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Tue, 16 July 2019
Yeddy plays cricket with BJP MLAs in resort
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23:32 Convicted JeM terrorist evading arrest nabbed from Srinagar
A Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist evading arrest for over four years after being convicted by the high court in New Delhi was nabbed from Srinagar by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, officials said on Tuesday.
Bashir Ahmad, 50, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore, was held in Srinagar and brought to Delhi to face sentencing by the high court, police said, adding his activities over the past four years are also being probed.
He is an absconding convict in a 2007 case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his arrest, they said.
Ahmad was initially arrested along with Abdul Gafoor, a hardcore JeM terrorist from Sialkot in Pakistan, and others in 2007 following an encounter in Delhi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.
But a trial court acquitted him in 2013 following which he went into hiding. Meanwhile, his acquittal was challenged in the Delhi high court which reversed the decision and convicted him in 2014, the officer said.
But Ahmad did not surrender, the officer said.
Meanwhile, a police team was sent to Jammu and Kashmir to locate and arrest wanted and rewarded terrorists.
The officer said that police first got hold of two associates of Ahmad.
Fayaz Ahmad Lone was arrested on March 25, while Abdul Majeed Baba was nabbed on May 11 from Srinagar, the DCP said.
With their arrest, Ahmad got extra cautious and began continuously changing his hideouts to dodge the police, DCP Yadav said.
However, he said that on July 15, the police traced Ahmad's location to Srinagar and he was apprehended from Kothibagh area.
He was produced before a court in Srinagar which granted his transit remand to the Delhi Police and he was brought to the national capital Tuesday, the officer said.
Police said Ahmad was very close to a Pakistan-trained terrorist, Altaf Ahmad Kirmani. Kirmani introduced him to another Pakistani terrorist Haider, who asked him to work for the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Ahmad was tasked to provide logistical help to JeM members at his native place in Sopore, the officer said.
Ahmad persuaded Lone and Baba to work for the terror outfit, the officer added.
On February 4, 2007, Ahmad came to Delhi with Fayaz and Baba to hand over a huge consignment of arms, ammunition and explosives to their other accomplice, Shahid Gafoor, a Pakistani, the officer said.
All of them were arrested after a brief shootout with a team of Special Cell at Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg in city, police said. -- PTI
Image only for representation.
22:56 DGCA grounds Vistara pilot who issued 'Mayday call' over fuel
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday grounded a pilot who issued a 'Mayday' distress call due to low-fuel near Lucknow airport on Monday while operating a Mumbai-Delhi flight.
A senior Vistara official confirmed to PTI that the pilot has been 'de-rostered' as per the instructions of the regulator.
"The pilot who was operating UK944 flight and issued a 'Mayday' call on Monday has been suspended by the (DGCA)," another source said.
A Vistara spokesperson said, "Flight UK944 operating Mumbai-Delhi on July 15, 2019, initiated a diversion to Lucknow due to bad weather over Delhi.
"However, over Lucknow, the visibility suddenly dropped and a safe landing was not possible. The crew then considered alternative airfields, including Kanpur and Prayagraj to land in comparatively better weather condition."
He said the Lucknow Air Traffic Control then informed the crew that the weather in Lucknow had improved significantly following which the crew decided to return to the city due to better passenger and aircraft support there.
"The unexpected drop in visibility at the destination alternate was the main reason why the aircraft ended up in a low-fuel situation despite carrying excess fuel over and above the required Flight Plan Fuel as per regulations. Safety of passengers and crew was kept at the highest priority throughout the flight," the spokesperson added. -- PTI
22:24 Yeddy plays cricket with BJP MLAs in resort
As the focus on Tuesday shifted to the Supreme Court, which is hearing the pleas of 15 Karnataka MLAs against alleged delay by the Speaker in accepting their resignations, the state Bharatiya Janata Party president was seen in a relaxed mood playing cricket with party legislators who are camped at a resort on the outskirts of the city.
Yeddyurappa, who had been busy in hectic meetings with senior party colleagues and legislators strategising as the wobbly coalition government headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is on the brink of collapse, on Tuesday spent most part of the day at a resort near Yelahanka.
Later in the day, BJPs state unit media cell released a photo of Yeddyurappa playing cricket with party MLAs Renukacharya and S R Vishwanath, among others.
He was seen batting. After over a week long heightened political activity in the city, it was relatively a calm on Tuesday with the focus shifting to the Supreme Court.
The apex court will pronounce its order on Wednesday morning on the pleas of 15 rebel Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs seeking direction for Speaker Ramesh Kumar to accept their resignations from the assembly.
