LIVE! Always people first for us: PM on fuel price cut

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Sat, 21 May 2022

Always people first for us: PM on fuel price cut

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22:30

India's forex reserves in past one year.

21:30 Always people first for us: PM on fuel price cut

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a sizeable cut in fuel prices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that people are the first priority for his government.

The government on Saturday cut excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6 per litre to give relief to consumers from high fuel prices that have also pushed inflation to a multi-year high.

Modi tweeted, 'It is always people first for us! Today's decisions, especially the one relating to a significant drop in petrol and diesel prices will positively impact various sectors, provide relief to our citizens and further 'Ease of Living'.'

The decision to give a Rs 200 subsidy per cylinder to beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme was also highlighted by the prime minister.

'Ujjwala Yojana has helped crores of Indians, especially women. Today's decision on Ujjwala subsidy will greatly ease family budgets,' he said.

The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies. -- PTI

Pakistan's ex-human rights minister Shireen Mazari, who has been criticising the powerful Army after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister last month, was 'beaten' and taken away by the police, her daughter said on Saturday.

Mazari's arrest by anti-corruption officials triggered a political storm but it was quickly doused with the intervention of Pakistan's Punjab province Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz who ordered her release from police custody.

Hamza also ordered an inquiry against those police officials involved in 59-year-old Mazari's arrest.

The chief minister said he had not ordered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader's arrest, indirectly suggesting 'other power establishment figures' behind her detention.

Mazari, a former cabinet colleague of ousted premier Imran Khan, has been criticising the Army after Khan was unceremoniously removed from office through a no-confidence motion last month.

Earlier in the day, her daughter Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir tweeted about the arrest by anti-corruption officials.

At the time, charges against Mazari were yet to be announced.

'Male police officers have beaten and taken my mother away. All I have been told is that Anti Corruption Wing Lahore has taken her,' Mazari-Hazir wrote.

Officials of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) confirmed to Dawn News that Shireen had been taken into custody.

According to sources, the police case against Mazari dates back to 1970 when she was seven years old.

Her family is accused of grabbing 800 kanals (100 acres) of land in DG Khan district, 400 km from provincial capital Lahore.

After decades of judicial delay, a police case in the matter was filed in March this year.

Former special assistant to the prime minister, Shahbaz Gill, asked workers of Tehreek-e-Insaf to reach the Kohsar police station in Islamabad where apparently Mazari was held.

PTI leaders said the arrest smacked of political victimisation. Mazari last week alleged that neutrals were neutral when Khan was removed from office -- in what she called an 'American conspiracy'.

The word neutral is used for the Army by PTI leaders. Khan, 69, has alleged he was ousted from office by a conspiracy, led by the US, over his pursuance of an independent foreign policy.

Khan's supporters have used social media to target the Army for doing nothing to save his government.

The state institutions like the judiciary and the military have been severely criticised.

Since then, Khan held several public rallies in different cities, labelling the new government as traitors and corrupt rulers allegedly imposed at the behest of the US.

The US has repeatedly denied any involvement in the domestic politics of Pakistan. -- PTI

20:08 Australian PM Scott Morrison admits defeat

Australian Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is set to become the country's prime minister as Scott Morrison admitted defeat in national elections on Saturday.

Speaking to his supporters, Morrisson said: 'Tonight I have spoken to the leader of the opposition and the incoming Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and I have congratulated him on his election victory.'

Morrison also said he would stand down as leader of the Liberal party, Sky News reported.

'I've always believed in Australians and their judgment, and I've always been prepared to accept their verdict,' he was citied as saying by CNN.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday night projected Labor will form a government for the first time since 2013, with Anthony Albanese to become the country's 31st prime minister.

The result marks an end to the coalition's nearly-nine-year hold on power and Morrison's tenure as prime minister.

Morrison became prime minister in 2018. -- ANI

19:39

COVID-19 situation in India as on May 21, 2022.

19:38

Market watch.

