LIVE! Pak warns its media over linking Indian 'spy' with Iran

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Sat, 02 April 2016

Pak warns its media over linking Indian 'spy' with Iran

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23:40 Pak warns its media over linking Indian 'spy' with Iran

Pakistan on Saturday asked its media to avoid linking the arrest of an alleged Indian 'spy' with Iran, days after Tehran warned it that this could have "negative implications" on its bilateral ties.

"Iran has nothing to do with the activities of Indian intelligence network. Pakistan and Iran are tied through decades long religious, social, cultural and political bonds, and nothing can come in way of our relations," Interior

Minister Nisar Ali Khan told media.

Khan said media should be cautious while reporting on Pakistan-Iran "brotherly" relations.

"Our ties with Iran are by no means linked with the arrest of an Indian spy," he said.

He said the recent visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Pakistan was quite "productive but an impression was being given that Iran was involved in certain activities against Pakistan."

The Iranian authorities, he said, had expressed their concern over news proliferating in a certain section of the media portraying Iran in a negative manner despite the very positive visit of the Iranian President.

The Iranian embassy had issued a terse statement after several media outlets hinted that Tehran might have knowledge about Kulbhushan Yadhav, who was reportedly arrested by Pakistani authorities in Balochistan after he entered from Iran.

23:00 PM Modi announces 24X7 helpline for expats

Reaching out to expatriates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a 24X7 multi-lingual helpline for them and said a move to regularise migration was in the offing through an online programme.

Asserting that the expatriates could count on the Indian government in the times of crisis, he said they could use the avenues like the MADAD portal to reach the government for help.

A court in Faridkot today acquitted Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in a case which was registered against him and others in 2006 in connection with poll violence in 1999.

Judicial magistrate, Satish Kumar, acquitted Sukhbir, who is also ruling Shiromani Akali Dal president, for insufficient evidence.

Naresh Sehgal, a Kotkapura resident, had filed a case against Sukhbir and a few others in connection with the poll violence that took place in Kotkapura in 1999 when Sukhbir Singh Badal had contested the parliamentary elections from Faridkot.

The case against Sukhbir and others was registered on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2006 after Sehgal had approached the court. The high court had put a stay on the case in September 2008 but it was vacated by a single-judge bench on December 21 last year.

The Punjab police conducted a combing operation in Khojewal village in Gurdaspur after a villager claimed the sighting of seven armed men moving in a "suspicious" manner in the area.

Daulat Ram, a retired armed force personnel, told the police he saw seven men in a mango garden when he was returning home last night.

Acting on the information, a police team led by Punjab DIG (Border Range), Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, combed the area throughly "but did not find any suspect", SSP Gurdaspur Jagdip Singh Hundal said.

About 70 policemen and two teams of the Quick Reaction Team were deployed to trace the suspects, he said.

Deposed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat was on Saturday allegedly shown black flags and his convoy pelted with stones in Dehradun when he was going to an event to mobilise public opinion against the dismissal of his government.

"The stones thrown from under a flyover by the BJP goons hit vehicles in the convoy of the former CM. Fortunately, no one was hurt but it shows the desperation of BJP which has lost all sense of political courtesy," senior Congress leader and former CM's media incharge Surendra Kumar told PTI.

However, undeterred by the attack, Rawat came out of his car to lead a march from Kanwali road to Balliwala chawk during which he was also shown black flags.

Later, addressing a large public meeting at Sadhuram Inter College, he asked the people of the state to teach a lesson to those who had dislodged a democratically-elected government in the state with the power of money and muscle.

Image: ANI

Two persons, including the brother of a senior Congress leader from Thane, were on Saturday arrested for allegedly betting during the recent T-20 World Cup match between India and West Indies.

Acting on a tip-off, officials of the Crime Branch raided an apartment in Kalyan's Gouri Pada locality and caught the duo betting during the match between India and West Indies being played on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, police spokesperson Gajanan Kabdule said.

The accused were identified as Dileep Verma (40) and Radheshaym Parasnath Goswami alias Shammu Tiwari (59).

According to the police, Shammu is the brother of Mohan Tiwari, a senior Congress leader who is also an office-bearer of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and member co-ordination committee of Thane city Congress.