The order from the top court will come a day before the Congress-JD(S) government faces the floor test in the assembly, which would end suspense over the numbers game triggered by a raft of resignations by the ruling coalition lawmakers.
As many as 16 MLAs -- 13 from the Congress and three from JD-S -- have resigned while two independent MLAs S Shankar and H Nagesh have withdrawn their support to the coalition government, keeping it on the edge.
In a bid to keep their flock together ahead of the floor test, the Congress, BJP and JD-S have shifted their MLAs to resorts.
The Congress on Tuesday shifted its MLAs from a hotel in the city to a resort on the outskirts, amid fears that some more legislators may resign. -- PTI
21:42 KPCC chief warns rebels of disqualification
With just a day left for the showdown in the Karnataka assembly, state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday claimed that the party rebel MLAs camping in Mumbai had been locked down and may be disqualified.
Rao took to Twitter to warn the rebel leaders of the possible consequences that may jeopardise their career.
"Just heard. the rebel Congress MLAs in Mumbai are in complete lockdown. Mobiles taken away, can't step outside, (they are) under house arrest," Rao alleged.
Posting a smiley with his tweet, Rao said the rebels were in the 'clutches of BJP' and were sure to get disqualified.
"Soon they will be waiting in queue for B-forms to get BJP ticket," he added.
The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government is under threat of being reduced to minority as 16 of their MLAs resigned from the assembly while two independents too withdrew their support to the alliance and aligned with the BJP.
In the 225-member assembly, including the nominated member, the BJP has 107 MLAs and the coalition's strength will dwindle to 101, if the resignations are accepted.
The speaker has accepted chief minister H D Kumaraswamy's notice to move the confidence motion to prove his majority on Thursday at 11.30 am.
Rao also accused the BJP of trying to take suspended Congress MLA R Roshan Baig to Mumbai. Baig too has resigned from the assembly.
Baig was detained late Monday night by the special investigation team probing the 'IMA ponzi scheme' at the airport when he was about to fly to Mumbai and he was questioned till 1 pm Tuesday, according to SIT sources.
'The BJP is now escorting Roshan Baig! They were targeting him just a few weeks ago in the IMA scam. Clearly shows their hand in trying to topple the Congress/JDS govt. Doesn't this prove our allegations that the resignations of our MLAs are neither voluntary nor genuine?' Rao tweeted. -- PTI
21:24 Priyanka to partymen: Help in Mumbai relief ops
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday urged party workers to extend all possible support in the relief and rescue operations at the Mumbai building collapse site.
A four-storey residential building collapsed in a congested locality in Mumbai, claiming four lives and leaving over 40 people trapped under the debris.
"I pray for the well-being of those trapped in the four-storey residential building that collapsed in Mumbai. My condolences to the bereaved families," Priyanka Gandhi said.
"Congress workers must extend all support possible in the relief and rescue operations. This is the third such incident recently. Why wasn't action taken on time?" she said in a tweet in Hindi.
The building in south Mumbai's Dongri area, which is dotted with narrow lanes, collapsed shortly before noon, trapping over 40 people under the debris. -- PTI
20:07 Will decide on Sidhu's resignation tomorrow: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday said he will decide on Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation on Wednesday after going through the contents of his letter. Singh said he has some meetings lined up in Delhi and will return to Chandigarh on Wednesday.
"I will decide on his resignation only tomorrow, after I return to Chandigarh. I will have to look into the contents of the resignation letter before taking a decision," he told PTI.
19:28 Extremely heavy rain forecast, Kerala on alert
With the weather office predicting extremely heavy rains in the coming days for Kerala, a red alert has been issued in the state's six districts, including Idukki and Malappuram, from July 18.
The red alert, denoting likelihood of very heavy to extremely heavy rain, has been issued in Idukki, Malappuram , Wayanad, Kannur, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts on different days from July 18-20.
Extremely heavy rains-- over 204 mm rains in 24 hours, have been forecast, a India Meterological Department (IMD) bulletin said.
The second spell of the South West Monsoon is starting on Wednesday and there is a possibility of formation of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) sources told PTI.
'Since there are possibilities of flooding and landslides, people have been asked to be extremely cautious and take necessary precaution to keep themselves safe,' Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook Post.
Officials have asked to open control rooms at taluk level. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea as strong winds from westerly direction and speed reaching 40-50 kmph is likely along and off the Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts.
The South West Monsoon had made its footfall in Kerala on June 8, a week late, marking the official commencement of the four-month rainfall season in the country.
