The New Indian Express News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned each others envoys to register formal protests over a series of developments that have further strained bilateral ties between the countries. The move came as widespread demonstrations erupted across India over the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh , prompting authorities to tighten security around Bangladeshi diplomatic missions. Dhaka summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Tuesday morning to express concern over what it describ

NEW DELHI: Defending Priyanka Gandhi Vadras comments on minority violence in Bangladesh, Congress MP Imran Masood on Tuesday said Gandhi would prove to be a strong Prime Minister if given the opportunity, much like her grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Speaking to news agency ANI , he said: Is Priyanka Gandhi the Prime Minister? Make her the Prime Minister and see how she will retaliate like Indira Gandhi. Masood added that she was the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, whose lea

DEHRADUN: The Supreme Court of India has expressed severe displeasure over the widespread illegal encroachment and unauthorized occupation of forest land in Uttarakhand, ordering immediate repossession of all vacant land, excluding existing residential structures. The ruling comes amid alarming statistics revealing that nearly 38 lakh hectares out of the states total area of 53.48 lakh hectares are designated as forest landmaking up 71.05 percent of the territory. As of April 2023, approximately

BHOPAL: As many as 42.74 lakh electors out of the total 5.74 crore were removed from the draft electoral rolls published on Tuesday after the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh. Out of the 42,74,160 names that were removed from the electoral rolls, 19.19 lakh were men, while 23.64 lakh were women. The total number of voters who filled up the SIR enumeration forms stands at over 5.31 crore. As many as 8,65, 832 voters remained unmapped, as the detail

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have filed a case of forgery among other offences against cyber fraudsters who allegedly duped former Inspector General of Police Amar Singh Chahal of Rs 8.10 crore. Chahal shot himself in Patiala on Monday and continues to remain in a critical condition. Highly placed sources said that Patiala Police has registered a case under sections pertaining to forgery and the IT Act on the basis of the suicide note in which Chahal had made serious revelations regarding the fraud

Nearly 95 lakh voters have been removed from the draft electoral rolls published on Tuesday after the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar. In Madhya Pradesh , names of 42.74 lakh electors (7%) out of the total 5.74 crore were removed from the draft rolls. In Kerala, the names of 24.08 lakh of the over 2.78 crore electors were removed from the draft rolls. In Chhattisgarh, out of 2.12 crore electors, names

SRINAGAR: The post of Advocate General of Jammu and Kashmir has been vacant for over a year as the resignation of previous Advocate General D C Raina is still awaiting formal acceptance and no proposal to fill the post has been initiated so far. Responding to an RTI query filed by Jammu-based RTI activist Raman Kumar Sharma, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Department of Law and Justice admitted that the post of Advocate General is lying vacant in J&K from the date on which the las

DEHRADUN: As the Election Commission of India (ECI) prepares to launch Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Uttarakhand, nearly 90,000 voters serving in the military or paramilitary forces must choose between retaining their registration as a 'service voter' or remaining on their ancestral village's voter list. General voters whose names appear on both urban and rural voter lists must also opt to remove one registration. The Chief Electoral Officer's office is currently engaged in pre-SIR mapping

LUCKNOW: Varanasi Police has issued a lookout circular against Shubham Jaiswal, the prime accused in multi-crore codeine cough syrup case on Tuesday. Police also announced a reward of Rs 50,000 upon receiving information regarding the accused. According to Varanasi Police sources, lookout circulars were issued against three other accused including Divesh Jaiswal, Amit Jaiswal and Akash Pathak, all Shubham Jaiswals accomplices. Additionally, Varanasi Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal said that a

PATNA: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who arrived here to attend the first literary festival organised by Bihars Nalanda University, heaped praise on CM Nitish Kumar for carrying out development works across the State. Talking to media persons in Rajgir, Tharoor said the development works in the state exceeded his expectations. No question that the infrastructure is so much better than I had heard before. The roads are better. People are out on the streets even late at night, which was not always t

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh-based renowned writer Vinod Kumar Shukla, 88, passed away in AIIMS Raipur on Tuesday. Early this year Shukla cited his life as a race against age/time when it comes to accomplishing much more he intends to put in writing. Yehi kasak hai baki (a subtle regret that lingers), he opined as he feared that he might never be able to write all that he wished as the life for him moves briskly while his words or expressions may fall behind. He is survived by his wife, son Shashwat Shu

MUMBAI: After a gap of 20 years and following prolonged deliberations, cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have decided to join hands politically to take on the BJP in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Asias richest civic body, scheduled for January 15 next year. The official announcement of the Thackerays coming together for the BMC and other municipal corporation elections will be made on Wednesday at 12 noon in Mumbai. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the f

GUWAHATI: Assams West Karbi Anglong district remained on the boil for the second day on Tuesday with protestors rioting, torching and vandalising shops, and attacking the police with bombs, stones and arrows at Kheroni. The incidents occurred even as prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS remained in force in the district as well as in Karbi Anglong district since Monday evening. In the wake of the violence, the state government temporarily suspended internet/mobile data services in West Karb

GUWAHATI: Assams West Karbi Anglong district remained on the boil for the second day on Tuesday with protestors rioting, torching and vandalising shops, and attacking the police with bombs, stones and arrows at Kheroni. The incidents occurred even as prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS remained in force in the district as well as in Karbi Anglong district since Monday evening. In the wake of the violence, the state government temporarily suspended internet/mobile data services in West Karb

