Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today asserted every effort was being made to trace the key accused in the abduction and assault of a popular South Indian actress as Opposition parties stepped up their attack on the law-and-order issue.

Four accused in the case have been arrested so far while key history sheeter 'Pulsar' Suni and his accomplice V P Vijeesh are still at large.

The chief minister said police were taking all measures to arrest the two accused.

"Police action has been fruitful and government viewed the matter seriously," Vijayan, who also holds the Home portfolio, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

He also dismissed media reports that sons of a top Communist Party of India-Marxist leader were allegedly behind the attack on the actress.

"In our state, people have the licence to talk whatever they want. We cannot stop them," he said.

Three men, who are wanted in stone-pelting cases in Sopore district of Jammu and Kashmir, have been arrested from New Friends Colony area in south east Delhi, police said today.

"Acting on a tip-off, Yawar Muzaffar and Waseem Majid Dar (both 21-year-old) and Danish Hasan Dar (22) -- all residents of Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir -- were arrested from New Friends Colony market on late evening of February 20," DCP (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said.

They were wanted in connection with stone-pelting cases of Sopore and arrested under Section 41.1 (arrest without warrant) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he added.

Bhat and Waseem have two cases of stone-pelting and other offences registered under various provisions of Ranbir Penal Code against them in Sopore, while Danish has three such cases, the officer said.

Bhat is also involved in two cases of Arms Act registered in Sopore and Srinagar, he said, adding all the three have been sent to judicial custody. -- PTI

Representative image.

Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar today assured early disposal of court cases.   

The National Green Tribunal today lashed out at the Karnataka government and its agencies resposible for maintenance of Bengaluru's Bellandur lake, asking them why they should not be prosecuted for negligence following the recent outbreak of fire in the waterbody.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday wrote an open letter appealing to people to vote for the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance in Uttar Pradesh while hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Due to some reasons, I couldn't be present between all of you this time. Representing you is a matter of pride for me, my family," Sonia Gandhi wrote.

Sonia has been absent from the campaign trail, leading to speculation that she did not approve of the alliance for the ongoing assembly elections in the state.

"Rae Bareli and Amethi have become an integral part of our lives, ours is a special relationship, it's the biggest asset of my life," she said addressing the constituents of the twin Gandhi bastions. Rae Bareli is going to the polls tomorrow.

Gandhi also hit out at Modi in that letter, asking him where are the 'achche din'. She accused him of blocking welfare schemes in Amethi and making the people of Uttar Pradesh suffer. Modi can go to any extent to save his chair, she said in the letter.

"The Centre Govt is depriving you of welfare programmes deliberately, & I am pained to see this happening," she said.


She ended to letter appealing to the public to vote for the Congress party in the elections.

BJP has responded to the letter, saying it indicates the Congress-SP alliance has failed.

Prolific author Chetan Bhagat finds fake notes 'cute'.

A man who had gone to withdraw Rs 8000 from an SBI ATM in Sangam Vihar, New Delhi, got Rs 2000 notes from the machine that bore the mark of "Children Bank of India", instead of Reserve Bank of India. A case was registered based on the youth's complaint at the local police station.

Bhagat, who has authored seven books, both fiction and non-fiction, and has 8.59 million followers on Twitter, posted, "Even though disturbing, at one level, this news is so cute."

But back to the counterfeit note story... the notes mention 'Guaranteed by the Children's Government' in place of Guaranteed by the Central Government. The fake notes had 'churan lable' in place of the latent image and a 'PK' logo at the lower half where bank's seal is seen in the original currency note. The content of the fake note clearly points towards some kind of prank.

Confirming the development, a senior police officer said that the ATM first dispensed four such Rs 2,000 notes to a customer. "We sent a sub-inspector to verify the allegations. He withdrew one Rs 2,000 note and that also turned out to be fake," the officer said, adding that the other notes in the bundle were genuine.

Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has sent a report to President Pranab Mukherjee about the incidents that occurred in the state assembly during the floor test on February 18.


Chief Minister E K Palaniswami had won the vote of confidence by a steep margin amid stormy situation in the House. The Governor has sent a report to the President and the Centre, official sources said without divulging further details. Earlier, the Governor had sought a "factual report" from Assembly Secretary A M P Jamaludeen on the entire proceedings from the time the House assembled at 11 am on February 18 till it was adjourned sine die at 3.27 pm after adoption of the confidence motion. Jamaludeen had submitted the report at the Governor's office on February 20, two days after Palaniswami won the trust vote by a 122-11 margin.


Palaniswami had won the trust vote after eviction of DMK members and walkout by its allies, amid stormy scenes during which mikes were uprooted, chairs toppled and sheets of paper torn and hurled around. DMK Working President M K Stalin and rebel AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, who had unsuccessfully pleaded for a secret voting on the confidence motion, had on Sunday appealed to the Governor to "nullify" the vote.

