Notably, some faculty members of the premier management institute had raised objection to a proposed change in the logo of the IIMA through a letter to the BoG earlier this month. 

They had complained in the letter that the decision to change the logo was taken without any consultation. 

"We had a discussion today around the issue of logo and the board has decided to keep it in abeyance (launch of a new logo) as of now. Errol D'Souza (IIMA director) will put it out for wider consultation and inputs, and we will then look at it again," Birla told reporters in Ahmedabad. 

The chairperson of the Board of Governors said the new IIMA logo was to be launched in June, but now it has been postponed. Birla was here to attend the IIMA's 57th annual convocation. 

"A lot of people had their emotions attached to the existing logo. So we thought it's right to take everyone's opinion into account (before coming out with a new logo)," said Birla when asked about the reason behind the postponement. -- PTI

The accident took place near Gorah post in Balnoi area of Mankote sector at around 5.30 pm when the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve, they said. 

A rescue operation was immediately launched and the three soldiers in the vehicle were taken to a nearby hospital where the JCO was declared dead, according to officials. -- PTI

The accused, Jitendra Jaiswal, who runs a news portal named Bharat Samman, allegedly used to run an extortion racket under the garb of journalism and circulate defamatory content and spread rumours against the victims to extort money from them. 

"Six cases have been registered against Jaiswal (during the past two weeks) in Surguja and neighbouring Balrampur district," said Ajay Yadav, inspector general of police (Surguja range). 

He was arrested last week and lodged in a jail in adjoining Surajpur district, the IG said, adding that investigation into all the cases is underway. 

Based on a written complaint application submitted on April 1 by Jitendra Soni of Ambikapur, Jaiswal, a native of Balrampur, was booked under sections 384 (extortion), 392 (robbery), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC at Gandhinagar police station, a Surguja police statement said. 

Subsequently, another case was registered in Gandhinagar police station based on a complaint by Praveen Agarwal, a resident of Balrampur district. 

Agrawal accused Jaiswal of demanding extortion from him and threatening to get him killed by Maoists if he did not fulfill his demand, it said. -- PTI

Officials said the two police personnel posted at his house rushed out after hearing gunfire and found Singh in a pool of blood. 

Fifty-five-year-old Singh, who received one bullet in the head and two in the chest, was taken to a hospital in Srinagar where he died. 

"Civilian Satish Kumar Singh, a resident of Kulgam, succumbed to his injuries at hospital. Terrorists involved in this gruesome terror crime will be neutralised soon. Search to track the involved terrorists in progress," the police said in a tweet. 

Officials suspect that a new recruit of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror group was involved in the attack. 

Kulgam and Shopian districts have small pockets with Rajput families who have not migrated out of Jammu and Kashmir. 

They are mainly into apple business. 

Terrorists have stepped up attacks on civilians in south Kashmir over the past 10 days. 

Four labourers hailing from outside Jammu and Kashmir were injured in two separate attacks in Pulwama last week, while a Kashmiri Pandit shopkeeper was shot and injured by terrorists in Shopian. -- PTI

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told PTI that police arrested Muni in Sitapur. 

Bajrang Muni Das, the mahant of Maharshi Shri Lakshman Das Udaseen ashram in Khairabad town of Sitapur, had allegedly made a hate speech against Muslims on April 2. 

A video of it later surfaced on social media platforms. 

Adhikari, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, was leading a law violation programme outside the district magistrate's office at Suri when he was injured. 

He alleged that the Trinamool Congress administration is behind the incident. 

According to sources, the police had put up iron barricades outside the DM office to stop the agitators from forcibly entering the premises. 

During a scuffle between party activists and the police, one of the barricades fell on Adhikari's feet injuring him. 

The BJP leader was taken to a nearby hospital, from where he was later released. 

"There is a slight crack. Everybody has seen who has done it. I don't want to blame or name anyone," Adhikari said without elaborating after coming out of the hospital. 

"As they (TMC administration) can't stop me, they have resorted to such tactics," he said. 

Earlier, speaking at the programme, he alleged that Birbhum district has been turned into a place where rule of law does not exist. 

"Under the TMC regime, Birbhum has turned into a safe haven for criminals. Anti-socials are calling the shots," he said. 

Nine people, mostly women, were burnt to death at Bogtui village in the district soon after a local TMC leader was murdered on March 21. -- PTI

Over 60 tourists were trapped in cable cars midway for over 46 hours at Trikut Hills, about 20 km from the famous Baba Baidyanath temple in Deoghar in Jharkhand since Sunday after a ropeway malfunction that resulted in trolleys colliding. 

They were evacuated by combined teams of the Indian Air Force, Army, ITBP, NDRF and the district administration. Three persons died in the tragedy. 

Modi said the country is proud that it has such a skilled force in the form of Army, Air Force, National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and police force, which have the capacity to bring the people of the country out of every crisis safely. 

The prime minister interacted with the personnel involved in the rescue operation and sought to know about their experience. The entire country applauds the heroic efforts of those involved in the rescue operation in Deoghar, he said. 

Modi expressed sadness that the lives of three persons could not be saved and said, "Our deepest sympathies are with the families of the victims." He also wished a speedy recovery to those injured. 

"For three days, round the clock, you completed a difficult rescue operation and saved the lives of many people of the country," Modi told the rescue personnel. 

Home Minister Amit Shah, who was also present during the online interaction, said various agencies worked in coordination to complete the rescue operation with minimum harm.

With no fresh fatality due to COVID-19, the death toll in Mumbai remained unchanged at 19,560, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation bulletin said. 

68 out of 73 patients are asymptomatic and five others are admitted to hospitals. 

COVID-19 cases have been rising steadily since the start of this week on Monday, when Mumbai had recorded 23 cases, as per the data. 

A day earlier Mumbai had logged 52 cases and zero fatalities. 

The metropolis has been registering below 100 cases per day since March 3 this year. 

With the rise in the daily cases, the case positivity rate of Mumbai rose to 0.007 per cent from 0.005 per cent. 

In the last 24 hours, 9,970 COVID-19 tests were conducted, taking the total number of samples tested so far in Mumbai to 1,67,45,172, the bulletin said. 

With 51 patients discharged after treatment, the number of recoveries in Mumbai rose to 10,38,676 with a recovery rate of 98 per cent, leaving the city with 331 active cases. 