The police seized nine mobiles, one LCD TV, set top box and some other things used in betting.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra on Saturday invited Peoples' Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti for taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and as head of the PDP-BJP coalition government on April 4.

Governor, N.N. Vohra today invited Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, President J&K Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form and lead the PDP-BJP coalition Government of Jammu and Kashmir, an official statement said.

The Governors invitation to Mufti follows the earlier discussions with the PDP and BJP Presidents regarding formation of government in the State and the subsequent communications received from her and Mr. Sat Sharma, President, J&K BJP in regard to this matter, the statement said.

A day after its return from India, the Pakistani Joint Investigation Team probing the Pathankot attack claimed that Indian authorities "failed" to provide evidence to prove that Pakistan-based terrorists had stormed the Indian Air Force base, a media report said on Satrday.

Pakistani investigators were allowed to enter the military airbase from the narrow adjacent routes instead of the main entrance and their duration of the visit was just 55 minutes, enough to take a mere walk through the military facility, sources close to the JIT were quoted as saying by Geo News.

The JIT could not collect evidence in this limited time, the report said citing sources.

Jamat-e-Islami Hind on Friday backed the fatwa issued by the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband against chanting of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and claimed that "attempts" to connect incantation of the slogan with patriotism for the country was an "extremely wrong" thing.

Terming the fatwa as "correct", President of the outfit and Islamic scholar Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri said that it is "not permissible" for Muslims to chant the slogan.

"There are also chants of Bharat Ki Jai which is accepted by all and there is no dispute about it but saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai is not permissible since its against the religion of Muslims."

Umri also viewed that attempts to connect the chanting of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" slogan with patriotism for the country was an "extremely wrong" thing.

The office bearers of the Islamic organisation also charged that the debate over nationalism is being "raked up" by communal and fascist forces to polarise the society and damage the unity and integrity of the country.

Referring to the upcoming Aassembly elections in five states, JIH secretary Mohammad Ahmad said that the organisation has decided to support Congress and AIUDF candidates in Assam.

"We are supporting Congress as a strategy just to stop fascist forces to coming to power in the state. We are supporting 99 Congress and 14 AIUDF candidates," he said.

Five CRPF personnel were on Saturday injured in a series of IED blasts carried out by Naxals in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand.

Deputy Inspector General (Bokaro range) Upendra Kumar Singh said the CRPF personnel were on a Long Range patrol when the improvised explosive device blasts took place at Chitpur village under Topchanchi police station around 12.15 pm.

The patrol party, including CRPF troops of the 154th battalion and personnel of the state police, exchanged fire with the Left ultras, the DIG said, but did not elaborate.

"All the injured jawans have been airlifted to Ranchi for treatment," Singh added.

Few days back, seven CRPF men were killed in a deadly landmine blast executed by Maoists in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

Brussels airport to partially reopen for passenger flights on Sunday following March 22 suicide bombings, the airport chief executive said Saturday.

The airport will fully reopen by the end of June or early July, the CEO added.

The bombs, and a separate one on a metro train in the city, killed 35 people, including the bombers. At least 270 people were wounded in the attacks.

18:57 Salman Khan poses with nephew Ahil

Salman Khan has posted an adorable picture of him holding his newborn nephew Ahil, who is the son of Bollywood superstar's sister Arpita and husband Aayush Sharma.

Following the outcry over frequent fires at the dumping ground at Deonar, the centre has asked software major TCS to submit a report suggesting a solution to the problem of garbage disposal.

Deonar, the largest dumping ground in the country, has been in news after a series of fires there worsened the air quality in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai this year.

"We have taken the issue of Deonar very seriously and we have asked for a short-term, medium-term and long-term strategy from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Once we receive it, I will be reviewing it on a quarterly basis. Also, we've asked the TCS to prepare a report," Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters in Mumbai.

The TCS has been asked to advise the government on how to deal with the 12 million tonne of waste pile-up in Deonar.

The ministry will also be coming up with a complete solid waste management policy. "We will be declaring a new set of rules for solid waste management on April 5," he said.

