Mumbai's JJ Hospital authorities today confirmed that Indrani Mukerjea, arrested in August, 2015 for allegedly killing daughter Sheena Bora, had received an overdose of medicines.

They added that she was stable now and put the onus of finding out how she might have been administered an overdose of medicines on the police.

Mukerjea was brought to the JJ Hospital at around 11:15 pm on Friday from the Byculla Jail in south Mumbai in a "semi-conscious" state and was admitted to the Critical Care Unit, doctors said.

"It is a case of drug overdose. She was on anti-depressants. I asked her which tablets she had taken, but she did not reply. I will be asking her again. As far as the overdose is concerned, it is for the police to investigate," Dr Sudhir Nanandkar, Dean of JJ Hospital, told reporters.

He added that Mukerjea, 46, was administered medicines orally by the jail guards at the stipulated intervals.

Doctors at the hospital said the medicines were not placed in Mukerjea's hand nor was she allowed to store them.

"So, the circumstances under which an overdose might have taken place have to be investigated by the police," one of the doctors said.

Mukerjea's daughter, Sheena Bora, 24, was abducted and killed on April 24, 2012 allegedly over a financial dispute and her body disposed of in a forest in the adjoining Raigad district, according to the police.

Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai were arrested for the crime. Rai later turned an approver (prosecution witness) in the case. -- PTI

The Kerala government has issued protocols to be followed to confirm brain death cases with an aim to make organ transplantation more transparent in the state.

     

"It is for the first time that a state in the country is putting in place the standard operating procedures to confirm brain death cases," Health Minister K K Shylaja has said.

     

The guidelines, issued yesterday, were drawn up based on the directive of the Kerala High Court to put an end to the concerns and doubts of the public related to the procedures of deceased donor organ donations and transplantation.

     

"The objective of the guideline is to ensure that a patient is declared brain-dead only after scientifically confirming that there is no chance for him/ her to come back to life," she said, adding that the norms had been drawn up

adhering to all international guidelines in  this regard.      

As per the new guidelines, three stages of procedures have to be followed-- precautions to be taken before tests to determine brain death, analysis of reflective actions of brain and Apnea Test (an important component of brain death assessment).

     

The norms are applicable to both government and private run hospitals in the state.

     

One of the four doctors of the medical panel, authorised to declare a patient brain-dead, should be from the government service, the guidelines added. -- PTI

In a curious case of switching  parties in the election period, a Congress local leader in Mangaluru resigned from his party and joined BJP in the morning, only to rejoin his parent party in the evening.

     

Panemangaluru block Congress secretary Sundara Devinagara is the leader who played a 'swing' exercise yesterday for reasons best known to him.

     

Sundara Devinagara was welcomed to the BJP at a function in the morning by U Rajesh Naik, who is to contest from Bantwal constituency against state Forests Minister B Ramanath Rai.      

Naik handed over the BJP flag to Sundara during the function.

     

In a sudden twist to the story, Sundara rejoined Congress at another programme held at Mani a few hours later, after apparently being cajoled by party leaders.

     

He was once again 'welcomed' back to the party at the function attended by leaders, including Prakash Shetty Thumbe, party sources said. -- PTI

The worst is over for Punjab National Bank and it will come out of the mess created by the Nirav Modi fraud case in six months, the state-run lender's Managing Director Sunil Mehta said today.

Punjab National Bank was hit by country's biggest ever banking fraud of more than Rs 13,000 crore perpetrated by billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi and his associates in connivance with some officials of a branch of the bank in Mumbai.

The bank has received tremendous support from the government, other stakeholders and employees to come out of the situation, Mehta told PTI in an interview.

"So worst is behind us. Everything now seems to be under control as surgery is over, now we are in recovery phase. We are anticipating that we will be able to come out of this entire problem and pain in the next 6 months," he said.

Emphasising the long legacy and strength of the bank, Mehta said, "it is a 123-year old institution which was founded during Swadeshi movement by Lala Lajpat Rai. This institution has 7,000 branches spread through length and breadth of the country with business of more than Rs 10 lakh crore in the domestic market. So fraud of this nature could not shake confidence of our customers during this period."

Even during trying times, the bank's business has grown better than the industry, he said, adding that credit has witnessed a growth rate of about 10 per cent, in line with the guidance that was shared with investors.

With regard to deposits, the bank has recorded a growth of 6.2 per cent, he said.