19:07 Govt cuts excise duty on petrol by Rs 8

Bowing to public pressure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 a litre on diesel to avoid increase in fuel prices that were necessitated due to surge in international oil prices.

Also, the government will give Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels. -- PTI

19:00

Top 10 most valued firms this week.

18:02 Honey-trapped soldier caught sharing info

An Army soldier was arrested for sharing confidential and strategic information about the force with a woman Pakistani agent, a top intelligence official said Saturday.

Posted in Jodhpur as a gunner, Pradeep Kumar was in contact with the woman agent of the Pakistani intelligence agency, he said, adding that the gunner was arrested after his movement was kept under surveillance for several days.

It was observed that the soldier was in contact with the Pakistani agent through Facebook and WhatsApp and was sharing confidential information with her, the officer added.

The accused was taken into custody on May 18 for interrogation and then arrested, the official said adding that Kumar, a Uttarakhand native, was recruited only three years ago.

Kumar had received a call on his mobile phone from the woman nearly six months ago with the caller identifying herself as a military nursing service worker in Bangalore, the official said.

She seduced Kumar into meeting her in Delhi and proposed to get married to him, the official said, adding once Kumar was honey-trapped, she began tricking him into parting with confidential information and documents through social media.

Kumar was arrested following the registration of a case under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, the officer said, adding further investigation is on. -- PTI

A New Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Delhi University Associate Professor Ratan Lal, who was arrested a day earlier for his alleged objectionable social media post on claims of a 'Shivling' at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.

The court granted relief to Lal on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of like amount.

Lal was arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) by the Delhi Police.

An FIR was lodged against Lal on Tuesday night based on a complaint filed by a Delhi-based lawyer.

In his complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal alleged that Lal had recently shared a 'derogatory, inciting and provocating tweet on the Shivling'.

Left-affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) activists on Saturday staged a protest outside Delhi University's Arts Faculty against the arrest of Lal, who teaches at the Hindu College. -- PTI

In a sharp retort to Rahul Gandhi on his comments quoting unnamed European bureaucrats that the Indian Foreign Service has completely changed and become arrogant, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said it is called defending national interest.

Reacting to the Congress leader's remarks, Jaishankar tweeted that the change in the Indian Foreign Service is a reflection of confidence.

"Yes, the Indian Foreign Service has changed. Yes, they follow the orders of the Government. Yes, they counter the arguments of others.

'No, it's not called Arrogance,' Jaishankar said.

'It is called Confidence. And it is called defending National Interest (sic),' the minister said.

At the 'Ideas for India' conference in London, Gandhi slammed the BJP government at the Centre on multiple fronts and alleged that the 'deep state' in India is attacking institutions and capturing them.

In the interactive session, Gandhi also criticised the Indian Foreign Service.

'I was talking to some bureaucrats from Europe and they were saying that the Indian foreign service has completely changed, they do not listen to anything. They are arrogant... There is no conversation,' he said. -- PTI

16:31 J-K tunnel collapse: 3 more bodies recovered

Three more bodies were recovered from the debris of an under-construction tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway that collapsed recently, raising the death toll to four, officials said on Saturday.

The operation to rescue nine labourers feared trapped under the debris resumed early on Saturday after a fresh landslide on Friday evening had forced the authorities to suspend the process.

After a hectic search stretching several hours, the rescue teams recovered two bodies and they were shifted to a nearby hospital for identification, the officials said.

Another body was spotted under the debris and efforts are underway to pull it out, they added.

The audit tunnel of T3 on the highway near Khooni Nallah in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district caved in at the start of the work at around 10.15 pm on Thursday, after which officials had confirmed that a labourer had died and three others were rescued.

Nine were feared trapped under the debris.

An operation to rescue them was soon launched but had to be suspended on Friday evening due to a fresh landslide and inclement weather.