18:38

JUST IN: Saina Nehwal lost to No. 3 seed Li Xuerui 20-22, 21-17, 19-21 No.3 in the semi-final of Indian Open Super Series in New Delhi.

18:37 BJP questions 'silence' of Cong, CPI-M on flyover collapse

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday questioned the "silence" of the both the Communist Party of India - Marxist and the Congress, alliance partners in the coming state assembly polls in West Bengal, on the flyover collapse.

"Why are the CPI-M and the Congress silent on the issue. Also make the CPI-M responsible for it was the party which awarded the Vivekananda flyover contract to tainted IVRCL," said BJP national secretary and co-observer for West Bengal Siddharth Singh.

Criticising the alliance, Singh said it seemed "corruption seems to be the binding factor here for both the parties".

"In Kerala, it is kushti (wrestling) and in West Bengal it is dosti (friendship). Corruption is the binding factor for the two in Bengal," he said.

Singh expressed hope that a court takes cognisance of the flyover collapse and orders a CBI inquiry.

Classes at the National Institute of Technology in Srinagar, which was shut down on Friday following clashes between two groups of students, will resume from Monday as normalcy has been restored on the

campus.

"The issue has been resolved and the earlier order to suspend work has been revoked," an official of the NIT said.

He said the class work will resume from Monday.

The NIT authorities had Friday ordered shutdown of the campus till further orders after clashes between local and non-local students over the defeat of Indian cricket team against the West Indies in Thursday's semi final clash in the ongoing World T20 Cup.

The post-mortem report of Balika Vadhu fame actor Pratyusha Banerjee has revealed that she has died of 'suffocation', news agency ANI reported .

The 24-year-old television actress committed suicide at her residence on Friday evening.

In continuing desertions in actor-politician Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, several functionaries on Saturday joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Deputy Secretary of DMDK's Farmers Wing from Cuddalore V C Shanmugam and four others from the district joined the DMK in the presence of party treasurer M K Stalin, DMK said.

Besides, more than 50 members of DMDK from Tiruvallore, including its Youth Wing leader S B Somasundaram, quit the party and came into the DMK fold, a party release said.

Ever since the DMDK shut its doors on the DMK for a poll pact, some of its functionaries have quit the party and joined the latter.

The Vaiko-led People's Welfare Front, which has aligned with DMDK, has sharply criticised the DMK accusing it of poaching.

Ten persons, allegedly belonging to a Maoist frontal organisation, were arrested today for staging a demonstration against the state government holding it responsible for the Vivekananda flyover collapse, a senior police officer said.

The agitators also tried moving towards Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence, the officer added.

Ten members of RADICAL, a Maoist frontal organisation, including three women cadres, were demonstrating in front of Hazra crossing over alleged government negligence regarding collapse of Vivekananda flyover on Thursday, the officer said.

"They were protesting at the Hazra crossing but suddenly started to proceed towards the chief minister's house. They were declared to be holding unlawful assembly and were arrested," the officer said.

Kalighat Police Station personnel arrested them under Indian Penal Code Sections 143, 149 and 283 as punishment for unlawful assembly, guilty of offences committed in prosecution of common object and danger or obstruction in public way respectively.

A top functionary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has said that 'Vande Mataram' is the real national anthem as opposed to the 'constitutionally-mandated' Jana Gana Mana.

"Jana Gana Mana is today our national anthem. It has to be respected. There is no reason why it should evoke any other sentiment," RSS General Secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said.

"But it is the national anthem as decided by the Constitution. If one considers the true meaning, then Vande Mataram is the national anthem," he said at the Deendayal Upadhyay Research Institute in Mumbai.

"We consider things created due to the Constitution to be national,' Joshi said. "When was Jana Gana Mana written? It was written some time back. But the sentiments expressed in Jana Gana Mana have been expressed keeping the state in view," he said.

"However, the sentiments expressed in Vande Mataram denote the nation's character and style. This is the difference between the two songs. Both deserve respect," Joshi said.

Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai has been detained after she, along with other activists, tried to storm the Shani temple, despite huge protests from the locals and temple trust.

Desai was detained after she refused to budge and said she will not go back without entering the inner sanctum of the temple.