"So, we have grown in line with industry and even during difficult days it was business as usual. With all this negativity which was created in the environment, the customers' confidence was not lost and the credit goes to 70,000 employees who stood with me in difficult time.

"They have gone the extra mile, they have done extra hard work to see that every customer is attended to properly. Now, we are in the bounce back mode," he said.

More than 500 IPS officers, including DGPs and IGPs, have failed to file their property details for the year 2016, which may lead to denial of promotion and cancellation of vigilance clearance, officials have said.

According to the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, all Indian Police Service officers are required to file their Immovable Property Return in a prescribed format by January 31 every year.

However, as of March 31, 2017, as many as 3,390 IPS officers had filed IPR, out of the total cadre strength of 3,905 IPS officers, a home ministry official said.

Failure to declare details of property by the IPS officers may force the home ministry to take action against the erring officials. This could include denial of promotion and vigilance clearance.

The home ministry is the cadre controlling authority of IPS officers.

Many of the IPS officers who have failed file their property returns are Director Generals of Police, Additional Directors General of Police and Inspector Generals of Police, another official said.

Facing the peculiar situation of such a large number of IPS officers not declaring property details, the home ministry has directed all state governments and Union Territory administrations to seek explanation from all the IPS officers who have not filed their IPR.

According to the Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Amendment Rules, 2014, all central government employees except those working as peons or multi-tasking staff need to file property returns.

The rules are also notified under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act.

The government had also issued a form for filing these returns which also seeks declarations of cash in hand, bank deposits, investment in bonds, debentures, shares and units in companies or mutual funds, insurance policies, provident fund, personal loans and advance given to any person or entity, among others.

The employees need to declare motor vehicles, aircraft, yachts or ships, gold and silver jewellery and bullion possessed by them, their spouses and dependent children, the official said. -- PTI 

Finance Minster Arun Jaitley continued to be under medical observation for the second day today at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences and no time for his kidney transplant surgery has been decided.

Jaitley, 65, who was admitted to AIIMS Friday evening in New Delhi, has been kept under observation.

Sources said the doctors attending to him have not yet finalised date of the kidney transplant operation.

Jaitley is suffering from a kidney ailment and has not been attending office since Monday. 

He has not even taken oath of office after being re-elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Sources said the minister, who was kept in a 'controlled environment' at home, was shifted to the AIIMS on Friday evening.

A kidney transplant operation was scheduled for yesterday and all formalities for a donor kidney were also completed but was kept under one day observation.

The minister, who cancelled his scheduled visit to London for the 10th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue next week, had confirmed his illness in a tweet on Thursday. -- PTI

Irrfan Khan's Hindi Medium has edged out big Bollywood releases Dangal and Bajrangi Bhaijaan to mark a bigger opening at China's box office with USD 3.68 million.

The film, that released in China on April 4, is only behind Aamir Khan's Secret Superstar which grossed USD 6.4 million on the opening day, according to cinema ticket sales website Maoyan.com.

Hindi Medium has earned about USD 22 million till date.

Also starring Pakistani actor Saba Qamar, the film depicts a couple trying hard to admit their child into an English-medium school.

Hindi Medium has become yet another Bollywood movie to have a successful run in China as the soul-stirring social themes of Indian films become increasingly popular with the Chinese audience who see a striking similarity of societal issues between the two countries.

Dangal impressed the Chinese, including President Xi Jinping, with the perseverance of the father to make his daughters wrestlers. 

The Nitesh Tiwari-directed film minted USD 2.3 million on its opening day.

Secret Superstar with the mother's determination to fulfil her daughter's dream to become an acclaimed singer also moved the audiences here.

Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan, with its India-Pakistan theme, was a big hit in China as well, making USD 2.25 million on the day one.

Hindi Medium also strikes a chord because many parents strive hard to give quality education to their children.

At present, major online platforms have set off discussions on personality development-based education owing to the Saket Chaudhary-directed film. -- PTI

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Mumbai has issued non-bailable warrants against billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in connection with the cases related to over USD 2 billion banking fraud in the Punjab National Bank, officials said today.

The special court has allowed the application of the agency for the issuance of NBWs against Modi and Choksi who had repeatedly refused to join the investigation in the scam, considered the biggest in the banking history of the country, the officials said.

The agency had written to Modi and Choksi to join probe on their official e-mail ids but they have refused to join it citing business engagements and health issues.

The issuance of NBWs by a court also opens door of seeking Red Corner Notices against both of the accused from the Interpol.

The government has claimed to have tracked Modi in Hong Kong where it has sent a request for his provisional arrest.

