The incident happened in Sendurva village in Janta Bazar police station area on Tuesday but it came to light after videos from the show went viral on social media, they said. 

Upadhyay was hit on her left thigh and was admitted to a private hospital in Patna after the incident, they added. 

"No complaint was lodged regarding this incident. I have also come to know about it from social media. Further information is being gathered," said Nasruddin Khan, the station house officer of Janta Bazar. 

Her condition is now stated to be stable. 

Condemning it, art and culture minister Jitendra Kumar Rai said that celebratory firing was a criminal offence and people must understand it. -- PTI

"In a joint operation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, with the help of Indian Coast Guard, Mandapam & Ramnad Customs, Preventive Division, intercepted two fishing boats and seized 32.869 kg of foreign origin gold valued at Rs 20.21 crore that was smuggled into India from Sri Lanka through the coast," an official statement said. 

Specific intelligence was developed by DRI, Chennai, that foreign origin gold is being smuggled from Sri Lanka through Vedhalai coast in Ramnad (TN) by different gangs using fishing boats. 

Accordingly, the DRI officers mounted extensive coastal surveillance with the help of ICG and identified the suspected fishing boats. 

In the first case, one of the suspected fishing boats was intercepted by a team of DRI officers and coast guard officers on May 30 after a chase in the sea. 

During the course of interception, the persons in the fishing boat dropped the contraband parcel into the sea. 

The contraband parcel containing 11.6 kg of foreign origin gold valued at Rs 7.13 crore was retrieved from the seabed with the help of coast guard expert divers and the same was seized along with the boat used for smuggling the gold. -- PTI

The army had carried out Operation Blue Star in June 1984 to flush out hiding militants from Golden Temple in Amritsar. 

The Punjab police on Thursday carried out flag marches in sensitive and vulnerable areas as a measure to instill confidence among the general public. 

As many as 110 flag marches were conducted covering 192 vulnerable areas across the state, an official statement said. 

The exercise was conducted on the directions of director general of police Gaurav Yadav. special DGP (law and order) Arpit Shukla said commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police were directed to conduct flag marches in their respective districts. 

The police also apprehended 368 suspicious people during these flag marches. 

He said the exercise was aimed to boost the confidence of people besides preparing the police personnel to tackle any untoward situation. -- PTI

A notification issued by the general administration department (GAD) said, "In exercise of powers conferred under Rule 3 of the GNCTD (allocation of business) rules 1993, the lieutenant governor, in consultation with the chief minister, is pleased to allocate portfolio of public relations department to Atishi Marlena, minister, in addition to the portfolios she is presently holding."

It also said that the move is "subject to the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 promulgated on May 19".

Atishi had been holding the portfolios of power, education, art, culture and language, tourism, higher education, training and technical education. The latest addition will raise the number of portfolios held by her to nine.

Pawar, who met Shinde at the CM's official residence 'Varsha' in Malabar Hill, is the president of the Mumbai-based Maratha Mandir. 

Pawar said he held a discussion with the CM to organise a meeting to address the issues faced by actors and people associated with the Marathi film industry and theatres.

The incident occurred on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train in which two months ago a man had set fire to his co-passengers, which resulted in three deaths including a toddler, leading to speculation that it might be a case of sabotage and connected to the earlier one. 

Central agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigation Agency arrived at the scene in the morning and are investigating all angles, including that of sabotage, sources said. 

The fire was noticed by some station staff at around 1.30 am and they informed the Kannur Fire and Rescue Station which dispatched four units to deal with the blaze which was contained at around 3.15 am, a fire rescue officer said. 

The train was stationary on a track 20-30 meters away from the platform and around 100 meters from a nearby Bharat Petroleum fuel depot, a fire rescue officer said, adding that one of its coaches was completely engulfed in flames. 

The incident occurred after all the passengers had deboarded and therefore, no one was injured, an officer of RPS Kannur said. 

Visuals aired on TV channels showed huge flames coming out from the windows of the coach with thick plumes of smoke rising into the air. -- PTI

Issuing a release, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the west side carriageway of Delisle Bridge is now operational as per instructions from Mumbai police, while the east side carriageway will be opened for traffic by July end because some works are pending. 

After this partial opening, motorists can travel towards Western Railway Workshop from Peninsula Corporate Park but cannot go towards Currey Road as work on that side is pending, officials said. 