Temple trust was seeking the written order of the HC while the angry locals were raising slogans against Desai, saying they won't allow the tradition to be broken.

The temple trust has decided to challenge the HC verdict, allowing women to enter the temple, in the SC.

Desai termed the actions of police and temple authorities as contempt of court.

15:41

JUST IN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for final leg of his three nation tour.

15:29 Trupti Desai says police violating HC order, locals stage protest

Seeking a written order of the Bombay high court, the Shani temple authorities have denied entry to Trupti Desai and her Bhumata Brigade.

Locals, on the other hand, are also protesting and raising slogans against Desai.

The temple authorities are saying that not even the men are allowed inside the inner sanctum and thus stopping women is not a violation of the HC order.

They've also said that they're planning to challenge the order in the Supreme Court and hence without a legal scrutiny, the women will not be allowed inside the sanctum.

Fearing a law and order problem, the police is stopping Desai from entering the temple.

Desai, meanwhile, said that the police has submitted in the high court that they'll protect the women's right to enter religious places and but they're doing the opposite today. She said she will not budge and will not go back to Pune without entering the inner sanctum of the temple.

Woman activist Trupti Desai, along with other Bhumata Brigade activists, tried to storm the Shani Shinganapur temple in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra on Saturday, but they were stopped by locals and the temple trust.

After reaching Shinganapur, Desai said that she will file an FIR against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis if she is not allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the temple despite the Bombay HC orders to the contrary.

The Nationalist Congress Party workers were also protesting at the site to stop the Bhumata Brigade women from entering the temple.

The tussle is going on.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister-designate Mehbooba Mufti today called up former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to invite him for her swearing-in ceremony scheduled on April 4.

'Very gracious of Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba to phone & invite me to her oath taking ceremony. I look forward to being there on the 4th (sic),' National Conference working president Omar Abdullah tweeted.

Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Jitendra Singh are also scheduled to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, asking him to appear before it on April 9.

Earlier, Mallya, who is wanted by the law enforcing agencies for a default of over Rs. 9,000 crores, said he will not appear before the ED today and sought an extension up to May.

This was the second time that Mallya has sought an extension from the ED.

The ED had earlier issued summons to Mallya for 'personal appearance' on March 18 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The campaigning across 65 constituencies in Assam and 18 constituencies in West Bengal will end today ahead of the first phase of polling in both the states.

The polling for the first phase is scheduled for Monday, when the fate of nearly 539 candidates would be decided.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements in all the poll bound areas to ensure smooth elections.

TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee's boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh has been detained and questioned by the Mumbai police a day after the 'Balika Vadhu' actress was found dead at her home in suburban Goregaon.

Banerjee's family members have also reached Siddharth Hospital in Mumbai where her body has been kept after the post-mortem.

"Rahul Raj Singh is with us and we are recording his statement,' Mumbai police was quoted as saying by ANI.

According to a CNN-IBN report, Pratyusha and Rahul were facing problems in their relationship.

Pratyusha allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself on Friday.

Kolkata flyover collapse death toll has now reached 26 with one more body pulled out on Saturday.

"The death toll has now reached 26," O P Singh, director general of the National Disaster Response Force was quoted as saying by ANI.

Five employees of the company which was constructing the flyover have been detained in Kolkata and two in Hyderabad.

11:55 Prison riot breaks out in Varanasi jail

JUST IN: Prison riots break out in district jail, Varanasi. Firing and stone pelting between police forces and inmates underway. The jailer has been injured. Additional forces have been rushed to the jail. Photograph: ANI

11:15 Mallya not to appear before ED today

Former UB group chairman and liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is wanted by the law enforcing agencies for a default of over Rs. 9, 000 crores, will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate today after he sought an extension up to May.

This is the second time that Mallya has sought an extension from the Enforcement Directorate.

The ED had earlier issued summons to Mallya for 'personal appearance' on March 18 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

10:52

JUST IN: After visiting the flyover collapse site, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi reaches Kolkata Medical College and Hospital to meet victims of the tragedy.