The CBI, in the meanwhile, is questioning officials of overseas branches of Indian banks which had extended credit facilities to the companies of Modi and Choksi on the basis of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking issued by the Punjab National Bank's Brady House branch in Mumbai.

The agency has also summoned the official who handled foreign exchange transactions in the Hong Kong branch of the Allahabad bank, they said, adding that he may join the probe soon.

It is alleged that the LoUs and LCs worth close to USD 2 billion were issued to the companies of the uncle-nephew duo of Choksi and Modi from the Brady Road branch of the bank through SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) messages.

Several bank employees have been booked for collusion in the case, they said.

Seven railway men were suspended in connection with lapses that led to 22 coaches of an express train with passengers on board to travel a few km without an engine in Odisha, a railway spokesman said today.

A possible disaster was averted after alert staff put stones on the track and brought the Ahmedabad-Puri Express to a halt late last night, the East Coast Railway spokesman said, adding all the passengers were safe.

While five railway personnel were placed under suspension this morning, two had been suspended soon after the coaches of the train rolled down the track at Titlagarh in Balangir district after detachment of the engine, he said.

Two engine drivers, three carriage repairing staff and two operating department employees were placed under suspension, he said.

The coaches travelled from Titlagarh station towards Kesinga in Kalahandi district after the engine was detached to be attached at the other end, the spokesman said, adding the section from Titlagarh towards Kesinga has a downward slope.

The incident happened apparently due to non-application of skid-brakes on the wheels of the coaches by the staff deployed there. According to rules, the staff should have put the skid-brakes, he said.

"When an engine is detached to be attached at the other end, coaches should be secured with wheel skid-brakes. In this case, it appears that skid-brakes were not placed properly. Facts will be known after a detailed enquiry," he said.

Divisional Railway Manager, Sambalpur, Jaideep Gupta has ordered a probe by divisional heads of different departments, the spokesman said.

Soon after the incident, an engine was sent from Titlagarh to ferry the coaches back, he said. -- PTI

Forget the Bharatiya Janata Party winning the 2019 polls, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi might lose his Varanasi seat under a united opposition, asserted Congress president Rahul Gandhi today.

 

Pegging his confidence on opposition unity, Gandhi said far from the BJP winning the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, even Modi might lose from Varanasi if his party, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party were united against him.

 

Exuding confidence over roping in and managing alliance partners despite their varied personal and regional aspirations, Gandhi predicted for the current ruling dispensation, a "collapse" not "seen in many years."

"Frankly, I don't see the BJP winning the next election, so in 2019 we will go back to the normal, I sense," he said in reply to a question on "Dalit anger."

 

"...because there are two basic things, once opposition unity goes above a certain level, it becomes impossible to win elections. Now the opposition unity has gone to a point. It's simple," Gandhi said at an informal media interaction.

 

Pointing at the opposition unity efforts in Uttar Pradesh,  Bihar and by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Tamil Nadu, Gandhi asked, "Where are they (BJP) going to win seats?"

And in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab. We will take it over."

 

"You are going to see a collapse of the style you haven't seen in many years," he said. -- PTI

With a trooper getting to spend an average of only five years out of 30 with his family during service, the Border Security Force has launched a new concept to set up over 190 jawan guest houses across the country for newly married couples.

More than 2,800 rooms will be built or carved out of the existing infrastructure in the eight frontiers of the force along the western and eastern border flanks of the country, a Border Security Force officer said.

BSF Director General K K Sharma said the Union home ministry has recently accorded sanction to the force's proposal to set up 15 studio apartment-like facilities at each of its 186 battalion locations and few other stations.

"The duties in the force are tough and hard and jawans have to remain alone for the maximum part of their service. An average jawan gets to spend only about 2.5 months in an year with his family and if one has a service of about 30 years, then this figure comes to about five years in the entire job period. 

 

"To ensure that the jawans get more time with their families, we are creating such facilities at 192 locations all across the country," Sharma told PTI.

The problem of living alone, separated from the family, affects the newly wed more and hence, they are the ones who will be given priority in the allotment of these facilities, he said.

He said that while there are guest houses for the officers and sub-officers, there was no such facility for the jawans who are in the constable and head constable ranks.

"So, we have decided, to create a guest house of 15 studio apartment-like configuration in each battalion which will have an independent bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and television facility and newly wed personnel in the jawan ranks will be allowed to stay with their spouse for a stipulated period, the director general said.