After facing backlash on Twitter for a tweet that poked fun at a policeman deployed on the day of BMC polls, columnist Shobhaa De on Wednesday tried a peace-offering of sorts, saying she did not mean any harm.

Just In: Supreme Court asks Haryana and Punjab to maintain law and order in view of a proposed march over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal row.

Sitaram Yechury tweets @SitaramYechury Modi's promise was of 10 crore new jobs by 2019. As jobs reduce under his watch, Amit Shah confirms that it was another jumla like 15 lakh.

BJP president Amit Shah, addressing a rally in UP, says there is no question of a post-poll alliance with the BSP or any party. The BJP will get "full majority" in UP, Shah said adding that not naming the CM face in UP is part of BJPs poll strategy.


Yesterday, Shah rejected the opposition charge that the PM sought to inject
communal colour in his recent poll campaign speeches


Shah on Tuesday promised to put an end to illegal slaughter houses if voted to power and "liberate" UP from "fear of" people like Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari.

Shah, who addressed rallies and held a roadshow in the district having the highest number of 12 assembly seats in the state, came down heavily on Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for "offering political patronage" to those with criminal antecedents.

"Only the BJP can liberate the people of UP from the fear of people like Atiq Ahmed, Mukhtar Ansari and Afzal Ansari", he said. Ahmed is in SP and the other two with BSP.

File pic.

A few days ago, on February 18, a girl was raped in Hauz Khas village at 11.30 pm when she was coming back from a party. She took help from the accused who told her that he would drop her home and his car was parked nearby. He took her to the nearby Deer park and raped her in an isolated spot. On February 22, citizens protested against the rape near the park. Holding posters against the increasing sexual assault against women, the protestors demanded justice and action. Read more

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and All India Students Association activists from Delhi University clashed on Wednesday, a day after JNU student Umar Khalid'€™s visit to Ramjas College was blocked by protesting students.


ABVP activists were staging a protest in the college on Wednesday as well which led to a clash between them and AISA members. Both ABVP and AISA are student political groups representing opposite ideological stands.


Umar Khalid and former JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid were invited to speak at a seminar in Ramjas College on Tuesday but their visit was cancelled after ABVP and DUSU members gathered outside the college gate and shouted slogans against them. There were also allegations of the protesters using violent methods like stone pelting. On Wednesday, the protesters also clashed with police personnel deployed at the scene.

Umar Khalid was among JNU students who were charged with sedition after January 9 episode last year in which a group of students were seen shouting anti-India slogans in mobile footages. Khalid was then absconding for a long time before appearing again to address the students at University.

Shabana Azmi tweets this lovely picture saying, "He can still make me laugh 33 years after we got married!"

The National Award winning actress is married to lyricist, poet, Javed Akhtar.

A young Kerala couple went live on Facebook as two police personnel allegedly try to moral police them over their "indecent" behaviour. The youngsters, who are not married, were questioned by police yesterday, when they were sitting in the museum park in Thiruvananthapuram for being seated "indecently."

Irked by the questioning, the two live streamed the incident on Facebook. The man alleged that police accused them of doing something "vulgar." "I asked what was vulgar when I have only put my hand over her (girl's) shoulder?" the man asked. They said, they were told by police that they were doing something "immoral."

Holding that the police behaviour was an infringement on their right, the furious woman said, they were planning to take legal recourse. "Everybody who is facing such situations should come out and speak about it.. people should respond," she said.

The man said when the cops, including a woman officer, started accusing him of vulgarity, they streamed the incident live. Police sources said the two were taken to the police station as they allegedly made some obscene gestures and a case under IPC section 290 (for creating public nuisance) has been registered against them.

The incident comes days after Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that strict action would be taken against those indulging in moral policing.

As South Asian women documentary filmmakers, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (she's from Pakistan) and Geeta Gandbhir (she is from India) have covered varied topics. Obaid-Chinoy has won an Oscar -- the only Pakistani to ever win one -- for her short documentary Saving Face.


A few years ago they both collaborated on an unlikely subject -- following a group of Bangladeshi policewomen who serve as United Nations peacekeepers in post-earthquake Haiti, a country fraught with political and social turmoil. A Journey of Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.