The case doubling rate now stands at 16,538 days, while the overall growth rate of cases between April 6 to April 12 was 0.004 per cent, it said. 

Notably, only 13 of the total 26,151 COVID-19 hospital beds remain occupied as of Wednesday in Mumbai. 

The metropolis has been free of any sealed buildings and containment zones for a long time. -- PTI

The federal probe agency, according to sources, is investigating the company and its executives under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act related to foreign remittances worth crores of rupees made over the last few years. Jain, the former India head of Xiaomi, was questioned about the India operations of the company and his statement was recorded at ED's Bengaluru zonal office, they said. 

He was asked to furnish a number of financial documents linked to the company which, sources said, have been submitted. 

Documents related to Xiaomi's shareholding, source of funds, vendor contracts, and payments made to Indian management and sent abroad were sought by the ED from Jain, who supervised its operations in India till recently, officials said. 

A Xiaomi spokesperson said they were 'a law abiding and responsible company,' when asked about the ED notice to Jain. 

"We give paramount importance to the laws of the land. We are fully compliant with all the regulations and are confident of the same. We are cooperating with authorities with their ongoing investigation to ensure they have all the requisite information," the spokesperson said. -- PTI

The allegation was made by a student of class-6 of the school at Kannatuvilai in the district and a a video-clip of her making the accusation in front of school authorities and police personnel went viral in the social media on Wednesday. 

Following a preliminary inquriy, the teacher who taught tailoring to students has reportedly been placed under suspension. 

According to the child, the teacher, while telling a story, likened Hindu deities to Satan, glorified Jesus Christ and goaded the students to recite the Bible. 

When the students replied that they were Hindus and would rather read the Bhagavad Gita, the teacher retorted that the Gita was bad and that the Bible is full of good ideals and hence should be read. 

The girl student said such propagation of Christianity happened during the class hours. 

After the lunch break, the students were also asked to kneel down and recite Christian prayers. 

When the child informed her parents about this, her parents took up the matter with school authorities. Kanyakumari district is considered communally sensitive. -- PTI

Following registration of the FIR, the central agency on Wednesday searched 13 locations in Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal linked to the accused and recovered 'incriminating documents', CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said. 

He said the company was engaged in the business of manufacturing high-value fine cotton fabrics and home textiles. 

The company had availed credit from a consortium of banks led by IDBI bank. 

Joshi said promoters/directors of the company were booked for allegedly "misusing/diverting the bank funds during the period 2012 to 2018" which resulted in loss of about Rs 1,245.15 crore to the banks. 

"The complaint was filed by the IDBI Bank Ltd. and also on behalf of four other member banks of the consortium, namely, Central Bank of India, The Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd., Punjab National Bank and Indian Bank," he said. -- PTI

On the directions of the Supreme Court, the special crime unit of the central agency registered the cases late Tuesday evening. 

All the five FIRs registered in Thane and Mumbai have now been re-registered by the CBI as its own cases in accordance with its manual, they said. 

The Supreme Court had on March 24 transferred the investigation of these cases to the CBI, saying "a very murky affair is going on amid echelons of power". 

A bench of justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh had said a thorough investigation was required to regain the faith of people in the state police. 

"The exigencies in the advancement of principles of justice require the investigation to be transferred to CBI. We are not saying appellant (Singh) is a whistle-blower or anyone involved in this case is washed with milk," the bench said while allowing the appeal filed by Singh. 

The bench also refused to revoke the suspension of Singh and said all future FIRs too would be transferred to the CBI. Singh is facing multiple cases of extortion, corruption and misconduct, and was removed from the post of Mumbai police chief over his alleged mishandling of the Antilia bomb scare case. -- PTI

A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000, after the company lodged a complaint with the police. 

The public sector undertaking OIL and the government exchequer have incurred a huge financial loss due to the cyberattack -- ransomware, as the business through the IT system has been seriously affected, OIL manager (security) Sachin Kumar said in the police complaint. 

The cyberattack took place on April 10 at OIL's one of the workstations of the Geological and Reservoir department, but it was intimated by the IT department on Tuesday, he said. 

"After their preliminary investigation, it came to their notice that OIL's network, server and clients' PCs are facing network outage. Further, it also came to their notice that cyberattacker has demanded $75,00,000 as a ransom through a note from the infected PC," Kumar said. 

The server, network and other related services of the company are affected, he added. 

A senior Assam police official in Dibrugarh district said they registered a case under the various sections of the IPC and IT Act, and started an investigation into the matter. 

OIL spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika told PTI from its field headquarters in Duliajan that the company is working on repairing the system in phases and "it will take time". 

"Our online systems are down and we are working offline. The drilling and production work has been unaffected. The data are being saved offline now and it will be uploaded later when the IT system will run again," he said. 

A senior official of the OIL's pipeline headquarters at Narengi in Guwahati said that they have shut down their entire network, although their system has not suffered any attack as of now. 

"Our work is badly affected as we are fully dependent on the internet network. Our IT engineers are constantly monitoring the situation and they are fully prepared to thwart any cyberattack," the official said on condition of anonymity. -- PTI

Ali Harbi Ali, a 26-year-old man of Somali heritage, was arrested by police in Essex, south-east England, in October last year after he had stabbed Sir David Amess more than 20 times. 

He appeared at the Old Bailey court in London for a sentencing hearing after a jury found him guilty of the murder of the Conservative Party member of Parliament for Southend West. 

"His (David Amess) loss is one of national significance," Justice Nigel Sweeney said, handing Ali a whole life sentence '" which means that his time behind bars is unlimited. 

The judge said the terror attack had "struck at the heart of our democracy" and that Sir David was "a man of the greatest substance" who had "done nothing whatsoever" to justify the attack on him. 

"The defendant has no remorse or shame for what he has done, quite the reverse," he added. 

Earlier, Ali told the court during his trial that he has no regrets about the killing, saying the MP deserved to die because he had voted in Parliament for airstrikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015. 

"If I thought I did anything wrong, I wouldn't have done it," he told the jury. 

The defiant attacker also refused to stand in court "on religious grounds", when jurors delivered their verdicts on Monday after just 18 minutes deliberating. 

"Our amazing husband and father has been taken from us in an appalling and violent manner," David Amess' family said in a statement. 

