INDIA

Chandigarh, Oct 20 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday assured justice for the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was allegedly murdered for raising his voice against drugs in Mansa, by announcing that a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would reach their residence by 12 noon on Wednesday and begin investigating the case.During his visit to Mansa, Shah met the family of Jhota and assured them that justice would be delivered. The meeting lasted around 20 minutes. During the interaction, Shah announced that a team from the CBI would reach Jhota’s residence and begin investigating the case. He met Bhim Singh, the father of Jhota, along with other family members and expressed condolences. The announcement came as part of Shah’s engagements ...

Gurdaspur, Oct 20 (IANS) The family of Vikramjeet Singh, who died in an alleged attack in Gurdaspur, Punjab, on Tuesday, sought an impartial investigation into the incident, strict action against drug trafficking and financial assistance, including a pension for his mother and a government job for his niece. Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the family and assured them of assistance and justice.A family member, recounting the incident, said Vikramjeet Singh was living with his mother when around 10 to 15 youths allegedly under the influence of drugs attacked them, triggering a scuffle."Only two family members lived here: a mother and her son... About 10–15 drug-addicted youths attacked them, leading to a scuffle. Vikramjit sustained severe injuries and died on the spot, while the other ...

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Dussehra celebrations across India will feature the burning of giant effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad, while Delhi's Pitampura will witness the burning of a 30-foot cockroach effigy as part of an unusual tradition. Preparations have been completed across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand. However, a village in Madhya Pradesh will observe the festival by worshipping Ravana instead of burning his effigy.In Ayodhya, the Rajendra Niwas Ramlila Committee has prepared a 32-foot Ravana effigy, with the burning ceremony scheduled for 10 pm. This year, Muslim artisans have been entrusted with making the effigy, committee patron Prabhakar Mishra said.In Lucknow, a 75-foot Ravana effigy featuring mechanical components has been prepared at the...

Chamarajanagar (Karnataka) Oct 20 (IANS) A wild elephant was found dead on Tuesday, with its carcass in a decomposed state, near Karadigudda Lake in the Hanur forest division of Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district, close to the area where a shootout incident was reported, officials said.The circumstances surrounding the elephant's death remain unclear, and samples collected from the carcass have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination.According to Forest Department sources, patrolling staff discovered the carcass during their routine patrol in the forest. The elephant's body was found in an advanced stage of decomposition, making it difficult to immediately ascertain the cause of death.The Forest Department has collected samples from the carcass and sent them to ...

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Delhi government on non-inclusion of the third gender in recruitment notifications for teaching posts, raising a series of questions on the legal basis for segregating vacancies between male and female candidates and the manner in which transgender persons can be accommodated in public employment.A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran directed the respondents to file their affidavits within 15 days, raising a series of questions concerning the recruitment rules governing vacancies advertised by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB).The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench asked whether the rules require teaching posts to be advertised separately for male and female candidates and, if not, wha...

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday, reviewing bilateral ties and discussing opportunities to enhance comprehensive strategic and economic partnership.EAM Jaishankar noted that the India-UAE relationship is living up to its promise as a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Additional Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Aseem Mahajan and other officials were also present during the meeting."A productive meeting with DPM and FM UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, undertaking a comprehensive review of our wide - ranging ties. The breadth and ambition of our cooperation is visible across the domains of trad...

Amaravati, Oct 20 (IANS) Nominations of 22,806 candidates were found valid for the elections to urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on October 28.According to the State Election Commission (SEC), 1,531 nominations were rejected during scrutiny on Monday.The nominations have been filed for the posts of ward members and Mayors/Chairpersons of municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats.For the posts of Mayors of municipal corporations and municipalities and nagar panchayats, 1,213 nominations were found valid.A total of 286 nominations were found valid for the posts of Mayors of 13 municipal corporations.Returning officers received 46 nominations from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is heading the ruling NDA. Its ally Jana Sena, headed by Deputy Chi...

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Tuesday that UAE leadership aims to have a closer, stronger and more diverse relationship with India. He stated that India and the UAE are very close, but the two nations want to be more closer.In his opening remarks at a meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in Mumbai, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan emphasised the growing trade ties between India and UAE and described the UAE as one of India's largest trading partners. He said that the relationship between India and UAE is "special"."For me, just being in Mumbai after such a long time is an eye-opener in how the city, the country is evolving, developing and the UAE is honoured to be one of India's largest trading partner. I be...

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that ties between India and the UAE are living up to their promise as a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' and noted that 2026 has been marked by exceptional intensity of leadership-level engagement.In his opening remarks at a meeting with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Mumbai, EAM Jaishankar said, "After more than a decade of sustained engagement, the India-UAE relationship is today really living up to its promise as a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This year has been marked by an exceptional intensity of leadership-level engagement.""We were honoured to welcome his Highness Sheikh Mohammed, President of the UAE to India in January. His Highness Sheikh Khaled, the Crow...

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) Three people were arrested after the Mumbai Crime Branch seized more than 2 kg of heroin, valued at over Rs 10 crore, in two separate operations, officials said on Tuesday.Acting on specific intelligence inputs, Unit 11 of the Mumbai Crime Branch recovered a total of 2.032 kg of heroin from the three suspects. The seized narcotics have an estimated market value of Rs 10.16 crore, making the operation a major drug seizure by the Mumbai Police.According to officials, the first operation was conducted on October 14 in Kandivali West after the Crime Branch received secret information about the suspected movement of narcotics in the area.During the operation, the police seized 758 grams of heroin, valued at approximately Rs 3.79 crore, from two suspects.The investigation...