Over 15 rescuers, including the Station House Officer of Ramsu police station, Nayeem-Ul-Haq, had a narrow escape during this time, according to the officials. -- PTI

15:19 Mathura mosque issue: Next hearing on July 20

A fast-track court in Mathura has fixed July 20 as the next date of hearing in a suit related to the shifting of the Shahi Masjid Idgah from the land of the Katra Keshav Dev temple filed by petitioner Gopal Baba, a disciple of Naga Baba, last year, the petitioner's counsel said.

"Owing to a no-work call given by the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, the matter was posted for hearing on July 20," Deepak Sharma, the counsel for the petitioner, said.

Claiming himself to be a disciple of Lord Krishna, Gopal Baba had filed the suit in the court of the civil judge (senior division) on September 20, 2021 for the shifting of the Shahi Masjid Idgah, constructed on a part of a 13.37-acre land of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.

Subsequently, the suit was transferred to Additional Civil Judge (fast-track court) Neeraj Gaund on the orders of the Mathura district judge, Sharma said.

The defendants to the suit are the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf board, the Intezamia Committee, the Shahi Masjid Idgah, the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and the Srikrishna Janmabhumi trust.

So far, 11 suits with almost an identical demand (the shifting of the Shahi Masjid Idgah) have been filed in different courts of Mathura. -- PTI

The busy Lal Chowk city centre on Saturday reverberated with slogans like 'We want justice' and 'Administration haye haye' (down with administration) as scores of Kashmiri Pandits took out a protest march against the killing of Rahul Bhat, officials said.

The members of the community assembled near Bund in Lal Mandi area of the city and held a puja in the Jhelum river for Bhat, who was shot dead by terrorists inside the Tehsil office in Budgam district's Chadoora town on May 12.

Soon after the puja culminated, the protesters began a march towards Lal Chowk.

After reaching Lal Chowk, the protesters held a sit-in near the famous clock tower.

The protesters demanded justice for Bhat and raised slogans against the administration. They also demanded strict action against the killers of Bhat and the authorities in Budgam.

The protesters also demanded that Kashmiri Pandits employees who got jobs under the prime minister's package be relocated.

Protests have been held at several places in Jammu and Kashmir over the killing of Bhat as well as the 'failure' of the administration to provide security to Kashmiri Pandit employees.

Bhat had got the job of a clerk under the special employment package for migrants in 2010-11. -- PTI

Police have registered a case against a female Marathi artiste and three others after a video showed her performing dance on a Lavani number in the premises of Lal Mahal in Pune, where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had spent several years of his early life, an official said on Saturday.

Some political outfits, including the ruling Nationalist Congress Party, condemned the dance video, which prompted the dancer, Vaishnavi Patil, to tender an apology.

The case against Patil and three others was registered at Faraskhana police station on Friday night based on a complaint lodged by the security guard of the Lal Mahal, the official said.

Lal Mahal is a red-coloured building located in the heart of Pune, where Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj, a revered figure, spent several years of his childhood.

"Vaishnavi Patil performed Lavani dance at the Lal Mahal on Monday and people accompanying her shot a video of the act, which they later posted on social media. As mentioned in his complaint, the security guard, who was on duty there at that time, asked them not to perform dance and shoot in the premises of the monument," the police official said.

The case against them was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 295 (defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 186 (voluntarily obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his public functions), he added.

Lavani, a popular folk dance of Maharashtra, is known for its sensuous moves.

Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad condemned the act of shooting Lavani dance at the Lal Mahal.

In a tweet, he said, "Shivaji Maharaj's Lal Mahal is not a place for shooting dance videos. This should not happen again. If anyone has done so (shot dance videos there), do not upload them."

NCP's city unit president Prashant Jagtap announced that a protest will be held outside the Lal Mahal on Saturday afternoon to denounce the video.

The Pune unit of Sambhaji Brigade, a hardline Maratha outfit, also condemned the video.

After her video kicked up a row, Patil, a winner of a dance show, on Friday apologised for her act. -- PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a coordinated search operation at over 10 locations in multiple cities on Saturday in connection with the National Stock Exchange co-location scam case, officials said.