There has been a 46 per cent deficiency of rainfall till July 15. -- PTI
19:20 Uikey, Harichandan appointed governors of Chhattisgarh and AP
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Anusuiya Uikey and Biswa Bhusan Harichandan were appointed on Tuesday as governors of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh respectively.
A communique was issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan after President Ram Nath Kovind cleared their files for the gubernatorial post.
Harichandan, who is a BJP leader from Odisha, replaces E S L Narasimhan, who was the governor of Andhra Pradesh for the last one decade.
Uikey is a BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh. The post of Chhattisgarh governor was under the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. -- PTI
18:30 Ask what govt doing: Deora on building collapse
Congress leader Milind Deora on Tuesday termed the building collapse in Dongri 'unfortunate' and urged citizens to question the government as to why such incidents keep happening year after year.
"This is, unfortunately, something that happens in Mumbai every year during monsoon. You'll see wall collapses, there are potholes on roads where people die, young boys fall into manholes. Mumbaikars must ask what is the government is doing and who is in charge of Mumbai," Deora told ANI.
Deora visited the site where more than 40 people are still feared to be trapped under debris.
He talked to the people and also urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to carry out a review of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
He raised questions on why the building was not evacuated if it was deemed unfit for living in. which made it unfit for living.
"If that is the case then the officers in charge of evacuating the people need to be punished. Because tomorrow if BMC and MHADA declare a building unsafe it then becomes the officer's job to evacuate them with the help of the police," he said.
Deora termed the building collapse a result of 'bureaucratic and administrative negligence' as no review meeting of the BMC and MHADA was chaired by the chief minister before the monsoons.
"I believe this is an example of bureaucratic and administrative negligence. Before every monsoon, the chief minister, regardless of the party A or B, calls a review meeting of these old buildings, they call agencies like MHADA and BMC and ask residents of buildings which are at risk to move out. This has not happened this year, why is it so?" Deora questioned.
The four-storey building in Dongri area had collapsed at around 11 am today where NDRF and fire brigade teams are carrying out rescue and relief operations. -- ANI
18:17 IAF prepared to fight across entire spectrum of warfare: Dhanoa
The Indian Air Force is ready for any kind of warfare, be it a skirmish like Kargil conflict, retaliation to a terrorist attack or an all-out war, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said Tuesday.
Addressing a seminar on '20 years of Op Safed Sagar', Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa, who was then the Commanding Officer of 17 Squadron and operating from Srinagar, recalled the air action that took place during the Kargil conflict.
It was for the first time that the MiG-21 aircraft carried out air-to-ground bombing at night in the mountains, he said.
Operation Safed Sagar was carried out by the Air Force in Operation Vijay to drive out infiltrators from Kargil.
Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa spoke about the operational limitations that existed in 1999 and the innovative ways adopted by the IAF to overcome the difficulties during the conflict.
The developments which took place post Kargil war have transformed the Air Force in capability so as to counter any kind of air threat in conventional and sub-conventional domains of warfare, he said.
"The IAF is prepared to fight across the entire spectrum of warfare, be it an all-out war, a skirmish like Kargil conflict or retaliation to a terrorist attack," the Air Force Chief said.
Early this year, after the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel, the Air Force launched air strikes at a terror camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistani territory.
During the Kargil conflict, precision bombing capabilities which existed only on Mirage-2000 are now also available on Su-30, Jaguar, MiG-29 and MiG-27 upgraded aircraft, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa noted.
At present, BVR (beyond-visual-range) missiles are carried by MiG-29, Su-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft.
The IAF has the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to monitor the airspace deep inside the enemy territory and operates on secure communication with network-centric warfare capabilities, he said. -- PTI
18:03 BMC chief visits site of building collapse
Praveen Pardeshi, BMC Commissioner, visited the site of the Kesarbaug building collapse in Dongri today. 12 people have died in the incident, so far.
18:01 Governors for AP, Chhattisgarh announced
New governors have been announced: Anusuiya Uikey as governor of Chhattisgarh and Biswa Bhusan Harichandan is the new governor of Andhra Pradesh.
17:53 Multi-pronged approach adopted to check infiltration of illegal immigrants
The Central government on Tuesday said that it has adopted a multi-pronged approach to ensure effective surveillance and domination of international borders to check infiltration of illegal immigrants.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a written reply to Parvesh Sahib Singh in Lok Sabha that physical infrastructure like border fencing, floodlighting, construction of border roads and establishment of border outposts have been created.
17:26 Ben Stokes may be knighted for WC final
England's all-rounder Ben Stokes is likely to receive knighthood after showcasing a match-winning performance against New Zealand in the finals of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Stokes played an unbeaten knock of 84 runs and after his performance, UK Prime Minister candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt said they would go to the maximum to give Stokes "knighthood".