Aseem Chhabra/Rediff.com spoke to Obaid-Chinoy and Gandbhir in Toronto about the making of the film which starts in Bangladesh, then heads to Haiti and finally ends in Bangladesh. Do read

Ian Purkayastha, the twenty-four-year-old truffle wunderkind behind Regalis, tries throughout his new autobiography, "Truffle Boy: My Unexpected Journey Through the Exotic Food Underground,' to affix the smell of truffles to the page: "cheesy, garlicky, explosive'; "the smells of the soil and the seasons'; "the complex and elusive scent of human desire". In the chilled warehouse, the aroma floats from cardboard boxes filled with truffle jus, truffle salt, and truffle honey. Purkayastha stands at the center of it all, tall and striking in brown loafers and black jeans. He has a boy's soft face but already a half decade's worth of experience hustling this decadent product to New York's food lite.  Read more

Former diplomat KC Singh tweets, "Strategic Dialogues with Nations like China remind me of late Pres Zail Singh's quip: it's "eating, meeting & cheating".

Singh pins a pic of Foreign Secretary Dr S Jaishankar and Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui at the the India-China Strategic Dialogue in Beijing.

MK Stalin, leader of the DMK, is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday at 6:30 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan to seek a second vote of confidence with a secret ballot system in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, M Karunanidhi's daughter and Stalin's stepsister, will not be part of the meeting since she is accompanying Vice President Hamid Ansari on a tour to Uganda.


It is well known that Kanimozhi and Stalin do not get along due to the internal dynamics of DMK politics. Which means, Kanimozhi now has a legit reason to stay away from accompanying Stalin to Rashtrapati Bhavan.


A special court has allowed Kanimozhi, an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case, to travel abroad for five days this month. Special CBI Judge O P Saini allowed the DMK MP to travel to Rwanda and Uganda from February 19 to 24 after noting that the travel was not a private visit but part of an official delegation, as she was required to accompany the Vice President of India on his visit to these countries.


Image: Vice President Hamid Ansari and his wife Salma received by Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, Vice President of Uganda.

Jayalalitha memorial in Chennai seems to have hit a dead end.

The AIADMK government's plan to construct a memorial to former chief minister J Jayalalitha who passed away on December 5, 2016 may not see light of day.

The State government has allotted Rs 15 crore for the construction of the memorial near the MGR memorial on the Marina Beach.

However, the Supreme Courts conviction of VK Sasikala in the 21-year-old disproportionate assets case, also held the former chief minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa guilty of corruption. The case against her was abated because she had passed away.

There are three sets of PILs filed in the Chennai High Court to stop the construction of the memorial. The foundation stone laying ceremony was planned on February 24, on Jayalalitha's birthday.

If the PIL is admitted and a notice is served, the AIADMK govt will be left with no option but to postpone the foundation ceremony.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is the main attraction in the poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh. UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, the face of the Samajwadi Party has not shared dais with the RJD chief, which means Lalu has to go it alone. But Akhilesh did his bit by allotting a helicopter for Lalu to enable him to go hopping from one rally to another. Akhilesh has told Lalu to take pot shots at PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit shah in his on imitable style, which Akhilesh has been unable to do.

Lalu, who has family ties with Samajwadi Party leaders, had tried in vain to intervene in the battle for party's leadership between Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son. The RJD leader's youngest daughter and the Samajwadi chief's grandnephew were married in 2015.


File pic.

In Trichy, MK Stalin leads DMK's hunger strike protest over the ruckus that took place in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. With him is Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva. 

Shurhozelie Liezitsu sworn-in as new Nagaland Chief Minister by Governor P B Acharya.

Amnesty International today criticised the Indian government for using the "crude, colonial-era" sedition law to "silence" its critics. In its annual human rights report, the UK-based NGO said, "Human rights activists and journalists (in India) faced intimidation and attacks from both state and non-state actors."


The report mentioned a crackdown on civil society organisations with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act or FCRA being repeatedly invoked to "harass organisations that receive foreign funding".


"The crude, colonial-era sedition law was unleashed to silence government critics," it added. "Caste-based violence and vigilante cow protection groups harassing and attacking people in states including Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka in the name of upholding laws prohibiting the killing of cows were also highlighted as areas of concern," it said.

Canada to resettle 1,200 Yezidi refugees who faced persecution by the Islamic State terror group.

So the reports were unfounded.

The government says it has no plans to reintroduce Rs 1000 notes.

Shaktikanta Das, Secretary Economic Affairs, Government of India, tweeted, "No plans to introduce Rs 1000 notes. Focus is on production and supply of ₹500 and lower denomination notes. Complaints of cash out in  ATMs being addressed. Request  everyone to draw the cash they actually require. Overdrawal by some deprives others."


Yesterday, reports said that the RBI and the government had firmed up plans to launch a new series of Rs 1,000 notes  to replace the earlier note of similar denomination that was withdrawn from circulation following the November 8 demonetisation announcement, a senior government official told the Indian Express reported. 