The search operation will cover brokers at more than 12 premises in Mumbai, Gandhinagar, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Kolkata, among other cities, they added.

The central agency has filed a chargesheet against former NSE CEO and MD Chitra Ramkrishna and group operating officer Anand Subramanian in the case, the officials said.

The probe has so far established that from 2010 to 2015, when Ramkrishna was managing the affairs of the NSE, OPG Securities, one of the accused in the FIR, had connected to the secondary POP server on 670 trading days in the 'Futures and Options' segment.

The CBI has kept the probe open into allegations of preferential access granted to certain brokers by NSE officials and undue gains made out of it during the tenure of Ramkrishna and Subramanian. Ramkrishna, who succeeded former CEO Ravi Narain in 2013, had appointed Subramanian as her advisor, who was later elevated as the group operating officer (GOO) at a fat paycheque of Rs 4.21 crore annually, the officials said.

Subramanian's controversial appointment and subsequent elevation, besides crucial decisions, were guided by an unidentified person, who Ramkrishna claimed was a formless mysterious 'yogi' (mystic) dwelling in the Himalayas, a probe into her e-mail exchanges during a SEBI-ordered audit had shown.

The central probe agency had booked stock broker Sanjay Gupta, the owner and promoter of Delhi-based OPG Securities Private Limited, in 2018 for allegedly making gains by getting early access to the stock market trading system, the officials said.

The agency is also probing unidentified officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), NSE, Mumbai and other unidentified people.

'It was alleged that the owner and promoter of the said private company abused the server architecture of the NSE in a conspiracy with unidentified officials of the NSE.

'It was also alleged that unidentified officials of NSE, Mumbai had provided unfair access to the said company using the co-location facility during the period 2010-2012 that enabled it to log in first to the exchange server of the stock exchange that helped to get the data before any other broker in the market,' the CBI has alleged in the FIR. -- PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday interrogated West Bengal minister Paresh Adhikari for the third consecutive day over his daughter Ankita's 'illegal' appointment as a primary school teacher.

Calcutta high court had on Friday dismissed Ankita Adhikari from her job in a government-aided school and asked her to return the salary she had drawn during her 41-month tenure as a teacher.

Adhikari, the Minister of State for Education, reached the office of the CBI around 10.35 am holding a file, which sources close to him said contained several important documents related to the appointment.

According to a CBI official, Adhikari may be asked questions related to various phone calls he had made from his mobile phone regarding his daughter Ankita's appointment.

"The calls may have connections with the appointment of his daughter as an assistant teacher in a primary school. Like yesterday, we will videograph the entire interrogation," the CBI detective said.

The Mekliganj MLA was questioned for over nine hours on Friday and nearly four hours on Thursday night in connection with the investigation.

CBI insiders said that the central agency's sleuths may call Ankita Adhikari for questioning next week. -- PTI

A first information report (FIR) has been filed against an unknown person in connection with a man taking a dog inside the temple premises and offering prayers by making the dog touch the idol of Lord Nandi.

Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police (SP) Ayush Aggarwal told ANI that the police investigation is on into the matter.

"On the complaint of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, the police are trying to trace the person who was roaming around the temple premises with a dog and who also touched the idol of Lord Nandi with the dog," said Aggarwal.

He said that after identification of the person, further action will be taken.

Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee president Ajendra Ajay took cognizance of a video running on social media.

In the video, a man is seen walking with a dog in the outer premises of the temple and is worshipping the idol of Lord Nandi outside the temple by grabbing the front paws of the dog and making it touch the statue of 'Nandi'.

According to the temple committee Media Cell, "In relation to this video hurting religious sentiments, temple committee president Ajendra had issued instructions/orders to the chief executive officer of the temple committee that such unwanted activities should be stopped and legal action should be taken against those who commit such acts."