It may be noted that Johnson or Hunt will replace outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May later this month.
"I will give dukedoms, whatever - I will go to the maximum, too, what, the Garter King of Arms. Yes is the answer, absolutely," cricket.com.au quoted Johnson as saying on the leadership debate hosted by The Sun and talkRADIO.
"Of course," added Hunt, when asked about granting knighthood to Stokes during the debate.
England scripted history on Sunday by claiming their first-ever World Cup title. The finals will be remembered for ages as it did not have a winner after the 50-over and super over action both ended in a tie.
In the end, England were announced as the winner as they had hit more boundaries - 26 - as compared to New Zealand's 17 boundaries in the match.
Image: England all-rounder Ben Stokes with UK PM Theresa May
17:16 Operation cost for US-bound flights likely to come down by Rs 20L: AI
With Pakistan opening its airspace for all commercial airlines on Tuesday morning, Air India said operation costs for one-way US and Europe-bound flights are likely to come down by Rs 20 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively. After Pakistan closed its airspace following the Balakot air strikes of February 26, Air India suffered a financial loss of around Rs 491 crore as it had to re-route its various international flights.
An Air India spokesperson Tuesday said, "As Pakistan airspace now open, aircraft utilisation will go up while crew requirement will come down by 25 per cent."
"Flight operation cost for USA-bound flight may come down by Rs 20 lakh one way and for Europe-bound flights, it may come down by Rs 5 lakh. From tonight, flight operation may be on original schedule, meaning as was before the closure of Pakistani airspace," the spokesperson added.
17:13
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh meets Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in Delhi.
16:43 The slow, but sure decimation of the SP in parliament
Two MPs from the Samajwadi Party in the Rajya Sabha are expected to resign in the next one or two days. There is also speculation that three BSP MPs will follow suit.
Today, Neeraj Shekhar, son of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, joined the BJP in the presence of its general secretaries Bhupendra Yadav and Anil Jain, a day after he quit Samajwadi Party and also resigned from the Rajya Sabha.
BJP leaders want these resignations to happen quietly and one at a time, so that the attention span of the media is drawn out.
It's also a political message to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati on Uttar Pradesh politics.
At the Central Hall in Parliament, senior BJP leaders JP Nadda and Bhupender Yadav were seated with Amar Singh and Naresh Agarwal and discussing the decimation of the Samajwadi Party in the Rajya Sabha.
It is an open secret that those who resign from the SP's Rajya Sabha MPs will get reelected but on a BJP ticket. With this, the BJP strength in the Rajya Sabha will increase.
BJP Chief Amit Shah with the assistance of Nadda have worked out a massive strategy to have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
The triple talaq bill might be introduced in Rajya Sabha by the end of this week, but voting will be during the winter session of parliament, by which time the BJP will ensure that they get majority in the upper house.
16:28 Patil, Lodha get key posts in Maharashtra BJP
Changes in the BJP's leadership in Maharashtra.
Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday was appointed the BJP's Maharashtra unit president, replacing Raosaheb Danve Patil, ahead of the state assembly elections due later this year. Patil, the Revenue minister in the state, was one of the troubleshooters for the BJP government during the Maratha reservation agitation. He replaces Danve Patil, a minister in the Union Cabinet.
The party appointed Mangal Prabhat Lodha its Mumbai unit chief, replacing Ashish Shelar, who was inducted in the BJP government in Maharashtra. -- PTI
16:19 Punjab CM was the centre of attraction in parliament
Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh was the prime attraction at the Central hall of Parliament today.
This morning, the Punjab CM was surrounded by not just journalists but many senior Congress leaders as well, who went up to his seat to greet him.
The media, quite naturally fishing were scoops were given many but strictly off the record. A journalist even asked the CM about the exact nature of his meeting with PM Narendra Modi.
What we can tell you is the Capt Amarinder Singh believes that the Congress party is undergoing a crisis.
"We have to re-instill faith in the party. Voters have certain expectation which he Congress has failed to fulfil. Our campaign style was wrong.
In Punjab, the focus was only on Akali misrule," he said, and did not launch a vehement attack on the PM.
The Capt refused to get drawn into the controversy with former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.
16:03 BMC had served demolition notice to bldg in 2017
Update: The BMC in a letter dated 7 August 2017 classified the Kesarbaug building that collapsed in Dongri, today as 'C1' which should be evacuated for demolition at the earliest... "In the event of any mishap this office won't be responsible," the BMC had said in the notice.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police has requested citizens stay away from the site of the Kesarbai building collapse in Dongri, to facilitate effective rescue operations by authorities.