"We shall get over this tragedy. It breaks our heart to know that our husband and father would have greeted the murderer with a smile of friendship and would have been anxious to help. How sickening to think what happened next. It is beyond evil," they said. -- PTI

Over 60 tourists were trapped in cable cars midway for over 46 hours at Trikut Hills, about 20 km from the famous Baba Baidyanath temple in Deoghar, since Sunday after a ropeway malfunction that resulted in trolleys colliding. 

They were evacuated by combined teams of the Indian Air Force, Army, ITBP, NDRF and the district administration. 

Three persons died in the tragedy. 

"At 8 pm today, PM Narendra Modi will interact with personnel of IAF, Indian Army, NDRF, ITBP, local administration and civil society who were involved with rescue operations at Deoghar," the prime minister's office said. -- PTI

Apart from Dr B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary and Ramzan, festivals such as Mahavir Jayanti, Good Friday and Hanuman Jayanti will be observed in the next few days.        

Several festivals are to be observed in the coming days. 

In view of this, all districts of Madhya Pradesh are on alert. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has instructed all ministers in-charge of districts to keep a watch on the situation in their respective areas as a precautionary measure, Mishra, who is state government spokesman, told reporters.        

A day after the violence in Khargone, the state police headquarters had issued orders cancelling the leaves of all police personnel in the state in view of the upcoming festivals.        

The superintendents of police and inspector generals of different districts and zones are authorised to sanction the leave.        

In this order, the senior officials were told not to leave their respective headquarters and take leave in unavoidable circumstances only after the approval of the director general of police. -- PTI

The interim order by Justice N Nagaresh came on a plea by KSRTC challenging the OMCs decision to charge a higher rate from bulk purchasers of diesel as compared to retail prices of the fuel.        

"Whatever be the mechanism adopted by the respondents (OMCs) in fixing the rates for bulk supply to consumer pumps, prima facie the rate levied is highly exorbitant. If it is in pursuance of any agreement, the same is prima facie, an extremely unconscionable term of bargain. In the facts of the case, there will be an interim order directing the respondents (OMCs) to levy the price for HSD for the petitioner at par with the price available at retail pumps. The interim order is provisional and will be subject to the outcome of the writ petition," advocate Deepu Thankan, who represented KSRTC in the matter, quoted the court as saying.      

On March 22, the court declined to stay the OMCs decision to hike price of bulk diesel purchase or restrict them from further increasing the rates, but had asked them to explain the manner in which their pricing mechanism worked. -- PTI

Some lawyers were seen protesting in front of the court of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Wednesday morning even as other advocates went in to plead their matters before him.

A general body meeting of the Bar Association of the Calcutta high court was dissolved owing to an unruly situation on Tuesday.

At the meeting, discussions were scheduled on issues raised by a member with regard to the court of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who has in the recent past ordered a CBI enquiry in at least four cases over alleged irregularities in appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in state government-aided schools.

"WB Guv has urged CM Mamata Banerjee for interaction during the day in view of disturbing and unprecedented worrisome scenario in the precincts of High Court at Calcutta as also the recent spate of heinous crime against women and continual deteriorating law & order in the State," Dhankhar tweeted.

"You would agree that in a system governed by Constitution and rule of law, denial of access to justice and obstruction in the functioning of the courts sounds death knell of democracy," he said.

Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, rising from his court in between hearing of matters, held an urgent meeting on the protests with senior lawyers, barristers, representatives of the three bars of the high court, advocate general and two assistant solicitors general on Wednesday.

"We requested the chief justice to take steps with regard to the prevailing situation which has lowered the prestige of the high court," Bar Association president Arunabha Ghosh, who attended the meeting, said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the  Bar Association, Bar Library Club and Incorporated Law Society.

Ghosh had on Tuesday written a letter to the chief justice informing him that no resolution was passed in the meeting of the Bar Association. 

HDFC, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, PowerGrid and Kotak Bank were among the major laggards.

The necklace Khan received as a gift was not sent to the tosha-khana (state gift repository), but given to former special assistant Zulfikar Bukhari, who sold it to a jeweller in Lahore for Rs 18 crore, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated a probe against Khan over allegations that an expensive necklace received as a gift during his tenure was sold to a jeweller for Rs 18 crore rather than depositing it to the state gift repository, the report said.

Public gifts can be kept in the personal closet by paying half its price but Khan, who lost a no-trust vote in parliament last week, deposited a few hundred thousand rupees in the national exchequer which was illegal, the report said.

According to the law, state officials are required to submit the gifts they receive from dignitaries in the tosha-khana. If they fail to submit the gift or at least half the amount the gift is worth, it is an illegal act.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya, party's Rajasthan chief Satish Poonia and others were stopped from visiting violence-hit Karauli on Wednesday.

They were stopped at the Dausa-Karauli border but kept demanding that they be allowed to meet victims of the April 2 violence, which broke out after a bike rally being carried out to mark Hindu new year was pelted with stones.

Over 30 people were injured in the violence.

'Karauli riots indicate clear lawlessness in Rajasthan. The deliberate attempt to disturb Ram Navami shobha yatra & the unwillingness of Congress govt to act against the aggressors is deplorable,' tweeted Surya, who is also the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP's youth wing.

Police officials said the protesters were stopped at the Dausa-Karauli border.

As they kept demanding that they be allowed to enter Karauli, they were taken into a bus and dispersed, police said.   -- PTI

The by-polls went off peacefully barring minor incidents of violence and saw around 52.5 per cent voting till 5 pm on Tuesday. 

As the voting was held till 6.30 pm, the chief electoral officer's office released revised figures on Wednesday. 

As per the fresh figures, 66.42 per cent and 41.23 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and Ballygunge assembly seat respectively, the official said. 

Around 15 lakh and 2.5 lakh voters were eligible to vote in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district and Ballygunge in south Kolkata respectively. 

In contrast, the Asansol Lok Sabha seat witnessed a turnout of around 76.62 per cent in the 2019 general elections, whereas the Ballygunge assembly constituency saw a 61 per cent voter turnout in last year's assembly polls. 

The by-elections were necessitated as former Union minister Babul Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year. 

The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population. The BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul. 

The party of Mamata Banerjee has fielded Supriyo in Ballygunge where he is pitted against BJP's Keya Ghosh and CPI-M's Saira Shah Halim. 