The Chief Executive Officer has given a complaint to the police station outpost in Kedarnath and has also expected to take legal action against the guilty and stop unwanted activities so that such incidents do not recur. -- ANI

12:01 WHO confirms monkeypox cases in 11 countries

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed 80 cases of monkeypox in 11 countries and said they are working to better understand the extent and cause of the outbreak.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the WHO said the virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travelers.

'WHO and partners are working to better understand the extent and cause of an outbreak of monkeypox. The virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travelers. The recent outbreaks reported across 11 countries so far are atypical, as they are occurring in non-endemic countries,' the WHO said in a statement.

'There are about 80 confirmed cases so far, and 50 pending investigations. More cases are likely to be reported as surveillance expands,' it added.

The world health organisation said it continues to receive updates on the status of ongoing outbreaks in endemic countries to expand disease surveillance.

'Monkeypox spreads differently from COVID-19. WHO encourages people to stay informed from reliable sources, such as national health authorities, on the extent of the outbreak in their community (if any), symptoms and prevention,' the statement added.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

According to WHO, Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.

Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks.

Issuing an alert to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Central government has asked them to keep a close watch on the monkeypox situation and send samples of symptomatic travellers to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further investigation.

'Keep a close watch on monkeypox situation abroad. Send samples (to NIV, Pune) only in such cases where people display certain specific symptoms. Not samples of sick passengers,' sources told ANI.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said he will be using an electric vehicle (EV) to commute to his office.

The CM also asked other departments and citizens to start using electric vehicles because it is one step towards going green and ensuring that 'we are able to do our part to protect the environment and reduce the impact of fossil fuels on global warming and climate change'.

The chief minister said he will be using the electric vehicle to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to ensure that the use of electric vehicles becomes more prominent in government departments and among the citizens of the state.

"I am sure this will cut down not just the cost in the office but it will also ensure that we do our part to protect the environment, he told reporters on Friday. The CM's secretariat had recently ordered an electric vehicle for the CM and it was delivered on Friday," officials said. -- PTI

Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Alok Kumar on Friday agreed with the Supreme Court's order in the Gyanvapi mosque case and claimed that the Hindu side will be able to prove that the Shivling found is one of the 12 jyotirlingas.

"We agree with the Supreme Court that this matter is complicated and this requires a serious and experienced judge. The court has said the district court will look into it. We agree with the Supreme Court," he said.

The VHP chief said that they will be able to prove that 'Shivling' found inside the Gyanvapi mosque is one of the jyotirlingas.

"We believe that it is Shivling because Nandi is looking at it and the location suggests that it is one of the original jyotiling, out of the 12 Jyotirlingas and the waju khana of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex has been built over the ruins of the desecrated old temple invaded by the Mughals. We will be able to prove it to the court and the Supreme Court will decide this case. The judge has been authorized to take the local commissioner's report and we will prove it is the original Jyotirlinga," he said.

The VHP leader further claimed that the 1991 Act will not be applicable to the Gyanvapi Mosque case.

On the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, the VHP leader said, "I do not believe that 1991 Act will be applicable on this. Because the act said that if the religious place works on another act that this act is not effective. There is already a separate law for Kashi Vishwanath temple and today the Supreme Court has also indicated that Act does not prevent the trial of this matter."

10:45 India reports 2,323 Covid cases, 25 deaths

India's COVID-19 tally increased to 4,31,34,145 on Saturday with 2,323 fresh infections, while the number of active cases came down to 14,996, according to Union health ministry data.

The death toll climbed to 5,24,348 with 25 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

A decrease of 48 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.47 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.51 per cent, the ministry said.

10:27 JK tunnel collapse: rescue ops resume

The operation to rescue nine labourers feared trapped under the debris following the collapse of an under-construction tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway resumed early on Saturday after a fresh landslide forced the authorities to suspend the process last evening, officials said.

Their chances of survival are, however, bleak, they said.