According to sources, the 11 Ismail Habib building which is situated in front of the 'Kesarbai' building is also being evacuated as it was seen shaking.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an investigation after the four-storey building collapsed killing 12 persons and trapping over 40 people under the debris today.
"As per initial information I have received, around fifteen families have been trapped in the debris of the building collapse. The building is almost 100 years old, its residents had approached MHADA for the redevelopment of the building, we will launch an investigation to find out whether it was carried out or not," Fadnavis told media persons.
The chief minister said that the entire focus is currently on rescuing people who are trapped.
Image: NDRF personnel rescue a woman from the site of the building collapse. Pic: @NDRFHQ
15:40
Mangal Prabhat Lodha appointed as the President of the Mumbai, BJP.
15:05 Mumbai bldg collapse toll rises to 12
The death toll in the building collapse in Mumbai stands at 12. A four-storey residential building collapsed in south Mumbai's congested Dongri area Tuesday with 40 to 50 people feared trapped under the debris, civic officials said. The 'Kesarbaug' building, located in a bustling narrow lane in Tandel Street of Dongri area of south Mumbai, crashed this morning, housing minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said.
Scores of locals joined in the effort, forming a human chain to help in removing the debris brick by brick and picking up slabs of concrete to locate those buried. Meanwhile, Vinod Ghosalkar, chief of the repair board
of MHADA, said the building did not belong to the housing body
as mentioned by a few locals and a legislator.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a probe in the incident.
14:25 Bldg collapse: CM orders probe, child rescued
Mumbai building collapse: A child has been rescued from the collapse site in Dongri and admitted to hospital. He is stable.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis reacts: As per the initial information I have received, around 15 families are feared trapped in the collapse. The building is around 100 yrs old. The entire focus is on rescuing the people trapped. Investigation will be done.
14:07 5 rescued from collapsed building in Mumbai
At least three teams of the NDRF, fire brigade, the BMC's disaster management team as well as all senior officials of the MCGM are on the site, the BMC said. "Rescue work is in progress & we request citizens to cooperate with the authorities," the BMC said.
The access to the building is very narrow and no JCB cranes can be commissioned here. Each slab of concrete is being picked up with bare hands to look for anyone trapped in the debris. Locals say the building was at least a 100 years' old. Five people have been rescued so far, with two people confirmed dead.
Pic: Sahil Salvi.
13:41 2 dead, several trapped in Mumbai bldg collapse
A four-storey residential building collapsed in south Mumbai's congested Dongri area on Tuesday, trapping about 40 to 50 people under the debris, civic officials said. The ground-plus-four-storey 'Kesarbai' building, located in a densely populated narrow lane in Dongri's Tandel Street, crashed around 11.40 am, an official from the BMC disaster management cell said. A portion of the building was left standing after the collapse.
The BMC's Disaster Management Cell says two people have died and five have been rescued so far, after a building collapsed in Dongri. CPRO BMC said the civic body has opened a shelter at Imamwada Municipal Secondary Girls' School for the affected.
Around 40 to 50 occupants of the building are trapped, he said. Fire brigade, Mumbai Police and civic officials rushed to the site but the constricted lanes made it difficult to access the area, reduced to a mass of rubble, twisted concrete and broken wires.
Scores of locals joined in the effort, forming a human chain to help in removing the debris brick by brick and picking up slabs of concrete to locate those buried.
Television visuals showed a young child being rescued and handed over to workers.
Ambulances could not reach the site and had to be parked around 50 metres away. An eyewitness said the building collapse felt like a quake.
The building was owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority and its officials reached the site to assess the situation. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force were also deployed to help rescue those trapped. -- PTI
13:11 Rahul asks Cong workers wade into flood relief
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday appealed to his party workers to immediately take up relief operations in the flood-affected states of Assam, Bihar, Tripura, Mizoram and Uttar Pradesh.
"The flood situation in Assam, Bihar, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram has worsened and the people living in these states have been badly affected. I appeal to all the Congress party workers in these states to immediately take up relief operations," he tweeted.
In the last several days, torrential rains have wreaked havoc across the country particularly in the eastern and north-eastern parts. The incessant downpour has led to casualties and damage to crops and livestock.
The state governments in the affected states have directed officials to make adequate arrangements for ensuring relief aid to the affected people. -- ANI
12:57
Search and rescue operation underway at the Dongri building collapse site.
