The head of the family lost his life in the incident while the conditions of five others are critical, the police said on Friday. 

All five, including two women and two children, are being treated at a hospital. 

An FIR was registered against 15 accused at the Sarai Khwaja police station, they added. 

According to the police, the incident took place in sector 37 last night. Shyam Goyal's (70) son had allegedly taken a loan of about Rs 40 crore from many people and banks. 

The miscreants and recovery agents were allegedly threatening the businessman's family to repay the loan. 

Some miscreants had allegedly come to their house on Thursday night and kidnapped the guard. 

Later they fled after leaving the guard, but due to fear, Shyam Goyal along with the entire family took sleeping pills and cut the veins of their hands, the police said. 

After hearing the screams, the neighbours reached their house and informed the police, they added. 

They were taken to a private hospital in sector 21, where Shyam Goyal died. 

The conditions of his wife Sadhna (65), son Anirudh Goyal (45), Anirudh's wife Nidhi Goyal (40) and his sons Himang (18) and Dhananjay (14) are still critical, as per the police. -- PTI

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a truck driver from Calgary, barreled through a stop sign and into the path of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team's bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Saskatchewan, in 2018. 

Sixteen people on the bus were killed and 13 were injured, CityNews Calgary reported. 

The decision came on Friday at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Calgary for Sidhu. 

Sidhu's lawyer Michael Greene has said the decision was a foregone conclusion, as all that's required to deport Sidhu is proof that he's not a Canadian citizen and he committed a serious crime, CBC reported. 

Sidhu is from India and has permanent resident status in Canada. 

"It's pretty open and shut," Greene said in an interview with The Canadian Press. 

"There's nothing to contest, so those are as clear as day. These hearings are usually done lickety-split." -- PTI

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a truck driver from Calgary, barreled through a stop sign and into the path of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team's bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Saskatchewan, in 2018. 

Sixteen people on the bus were killed and 13 were injured, CityNews Calgary reported. 

The decision came on Friday at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Calgary for Sidhu. 

Sidhu's lawyer Michael Greene has said the decision was a foregone conclusion, as all that's required to deport Sidhu is proof that he's not a Canadian citizen and he committed a serious crime, CBC reported. 

Sidhu is from India and has permanent resident status in Canada. 

"It's pretty open and shut," Greene said in an interview with The Canadian Press. 

"There's nothing to contest, so those are as clear as day. These hearings are usually done lickety-split." -- PTI

The sources said Singh, 91, voted at his residence as he is not keeping well. 

Singh is residing at Motilal Nehru Marg in central Delhi and he voted in the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where Aam Aadmi Party candidate Somnath Bharti of the INDIA bloc is pitted against Bansuri Swaraj of the BJP. 

The former prime minister availed the facility provided by the Election Commission for the first time in Lok Sabha elections for the elderly above the age of 85 years to cast their vote at home. 

The facility has also been provided by the EC for Persons with Disabilities. 

Former vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and former Union minister Murli Manohar Joshi also cast their votes using the home voting facility last week, the sources said. -- PTI

Earlier in the day, two officials of the Yerawada police station, where the initial offence had been registered on May 19, were suspended for `dereliction of duty'. 

Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told PTI that the investigation was transferred to the crime branch to bring a coordinated approach. 

The crime branch was already investigating the offence registered against the father of the juvenile and owner and staffers of two liquor serving establishments (which the teenager had allegedly visited before the accident), he noted. -- PTI

Quoting Majumdar's post on X, the Kolkata Police said that such prohibitory orders in central Kolkata are issued on a regular basis. 

"The CM, sensing the will of the masses after 5 phases of election, is now fearful. In a desperate move, she has ordered police to implement Section 144 in Kolkata to stop Modiji's road-show. Let TMC know: No evil tactics can stop the BJP (sic)," he posted on X. 

He later told reporters that the Kolkata Police had been "instructed" by the TMC government to impose the restrictions in the heart of the city to stop the PM's roadshow on May 28. 

"It shows that instead of turning Kolkata into London, the TMC wants to turn the city into another Afghanistan or earlier Kashmir," he claimed. 

In the order shared by Majumdar, Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal said the prohibitory orders would be in force for 60 days, from May 28 to July 26 as "...information has been received from credible sources that violent demonstrations are likely to take place resulting in large scale disturbances of the public tranquility and breach of the peace in the area falls under Bowbazar police station, Hare Street Police Station and Headquarters Traffic Guard which is from K.C. Das Crossing towards Victoria House (C.E.S.C. Head Office) and its vicinity excluding Bentick Street". -- PTI

The incident took place on May 21. 

A 29-year-old flyer allegedly tried to open the door mid-air and argued with the airline staff minutes before the flight was to land at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), the police said, based on the complaint filed by the airline staff. 

After the flight landed at RGIA, the airline staff lodged a complaint against the passenger, based on which a case was registered against him and he was arrested. 

The accused is reportedly suffering from "health issues" and medical reports were submitted. Considering this, station bail was granted to him, a police official at the RGI Airport police station said on Friday. 