Sharma said the measure is part of the overall initiative to reduce stress and fatigue among the troops and to keep them motivated. -- PTI

Dubbing the Union government as "anti-Dalit," the Congress today said its criticism by Bharatiya Janata Party's Dalits MPs has exposed it and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his "silence" and respond to their concerns.

 

Quoting from the statements five BJP Dalit MPs, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill claimed that they proved Modi was working to make India 'Dalit-mukt.'

The condition of scheduled castes can be understood when even the ruling party's MPs were underlining their fear and concerns, he told reporters.

 

Taking a dig at Modi's 2014 poll campaign around 'Chai pe charcha' and his monthly radio broadcast 'Mann ki Baat,' the Congress spokesperson asked the prime minister to engage in a 'charcha' (discussion) with his own party's Dalit MPs to listen to their 'Mann ki Baat'.

He said the situation due to rising atrocities on Dalits amid the government's lack of concern and inaction over the malady has reached such an alarming level that even the BJP MPs were now saying that the Modi government has done nothing for the community and that their condition has  deteriorated under the government.

 

"The prime minister must break his never-ending silence on rising atrocities against Dalits and respond to the concerns and questions of his own MPs. BJP MPs' statements prove beyond doubt that PM Modi was working towards a Dalit-mukt' India," Shergill said.

 

BJP MPs have exposed Modi's "anti-Dalit" mindset and policies, he added.

 

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister's directive to his party MPs to spend a night in a village with over 50 per cent Dalits and tribals population, he said the prime minister should first call his party's Dalit MPs to his house to address their concerns rather than doing these "PR stunts".

 

The statements of BJP's Dalit MPs -- Udit Raj, Savitri Bai Phule, Chhote Lal Kharwar, Ashok Kumar Dohre and Yashwant Singh -- have punctured the government's tall claims, he said.

 

These Lok Sabha members have expressed concerns over issues facing Dalits. While some of the MPs like Udit Raj and Dohre have not targeted their party's top brass outright others like Singh and Phule have been explicit in their criticism of the government.

 

Modi's "stoic silence" shows the BJP-RSS is working towards making India Dalit-free and he was "enjoying" the anguish and pain of the scheduled castes and tribes, Shergill alleged. -- PTI

NASA's Parker Solar Probe -- humanity's first mission to the Sun -- is undergoing final preparations for its launch scheduled for July 31.

 

The spacecraft was flown by the United States Air Force to Florida, where it will continue testing, and eventually undergo final assembly and mating to the third stage of the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.

 

Parker Solar Probe is humanity's first mission to the Sun. 

After launch, it will orbit directly through the solar atmosphere -- the corona -- closer to the surface than any human-made object has ever gone.

 

While facing brutal heat and radiation, the mission will reveal fundamental science behind what drives the solar wind, the constant outpouring of material from the Sun that shapes planetary atmospheres and affects space weather near Earth.

 

For the next several months, the spacecraft will undergo comprehensive testing. 

Just prior to being fuelled, one of the most critical elements of the spacecraft, the thermal protection system, or heat shield, will be installed.

 

The TPS is the breakthrough technology that will allow Parker Solar Probe to survive the temperatures in the Sun's corona, just 9.8 million kilometres from the surface of our star.

 

"There are many milestones to come for Parker Solar Probe and the amazing team of men and women who have worked so diligently to make this mission a reality," said Andy Driesman, Parker Solar Probe project manager from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in the US.

 

"The installation of the TPS will be our final major step before encapsulation and integration onto the launch vehicle," said Driesman.

Parker Solar Probe will be launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

 

Throughout its seven-year mission, Parker Solar Probe will explore the Sun's outer atmosphere and make critical observations to answer decades-old questions about the physics of stars.

 

Its data will also be useful in improving forecasts of major eruptions on the Sun and the subsequent space weather events that impact technology on Earth, as well as satellites and astronauts in space. -- PTI 

Photograph: Kind courtesy NASA

To prevent the indiscriminate sale of topical preparations containing steroids and antibiotics without prescription, the health ministry has banned over-the-counter sale of around 14 such creams.

In a notification issued on March 23, the ministry has put 14 steroid-based creams and ointments under the Schedule H category by making amendments to certain Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.

 

The decision was taken following consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board which had recommended a ban on the sale of such creams without prescription and had also submitted their recommendations to the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation.

 

The move come after dermatologists complained that pharmaceutical companies were selling steroid- based creams and ointments to patients who use them without medical guidance.