SRINAGAR: Acting on NIA court directions, police on Tuesday attached the property of America-based Kashmiri separatist leader Ghulam Nabi Shah alias Dr Fai in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam district. Dr Fai has already been declared a proclaimed absconder by the court. In compliance with the directions of Special NIA court, land measuring one kanal and two marlas under Survey No. 466 situated at village Wadwan and land measuring 11 marlas under Survey No. 343 located at village Chattabugh in Budgam h

NEW DELHI: One of the countrys most-wanted fugitives, Ritik Bajaj, accused in a Rs 13,000-crore drug trafficking case, has been extradited from the UAE and brought back to India on Tuesday, a senior officer said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), facilitated the return of the wanted fugitive from the UAE. Bajaj was the subject of an Interpol Red Corner Notice. Acting on intelligence input

NEW DELHI: President of India Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday stressed that security is a crucial driver of economic investment and growth, asserting that security is among the key drivers of economic investment and growth and that building a Surakshit Bharat is essential for building a Samriddh Bharat. Addressing the IB Centenary Endowment Lecture on People-centric National Security: Community Participation in Building Viksit Bharat , the President said that placing citizen welfare and public partici

NEW DELHI: Trouble mounts for Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshids wife, Louise Khurshid, as the Lucknow court has taken cognisance of the ED's prosecution complaint seeking confiscation of Rs 45.92 lakh and conviction in the money laundering case related to the distribution of artificial limbs. The agency, on August 11, 2025, had sought confiscation of properties worth Rs 45.92 lakh and conviction of the accused persons, Louise Khurshid, Mohammad Athar and Dr Zakir Hussain

CHANDIGARH: A consignment of over 12 kg of heroin, dropped by a drone from Pakistan, was recovered near Daleke village in the Lopoke area of Amritsar, amid a rise in cross-border smuggling attempts during the winter fog season. The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of the Punjab Police, in coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF), recovered approximately 12.050 kg of heroin from agricultural fields near Daleke village. Officials said smugglers were attempting to exploit thick fog conditi

KOLKATA: A day after floating his new political platform, the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), the suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir may face action from Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. On Tuesday, the Speaker said he may summon the rebel MLA to the Assembly to clarify his present political status as a legislator. Humayun has already been suspended by the leadership on charge of violating party discipline. Documents related to his suspension are

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmirs existing reservation policy has once again come under scrutiny after the Health and Medical Education Department earmarked only 192 out of a total 480 Medical Officer posts for Open Merit (OM) aspirants. The Health and Medical Education Department has referred 480 Medical Officer posts of the Health and Family Welfare Department to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission for direct recruitment. Of the 480 posts, only 192 have been kept for Open Merit candidat

NEW DELHI: INSV Kaundinya, the Indian Navy's pioneering stitched sailing vessel that revives India's ancient shipbuilding and seafaring traditions, will undertake her maiden overseas voyage on 29 Dec 2025. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday said, The vessel will be flagged off from Porbandar, Gujarat, for Muscat, Oman, symbolically retracing the historic maritime routes that connected India with the wider Indian Ocean world for millennia. Inspired by depictions of ancient Indian ships and

NEW DELHI: The approaching Republic Day Parade 2026 will include the Indian Army's Para (Parachute) Special Forces, which will not only display their unique Hell March but also display their recently inducted equipment. The sources said that during the 77th Republic Day parade on Kartavya Path in Delhi, the display will feature loitering munitions, first-person view (FPV) drones, robotic mules, unmanned ground vehicles, and modern weapon systems such as the Tavor assault rifle and Negev light ma

CHANDIGARH: An increasing number of highly qualified candidates are joining the Haryana Police as constables. Of the 5,061 newly trained constables who will formally join the force on Wednesday after taking the oath of discipline, integrity and public service, 969 are postgraduates, 3,324 are graduates, and 768 hold 10+2 or diploma qualifications. This trend may be attributed to the dismal job scenario in both public and private sectors, the devaluation of educational degrees, or a growing passi

CHANDIGARH: To escalate mass deportations and slash enforcement costs, the United States has announced a Christmas offer for illegal immigrants to leave the country voluntarily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now offered illegal aliens $3,000 ( approximately Rs 2.70 lakh) along with free flight, if they agree to leave the US before the end of the year. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that it is continuing to deliver this holiday season on its promise to he

A court in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday rejected the State government's plea to withdraw the prosecution case against all the accused involved in the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in 2015. Additional District Judge Saurabh Dwivedi dismissed the Public Prosecutor's plea under Section 321 CrPC which sought to drop charges against the 14-surviving accused, Live Law reported. The court also directed the day-to-day hearing of the case and also passed order to ensure the protection of the

KOLKATA: Hundreds of supporters of a pro-Hindutva outfit, protesting the alleged attack on minorities in the neighbouring nation, tried to march to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission here on Tuesday afternoon and clashed with the police when they were stopped by the personnel in uniform. Police resorted to baton charge to disperse the protestors after they breached barricades, both human and iron guard rails, in their attempts to move closer to the Deputy High Commission office at Beckbagan i

KOLKATA: Three persons, including a ruling Trinamool Congress leader and his son, were sentenced to life imprisonment after they were found guilty in the gang rape and death of a schoolgirl in Hanshkhali of Nadia district in West Bengal. The incident took place in April 2022, prompting Opposition parties like the BJP, CPI-M and Congress to intensify protests against the ruling party in the State, demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees resignation. The nine convicted in the case are Trinamool