The bridge was shut for traffic in 2018 on the basis of a structural audit report submitted by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, after which it was demolished in phases. 

"Around 87 per cent work of rebuilding Delisle Bridge has been completed and remaining work is expected to be completed by July end. The most challenging part in the reconstruction of the bridge was the launching of two girders of 90 metre length and weighing 1,100 tonnes," an official said. -- PTI

Written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, the upcoming Tamil film will hit the screens across the country on August 10. 

Sun Pictures, the production banner behind Jailer, shared the update on its official Twitter page. 

"It's a wrap for #Jailer! Theatre la sandhippom #JailerFromAug10," read the post. 

Jailer also stars Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, Dr Shiva Rajkumar, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Vasanth Ravi, and Vinayakan. 

The project marks Nelson's second collaboration with Sun Pictures post "Beast", headlined by Vijay. -- PTI

The student was identified as Deepti Mandaloi, a resident of Gogaon in Khargone district and she was the first year student of the electrical branch at Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science. 

College director Rakesh Saxena said, "Deepti was the student of first year electrical branch. A few days back in the first semester exams, She got ATKT in five subjects." 

ATKT stands for allowed to keep terms. 

It is a process in the Indian education system to allow students of pre-graduation and graduation to study in the next grade if they have failed in 1 to 4 subjects. 

Nonetheless, the students must have to pass the papers they failed before entering into the next grade. 

"When Deepti's room partner returned to the room on Thursday around 11:30 am, she found that the door was locked. While peeping through the door, she saw Deepti had already hanged herself. After that we informed the police and family members," he added. -- ANI

Apparently, the incident, which took place on May 29, amounts to "contributory negligence" of the public servant who "failed to supervise the work of the contractor effectively", and therefore, it is a matter of concern for the Commission, the rights panel said in a statement. 

The National Human Rights Commission said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that six contract labourers were electrocuted while installing a truss pole to support the overhead railway power line near Nichitpur railway crossing, on the Dhanbad-Gaya section in Dhanbad rail division. 

Reportedly, the contractor had not taken steps to get the power supply blocked before starting the work, it said. 

The Commission has observed that the content of the media report, if true, amounts to the violation of human rights of the labourers. 

Accordingly, it has issued notices to the chairman of the Railway Board, and the director general of police of Jharkhand, seeking a detailed report within four weeks, the statement said. -- PTI

The details were furnished as part of their monthly report published in accordance with the IT Rules 2021. 

The report covers the period from April 1 to April 30, 2023, and details the measures taken by WhatsApp in response to grievances received from users in India, accounts actioned for violating laws or terms of service, and orders received from the grievance appellate committee. 

"In accordance with the IT Rules 2021, we've published our report for the month of April 2023. This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp's own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform. As captured in the latest Monthly Report, WhatsApp banned over 7.4 million accounts in the month of April and over 2.4 million of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users," WhatsApp's spokesperson said. --  ANI

Dhoni, who led Chennai Super Kings to their fifth IPL title, had flown to Mumbai from Ahmedabad after the final on Monday and consulted renowned sports orthopaedic surgeon Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, who is also on the BCCI medical panel and had performed surgeries on a number of top Indian cricketers, including Rishabh Pant. 

"Yes, Dhoni has had a successful knee surgery at the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday. He is doing fine and will be released in a day or two. He would be resting for a few days before his extensive rehabilitation starts. It is now expected that he would have enough time to get fit to play in the next IPL," a source close to CSK management told PTI on condition of anonymity. 

Dhoni had played the entire season with heavy strapping on his left knee and while he looked absolutely fine during wicket-keeping, he came into bat as low as No. 8 at times and didn't look in his element while running between the wickets. 

On Wednesday, CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan had said that whether Dhoni wants to undergo surgery will be completely the iconic captain's call. 

After the IPL final, Dhoni had said: "If you circumstantially see, it's the best time to announce retirement. The easy thing for me to say is thank you and retire. But the hard thing to do is to work hard for nine months and try to play one more IPL season. The body has to hold up. But the amount of love I have received from CSK fans, it would be a gift for them to play one more season. 

"The way they've shown their love and emotion, it's something I need to do for them. It's the last part of my career. It started over here and full house was chanting my name. It was same thing in Chennai, but it will be good to come back and play whatever I can. The kind of cricket I play, they feel they can play that cricket. There's nothing orthodox about it and I like to keep it simple."