12:47 40 people feared trapped in Mumbai bldg collapse
The four-storey Kesarbai building at Tandel street in the congested locality of Dongri in south Mumbai, collapses. At least 40-50 people are believed to be trapped under the debris. Several fire engines are at the spot along with rescue teams. People are being pulled out from under the debris with local residents helping in the search and rescue. The approach road to the building is extremely narrow and may hamper rescue operations. Details awaited.
12:27 HC quashes CRZ clearance to Rs 14,000 cr coastal road project
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday quashed the CRZ clearances granted to the city civic body's Rs 14,000-crore coastal road project. The project proposed to connect Marine Drive area in south Mumbai to Borivali in north Mumbai.
A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar quashed the Coastal Regulation Zone clearances while allowing a bunch of petitions filed by activists, residents and fishermen from the city challenging the project.
"We are quashing the CRZ clearances granted to the project. We have held that the environment clearance is required for the project," the bench said. The court's ruling means the BMC cannot continue work on the project. -- PTI
12:25 Elephant carcass washes up in flooded Assam
The body of an elephant was found in the Jamugurihat area of Sonitpur district, this morning. Forest officials have reached the spot and an investigation is underway.
The Assam government on Monday issued a red alert as the Assam flood situation turned extremely critical, displacing tens of thousands and cutting off entire portions of the state. As many as 4,157 villages across 30 districts of the northeastern state, including Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Darrang, Udalguri, Baksa, Barpeta, Nalbari, Chirang, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar, were submerged as the rain continued unabated. The number of dead also increased to 15, with four people losing their lives on Monday.
Forest officials said that 95 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park -- home to the endangered one-horned rhino -- has been flooded with the death of 17 wild animals in the past two days. Animals could be seen emerging out of the park to escape drowning.
12:03 Rebel Cong MLA moves K'taka HC against detention
Hours after suspended rebel Congress MLA Roshan Baig was detained by a Special Investigation Team at the airport here, his advocate on Tuesday filed a petition in Karnataka High Court questioning the detention of his client in connection with the multi-crore IMA fraud case.
Baig's advocate has questioned how his client could be detained by the SIT when he had been asked to appear before it on July 19.
Last night, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took to Twitter to say that the SIT formed by the state government to probe multi-crore IMA fraud case had detained Baig, for questioning in the case.
Kumaraswamy informed that Baig was detained at BIAL airport while he was attempting to leave for Mumbai on a chartered flight along with BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa's personal assistant, Santosh.
However, Santosh managed to flee from the airport after seeing the SIT but the team apprehended Baig.
"Today SIT probing the IMA case detained Roshan Baig for questioning at BIAL airport while he was trying to leave along with BS Yeddyurappa's PA Santosh on a chartered flight to Mumbai. I was told that on seeing SIT, Santosh ran away while team apprehended Mr Baig," Kumaraswamy said.
In another tweet, JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy accused Karnataka unit of BJP of helping a former minister escape, who is facing a probe in the IMA fraud case.
"BJP MLA Yogeshwar was present at the time there. It's a shame that BJP Karnataka is helping a former minister escape, who is facing a probe in the IMA case. This clearly shows BJP's direct involvement in destabilizing the government through horse trading," he said.
Baig, who was suspended from Congress for anti-party activities, had said that he would quit the party and join BJP, a day after he resigned from his membership in the state Legislative Assembly.
An 11-member SIT headed by DIG BR Ravikanthe Gowda was formed by the Karnataka government to probe the alleged fraud by the firm.
11:59 Maha: Two kids die of suffocation after getting trapped in car
Two children died of suffocation after getting stuck in a car in Buldhana district of Maharashtra, police said Tuesday. Another child was pulled out alive from the car but was in a serious condition, an official at Buldhana city police station said. ''
The three children, residing in the same locality in Gawalipura area in Buldhana, went to play out of their houses on Monday evening. But, after some time when their parents could not find them, they lodged a police complaint.
The police later launched a search and around 2 am on Tuesday, they found the three children lying unconscious in a car parked in the same area, the official said.
The children were rushed to a nearby government hospital where two of them - Azim Shaikh (3) and Adil Sheikh Jamil (5) - were declared dead, he said. The third one, a five-year-old girl, was found alive and was admitted to the same hospital where her condition was reported to be serious, he said.
The police suspect that the children apparently saw the car with its doors open and climbed in. They probably closed the doors, but could not open them again and got suffocated, the official said. -- PTI
11:56 Bombay HC cancels CRZ clearance
Bombay High Court has cancelled the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance given for coastal road project in Mumbai. The order came on multiple petitions filed by few NGOs and local residents.