 

The revised rules will apply to skin creams that contain steroids or other prescription drugs and not for ordinary face-cleansing and moisturisers.

 

The creams which have been banned are alclometasone, beclomethasone, desonide, desoximetasone and flucinonide among others. -- PTI  

Pakistan has asked the United States to resume the balancing role that it played in South Asia before its "tilt" towards India, saying the move has "emboldened" India and created imbalance in the region.

 

Pakistan's ambassador to the US Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary also said that peace will prevail in South Asia if America assumes the role of a balanced power-player.

"We are saying to the US administration that the US always brought a balance in SA, but this recent tilt has created an imbalance," Chaudhary was quoted as saying by Dawn.

"This tilt has also emboldened the Indian government to go for a heavy-handed approach...," he alleged.

Chaudhary said the peace in South Asia will be better served if the US assumes the role of a balanced power-player.

Indo-US relationship made great strides in 2017, with President Donald Trump keeping his electoral promise of being the "best friend of India" inside the White House.

India was the only country for which the Trump administration came out with a 100-year plan, an honour not even accorded to America's top allies.

In his South Asia Policy unveiled in August, Trump gave India a key role in bringing peace in Afghanistan and for the first time a US president aligned himself with New Delhi's position that terrorism emanated from Pakistan. -- PTI 

Ruing lack of unity among the Andhra Pradesh MPs over the fight for special category status to the state, YSR Congress Party today said the Centre was not heeding to the demand seriously due to the disunity.

YSR Congress honorary president Y S Vijayamma, who is the wife of former AP Chief Minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and mother of the party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, lamented the lack of unity among the state MPs, while meeting her party MPs sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at AP Bhavan here.

 

"In the past, indefinite strikes were so effective that it attracted governments' attention and they responded to it. Today nothing is happening despite several attempts by the opposition parties," she said in an apparent reference to the denial of special status to the state by the Centre with the Telugu Desam Party keeping off from YSR Congress MPs' hunger strike.

 

The YSRCP is in opposition in Andhra Pradesh.

 

"Late Rajashekar Reddy used to tell us that only a united AP would have stronger voice as it would have more of people's representatives, a smaller state does not bring the requisite pressure. But the bifurcation was done so quickly and the promises made to the residual AP is yet to be fulfilled," she said.

 

It is sad, she said, that today even 25 MPs of Andhra Pradesh are not able to unite for the cause.

 

"I request everyone, including Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, to advise his MPs to join the hunger strike," she said.

 

Meanwhile, of the five YSRP MPs sitting on the huger strike, Tirupati MP Varaprasad Rao had to be rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital today following complaints of uneasiness.

 

Rao is the second MP who required medical attention a day after his colleague Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, 73 had to be taken to RML Hospital yesterday on complaints of uneasiness.

 

During her interaction with her party MPs, Vijayamma reiterated her party's stand on alliance and said, "Jagan had said he would align with any party that gives special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Whether it is Congress, BJP or the third front, he is ready to go to any extent to get the status." -- PTI

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday claimed that the success of the recent Bharat Bandh, called by Dalit organisations against the alleged dilution in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, left the Bharatiya Janata Party scared of the Dalits.

"Bharat Bandh protest was largely successful. This has left the BJP scared and authorities in the BJP-ruled states have started atrocities towards Dalits. Many Dalits and members of their families are being arrested," BSP Chief Mayawati said during a press conference.

Mayawati further averred that any self-respecting Dalit person of the country would not spare the selfish BJP Dalit members of parliament.

Earlier, Mayawati had extended support to the protests against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court.

However, she condemned the violence which took place during the protest and called for a strict action against those indulged in it. -- ANI

In yet another incident of discord, the Chinese military last month strongly protested against what it called the Indian Army's transgressions into the strategically sensitive Asaphila area along the disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh, but the Indian side roundly dismissed the complaint, official sources said.

 

They said the Chinese side raised the issue at a 'Border Personnel Meeting' on March 15 in Arunachal's Kibithu but the Indian Army rejected it, saying that the area in the upper Subansiri region of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to India and it has regularly been carrying out patrols there.

 

The sources told PTI that the Chinese side called India's patrolling in the area a "transgression" and the Indian Army objected to the terminology.

"China's protest to our patrolling in Asaphila is surprising," said a source, adding there were several instances of Chinese intrusions in the area which had been seriously taken up by the Indian side in the past.

 

Under the BPM mechanism, both sides can register their protest over any incident of transgressions as there are varying perceptions about the Line of Actual Control between the two countries.