The Dawn on the escalating violence in Pakistan. The latest spate of deadly violence and the military's punitive strikes on terrorist camps across the Durand Line has caused tensions between Kabul and Islamabad to escalate. This time, matters have gone beyond the usual blame game that is witnessed after each terrorist strike on either side of the border. In an unprecedented move, Pakistan has closed its border with Afghanistan and has issued shoot-on-sight orders to be carried out against trespassers. Read more

Telangana CM KC Rao offers gold ornaments at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala. This is the CM's thanksgiving trip after the state of Telangana was formed in 2014. This largesse will cost the taxpayer Rs 5.6 crore.

Accompanied by his wife, other family members and state ministers, KCR left for Tirupati in a special flight to fulfil the vows he had made for realisation of separate Telangana state.

According to a report by NDTV, the Telangana CM will be presenting a solid gold ornament to Lord Balaji and a nose stud to Goddess Padmavati. KCR will further present a gold moustache to the Veerbhadraswamy temple at Kuravi. Earlier in October Chandrasekhar Rao presented a 12 Kg gold crown worth Rs 3.5 crore to Goddess Bhadrakali at Warangal.


Rao had a darshan' of the presiding deity in the morning hours on Wednesday and offered a golden 'Saligrama' necklace and a 'Kante' with five rows to the god (see picture alongside) on behalf of Telangana government.

After darshan at Tirumala, Rao will go to Tiruchanoor near Tirupati and offer prayers to the presiding deity of Padmavati Ammavaru. He will return to Hyderabad thereafter.

KCR had made vows for realisation of separate Telangana in the name of gods of different famous temples during the separate statehood agitation.

According to a report in the Deccan Chronicle, the revenue-surplus Telangana state is facing a huge revenue deficit in the ongoing financial year, with expenditure surpassing earnings. The auditing done by finance department for the April-October period revealed that the state is facing a deficit of nearly Rs 7,000 crore despite revenue-earning departments witnessing a decent growth rate of 15 per cent.

R Nataraj, an MLA from Mylapore, Chennai,  known to be close to the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, has thrown in his lot with former TN CM O Panneerselvam. He speaks to A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com on the challenges ahead. Do read

Expressing confidence over securing a majority in the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, the BJP on Wednesday said the aggressive voting by the people clearly shows they are voting against the Shiv Sena's mafia raj.


"It is for the first time that Mumbai had 55 to 60 percent polling across the city. And the aggressive voting means it is a voting against the Mumbai Shiv Sena's mafia raj. And we are very much confident that BJP will be number one party. We will be able to do, perform and bring transparency in Mumbai Municipal Corporation," BJP leader Kirit Somaiya told ANI.


Mumbai yesterday recorded 55 percent voting in the elections to the BMC, marking the highest in the last five times.Polling for 227 seats of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai concluded at 5:30 pm where a total of 17,331 candidates were in the fray for 3,210 seats in 10 municipal corporations.


The civic body polls witnessed voters from political, Bollywood and sports fraternity.Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena Party chief Uddhav Thackeray were among the many who cast their votes. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray also cast his vote earlier in the day.


Also see: Famous faces among voters in Mumbai

The Sensex rallied about 97 points to 28,858.30 in early session today, maintaining its uptrend for the fifth day on widespread gains amid covering-up of short positions ahead of the February month expiry in the derivatives segment tomorrow.


Brokers said that a mixed trend at other Asian markets too influenced sentiments. The 30-share Sensex, which gained 606.03 points in the previous four straight sessions, added 96.71 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 28,858.30. All sectoral indices of BSE led by oil and gas, PSU, bank and realty were in the green, rising by up to 1.50 per cent. The NSE Nifty jumped 27.90 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 8,935.75.

Just In: Malaysian police chief announces two additional North Korea suspects in Kim Jong Nam killing; both still in Malaysia.

Reserve Bank of India's vision for 'less cash' economy.

Composition of India's public debt.

Telengana Chief Minister K Chandrasekara Rao arrived in Tirupati on Tuesday night on his maiden visit after assuming office to offer prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara.

Rao is accompanied by his family members and some cabinet colleagues.

After an overnight stay on the hills, Rao will pray at the shrine on Wednesday morning and offer a golden garland called Saligrama Haram and a golden Kantabharanam (necklace) totally worth about Rs 5.5 crore, to the presiding deity, temple sources said.

Rao would make the offering on behalf of the government, they said, adding this was his maiden visit to the sacred hills after becoming the chief minister of Telangana. -- PTI

Image for representation only.

55% voting in Mumbai; CM thanks people for 'record' turnout

Taliban suicide bombers attack court in Pakistan, 7 killed

Maya asks Muslims to vote for BSP, again

PM, Irani degrees: HC stays fine imposed on DU

Read yesterday's LIVE commentary HERE