11:49
The Chief Justice of India on the Karnataka Speaker: We cannot fetter the Speaker. We cannot consider how the Speaker is to decide.
11:36 K'taka speaker has to accept resignations: MLAs
The Supreme Court Tuesday commenced hearing on the Karnataka political crisis and would examine "weighty" constitutional issues in the resignation and disqualification of 15 rebel MLAs of the ruling Congress-Janat Dal-Secular coalition.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, lawyer for rebel MLAs told the apex court that Karnataka speaker has to accept resignation of MLAs and there is no other way to deal with it.
Rohatgi also said that there is vote of confidence in assembly and rebel MLAs may be forced to follow whip despite resigning.
The apex court, which was dealing with the plea of 10 rebel MLAs on July 12, will now hear five more lawmakers who have sought identical relief that Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar accept their resignations as well.
The five MLAs -- Anand Singh, K Sudhakar, N Nagaraj, Munirathna and Roshan Baig -- mentioned their application before a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta Monday seeking impleadment as parties to the pending plea on which it was ordered that the speaker would not take any decision till Tuesday on the resignations and disqualifications.
Image: Karnataka assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo
11:23 Kejriwal gets bail in defamation case
A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijender Gupta.
Gupta had accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders of "maligning" his image by accusing him of attempting to kill the Delhi chief minister.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal granted relief on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and one surety of like amount.
Vijender Gupta, who is the leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, has claimed in the complaint that due to widespread circulation of tweets and news reports on the statement of the two AAP leaders, his reputation was harmed for which they have not expressed any remorse or apologised. -- PTI
10:59 Sensex crosses 39,000 mark
Equity benchmark indices traded slightly higher during early hours on Tuesday as traders awaited more corporate earnings scheduled to be announced in coming weeks.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up 113 points at 39,010 while the Nifty 50 gained 40 points to 11,629.
At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices were in the green except for auto, IT and pharma.
Nifty metal and PSU banks showed most gains. -- ANI
10:36 Modi, Shah attend BJP parliamentary party meet
Bharatiya Janata Partys parliamentary party meeting commenced at Parliament Library Building in New Delhi on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders of the party in attendance.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan were among the early leaders to arrive for the meeting.
10:14 Wife of pilot killed in Mirage crash to join IAF
Garima Abrol, wife of late Squadron Leader Samir Abrol who was killed in Mirage 2000 fighter jet crash, has cleared Services Selection Board in Varanasi and may get an opportunity to join the Indian Air Force's academy in Dundigal in Telangana.
Squadron Leaders Samir Abrol and Siddartha Negi lost their lives in February this year during a crash while they were test flying a Mirage 2000 fighter jet in Bengaluru.
Both pilots were from the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment.
Sources in the air force said initial reports suggest that the plane took off and then made a failed landing attempt, after which parts of the front portion broke off and the aircraft crashed into a gate near the runway.
The avionics and electronic warfare capabilities of the planes were upgraded and the two pilots were taking it for an acceptance test when it crashed at the HAL airport.
However, Sushant Abrol, the brother of Samir Abrol had requested a central government inquiry into the mishap.
Garima Singh had told ANI, "I want justice for my husband. And such things should never be repeated. My husband could have ejected early but that would have taken the lives of many other people. I request the government to hold the culprit accountable and punish them."
09:40 Man held for harassing Bengali actress on social media
A person has been arrested for allegedly threatening and abusing a Bengali actress on social media, a senior police officer said Monday.
Acting on the complaint lodged by Arunima Ghosh, police arrested Mukesh Shaw, a resident of Garfa area in south Kolkata, late Sunday night, the officer said.
"The accused has been posting illicit comments, threats and abuses on a social networking account of the actress since May 30," he said.
The accused had opened a fake account in the name of Mukesh Mayukh, the officer said.
"We are trying to find out why he did all these. We are also checking whether he is mentally stable or not," the investigating officer said.
Ghosh said,"Initially, I was ignoring this. Then I found that he was keeping an eye on each and everything I was doing and wherever I was going. Then I contacted the Kolkata Police." -- PTI
08:53 Rebel K'taka Cong MLA Roshan Baig detained
The special investigation team probing the multi-crore IMA Jewels ponzi scam detained Congress MLA Roshan Baig when he was about to board a chartered plane from the Bengaluru international airport, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said.
The chief minister alleged that BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa's personal assistant Santhosh was along with Baig when he was leaving, a charge rubbished by the BJP.
Baig, the MLA from Shivajinagar, was suspended from the Congress for his alleged anti-party activities as he had rebelled against the party leaders.