10:43 Rahul reaches Kolkata flyover collapse site

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi reaches the site of flyover collapse in Kolkata. The ruling Trinamool Congress has taken strong objection to the visit of the Congress vice president. Photograph: ANI

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has arrived in Kolkata to visit the site of flyover collapse.

The flyover had collapsed in Kolkata's Girish Park area on Thursday.

Rahul is likely to visit the hospital to meet the people injured due to the mishap and also express his solidarity with those who lost their lives.

The state government had earlier announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh to next of kin of the victims and Rs 2 lakh to the gravely injured.

Bhumata brigade activists led by Trupti Desai are all set to march to Shani Shinganapur Temple in Ahmednagar, where entry of women to the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine is prohibited, after the Bombay high court, in its ruling yesterday, stated that women cannot be stopped from entering places of worship.

Desai termed Bombay HC's order as 'victory' for them and said that no one can now stop them from entering the shrine.

"If anyone stops us today we will file an FIR against them....I don't think anyone will stop us today, Court has already given its order. This is a victory for us," she said.

The court, in response to a public interest litigation filed by Vidya Bal and Nilima Varta, said there should be no gender discrimination as far as entering a place of worship is concerned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here in Washington DC.

He also met Switzerland President Johann Schneider-Ammann.Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister called on his British and Canadian counterparts David Cameron and Justin Trudeau respectively, reaffirming bilateral ties with the nations.

India today said that it is disappointed that a technical hold has been put on its application to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack, in the UN Committee.

"We are disappointed that a technical hold is being put on India's application to designate terror leader Masood Azhar in the UNSC Committee established under UNSC Resolution No 1267, 1989 and 2253," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He said that India finds incomprehensible that while the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad was listed in the UNSC for its well known terror activities, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator has been put on technical hold.

Asserting that the risk of nuclear terrorism persists and continues to evolve, US President Barack Obama on Friday said no terrorist group has succeeded in obtaining a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb made of radioactive materials because of coordinated efforts.

"But we know that Al Qaeda has long sought nuclear materials, individuals in attacks in Paris and Brussels, video tapes they saw manager who works at a Belgian nuclear facility. I saw the hazard in use of mustard gas in Syria and Iraq. No doubt, if these mad men ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb and nuclear material they most certainly will use it to kill many innocent people as possible," Obama told a gathering of world leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit.

A special POTA court today recorded the statements of three witnesses who were examined by key accused and bomb planter Muzammil Ansari, convicted for multiple blasts in the city during 2002 and 2003. The court had allowed Ansari's plea to examine Afroz Khan, an accused in another terror case, Uday Pathak, a murder accused, and his brother Imtiyaz Rahim.

The court, which convicted 10 out of 13 accused on March 29 in the blasts case, is hearing arguments on quantum of sentence.

The Mulund train blasts had occurred on March 13, 2003 killing 12 persons and injuring 71. On December 6, 2002,several persons were injured in the blast at the McDonald's at Mumbai Central station while a person died when a bomb attached to a cycle exploded in a market area in Vile Parle (East) on January 27, 2003. Muzammil's brother Rahim told the court that the former was the eldest in the house and helped all his siblings.

"Muzammil was so good in studies that he secured ascholarship and his fees were waived", Rahim deposed.

00:05 I always get even: Donald Trump

He considers himself a member of "the lucky sperm club."He trusts no one, and places a premium on revenge. ("If you do not get even, you are just a schmuck!")

He treats every decision he makes "like a lover," sometimes thinking with his head, other times with other parts of his body, because it reminds him to "keep in touch with my basic impulses.

"And to make creative choices, he writes: "I try to step back and remember my first shallow reaction. The day I realised it can be smart to be shallow was, for me, a deep experience."This is Donald J. Trump as he sees himself and the world.

00:01 Top headlines of the last 24 hours

Kolkata flyover collapse: Toll rises to 25, rescue ops on through night
Opinion polls project hung assembly in Assam
Another FIR registered on alleged gangrapes by Jat agitators
Kolkata flyover contractor now blames 'bomb blast', 5 officials detained
HCU students block administration building seeking VC's ouster
Pathankot attack: NIA team to visit Pakistan to continue probe
Flyover collapse: Safety norms violated, says NHAI expert

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