The Congress is also in the fray in both the seats.

The police on Wednesday nabbed Chandrakant Suryavanshi, a Pune-based journalist with a YouTube channel, the official said. A team from Mumbai's Gamdevi police station took him into custody from Pune and brought him here, the official said, adding that the man was being questioned. 

A group of MSRTC employees, who are on strike, had staged a fiery protest outside Pawar's bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on April 8 afternoon, accusing him of not doing anything to help them. 

The Mumbai police later arrested several people, including lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte, who represents the striking workers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. 

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Tuesday said the intelligence department had sent a letter to police officials concerned on April 4 about a possible protest by MSRTC workers outside Pawar's residence, but still there was a "lapse" and enough security arrangements were not made. 

A probe is already on into the lapse, while the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of zone II has been transferred and a senior inspector of the Gamdevi police station suspended, the minister had said. 

Amid mounting opposition pressure for his resignation over the death of a civil contractor, senior Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa on Wednesday ruled out stepping down from his post, as he wondered if a Whatsapp message can be treated as a 'death note'.

He demanded for a probe into the 'conspiracy' behind Santosh K Patil's death.

Eshwarappa's statement on Wednesday came in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party leader being booked by the police in Udupi for abetment of suicide, following the death of Patil, who had accused the minister of corruption.

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister also wondered how a Whatsapp message can be treated as a 'death note' and said it can be typed by anybody, referring to the purported message by Patil.

No signed or written 'death note' was found near Patil's body, he said.

"The question of my resignation does not arise at all. I will not bow to the opposition demand for my resignation," Eshwarappa said in a press conference at his home town.

The 37-year-old contractor had earlier alleged that Eshwarappa demanded 40 per cent commission for release of funds for the civil works undertaken by him at Hindalga village in Belagavi district ahead of a festival.

The contractor allegedly committed suicide in a lodge in Udupi on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday by consuming some poisonous substance, according to police.

A case of abetting suicide has been registered by the Udupi police against Eshwarappa and his aides Basavaraj, Ramesh and others.

Reiterating that he did not know Patil, the Minister even said he was not 'even related' to the BJP.

"Today only I spoke to the Belagavi district rural president. He told me he (Santosh Patil) has no relation with the BJP. Some people are creating relationship. For whom are they creating this connection? This is the conspiracy. It should be probed," Eshwarappa said.

The minister also insisted upon producing documentary evidence to show that he was involved in the case.

"The conspiracy behind the death should be probed. Did he die on his own or for some other reason must be investigated," Eshwarappa said.  -- PTI

Offences under sections 4 and 25 of the Arms Act have been registered against Thackeray and the MNS' Thane and Palghar district chief Avinash Jadhav and Thane city chief Ravindra More, an official said. 

The case was registered after Thackeray allegedly wielded a sword given to him by local party leaders during a public rally at Gadkari Chowk on Tuesday evening, he said.

Police in Budaun on Wednesday booked a man for allegedly making indecent remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

A police team has been formed to arrest the accused.

The FIR was lodged at the Wazirganj police station of the district.

SSP O P Singh told PTI that a video surfaced on social media, in which the man, identified as Mahendra, is seen making indecent remarks against the CM.

A complaint in this regard was lodged by a Bharatiya Janata Party officer-bearer, Anuj Saxena.

Based on the complaint, an FIR has been lodged under Sections 504 (Intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the IT (Information Technology) Act.

Budaun BJP chief Rajeev Kumar Gupta said, "The indecent comments against the chief minister reflect the poor mindset of people. The administration must take action against them."   -- PTI

A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna asked the petitioner Pride Media to approach the trial court for early hearing of the injunction plea.

"It will be open to the petitioner to move the trial court for expeditious disposal of the plea," the bench said.

The matter was then dismissed as withdrawn.

Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan appeared for the petitioner.

Pride Media had moved the top court against the high court's February 26 order which set aside the ad interim injunction granted by the trial court on February 23 regarding releasing, exhibiting and publishing the series.        

Pride Media contended that they came up with the story of The Jail and prepared a script with 22 celebrities.

It said that the reality show was for 100 days, and they registered the story with the Screen Writers Association.

However, they could not produce the show due to lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions, and by the time they geared up to mobilise production of the show, they came across the Lock Upp reality show.

The high court had said that AltBalaji had already produced the show and also spent huge amounts on marketing and the balance of convenience is in their favour.

"As per the averments, the concept of The Jail was registered way back in the year 2018 but could not produce the film due to the lockdown and Covid situation, but the team of reality show of Lock Upp already produced the show and also spent huge amount on marketing in the month of February 2022 and intended to live stream the show on February 27 and thus, the balance of convenience is in their favour.

"Unless and until it is established that the concept of both shows is similar, and in fact, the concept of Lock Upp reality show was copied from the story of the concept of The Jail, it cannot be said that it will prejudice the rights of the respondents," the high court had said.

Lock Upp is hosted by Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and is being streamed on MX Player and ALTBalaji. 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttarakhand government to file a status report by April 22 after the state said that four first information reports (FIRs) have been registered in connection with the alleged hate speeches made in December last year during an event in Haridwar.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and A S Oka was informed by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for the petitioners, that a similar event is scheduled on April 17 in Himachal Pradesh.

The apex court, while granting liberty to serve advance copy of the application on the standing counsel for the state of Himachal Pradesh, said the applicant is free to give intimation to authorities concerned in the state about the event in light of the order passed by the court earlier.

The top court had on January 12 issued notice on the plea which has sought direction to ensure investigation and action against those who allegedly made hate speeches during two events held in Haridwar and the national capital.

It had then said the petitioners were at liberty to make a representation to the local authorities regarding such events, after Sibal had told the court that a 'Dharma Sansad' was scheduled in Aligarh.

The top court was hearing a petition filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna high court judge and senior advocate Anjana Prakash, who have also sought a direction for an 'independent, credible and impartial investigation' by an SIT into the incidents of hate speeches against the Muslim community.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the counsel appearing for Uttarakhand sought time to file counter affidavit in the matter.

"Today is the first returnable date. We are for the state. We are seeking some time to file counter," the counsel said.

"We have registered four FIRs and in three of them, chargesheets have already been filed," the state's counsel said, adding that he can file a status report in the matter.