 The delegation of China's Peoples Liberation Army specifically mentioned extensive patrolling in Asaphila by Indian troops, saying such "violations" may escalate tensions between the two sides in the area.

 

However, rejecting the Chinese protest, the Indian side said its troops were aware of the alignment of the LAC and the army would continue to carry out patrols up to the LAC, the de facto border between the two countries.

 

Perceptions of the border by India and China vastly differ in the area.

 

The sources said the Chinese military specifically mentioned large-scale Indian patrolling in Asaphila near Fishtail 1 on December 21, 22 and 23 last.

 

Indian and Chinese troops hold BPMs to resolve issues triggering tensions along the border. -- PTI

Accusing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of not following "coalition dharma," BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party today said it felt "ignored" by him.

 

"I will have detailed discussions with BJP president Amit Shah on various issues when he visits Lucknow on April 10 and then decide my party's course of action," SBSP leader and UP Cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar told mediapersons.  

He stopped short of saying that his Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party could part ways with the NDA if he was not satisfied with the mediatory efforts of Shah.

 

The SBSP has four MLAs in the 403-member UP assembly where its the BJP and its allies have a brute majority of 324 lawmakers. -- PTI 

Dalits, who are "angry" with the National Democratic Alliance government, will play a key role in deciding the country's next prime minister a year down the line and back Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the coveted slot, party leader Nitin Raut has said.

Newly-appointed chairman of the Congress' SC department, Raut said Dalit youth will get attracted to Gandhi's leadership for a positive future than other non-BJP/NDA leaders, including those representing the community.

This is mainly because the Congress chief stands a chance to become the prime minister unlike those leaders, he added.

The former Maharashtra minister also dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent claim that his government has honoured Dalit icon B R Ambedkar like no other previous dispensation. 

Raut charged Modi and the BJP with issuing such statements only eyeing the community's votes.

"Dalits, especially the community youth, are feeling angry under the NDA's regime. They are being denied educational, employment opportunities which never happened when the Congress was in power. This anger will make Dalits play a key role in deciding the next prime minister," Raut told PTI.

He said in the run up to the next Lok Sabha polls, his department will focus hard on uniting as many Dalits as possible under the Congress' umbrella to see Gandhi is propelled to the post of the prime minister.

There are 84 parliamentary seats which are reserved for the scheduled castes across the country. The BJP had won more of these seats than any other party in the 2014 general elections. The Congress could win only 3-4 of these reserved seats, Raut said.

"We will try to win maximum seats possible in 2019 based on the works governments led by our party had done for the Dalits. We have records to show that. We will try to unite Dalits," he said.

At a time when Dalit voters are divided and follow several leaders like Jignesh Mevani, Raut said the community members will be attracted to Gandhi nationally as he is more likely to become the prime minister than the former.

He also said Dalits have no option but to look at the Congress, "if they don't want BJP at the Centre again" given no other party than either of these two will be able to form the next government. -- PTI

A wife is not a "chattel" or an "object" and she cannot be forced to reside with her husband even if the man desires to live with her, the Supreme Court has said.

The apex court observed this while hearing a matter in which a woman, who lodged a criminal case against her husband alleging cruelty, said that she do not want to live with him while the man maintained that he wants to reside with her.

"She is not a chattel. You (man) cannot force her. She does not want to live with you. How can you say that you will live with her," a bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked the man, who was present in the courtroom.

The bench asked the man to "re-consider" his decision and desire to reside with his wife in view of the categorical statement by the woman's counsel that she does not want to live with him.

"You better re-consider it," the bench told the man.

"How can he (man) be so unreasonable? He is treating her as a chattel. She is not an object," the bench told the lawyer appearing for the man and posted the matter for hearing on August 8.

The man's counsel told the court that he would try to persuade him in this regard.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the woman told the bench that she want to get divorce on the ground of cruelty.

"We are ready to withdraw the 498A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty) IPC case. We do not want any alimony also. She do not want to live with him," her counsel said.

The court had earlier referred the matter for mediation observing that both of them were educated and they would be inclined to settle their matrimonial dispute rather than going for litigation which may prolong their agony.

It had told both the man and the woman to fully cooperate with the mediation proceedings keeping their interest in mind and the fact that it might not be advisable for them to litigate for an indefinite period.

However, the apex court was later told that the issue was not resolved in mediation. -- PTI  

Telugu Desam Party parliamentarians were today detained by police when they tried to protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh.