Amid the controversy over the hijab case in the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said that a probe has been ordered into the matter.

"The matter came to my attention. No school can force a girl to wear something opposing their culture. I have ordered a probe. Action will be taken after the probe on the basis of evidence found," he said while talking to the reporters in Bhopal.

On May 31, posters of toppers from a private school began to circulate on the internet.

The surprising aspect of these posters was that all of the female students shown were wearing hijabs.

Some of these females were Hindus and Jains, which aroused outrage.

Following an uproar over the issue the Minister of School Education Bhopal Inder Singh Parmar said that the uniform of the school was subject to public scrutiny and that the private schools had a right to decide on the uniform.

"The uniform of the school is subject to scrutiny. As per the rules of the School Education Department, private schools have the right to decide on the uniform," he said.

Parmar further added that action would be taken on the Damoh hijab case if the parents of the children studying in the local school would lodge an objection to the issue.

"Action will be taken if the parents lodge the objection. Action will be taken as per the instructions by the Home Minister and chief minister," said Parmar.

Priyank Kanoongo, head of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), took cognisance of the situation and issued a notice to the district magistrate (DM) on May 31 seeking an action report within a week.

According to the notice, the major areas to be investigated were whether the school had permission to allow hijabs as a dress code.

The commission also discovered videos of students reciting religious prayers, the authorities appear to be in violation of Article 28(3) of the Indian constitution, and the funding received by the institution.

Notably, Hindu organisations had been criticising the school administration since 2021, claiming that Hindu girls were forced to wear hijabs, males were taught how to do namaaz, and these students were educated as if the school was a madrassa.   -- ANI

 

The BJP said the meeting was part of the party's "Know BJP" initiative under which diplomats of different countries are informed in detail about the ruling party's political journey, its ideology, governance agenda, among other matters. 

"BJP National President Shri @JPNadda welcomed @USAmbIndia Eric Garcetti today at the BJP HQ as part of the 'KnowBJP' initiative. Matters relating to common interests were discussed during the meeting," the party said in a tweet.

In a bid to reduce the burden on students, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has dropped the full chapter on Periodic Classification of Elements, a full chapter on Democracy and Diversity, a full chapter on Challenges to Democracy, and a full page on Political Parties from the newly released textbooks of Class 10 students.

As per the NCERT, the decision has been taken to reduce the content load on students in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Complete chapters on these above subjects now stand deleted as a part of a 'rationalisation' meant to reduce the 'burden on students'.

Among the topics dropped from the science textbook is also the chapter on environmental sustainability and sources of energy.

According to the NCERT website, 'The National Education Policy 2020, also emphasises reducing the content load and providing opportunities for experiential learning with a creative mindset. In this background, NCERT has undertaken the exercise to rationalise the textbooks across all classes. Learning Outcomes already developed by the NCERT across classes have been taken into consideration in this exercise.'

'Contents of the textbooks have been rationalised in view of the Overlapping with similar content included in other subject areas in the same class, Similar content included in the lower or higher class in the same subject, Difficulty level, Content, which is easily accessible to students without much interventions from teachers and can be learned through children through self-learning or peer-learning, Content, which is irrelevant in the present context,' NCERT said.   -- ANI

Rajan, who is currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail, sought a stay on the release of the series and an order to take down the trailer.

He also sought a permanent injunction restraining the makers of the series, including Hansal Mehta and Netflix Entertainment Services India, from infringement of his personality rights. 

Rajan has also sought damages of Re 1 to be paid to him or for the makers to deposit the money earned by them through the telecast of the series' trailer, and for the amount to be used for "public good or upliftment of the society". 

In his plea, Rajan said that in May 2023 he was informed by his wife about the trailer of the series. 

The petition said the makers of the series were never permitted to use/misuse Rajan's name and image, associate him to any voice and/or any events, without prior permission.

"Therefore, the use or misuse of the attributes of the plaintiff's (Rajan) personality, including his name, caricature, image, and/or any other direct/indirect reference, without receiving the prior consent of the plaintiff amounts to infringement of the plaintiff's personality rights, passing off as well as defamation," the plea said.

A vacation bench of the high court is likely to hear the plea on Friday.

Former Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party national secretary Pankaja Munde on Thursday said that she belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party but the party doesn't belong to her.