The bench told Uttarakhand's counsel to file it and said the matter would be taken up on April 22.

Sibal told the bench that the next event is in Himachal Pradesh and they have filed an application for impleading the state in the matter.

"The problem is, the event (in Himachal Pradesh) is on Sunday. That's the real problem. And see what is happening. I don't even want to read what the kind of things that are being," Sibal said, adding that notice may be issued to Himachal Pradesh.

The bench said it would permit them to serve the standing counsel for the state of Himachal Pradesh and the matter would be listed for hearing on April 22.

Liberty to serve advance copy of the application on the standing counsel for the state of Himachal Pradesh. The state of Uttarakhand to file a status report before the next date of hearing, the apex court said.

Sibal told the bench that the first order passed on the plea by a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana had said that petitioners can intimate the authority about such events.

Needless to observe that the applicant is free to give intimation to   authorities concerned in the state of Himachal Pradesh in light of the order., the bench said.

On January 12, the apex court had asked the Centre, the Delhi Police and the Uttarakhand Police to respond to the plea.

The plea, which specifically referred to the 'hate speeches' delivered between the '17th and 19th of December 2021 at Haridwar and Delhi', has also sought compliance ofthe  apex court's guidelines to deal with such speeches.

One event was organised in Haridwar by Yati Narsinghanand and the other in Delhi by 'Hindu Yuva Vahini' allegedly 'calling for genocide of members' of a community, it has said.

The Uttarakhand Police had filed an FIR on December 23 last year under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against some persons including Sant Dharamdas Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapoorna alias Pooja Shakun Pandey, Yati Narsinghanand and Sagar Sindhu Maharaj.

A similar complaint was filed with the Delhi Police for the second event organised in the national capital.

The plea has alleged that no effective steps have been taken by the Uttarakhand and the Delhi Police.   --  PTI

Aparna Ruth Wilson takes care of the actor's mother-in-law, they said and added that Wilson's husband Naresh Kumar Sagar is an accountant at a private firm in Shakarpur. 

The theft took place on February 11 and an FIR was registered on February 23 when it was reported at the Tughlaq Road police station, the police said. 

The complainant in the case was the manager of Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja's house that employs over 20 people, they said. 

"The Delhi police crime branch along with a team of the special staff branch of the New Delhi district conducted a raid in Sarita Vihar on Tuesday night. They apprehended Wilson and her husband, both 31 years old," a senior police officer said, adding that they have been arrested. 

The stolen jewellery and cash are yet to be recovered, sources said. 

The police said that further investigation is underway and most of the people working at the Amrita Shergill Marg house have been questioned. 

 The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code section 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master), the police said. 

The Tughlaq Road police station had transferred the case to the special staff branch of the New Delhi district for investigation, they said, adding that the crime branch was also probing the matter. 

In March, the Faridabad police had busted a gang of highly-sophisticated cybercriminals that had allegedly duped Kapoor's father-in-law's export-import firm of Rs 27 crore. 

The police had then said that the tricksters had been duping Harish Ahuja's Shahi Export Factory by misappropriating rebate of state and central taxes and levies licenses, meant for his firm, on the basis of his forged digital signature certificate.

The shooting occurred on Tuesday evening around 7 pm local time (Wednesday, 7:30 IST). 

According to the San Bernardino county sheriff's department, the girl was hospitalised in a stable condition. 

The mall has been closed after the incident and people evacuated as police searched the building and adjacent territory. 

The location of the shooter has not yet been identified, but the law enforcers claimed the shooting to be "an isolated incident and not an active shooter situation."

The much-anticipated event, to be held on May 20 and 21 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, will be hosted by Salman Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Maniesh Paul.

The announcement was made by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) in a statement.

Singh, who is the brand ambassador of Yas Island, said he is super thrilled to entertain the viewers with a performance that will be super special.        

"The 22nd edition of the biggest celebration of Indian cinema -- the International Indian Film Academy & Awards, is taking place in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and it doesn't get bigger than this! I am looking forward to a KHAAS IIFA experience at Yas because I know that from the hospitality to the awe-inspiring celebrations, it's going to be epic," the 36-year-old actor said.

Besides Singh, actors Varun Dhawan, Kartik Aaryan, Sara Ali Khan, Ananya Panday, Divya Khosla Kumar and Nora Fatehi are also set to perform at the award show.

The IIFA Awards will take place at the Etihad Arena, part of Yas Bay Waterfront on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the department of culture and tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral. 

The federal probe agency, according to sources, is investigating the company and its executives under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) linked to foreign remittances worth crores made over the last few years.

Jain, the former India head of Xiaomi, has been asked to furnish a number of financial documents linked to the company by appearing in person on Wednesday or by sending it through an authorised representative. 

Documents related to Xiaomi's shareholding, source of funds, vendor contracts, and payments made to Indian management and sent abroad have been sought by the ED regional office located in Bengaluru from Jain, who supervised its operations in India till recently, they said. 

A Xiaomi spokesperson said they were "a law abiding and responsible company", when asked about the ED notice to Jain. 

"We give paramount importance to the laws of the land. We are fully compliant with all the regulations and are confident of the same. We are cooperating with authorities with their ongoing investigation to ensure they have all the requisite information," the spokesperson said. 

Proceedings under the FEMA are civil in nature and the final penalty, post adjudication, can be at least three times the amount contravened under the law. 

Premises of Xiaomi and few other Chinese mobile manufacturing companies were raided across the country by the income tax department in December last year on charges of tax evasion. 

The government has also banned some smartphone applications owned by Xiaomi on security grounds. 

Xiaomi has been leading since last several quarters the Indian smartphone market. Despite a dip in smartphone shipments in India, the company secured 22 per cent market share in the fourth quarter of 2021 and maintained its lead.

Amid rising protests in Sri Lanka over the unprecedented economic crisis, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday offered to hold talks with the agitators who are demanding resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and all members of his family from the government.

The protests entered its fifth day on Wednesday and since it began on Saturday, it was carried out round-the-clock by youths demanding a total transformation of the 'corrupt political culture', which they claim has been prevailing in the island nation since it gained Independence from Britain in 1948.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, Rajapaksa is willing to hold discussions with the protesting youths who are camping at Galle Face esplanade located near President Gotabaya's secretariat.