A labourer was killed and three others rescued when the audit tunnel of T3 on the highway near Khooni Nallah In Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district caved in at the start of the work around 10.15 pm on Thursday.

The officials identified the deceased labourer as Sudhir Roy (31), a native of West Bengal.

"Operation for 09 missing persons at Khooni Nallah adit tunnel site feared trapped inside debris began at 5.30 am early morning today (Saturday) and continues. NDRF and SDRF part of the operation," Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam said in a tweet.

On Friday evening, over 15 rescuers, including the Station House Officer of Ramsu police station, Nayeem-Ul-Haq, had a narrow escape during the fresh landslide, prompting the authorities to suspend the rescue operation. It could not be resumed until this morning due to shooting of stones from the hillock, heavy rains and strong winds, officials said.

With the improvement in the weather condition, the rescue operation resumed with the first light of the day with authorities pressing three earth movers and rock-breakers to reach out to the trapped workers, they said.

Additional personnel along with magistrates have been deployed to speed up the rescue operation, they added.

Those still trapped under the debris are Jadav Roy (23), Gautam Roy (22), Dipak Roy (33) and Parimal Roy (38), all from West Bengal, Shiva Chouhan (26) from Assam, Nepali citizens Nawaraj Chowdhury (26) and Khushi Ram (25), and Jammu and Kashmir residents Muzaffar (38) and Israt (30), officials said.

All of them were employed by a company tasked with auditing the tunnel.

Assam coordinator of National Register of Citizens Hitesh Dev Sarma has lodged a complaint with the CID against his predecessor, Prateek Hajela, and others accusing them of committing "anti-national" and criminal activities during the process of updating the document.

The Criminal Investigation Department is, however, yet to register an FIR against the accused persons who also included several officers and data entry operators associated with the process, a senior police official said on Friday.

The NRC, an official record of bonafide Indian citizens living in Assam, was updated under the supervision of the Supreme Court and released on August 31, 2019, leaving out more than 19 lakh applicants.

However, it has not been notified by the Registrar General of India.

Hajela, a 1995 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, had been appointed by the apex court as the NRC state coordinator in 2013.

He was released from the charge on November 12, 2019, and the court ordered his transfer from Assam to his home state Madhya Pradesh.

"We have received a petition from the NRC office. Due procedure has to be maintained before the CID registers any case. We are pursuing the petition," the official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

In his complaint, Sarma has alleged anomalies in Family Tree Verification and other document verification processes during updating of the NRC.

Family Trees were drawn to establish legacy data accurately during the updating process of the citizenship document.

Sarma has alleged that no order for quality check during the Family Tree Matching phase was issued by Hajela.

The software used in the process also had no scope for quality checks, thus giving the verifying officers of doubtful integrity a free hand to upload wrong results to fulfil their vested interests, the complaint stated.

Prateek Hajela might have intentionally avoided the mandatory quality checks by ordering the use of such a software and "facilitated entry of names of ineligible persons into the NRC which can be seen as an anti-national act affecting national security", according to the complaint.

Sarma said that to evaluate the precise effects of the absence of quality checks in the Family Tree Matching phase, some sample checks were made under three NRC Seva Kendras -- two in Barpeta district and one in Darrang district.

Out of 39,29,703 numbers of Legacy Data Code used in the state, 2,346 were verified in these three NSKs. Of these, 975 names were found to be erroneously entered into NRC through Family Tree Match, the incumbent NRC state coordinator claimed.

Anomalies were also found in several other stages of the updating process, Sarma claimed and sought registration of a case against Hajela and others on charges of cheating, forgery and other offences.

Complaints against Hajela on such issues were raised earlier by others also. Several petitions are still pending before the Supreme Court.

The Assam Public Works, an NGO whose petition in the Supreme Court led to the updation of the National Register of Citizens, filed a similar complaint in June last year against Hajela with the CID of the state bordering Bangladesh.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after assuming office on May 10, 2021, had said that his government wants re-verification of 20 per cent of names in the NRC for the border districts of Assam, while it should be done for 10 per cent of names in the rest.