The decision to protest was taken after the party MPs held meeting at Rajya Sabha member and former union minister Y S Chowdary's residence in the morning to decide future course of action.

However, all the leaders were detained on the way to PM's residence by the Delhi Police and CRPF.

"The prime minister is the person to take decisions on SCS. He has to fulfil his promises and that is why we want to raise our demands with him," MP Jaydev Galla said.

The Telugu Desam Party withdrew its ministers in the union cabinet and walked out of the NDA after the BJP-led Centre denied special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The TDP had issued no-confidence motion notices against the government.

However, it was never taken up for discussion due to continuous disruptions in the Parliament.

Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party leaders continue their indefinite hunger strike here for the third day for the same demand of  special category status to Andhra Pradesh. -- PTI 

Superstar Rajinikanth today appealed players of Indian Premier League franchise, Chennai Super Kings to wear black bands during matches to show their solidarity with Tamil Nadu farmers over the Cauvery issue.

"It's embarrassing to host IPL during this struggle," said the actor who is all set to foray into politics soon, adding, "At least the CSK should wear black badges to indicate the Cauvery issue."

Rajinikanth also said that the time is not right for IPL matches to be organised in Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai. 

He also said that he is going to take part in the silent protest by cinema stars to set up the Cauvery management board.

Urging Prime Minister Narednra Modi to constitute the board immediately, the superstar said, "The people of Tamil Nadu say in one voice, Cauvery management board. If the Centre does not set it up, it will earn the bitterness of all families of Tamil Nadu."

Pakistan is in direct talks with the Russia for the procurement of sophisticated military hardware, including air defence systems, fighter jets and battle tanks, a media report said on Saturday.

Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan confirmed that Islamabad was interested in buying weapons from Moscow in an interview to the Russian news agency Sputnik, The Express Tribune reported.

Air defence system is a different kind of weapon we are interested. We are very much interested in a very wide range of the Russian weapons technology. We are in negotiations [on air defence systems] and once we conclude negotiations, we will be able to announce them, Khan said.

The defence minister also outlined that Islamabad was interested in acquiring T-90 tanks from Moscow as part of a long-term deal rather than committing itself to a single purchase. Interestingly, India also uses the T-90 tanks. As part of efforts to enhance its strike capability, the army is now working on a project to add more teeth to its T-90 main battle tanks by arming them with a third generation missile system. We are interested in tanks T-90 and it is not going to be a one-time purchase but it is going to be a long-term commitment, Khan was quoted as saying by the agency.

India has already signed a deal with Russia to buy the advanced air defence system. In October 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to acquire the S-400 'Triumph' anti-missile defence system, which can hit air targets 400 kilometres away -- making it the longest range air defence missile in the world.

Some of the information improperly harvested from Facebook Inc users might be stored in Russia, said the former employee of Cambridge Analytica who blew the whistle on the data-privacy scandal involving the analytics firms role in the 2016 presidential election.

The data could be stored in various parts of the world, including Russia, Christoper Wylie said in an interview with NBC.

The professor who was managing the data harvesting process was going back and forth between the UK and Russia, Wylie said, an apparent reference to Cambridge University lecturer Aleksandr Kogan.

Wylie said it was difficult to verify how many people had access to the Facebook information or derivatives of that data because it was a lot of people, according to a partial transcript released by the network.

The number of Facebook profiles whose data was improperly shared with London-based Cambridge Analytica was first estimated at 50 million people. This week, Facebook raised that estimate to 87 million. Wylie said the true figure could be higher, absolutely.

Once data leaves your database, you know, data is a fungible thing, right? he said. You can make as many copies as possible.

Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to testify before Congressional panels investigating the mishandling of its data and other revelations about the social-media giant.

Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committee on Tuesday to discuss Facebooks role in society and users privacy. Hell back up Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Batting for conversion of LoC into 'Line of peace and goodwill,' National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today  cautioned centre against taking the people of Jammu and Kashmir for granted and ignoring their legitimate aspirations. 

The claims that demonetisation had put an end to stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir have fallen flat as the youth were now taking to guns.

The situation therefore cannot be allowed to drift anymore, Abdullah said, addressing a public meeting at Mandi in Poonch district. 

The former chief minister called for earnest initiatives to reach out to the people and urged the Centre to resolve the issues which are essentially political in nature and try to win over the alienated hearts and minds by shunning the policy of creating divisions. 