Munde, daughter of late senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, has maintained a low profile since her defeat in the 2019 assembly elections.

She was a cabinet minister when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was the Maharashtra chief minister between 2014 and 2019.

Speaking at an event, she said that BJP is a big party and doesn't belong to her.

"I belong to the BJP. If I have a problem with my father, I will go to my brother's house," she said, referring to the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) led by Mahadeo Jankar.

Jankar, a close associate of Gopinath Munde, said,  "Our community will not benefit due to my sister's party as the remote control will be with someone else."

Over the past few years, there have been speculations that Munde has been sidelined by the state BJP.

After the first expansion of the Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis cabinet in August 2022, she had said she might not have been qualified enough to get a berth.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in January that some people were trying to create a rift between the party and Munde.

In the last state polls, she lost to her estranged cousin and Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde on her home turf Parli.  -- PTI

The resignation of Mulakkal, who was acquitted by a local court in Kerala last year in the rape case, was requested by the Vatican not as a disciplinary measure imposed upon him, but for the good of the Jalandhar diocese, which needs a new bishop, the source told PTI. 

His resignation will pave the way for the appointment of a new bishop to the diocese, the source said. 

In a video, the bishop confirmed that the Holy See accepted his resignation today. 

The present status of Franco Mulakkal is bishop emeritus of Jalandhar, which does not imply canonical restrictions on his ministry, the source said. 

Mulakkal had met the Pope on February 8 this year, and it was his first meeting with the pontiff after being acquitted by the additional district and sessions court I, Kottayam in the rape case. 

In September 2018, the bishop was temporarily relieved of his responsibilities of the diocese by Pope Francis after Mulakkal was questioned by the Kerala police over rape charges levelled by a nun. 

Despite being acquitted by the local court in the sensational case, Mulakkal was not given any new responsibilities in the church. 

The Vatican had earlier accepted the court's decision acquitting him of rape charges. 

The nun, who says she was raped by the bishop, has moved the Kerala high court against the trial court verdict in the case. 

She had accused Mulakkal of raping her multiple times during his visit to a convent in Kottayam in Kerala between 2014 and 2016, when he was the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese in Punjab. 

The nun is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, a diocesan congregation under the Jalandhar Diocese.

A Dalit man was allegedly beaten up by a group of persons from an upper caste community at a village in Banaskantha district of Gujarat as the accused were upset with him for wearing good clothes and sunglasses, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred at Mota village in Palanpur taluka on Tuesday night, they said, adding that the victim and his mother, who was also attacked by them, were undergoing treatment at a hospital at present.

A first information report (FIR) was filed against seven persons on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim, Jigar Shekhalia, who accused them of beating him and his mother as they were displeased with him for getting dressed up and wearing goggles.

The complaint said that when the victim was standing outside his house on Tuesday morning, one of the seven accused approached him.

He abused the victim and threatened to kill him saying he was 'flying too high these days'.

The same night, when the complainant was standing outside a village temple six accused from the community with Rajput surname came towards him.

Armed with sticks, they asked him why he was dressed up and wore sunglasses.

They then thrashed and dragged him behind a dairy parlour.

When his mother rushed to save him, they assaulted her as well and threatened to kill her.

They even tore her clothes, the police said citing the complaint.

The FIR against the seven accused was registered at Gadh police station under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to rioting, unlawful assembly, outraging the modesty of a woman, voluntarily causing hurt, using abusive language, etc.

They were also booked under relevant sections of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

No arrest has been made in connection with the incident so far, the police official said.   -- PTI

 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has condemned the manner in which the protesting Indian wrestlers were being treated by Delhi Police over the weekend, terming it "very disturbing" in a strongly-worded statement.

The IOC's reaction follows the United World Wrestling's (UWW) criticism of the detention of the grapplers during their protest at Jantar Mantar, in which the sport's world body threatened to suspend the national federation if it fails to hold its election within the stipulated time.

Top wrestlers -- Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogat -- have accused the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) outgoing president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual exploitation.

 Apart from these, the regulator has put on block properties of Prayag Group, Multipurpose BIOS India Group, Waris Finance International Group and Pailan Group of companies, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a notice. The 17 properties being auctioned include land parcels, storied buildings, flats, and a commercial space situated across West Bengal.