The prime minister has said if the protestors are ready for talks, he would extend an invitation for their representatives to meet for discussions, the statement noted.

The youths are demanding that President Gotabaya and his entire family -- who are all part of the government -- should quit, while their alleged ill-gotten wealth be brought back to the country to pay the debt.

Prime Minister Mahinda is the elder brother of President Gotabaya. Basil, the youngest, was holding the finance portfolio till he was sacked earlier this month by the president amidst the economic crisis.

The eldest brother, Chamal, controls the agriculture ministry and nephew Namal is the sports minister.

The protest campaign has been running on social media, urging youths to gather at Galle Face.

Besides, there have been continuing protests across the island, blaming the government for its mishandling of the forex crisis which led to severe shortages of essentials.

President Gotabaya who got his ministers to resign as a response to public dissatisfaction failed to win support for his call on the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet.

The main Opposition, meanwhile, announced that its leader Sajith Premadasa has signed three motions which would soon be tabled in Parliament -- a motion of no trust, an impeachment motion against President Gotabaya and a motion to repeal 20 amendments which had given him absolute power as president in 2020.

Maithripala Sirisena, the former president and a member of the ruling partner Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), told reporters Tuesday night that they would no longer attend political talks with the government.

They had proposed an 11-point plan, including the formation of an all-party interim government, to overcome the current political impasse.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948.

People have been protesting for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortage of fuel, food and other daily essentials.

President Gotabaya has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven by the island nation's tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.

Saddled with a huge forex crisis, Sri Lanka on Tuesday suspended servicing external public debt pending the completion of its discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the preparation of a comprehensive debt restructuring programme covering the obligations.

The policy shall be in effect for all international bonds, all bilateral loans excluding swaps between the Central Bank and a foreign central bank, all loans with commercial banks and institutional lenders, the Finance Ministry has said.

In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Prime Minister Mahinda, who is under growing pressure to quit, said he understands the people's sufferings.

"We have to strengthen the economy. We will take the responsibility to resolve the economic issue in the same way we ended the 30-year war," he had said, referring to his military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.

The LTTE, which led a separatist war for a separate Tamil homeland, was crushed by the Lankan military in 2009 with the death of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Mahinda had said the government is working round-the-clock to overcome the economic crisis.

He appealed to the protesters to end their anti-government agitation and said that every minute spent on streets deprives the country of dollar inflow.   -- PTI

The committee, with all the five members being women, has been asked to submit its report at the earliest. 

The committee, with all the five members being women, has been asked to submit its report at the earliest. The members include MP and BJP National Vice President Rekha Verma, UP cabinet minister Baby Rani Maurya, Tamil Nadu MLA and BJP National President Mahila Morcha Vanathi Srinivasan, party leader Khushbu Sunder and West Bengal MLA Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhary. 

Earlier this month, a 14-year-old girl died after she was allegedly gang-raped in West Bengal's Nadia district. The victim's family accused the son of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader in the case. A case under sections 376(2)(G) (gangrape), 302 (murder), 204 (tampering with evidence) of the IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO) Act was registered in the case. 

The Calcutta high court on Tuesday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the Hanskhali rape case. In its detailed order, the HC noted that in order to have a 'fair investigation' and instill confidence in the family of the victim, the case was being handed over to the CBI. 

The state investigating agency has been asked to hand over all papers relating to the investigation, as well as the custody of the accused to the central agency.

Earlier, a First Information Report was registered against Singh in Bhopal on Tuesday evening after a complaint by local resident Prakash Mande. 

The four other FIRs were registered on Tuesday night in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Narmadapuram and Satna, the official said. 

Meanwhile, Singh wrote a letter to Bhopal police commissioner, seeking that an FIR be registered against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for allegedly posting a fabricated video about Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on May 16, 2019. 

In a tweet on Wednesday morning Singh said, 'Instead of answering my question they have filed FIR against me. Is that Democracy BJP Model or Modi Model? What about the Hate speeches made by BJP and RW fraud Babas?' 

Singh had earlier posted a picture showing some youths hoisting a saffron flag at a mosque, and referred to the violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession at Khargone. He later deleted the tweet. 

A case was registered in Satna against Digvijaya Singh for allegedly spreading religious frenzy through the tweet, based on a complaint by BJP functionary Vikas Mishra, Satna Kotwali police station in-charge Satyendra Mohan Upadhyay said. 

In Gwalior, a case was registered against the Congress's Rajya Sabha member at Indarganj police station under relevant IPC sections following a complaint, city Superintendent of Police Vijay Bhadauria said. 

In Jabalpur, a case was registered on a complaint by Bharat Vikas Parishad, said an official from the Omti police station. 

In Narmadapuram, the Kotwali police lodged a case against Singh on the basis of a complaint by one Vishal Diwan, said inspector Santosh Chouhan. 

Earlier, in Bhopal, the case against Singh was registered under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 465 (forgery) and 505 (2) (public mischief), according to the police. 

Several videos of the Bang Bang actor recently surfaced online in which she was seen donning a loose pastel pink suit paired with a matching dupatta. 

Blame it on the bad camera angle, Katrina's get-up or her slightly slow-paced walk, netizens started to speculate on social media if the actor was pregnant. 

One user wrote, "Mommy to be soon! Can't wait to see Katrina's child," while another shared, "She looks pregnant! Oh my god!". A third person wrote, "Pregnant I think." 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Katrina shared pictures of delicious scrambled egg which she had prepared for her hubby Vicky. 

Katrina and Vicky, after dating discreetly for nearly two years, finally tied the knot at the Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan on December 9 last year. They hosted an intimate wedding ceremony, which was attended by close friends and family members. 

Meanwhile, on the work front, Katrina will be back on the silver screen with the third installment of the Tiger franchise, co-starring Salman Khan and Emraan Hashmi. 

She would also feature in Jee Le Zara, co-starring Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra, and Merry Christmas with South superstar Vijay Sethupati. 

Apart from this, Katrina has also been working on the horror-comedy Phone Bhoot alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khatter.

The World Health Organisation has said that it is continuing to monitor several descendent lineages of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, including two new sublineages that have additional mutations associated with potential 'immune escape characteristics'.

The COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update, released by WHO on Tuesday, said that the Omicron variant remains the dominant variant circulating globally.