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09:03 6 killed, 3 injured in accident in UP

Six members of a marriage party were killed and three others injured in a head-on collision between an SUV and a tractor-trolley on the Tulsipur-Barhni National Highway in Balrampur, police said on Saturday.

The accident took place near Ganwaria trisection late on Friday when the victims were travelling from Laxmanpur to Bhagwanpur in Gasadi police station area, Balrampur Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar Saxena said .

A jeep, too, rammed into the SUV on its rear end, the SP said.

While Basant (32), his wife Amrita (28), Laxman (40), Wadi (35) and Shadab (26) died on the spot, Ankit (13) died in the hospital.

Injured Shiv Prasad (52) and Durga Prasad (26) have been admitted to the district hospital. Another person named Umesh (13), whose condition is critical, has been referred to a hospital in Lucknow, the SP said, adding that the bodies have been sent for post-mortem and legal action is being taken. -- PTI

Associate professor of Delhi University's Hindu College Ratan Lal was arrested on Friday night for his objectionable social media post referring to claims about a 'Shivling' found inside Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque complex, police said.

They said Lal was arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) by the Cyber Police Station, North.

An FIR was lodged against Lal on Tuesday night based on a complaint filed by a Delhi-based lawyer.

In his complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal said Lal had recently shared a "derogatory, inciting and provocating tweet on the Shivling".

The statement made by Lal on his Twitter account is "instigating and provoking", he said in the complaint.

The statement was posted on the issue of a 'Shivling' found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex which is very sensitive in nature and the matter is pending before the court, the lawyer said in his complaint.

Defending his post earlier, Lal had said, "In India, if you speak about anything, someone or the other's sentiment will be hurt. So this is nothing new. I am a historian and have made several observations. As I wrote them down, I have used very guarded language in my post and still this. I will defend myself." -- PTI

01:33 Cracks emerge between Pak govt, military

Having come to power after an intense political drama which saw the first no-confidence motion being successfully carried out in the country, the Shehbaz Sharif led coalition government seems to have developed serious differences with Pakistan's all-powerful military establishment.

If the statements of several leaders of the coalition government, as well as the political experts, are to go by it is evident that the main point of contention is the duration of the incumbent government's tenure, Express Tribune reported.

The stalemate between the government and military establishment is not only becoming visible with every passing day but causing delays in the decision-making process of the government and, thus, affecting the economy and the country itself, the report said.

The uncertainty coupled with former premier Imran Khan's planned rally and sit-in in the capital has also pushed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to repeatedly postpone his address to the nation where he is expected to present his economic plan.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, while speaking in Sargodha asked the rally participants should PML-N take the blame for PTI's bad performance and should PML-N stay in government or leave it.

'It would be better to say goodbye than take the blame for the poor performance of the previous government,' she said.

Another hint about the stalemate between Islamabad and Rawalpindi emerged when Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Khursheed Shah clearly said that the coalition government was ready for the elections and they would be happy if the government was ended.

'We would thank you for freeing us in just one month,' he reportedly said.

The fear of the establishment 'forcefully' ending the government pushed the coalition partners in the Shehbaz Sharif government to the extent that they even floated the suggestion to summon a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) to discuss the issue in detail and reach a decision.

The coalition partners maintained that the current situation was not suitable for stabilising the economy and things would further deteriorate if the caretaker government was tasked with making tough decisions, the report said.

Since its inception, the report said citing political experts, the new Pakistani government has been mulling about deciding the tenure of the government and the timeframe for the next elections but could not reach any decision as they do not have assurance from the military establishment that they would be able to complete a full term.

Apparently, the government is stuck between a rock and a hard place as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has already said that it cannot hold elections in the next few months and the military establishment wants the coalition government to go ahead with the fiscal measures without giving any assurance with regards to the duration of their government, the report said. -- ANI

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