Delhi's Rohini Court on Thursday extended police custody of Sahil, the accused in the horrific murder of a minor girl in Shahbad Dairy area of the national capital, for the next three days. He was produced at the residence of the judge after the expiry of two days of police custody on Thursday. 

He was produced at the judge's residence in the morning due to security reasons. Duty Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Nidhi Chitkara extended the custody of Sahil for three days after hearing the submissions of Delhi police. 

 On Monday, the parents of the deceased minor girl who was stabbed brutally in Delhi's Shahbad Dairy area demanded the death penalty for the accused Sahil. 

 "We want the death penalty for him (Sahil). Life for life. The way my daughter is gone, he should also be gone," the mother of the deceased told ANI. 

 The father of the 16-year-old girl said, "The way he brutally killed my daughter he should get the death penalty. I don't want anything from anyone my only demand is that he (Sahil) should be punished. I work as a labourer, and I have only two children, the first one was her and a small boy, I just want that he should be punished severely."

 Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi's Rohini Court had sent Sahil to two-day police custody.

The removal of the theory of evolution from the Class 10 curriculum stoked significant concern earlier this year. Newly released textbooks by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) have revealed further cuts, including a chapter on the periodic table.

Among the topics dropped from the science textbook are also chapters on environmental sustainability and sources of energy. Full chapters on democracy, challenges to democracy and political parties have also been dropped for Class 10 students after the latest revision.

The training aircraft, which took off from the air force station in Bengaluru crashed this morning at Bhogapura village. Tejpal and Bhumika sustained minor injuries, district officials said. No casualties were reported.

 According to IAF, the pilots were on a routine training sortie when the incident occurred. A court of inquiry was ordered to ascertain the cause of accident. 

"A Kiran trainer aircraft of the IAF crashed near Chamrajnagar, Karnataka today, while on a routine training sortie. Both aircrew ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," the IAF tweeted. Senior district officials and an IAF team reached the spot. PTI

Price of commercial LPG, which is used by business establishments like hotels and restaurants, on Thursday was cut by Rs 83.5 per 19-kg cylinder -- the third straight monthly reduction, while rates of jet fuel (ATF) were slashed by 7 per cent on softening international oil prices.

   

A 19-kg commercial LPG now costs Rs 1,773 in the national capital, down from Rs Rs 1,856.5, according to price notification from state-owned fuel retailers.

This is the third straight monthly reduction in commercial LPG prices.

Rates were cut by Rs 91.5 per 19-kg cylinder on April 1, and by a steep Rs 171.5 on May 1.

The three reductions have almost wiped out the Rs 350.5 per cylinder hike in prices effected from March 1.

The price of domestic LPG -- the one households use in the kitchen for cooking purposes -- remained unchanged at Rs 1,103 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital.

Domestic LPG rates were last changed on March 1, when they were hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revised cooking gas prices on the 1st of every month based on the average international price in the previous month.

Separately, ATF price was cut by a steep 7 per cent in line with international trends.

Accordingly, jet fuel rates were reduced by Rs 6,632.25 per kilolitre to Rs 89,303.09 per kl in Delhi.

This is the fourth straight monthly reduction in rates. Prices were cut by 4 per cent (Rs 4,606.50 per kl) on March 1, by 8.7 per cent (Rs 9,400.68 per kl) on April 1 and by 2.45 per cent (Rs 2,414.25 per kl) on May 1.

ATF price is revised on the 1st of every month based on the average rate of international benchmark and foreign exchange rates.

International oil prices have erased all gains made since OPEC+ producers announced a surprise production cut earlier in April. -- PTI

 Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department Special Secretary N Geoffrey said in an order that Rajiv Singh will be the new DGP of Manipur and Head of the Police Force immediately upon joining the state government.

 On Monday, the Union Home Ministry transferred him from the Tripura cadre to the Manipur cadre on deputation for three years in "relaxation of the policy as a special case in the public interest".

 Singh, an IPS officer of the 1993 batch, was serving as the Inspector General of the CRPF. To accommodate Doungel, the Manipur government created the post "OSD (Home) at apex scale of IPS", the order stated.

 "Further, the Governor of Manipur is also pleased to order that Shri Rajiv Singh, IPS (TR:93) should take charge of the post of DGP, Manipur from P Doungel, IPS (MA:87) immediately upon joining the state government," it added. 

 Soon after the violence broke out in the state on May 3, the central government appointed former chief of the CRPF Kuldiep Singh as a security adviser to the Manipur government. Manipur, which has been hit by ethnic conflict for nearly a month, witnessed a sudden spurt in clashes and firing between militants and security forces on Sunday, after a relative lull for over a fortnight. The death toll from clashes since ethnic violence began on May 3 has gone up to 80, officials said. -- PTI

 Addressing a press conference, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Gandhi's claim of spreading the message of love amid alleged hatred is merely an excuse for him as his priority is to spread hate against India's development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. 

 "The GDP figure has exposed the lies of your market of hate," he said, attacking the former Congress president. Prasad cited an interaction between Gandhi and former RBI governor, an apparent reference to Raghuram Rajan, to note that the opposition leader had claimed that India's exports were slowing down and the country would be lucky to have five per cent growth. "Every prediction of the sponsored expert has proved wrong," he claimed, dubbing Gandhi as an extraordinary expert who has an opinion on every issue. India has achieved a record export of USD 770 billion while its inflation at 4.7 per cent is the lowest among large economies," Prasad said.

"He is touring abroad claiming that he has come with a message of love... He is in fact spreading a market of hate, distrust and pessimism against India's development journey," the BJP leader said, accusing him of indulging in "open public display of lack of faith in Indian's development story". 

"Gandhi has made it his goal to defame India's talent and progress," the former law minister added. He also cited the recent Morgan Stanley report, which has spoken favourably of the Indian economy's changes in the last 10 years, to hit out at Gandhi. 

 The Congress leader is unable to accept the truth of Modi being India's prime minister and his overall popularity, he said.

He also announced at a press conference in Imphal on Thursday that a peace committee under the Governor of Manipur, Anusuiya Uikey, which will have representatives of all political parties, besides representatives from both Kuki and Meitei communities and social organisations will be set up.

"Dialogue is the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Manipur," Shah said. "We will soon announce a judicial probe headed by a retired high court chief justice and set up a peace committee," he said. 

 The Home Minister also announced that a CBI probe will be instituted to probe five criminal conspiracies and one general conspiracy behind the violence in Manipur. 

 He however also said, "Violence was a temporary phase, misunderstandings will go away ... the situation will be soon be normal."

 Ethnic clashes broke out in the state nearly a month ago after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. After a relative lull for over a fortnight, the state witnessed a sudden spurt in clashes and gunfight between militants and security forces on Sunday. So far, over 80 people have been killed in the violence, according to officials. PTI

 According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of Thursday, Musk's net worth was about USD 192 billion, with Arnault's USD 187 billion. Index data showed behind Musk and Arnault are Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates at USD 144 billion and USD 125 billion, respectively. The index is a daily ranking of the world's wealthiest people. Details about the calculations are provided in the net worth analysis on each billionaire's profile page. 

The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York. Tesla chief Musk is back on top of the list of wealthiest persons after shares of Arnault's firm fell over 2 per cent in the latest trade. 

 The rise in Musk's wealth can also be partly attributed to the latest surge in Tesla stock prices. They rose about 89 per cent so far in 2023, data showed. Musk and Arnault have been neck-and-neck on the list of the richest people. 

 In December 2022, Bernard Arnault reportedly overtook the Tesla head when he was in the second spot for more than two months. Musk reclaimed again in late February.

 Security personnel are maintaining strict vigil at the border points and extra pickets have been put up to prevent any untoward incident, Delhi Police officials said. 

 "Security has been tightened, extra police personnel have been deployed and we have also set up extra pickets at Delhi's borders. We want to ensure that law and order is maintained and no untoward incident takes place. This has been done as a precautionary measure," a senior police officer said.

 Vehicles entering Delhi from neighbouring states are being checked at the borders, he said. 

 The SKM, an umbrella body of farmers' unions, had on Tuesday called for nationwide protests on June 1 in support of wrestlers who have been demanding the arrest of Singh for allegedly sexually harassing female grapplers, including a minor. 

 In a statement, the SKM had said its call for demonstrations was aimed at securing the democratic right to protest by the Indian wrestlers and all other sections of society, and to demand the arrest of Singh, who is also a BJP MP. It said it would coordinate with platforms of trade unions, women, youth, students and all other sections, including intellectuals, to stage demonstrations. 

 The wrestlers, who had been protesting at Jantar Mantar since April 23 seeking the arrest of Singh, were removed from the site by the Delhi Police on Sunday after they tried to march to the new Parliament building that was inaugurated the same day. They were detained and later let off. PTI

"Yes, the team is working on a plan to release the film in theatres. I know this movement  in reverse, from OTT to cinemas is unprecedented. But the  film itself has become a movement," says Manoj.  

Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai was released on Zee5 on May 23. 

You can read the Rediff Review here.

You can read Utkarsh Mishra's column here 

Kumar has been meeting Opposition leaders in the country in a bid to unite them to take on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking to reporters Raut said "All like-minded parties are coming together and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is taking a lead in this. Uddhav Thackeray will attend the meeting in Patna Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has invited all the big leaders who are not with BJP and all the patriotic parties who want change in 2024, to Patna on 12th June. Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar have also been invited. We are thinking of going to Patna."

Gandhi made the remarks on Wednesday during his interaction with Silicon Valley-based startup entrepreneurs, known for doing path-breaking work in the field of Artificial Intelligence and cutting-edge technologies.

Participating in a fireside chat with Plug and Play Tech Centre CEO Saeed Amidi and Shaun Shankaran, founder of FixNix Startup, Gandhi tried to link all the technologies with the impact this would have on the common man in the remote villages of India. 

 "If you want to spread any technology in India, you have to have a system where power is relatively decentralized," he said in response to a question and then went on to share with the select group of invited entrepreneurs about his personal experience of drone technology and its regulation, which, according to him, "faced massive bureaucratic hurdles". Data, Gandhi said, is the new gold and countries like India have realised the real potential of it.

 "There is a need to have appropriate regulations on data safety and security," he said. However, on the issue of Pegasus spyware and similar technologies, Gandhi told the audience he is not worried about it. At one point, Gandhi said he knows his phone is being tapped. And jokingly said, "Hello! Mr Modi" on his iPhone. 

"I presume my iPhone is being tapped. You need to establish rules with regard to the privacy of data information as a nation and also as an individual," he said. 

 "If a state decides that they want to tap your phone, no one can stop you. This is my sense," he said. 

"If the nation is interested in tapping the phone, then this is not a battle worth fighting. I think whatever I do and work, is available to the government," he claimed. 

 In March, Gandhi had said that several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance. Shankaran, who hosted Gandhi for the AI event at Plug and Play, said he is very much impressed with the knowledge the Congress leader has shown about the latest developments in technology. 

 Sitting in the front row of the Plug and Play auditorium along with Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda and some other key aides who have been travelling with him from India, Gandhi was seen engrossed in the panel discussion of experts on various aspects of artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning and their implications on mankind in general and on issues like governance, social welfare measures and also disinformation and misinformation.

Currently, there are about 769 million 4G users in the country, out of total 1,100 million total telecom users. 

-- Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

 Gandhi, who is in the US for a three-city US tour, made the remarks on Wednesday night in response to a series of questions from Indian students at the prestigious Stanford University Campus in California. 

 The Wayanad (Kerala) Member of Parliament was disqualified from Lok Sabha earlier this year after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

 In his remarks, Gandhi said that when he joined politics in 2000, he never imagined this is what he would go through. What he sees is going on now is way outside anything that he had thought when he joined politics. Referring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament, Gandhi, 52, said he didn't imagine that something like this was possible. 

 "But then I think it's actually given me a huge opportunity. Probably much bigger than the opportunity I would have. That's just the way politics works," he said. "I think the drama started really, about six months ago. We were struggling. The entire opposition is struggling in India. Huge financial dominance. Institutional capture. We're struggling to fight the democratic fight in our country," he said, adding that at this point in time, he decided to go for the Bharat Jodo Yatra'. 

 "I am very clear, our fight is ours fight," he said. "But there is a group of young students from India here. I want to have a relationship with them and want to talk to them. It's my right to do it," he said during his interaction with Indian students and academicians of Indian origin at the University here. 

 He also emphasised in his frequent foreign trips like this, he is not seeking support from anybody. 

 "I don't understand why the prime minister doesn't come here and do it," Gandhi asked amidst applause from the audience who had packed the entire auditorium at Stanford.

 The moderator said that the Prime Minister is welcome to come to Stanford anytime and interact with the students and academicians. Some of the students were denied entry as the auditorium was packed. Students started queuing up two hours before the event started. In the last one and a half years, several Indian ministers have interacted with Indian students. PTI

A severe thunderstorm reaching speed up to 80 km per hour and rain hit the national capital on Tuesday evening, affecting vehicular movement and leading to diversion of many flights.

"I have never seen this type of weather in May in my life, this is for the first time I am seeing this. This is happening due to Global warming, says Baljit Singh, a local.

"All these changes are taking place due to climatic change and global warming. People are cutting trees, pollution has increased, and all these changes are the result of this," Charulata, another local.

For the periods between January-May (during the eight years i.e. from 2016 to 2023), Delhi registers its best air quality during the current year (barring the periods of very low anthropogenic, industrial and commercial activities during the year 2020 due to Covid-19 lockdown), an official statement said on Wednesday. 

He also told his mother during telephonic conversations that the behaviour of fellow students changed when they learned about his caste, it claimed. 

 The statement of Solnaki's mother is part of the chargesheet filed by the city police on Tuesday before a special court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. 

 The chargesheet named fellow student Arman Khatri who is out on bail after being arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide. Solanki, a first-year student of B-Tech (Chemical) course who hailed from Ahmedabad, allegedly jumped to death from the seventh floor of a hostel building on the IITB campus in Powai area of Mumbai on February 12, 2023, a day after the semester exams ended.

 The police claimed Khatri had allegedly threatened to kill Solanki after the latter spoke 'offensively' about religion.

 Solanki's mother in her statement to police said during a telephonic conversation in December 2022, Solanki told his sister that there was caste-based discrimination at the premier institute. 

 When his friends came to know of his caste, there was a change in their behaviour, Solanki's mother said in the statement. Solanki again spoke about this to his sister when he visited them in January 2023 during Makar Sankranti holiday, the chargesheet said.

Gandhi, who is in the US for a three-city US tour, made the remarks on Wednesday night in response to a question from Indian students at the Stanford University Campus in California. 

"How do you see the India-China relationship evolving in the next 5-10 years? he was asked. Gandhi replied, "It's tough right now. I mean, they've occupied some of our territory. It's rough. It's not too easy (a relationship).

"India cannot be pushed around. That something is not going to happen," Gandhi said.

 India and China are also locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years. The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June 2020. 

 India has maintained that the bilateral relationship cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border area. During his interaction at Stanford University, Gandhi supported New Delhi's policy of having its relationship with Russia in the context of the Ukrainian war, despite the pressure it feels from the West. 

 "We have a relationship with Russia, we have certain dependencies on Russia. So, I would have a similar stance as the Government of India," Gandhi said in response to a question when asked does he supports India's neutral stance on Russia. "At the end of the day, India has to look for its own interest." 

"India," he said, "is a big enough country whereby it generally will have relationships with other countries. It's not so small and dependent that it will have a relationship with one and nobody else," he added. 

"We will always have these types of relationships. We will have better relationships with some people, evolving relationships with other people. So that balance is there," the former Congress president said.

The incident took place near Mangu Chak Border Out Post (BOP) in Samba sector around 2.50 am, they said. 

Alert Border Security Force troops noticed suspicious movements along the IB at BOP Mangu Chack and fired some rounds toward the forward area, resulting in killing of an intruder, the officials said. 

The BSF launched a search operation along the IB in Samba sector as the body was lying in the forward area. -- PTI 

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday announced waiving charges for the first 100 units of electricity for all households irrespective of their total consumption per month.

'The first 100 units of electricity will be given free of cost to families who consume more than 100 units per month. That is, no matter how much the bill comes, they will not have to pay any electricity charge for the first 100 units,' he tweeted.

The chief minister said that keeping the middle-class people in mind, those who consume electricity up to 200 units per month, the first 100 units will be free.

Along with this, fixed charges, fuel surcharge and all other charges for consumption up to 200 units will be waived, he said.

According to sources, only electricity charges need to be given between 100 to 200 units.

Gehlot made the announcement based on feedback received during inflation relief camps in which registration for 10 schemes including the free electricity scheme is being done.

The Rajasthan chief minister, in a tweet, said the bill of those who consume electricity up to 100 units per month will remain zero and they will not have to pay any bill like before.

Gehlot had in the budget earlier this year announced free electricity up to 100 units per month.

Assembly elections in Rajasthan are slated to be held later this year.  -- PTI