WHO said it continues to monitor several descendent lineages under the Omicron Variant of Concern, including BA.1, BA.2, BA.3 as well as now BA.4 and BA.5.

It also includes BA.1/BA.2 circulating recombinant forms, such as XE.

"A small number of sequences of BA.4 and BA.5 descendent lineages have now been detected in a few countries. Both have additional mutations in the Spike region (S:L452R, S:F486V) and unique mutations outside of Spike. The S:L452R and S:F486V mutations are associated with potential immune escape characteristics," the global health organisation said.

It added that it is working with scientists to further assess the characteristics of these lineages and their public health implications.

WHO recommends countries to continue surveillance, where possible, and rapid data sharing on publicly available databases.

According to WHO, "the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to evolve. With such intense transmission worldwide, further variants, including recombinants, will emerge. This is expected."

WHO is tracking the two new sublineages (BA.4 and BA.5) as part of the Omicron variant. These variants have additional mutations that need to be further studied to understand their impact on immune escape potential. Only a few dozen sequences of these variants have been reported from a handful of countries.

WHO is working with scientists to better understand their current spread as well as any potential impact they may have.

WHO said that Omicron's properties of immune escape have been associated with the rapid and almost synchronous increase in the global incidence of COVID-19 cases reported until the end of January 2022.

A further increase observed at the beginning of March was driven primarily by a delayed increase in case incidences in the Western Pacific Region and a rebound in the number of new cases reported in the European Region.

"This trend was likely due to a combination of factors, including the predominance of the Omicron Pango lineages BA.1, and then BA.2, with a transmission advantage over other Omicron lineages; relaxation of public health and social measures (PHSM); and waning of humoral immunity following vaccination and/or prior infection," it said.

"The recent detection of emerging recombinants of the Delta-Omicron and Omicron descendent lineages requires ongoing close monitoring."

The WHO update added that globally, during the week of April 4 through 10, the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths has continued to decline for a third consecutive week, with over 7 million cases and over 22,000 deaths reported, a decrease of 24 per cent and 18 per cent respectively, as compared to the previous week.

All regions reported decreasing trends in the number of new weekly cases and deaths.

As of April 10, over 496 million confirmed cases and over 6 million deaths have been reported globally. These trends should be interpreted with caution as several countries are progressively changing their COVID-19 testing strategies, resulting in lower overall numbers of tests performed and consequently lower numbers of cases detected, it said.

Over 11 billion vaccine doses have been distributed globally.

WHO however noted that substantial inequities remain, with only 11 per cent of those in low-income countries (LICs) having completed the primary series; and major differences among regions, with vaccination coverage ranging from 82 per cent in the Western Pacific Region to 13 per cent in the African Region.

There is particular concern about reaching the most vulnerable populations who remain unvaccinated, particularly those of older age and those with comorbidities, it said, adding that globally, an estimated 35 per cent of those aged 60 years and over are awaiting completion of the primary vaccination series.   -- PTI

Equity benchmark indices bounced back on Wednesday after two days of decline, with the Sensex jumping nearly 350 points in early trade, amid a largely positive Asian markets and supported by buying in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys.

The Sensex was trading 349.66 points higher at 58,926.03.

The Nifty gained 109.85 points to 17,640.15. From the 30-share pack, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Reliance Industries, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, ITC and Infosys were among the prominent gainers.

In contrast, Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and Titan were the laggards.

In the previous trade, the Sensex declined 388.20 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 58,576.37.

The Nifty went lower by 144.65 points or 0.82 per cent to finish at 17,530.30.

Meanwhile, retail inflation soared to a 17-month high of 6.95 per cent in March, and remained above the Reserve Bank's upper tolerance level, while factory output grew just 1.7 per cent in February, according to official data released on Tuesday.

In Asia, markets were trading mostly higher, with Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo quoting in the green, while Shanghai was marginally lower in mid-session deals.

Stocks in the US ended marginally lower on Tuesday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained marginally by 0.05 per cent to $104.69 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued to offload shares worth Rs 3,128.39 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.   -- PTI

Consulate General of India in Shanghai will remain inaccessible and will not be in a position to provide consular services in person, in view of the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, the Embassy of India in China said in a statement.

'Considering the above situation, Indian citizens in eastern China region may apply at Embassy of India, Beijing for availing urgent consular services,' read the statement.

The Embassy has come out with a set of guidelines for applicants seeking consular service.

'Applicants are requested to go through the guidelines before starting the actual application process. In case, if an applicant is not in a position to present the documents in person at the Embassy of India, Beijing they may authorize any representative with a proper authorisation letter to pay the fee and get the consular and passport services,' stated the Embassy in the statement.

During the period, the Consulate will remain operational in remote mode and may be reached for any consular emergency at Mobile number: +86 189 3031 4575 / 183 1716 0736, the statement added.

China's 'Zero-COVID strategy' has irked the Shanghai residents as China's largest city has been under a 'draconian' lockdown since April 5.

China has seen its 25 million inhabitants locked down in phases.

The residents complain of food shortages and clashes with health workers reported news.com.au.

But officials are not budging on their zero-tolerance approach.

City health official Wu Qianyu said during a Sunday press conference the city 'would not relax in the slightest'.   -- ANI

Bharatiya Janata Party Madhya Pradesh president V D Sharma on Tuesday charged the tweet of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh as a 'part of the international conspiracy' to disturb the peace and environment of the country and demanded an Intelligence probe into the matter.

Speaking to ANI, Sharma said, "Digvijaya Singh has always hatched conspiracies against the country. It is not only a tweet but a part of the international conspiracy to disturb the state's and country's environment. Intelligence should probe this. Sonia Gandhi has made him in-charge of agitations, to be visible on media."

Asked about the Opposition's objections against bulldozers being used to demolish the houses of the accused, the BJP leader said that Congres has always stood with the culprits and questioned the party's 'advocacy' for the accused.

"The Congress has always stood with such people (culprits). Does the Congress agree to the stone-pelting on the Ram Navami procession? Why is the party advocating for the people against whom the administration is taking action?" he said.

"The way people not only pelted stones at the procession of Ram Navami but also attacked them strategically, and arson at so many places show that it is not a normal incident. It is a conspiracy. The government is working to punish the culprits and they will not be forgiven," Sharma added.