The MP reiterated the need for Indo-Pak dialogue and said Line of Control (LoC) should be converted into 'Line of Peace and Goodwill' to enable unhindered people to people exchange and  trade between divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sooner the two nations appreciate the ground realities better it would be for bringing thaw in the relations and ending hostilities of all sorts, Abdullah said adding the wars in the past seven decades have not changed the reality of LoC. 

He said the border hostilities were detrimental for both India and Pakistan and any full-fledged conflict would lead to devastation and destruction in the region.

Abdullah said conversion of LoC into Line of Peace would benefit peoples living along the borders on both sides, who have been braving the brunt of hostilities. 

He referred to the unimaginable sufferings caused to border dwellers due to dislocation from their homes and hearths in the wake of shelling and cross LoC firing, stating that unfortunately this has become a routine for the past few years.

He said the country is passing through a difficult phase as attempts are being made to divide the society in the name of religion and caste and by encouraging sectarian divide. 

Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks equating opposition parties with animals, saying that the "disrespectful statement" reflected his "mentality" and tore into the Modi rule,alleging there is a collapse of government.

    

Gandhi said the saffron party chief and BJP-RSS considered that there were only two "non-animals" in the country-- Shah and Modi- and that Dalits, tribals, minorities and even his own party leaders "worthless".

   

The Congress chief made an acerbic attack on Modi,saying, "there is a basic loss of control and you can see that.. you can see that in Modi's demeanour, you can see it in his expression, you can see it in his speeches."

    

In an all round attack on the Modi rule, he alleged there was a collapse in government due to complete financial mismanagement, demonetisation and implosion of the financial system.

   

"Nirav Modi is an example, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi,  Piyush Goyal.... they are all examples," Gandhi said.

On the fifth round of his visit to poll-bound Karnataka, Gandhi addressed rallies and roadside meetings in Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts and spoke to reporters.

    

"Calling the entire opposition animals... see according to Amit Shah and the basic vision of the BJP RSS - there are only two non-animals in this country. There is Mr Narendra Modi and there is Mr Amit Shah," Gandhi said. 

BJP parliamentarian Udit Raj alleged that members of his Dalit community were being "tortured" in various parts of the country in the wake of the violent protests during the 'Bharat Bandh' earlier this week.

"Reports are pouring in that those Dalits who participated in agitation on April 2 are being tortured and it must be stopped," he said in a tweet on Saturday.

"Dalits are tortured at large scale after April 2 country-wide agitation. People from Barmer, Jalore, Jaipur, Gwalior, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Karoli and other parts calling that not only anti-reservationists but police also beating & slapping false cases," he said.

All these places, incidentally are parts of states ruled by the BJP.

A worker of a Dalit organisation run by him in Gwalior was being tortured even though he had not done anything wrong, Udit Raj said.

He represents North West Delhi in the Lok Sabha.

Dalit protesters had blocked trains, clashed with police and set fire to vehicles in violent protests across seven states on April 2 against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, leaving at least 11 people dead and many injured.

The Pakistan government is working on a draft bill to replace the presidential ordinance that banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa as well as other organisations and individuals on the watch list of the interior ministry.

Sources in the law ministry told Dawn that the proposed draft bill to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 was likely to be tabled in the upcoming session of the National Assembly scheduled to commence on April 9. The law ministry was involved in the process for the purpose of vetting the proposed draft bill, the sources said, adding that the military establishment was also on board.

The government decided to prepare a draft bill to amend the ATA as part of its damage-control campaign after the Financial Action Task Force approved a nomination proposal tabled jointly by the US, the UK, France and Germany to place Pakistan on the international watchdogs money-laundering and terror-financing grey list in February.

In addition to the draft bill, which is likely to be tabled in the upcoming NA session, Pakistan is preparing a consolidated database of known terrorists and terrorist organisations which will be accessible to financial institutions and law-enforcement agencies of the country to strengthen the regime against money laundering and terror financing.

One person has been killed and four firefighters have been injured after a fire broke out on the 50th floor in the Trump Tower, a large building in Manhattan owned by United States President Donald Trump.

The deceased, who was a resident of the building's 50th floor, was taken to the hospital in critical condition, fire department spokeswoman Angelica Conroy told CNN.

On Saturday, huge flames and massive smoke was seen billowing out from the building following which a team of firefighters was rushed to the location to douse the fire.

As per the media reports, New York fire crews graded it a three-alarm blaze, meaning a minimum of 33 units and 138 firefighters were sent.

According to a witness, it started with a smoke which soon turned into a blaze.

The cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet.