Counting of votes for elections to the posts of president and members in 286 municipal coun

CHANDIGARH: The BJP-led Haryana Government has tabled the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the state assembly, outlining stringent measures, including dissolution of the management body of the university and taking over its functioning through the appointment of an administrator. Sources said that the bill, which was introduced in the state assembly on Friday by State Higher Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda and is likely to be passed by the assembly on Monday will have a

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday trashed as misleading propaganda media reports in Bangladesh that a demonstration outside Bangladesh's mission in New Delhi against the killing of a Hindu man in that country attempted to create a security situation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said about 20-25 youths gathered in front of the Bangladesh high commission on Saturday and raised slogans in protest against the horrendous killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh's Mymensingh. It said the proteste

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday left for a two-day tour of the national capital, where he is expected to meet top NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, officials said that CM is in Delhi for a routine health checkup and treatment of his eyes This is Nitishs first visit to the national capital after the NDAs landslide victory in the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections. Officials said that after reaching New Delhi, Nitish will first go to his resi

India has suspended visa operations at its Indian Visa Application Centre in Bangladeshs southeastern port city of Chattogram until further notice, amid heightened tensions following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi , local media reported on Sunday. Hadi's death triggered attacks and vandalism across Bangladesh , including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram on Thursday. Due to recent security incident at Assistant High Commissio

CHANDIGARH: The 123-year-old manual clock, which was gifted to the Golden Temple by Lord Curzon, who was the Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, has now been restored after two years and will be put back in the sacred sanctum in January 2026. The clock is now ticking. It was in 2023 that the Birmingham-based Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) took out this brass-made, one-foot-wide and one-and-a-half-feet-tall manual clock, weighing ten kilograms, from the Golden Temple to Birmingham in the

GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Congress on the issue of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, accusing the party of settling and protecting them, while asserting that the BJP-led double-engine government was correcting decades of neglect and policy failures in Assam. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for a Rs 10,601 crore brownfield ammonia-urea plant in Assams Dibrugarh, Modi further accused the Congress of promoting what he termed an anti-India age

NARAYANPUR: A jawan from the District Reserve Guard was killed after a weapon went off accidentally in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Sunday, police said. The incident occurred in Kadenar camp in the morning when a team of security personnel returned from an area domination operation in the forest under the Naxalite-affected Chhotedongar police station area, an official said. The operation was launched on Saturday. The patrolling team reached the camp in the early hours, and while securit

Indian Railways (IR) has rationalised its fare structure with effect from December 26, 2025. Under the revised system, passengers travelling up to 500 km in non-AC coaches will pay an additional Rs 10. The fare revision, however, will not apply to suburban (local) train services or Monthly Season Tickets (MSTs). Journeys of up to 215 km in the ordinary class will also remain unaffected. As part of the rationalisation, fares for Mail and Express trains in non-AC classes have been increased by 2 p

MUMBAI: The BJP has emerged as the single largest political force in Maharashtras urban local body elections, consolidating the Mahayuti alliances dominance by winning 133 of the 256 Nagar Parishads declared so far and a majority of municipal councillor seats across the State. According to the latest results, the BJP has won 133 Nagar Parishads, while its Mahayuti partners, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, secured 46 and 35 Nagar Parishads respectively. In contrast, th

SRINAGAR: The 40-day harshest winter period, known as Chilai Kalan, began in Kashmir on Sunday amid snowfall in the upper reaches, including the tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Sonamarg, and rain in the plains, including Srinagar. Chilai Kalan, the coldest phase of winter in Kashmir, starts on December 21 and ends on January 31. During this 40-day period, the Valley remains in the grip of intense cold, with the highest chances of snowfall and rainfall, while night temperatures mostly stay several

Counting of votes for the elections to the posts of president and members in 286 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra began on Sunday. The counting began at 10 am at centres across the state. A turnout of 67.3 per cent was recorded in the polls of 263 local bodies held on December 2, while 47.04 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of the elections in 23 local bodies on Saturday, the State Election Commission said. The final voter turnout figure

CHENNAI: Six final-year MBBS students of the Madras Medical College (MMC) were suspended on Saturday for allegedly ragging their juniors inside the mens hostel. As per sources, a complaint was received from one of the junior students (from the 2022 batch) claiming he had suffered physical and mental abuse. A preliminary inquiry was conducted by a committee comprising Dr K Shantaraman, dean, MMC; Dr J Sreevidya, vice principal and Dr Senthilkumar, warden (mens hostel) on December 15. Based on thi

CHENNAI: In yet another accident caused by stray cattle menace on roads, two motorcyclists, including an assistant engineer with the electricity board, were killed and two more were grievously injured on the Mannivakkam-Adhanur road near Guduvanchery in Chengalpattu district on Friday night. According to the police, a speeding van belonging to a private company rammed into two cows that suddenly crossed the road. The driver lost control in the impact and crashed into an auto and two motorbikes c

CHENNAI: Even as Chennais air quality continues to hover in the moderate category, several parts of the city are experiencing unhealthy levels of pollution, raising health concerns ahead of the holiday season. On Saturday afternoon, the citywide Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 178, a reading that falls under the Moderate category according to national standards, which means individuals with lung disorders, asthma or heart disease may experience breathing discomfort. A closer look at the reading

GUWAHATI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning set sail on river Brahmaputra on a cruise ship, as he began his interaction with students during a 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme on the second day of his Assam visit. A total of 25 students from various schools of Assam are taking part in the event. Modi is scheduled to interact with the students for around 45 minutes aboard the three-deck 'M V Charaidew 2', officials said. He arrived at the Guwahati Gateway Terminal of the Inland Water