Meanwhile, the Congress leader on Tuesday wrote to the Police Commissioner of Bhopal and demanded legal action against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for 'posting fake video of Rahul Gandhi on May 16, 2019' on Twitter.

'I have demanded legal action against Shivraj ji on the basis of playing this false fake video on his Twitter. There can be no different interpretation of the law. The case should be registered, no matter if a common man commits a crime or a chief minister,' Singh tweeted in Hindi and attached the letter to his tweet.

The Madhya Pradesh Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against Singh for allegedly conspiring to instigate communal violence by posting misleading tweets.

The FIR was filed based on the complaint of one Prakash Mande, a resident of Bhopal.

The case was registered under sections 153A, 295A, 465, and 505 (2) of IPC.

Mande complained that Singh posted a fabricated photo that might instigate communal violence.

The FIR mentioned the tweet by Singh in which the Congress veteran said, 'Did the Khargone administration allow a procession carrying weapons like sticks and swords? Will bulldozers run at the homes of all those who throw stones, irrespective of religion? Do not forget Shivraj ji, you have taken an oath to run the government impartially.'

As many as four houses and three shops near Mohan Talkies, 12 houses and 10 shops in Khaskhas Badi area, three shops in Aurangpura area and 12 shops in Talaab Chowk were demolished.

Approximately 16 illegal sites were demolished near Ganesh Temple in Khargone.  -- ANI

Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde was admitted to a hospital in the city after he suffered a 'stroke' on Tuesday, sources close to the Nationalist Congress Party leader said.

"He did his work as per routine during the day. In the evening, when he was at his personal residence here, he felt uneasy. He suffered a stroke and was admitted to a hospital," they said.

The sources said Munde's test reports so far have been normal.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope met Munde at the hospital.

He said the social justice minister's vital parameters were normal and he was stable.    -- PTI

New York City police named a person of interest in the shooting Tuesday morning aboard a subway train in Brooklyn.

'This is Frank James. He is a person of interest in the shooting that took place on the N train in Brooklyn Tuesday morning. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call @NYPDTips at 1-800-577-TIPS,' the police department said in a Tweet.

Meanwhile, the police department has a description of the suspect and a person of interest is being sought by police, according to New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

'The suspect is a dark-skinned male and was wearing a neon-orange vest and a grey-colored sweatshirt,' Sewell said during a press conference on Tuesday.

'We have a person of interest in this investigation. The suspect had opened smoke grenades on the train and fired his gun 33 times, striking at least 10 people Tuesday morning,' according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.

Later at the scene, investigators found a Glock handgun, three extended magazines, two detonated smoke grenades, two non-detonated smoke grenades and a hatchet, Essig added.

None of the injuries to the victims appears to be life-threatening, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

'We know this incident is of grave concern to New Yorkers,' Sewell said.

'We cannot lose sight of victims in this city. We will use every resource we can to bring those to justice who continue to prey on the citizens of New York.'

According to Sewell, 10 people were shot and 13 others injured after a man wearing a gas mask opened fire and threw a smoke canister aboard the moving train during the morning rush hour.

'He then shot multiple passengers as the train pulled into 36th Street station in Sunset Park. 10 people were injured by the gunfire and an additional 13 were either injured as they rushed to get out of the train station or they suffered smoke inhalation,' she said.

Meanwhile, New York City agencies are offering a joint $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect involved in Tuesday's shooting, as per a statement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The MTA and Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 both offered $12,500 each in reward money and the New York City Police Foundation offered $25,000 in reward money to bring the total reward offering to $50,000.   -- ANI

Japan's high speed Shinkansen trains will be modified for Indian conditions like temperature, dust and weight before they are sent to India for the country's ambitious 'bullet train project'. 

Satish Agnihotri, Managing Director, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said the project is slated to complete a 48 km section between Surat-Billimora in 2027, with the first trials to be held a year earlier.

 

He, however, said the project is stuck in Maharashtra due to land acquisition issues.  

"We will get the E5 Shinkasen series trains currently operating in Japan. However, we are conducting studies to upgrade them to Indian conditions in terms of dust and temperature," Agnihotri said.

The E5 series are Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train types built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

They are capable of running at a speed of 320 kmph and are 3.35 m wide, the widest among such trains are available in countries like France and Germany.

Sources said another aspect that the Japanese are working on is to ensure that the trains are able to carry the Indian weight as the Japanese are lighter.

They indicated that Japan will initially send six trains which are modified according to Indian specifications, and also bring in coaches in knockdown condition to be assembled here in the country.

Officials said actual orders will be placed after the modifications are completed.

Talking about the project, Japanese ambassador to India, Satoshi Suzuki noted, "I am very satisfied, actually impressed by the progress made using the latest technology. We are not exporting a second class train. We will share exactly the same one (E5 series), rather an improved one because the series has been in operation for several years. So, by the time India has its own bullet train, we will make sure that they get the latest technology."

This series of train is running in the northern part of Japan and is equipped with various safety measures. It has anti-seismic technology. This is the best one we could share," he said.  

In Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, 100 per cent of civil contracts for construction of the entire route, that is, 352 kms have been awarded to Indian contractors.

In Gujarat, track work for 237 km has already been awarded and the balance 115 km will be awarded soon. -- PTI

Imran Khan on Tuesday called for early general elections in Pakistan and emphasised that no army or foreign country could safeguard democracy in the country.

   

In a video message posted on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's official Twitter handle, days after he lost a no-trust vote in Parliament, the former prime minister said that only the people of Pakistan can safeguard their freedoms and the sanctity of democratic institutions.

 

He emphasised that no army or foreign country could safeguard democracy in Pakistan.

 

Pakistan has struggled with political instability since its formation in 1947 with multiple regime changes and military coups. No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term.

 

The 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician also announced that on Wednesday he will hold a meeting in Peshawar. "My first jalsa after being removed through a foreign- instigated regime change."

 

"I want all our people to come, as Pakistan was created as an independent, sovereign state not as a puppet state of foreign powers," he said in a tweet.

 

He again claimed that a "grand conspiracy" had been imposed on Pakistan, referring to the joint opposition's no-confidence motion which had resulted in his ousting.

 

Khan on Sunday had vowed to begin the "freedom struggle against a foreign conspiracy" of regime change in Pakistan.

 

"Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change," he wrote on his official Twitter handle on Sunday.

 

"It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty and democracy," he had said. -- PTI