"Today SIT probing the IMA case detained R Roshan Baig for questioning at the BIAL airport while he was trying to leave along with BS Yeddyurappa's PA Santosh on a chartered flight to Mumbai," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
He added that on seeing the SIT, Santhosh ran away while the team apprehended Baig.
Kumaraswamy claimed that BJP MLA Yogeshwar was present at the airport at the time and said it was shameful on the part of the BJP that it was helping a former minister, who is facing a probe in the IMA case, escape.
"This clearly shows BJP's direct involvement in destabilising the government through horse trading," he alleged.
The BJP, however, refuted the allegations and accused Kumaraswamy of using the state machinery to save his government.
"CM H D Kumaraswamy is using the state machinery to save his govt now. Roshan Baig was given time till 19th July to appear before SIT. This shows how the state government is blackmailing and treating their own MLAs' using the institutions," the BJP tweeted.
The saffron party also rubbished the chief minister's charge that Yeddyurappa's PA was travelling.
"It is false that Yeddyurappa's PA Santhosh was travelling along with Mr. Baig. CM is peddling fake news and misleading the state. It was only Baig who was travelling and there was no second passenger. We demand to check boarding passes and CCTV footage to put out the facts," the BJP tweeted.
The Kumaraswamy-led Congress-Janat Dal-Secular government is facing a crisis after a flurry of resignations by its MLAs.
The chief minister has been alleging the BJP's involvement in pulling down his government. -- PTI
08:50 Mumbai mayor's vehicle found in no-parking zone, fined
The traffic police on Monday issued a challan after Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar's official vehicle was found parked in a no-parking zone, an official said.
Mahadeshwar's vehicle was seen parked right under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's no-parking signboard in suburban Vile Parle on Saturday, said the official.
At that time, Mahadeshwar, a Shiv Sena leader, was visiting the Koldongari area in Vile Parle.
His official vehicle was spotted outside a popular coastal fish food joint between Andheri and Vile Parle, the official said.
The food joint is situated at a narrow and congested road which has been declared a no-parking zone, he said.
Taking serious cognisance of the violation, the traffic police issued a challan to the mayors vehicle, said a senior police official.
However, the fine amount was not known.
A challan refers to the receipt for fine recovered for traffic rule violation.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation administration has started a drive against unauthorised parking since last week and collected lakhs of rupees in fine.
The civic body has been imposing hefty fines on vehicles parked within a 500-meter radius of 29 authorised public parking lots in the metropolis, the official said. -- PTI
08:32 Pak opens airspace for all civilian traffic
Pakistan opened its airspace for all civilian traffic on Tuesday morning, sources said, effectively removing the ban on Indian flights that were not allowed to use majority of its airspace since the Balakot air strikes in February.
The move is expected to give a major relief to Air India, which suffered a huge financial loss of around Rs 491 crore as it had to re-route its various international flights due to the closure of the Pakistan airspace.
"Pakistan has permitted all airlines to fly through its airspace from around 12.41 am today. Indian airline operators will start using normal routes through Pakistan airspace soon," the sources told PTI.
Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) at around 12.41 am Indian Standard Time, stating that "with immediate effect Pakistan airspace is open for all type of civil traffic on published ATS (air traffic service) routes".
Pakistan had fully closed its airspace on February 26 after the Indian Air Force struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in retaliation to the Pulwama attack on February 14. Since then, the neighbouring country had only opened two routes, both of them passing through the southern region, of the total 11.
On its part, the IAF had announced on May 31 that all temporary restrictions imposed on the Indian airspace post the Balakot strike had been removed. However, it did not benefit most of the commercial airliners and they were waiting for Pakistan to fully open its airspace.
In India, the biggest pain was suffered by Air India that conducts various international flights from Delhi to Europe and the US.
The national carrier had lost Rs 491 crore till July 2 due to the closure of the Pakistan airspace. Private airlines SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir lost Rs 30.73 crore, Rs 25.1 crore and Rs 2.1 crore, respectively, according to the data presented by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in the Rajya Sabha on July 3.
Post the air strike, Air India had to re-route, merge or suspend many of its international flights that connect India with European and US cities.
00:12 Fuel supply issue with IOC resolved: Air India
Air India on Monday informed that the issue pertaining to the supply of fuel by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) was resolved after the intervention of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
"After intervention by Ministry of Civil Aviation, the issue was resolved, " said Air India spokesperson.
According to sources, Indian Oil Corporation Limited had apprised AI that fuel supply to the national carrier at several airports needs to be stopped due to existing debt against the airline. -- ANI
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