The police said the passenger, a resident of Chandragirinagar in Gajularamaram in Hyderabad, had gone to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh along with his friend and had boarded the flight to Hyderabad from Indore. 

The airline staff and some co-passengers had tried to stop him from opening the door after they found his behaviour "weird", and it is said that he had allegedly consumed bhang (an edible preparation made from the cannabis plant) before boarding the flight, the police added.

"As part of the latest funding round led by Walmart, Flipkart today announced that it will be adding Google as a minority investor, subject to receipt of regulatory and other customary approvals by both parties," Flipkart said in a statement. 

The e-commerce firm, however, neither disclosed the amount proposed to be invested by Google nor the details of the fund being raised by the firm. 

"Google's proposed investment and its cloud collaboration will help Flipkart expand its business and advance the modernisation of its digital infrastructure to serve customers across the country," Flipkart said. -- PTI

Thirty-five-year-old Shoaib Ahmed Mirza alias Chhotu, a resident of Hubbali city in Karnataka, was previously convicted in a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror conspiracy case, the agency said in a statement. 

"Three days after a massive crackdown across four states in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, the NIA on Friday arrested one more accused, identified as an ex-convict in a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror conspiracy case," it said. 

NIA investigations revealed that Mirza got involved in this fresh conspiracy after being released from jail. In 2018, he befriended and introduced accused Abdul Matheen Taahaa to an online handler suspected to be abroad, the probe agency said. 

Mirza further provided an e-mail ID for encrypted communication between the handler and Abdul Matheen Taahaa, who was arrested on April 12 from his hideout in Kolkata (West Bengal) along with co-accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib, it said. -- PTI

The competitions will take place at the restricted Juhu Airport, once a haven for racing and off-roading events. 

The JK Tyre-backed event promises high adrenaline and non-stop thrills as cars and bikes race in pairs along a 400-metre strip. 

"This is a high-end racing event. Spectators will witness some of the fanciest and fastest cars go against each other."   

"After pioneering the racing movement in India, we are now focusing on exciting motorsports events at such exclusive locations to attract the youth," Sanjay Sharma, head-corporate communication & motorsport, JK Tyre, said. 

As the Traction Partner, JK Tyre will equip a super car with their new premium tyres (Levitas Ultra) and pit it against a Formula 4 car in an exhilarating race. -- PTI

Inspector Rahul Jagdale and assistant police inspector Vishwanath Todkari were suspended for "late reporting" and "dereliction of duty", said additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil. 

The accident case was registered at the Yerwada police station following the car crash in Kalyani Nagar area of the city. 

Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar had said earlier in the day that internal inquiry pointed to lapses on the part of police officials while registering the case. 

He admitted that there was a delay in collecting the blood samples of the juvenile who had allegedly consumed alcohol at two pubs before the accident. 

While the accident took place around 3 am on Sunday, the blood samples were collected at 11 pm, the commissioner said. -- PTI

Forex traders attributed the rally to Rs 2.11 lakh crore record dividend by the RBI to the government for the fiscal ended March 31. 

It was more than double the budgeted expectation, helping shore up revenue ahead of a new government taking office. 

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.26 and moved in the range of 83.03 and 83.26 against the greenback during the session. 

The local unit finally settled at 83.11 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a rise of 18 paise from its previous close. 

In the last four trading sessions the local unit has added 39 paise against the American currency. -- PTI

The detained persons were identified as Malti Pradip Mehta and her son Malay Pradip Mehta, he said. 

The Thane police's crime branch, which is now probing the case, made the detention. 

Malti Mehta was detained from Nashik, the crime branch said in a release. 

Malay Mehta (38), has also been detained and the local Manpada police have taken him into their custody from the crime branch, it said. 

An official from the Nashik police force said they had received information from their Thane counterparts that some of the accused were currently in Nashik. 

Accordingly, the crime branch officials carried out a search and held Malti Mehta, who is the first accused named in the FIR. 

The first information report registered at the Manpada police station in Thane named owners/directors Malti Mehta, Malay Mehta and other directors, management staff and officials, who were supervising the factory. 

They have been booked for culpable homicide and other charges. -- PTI

The change of guard ceremony is a military tradition that is held every week to enable a fresh group of the President's Bodyguards to take charge. 

"The change of guard ceremony will not take place tomorrow (May 25, 2024) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan due to the general elections in Delhi," the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement issued on Friday. -- PTI

At a press conference here on Friday, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said, "52 Chardham pilgrims have died so far, mostly due to heart attacks. Most of them were above 60 years." 

Three devotees died in Gangotri, 12 in Yamunotri, 14 in Badrinath and 23 in Kedarnath, he said. 

Medical screening for devotees above 50 years of age has been made mandatory. 

The screening is being done en route to the Himalayan temples, and pilgrims are being advised not to travel if they are not found medically fit enough, he said. 

However, if they still insist on continuing the yatra, they are allowed to go further after filling up a form. 

Continuous efforts are being made to further improve the Chardham Yatra arrangements, he said, adding that so far nine lakh 67 thousand 302 devotees have visited the Chardham, he said. -- PTI

Kumar, the personal assistant to Kejriwal, allegedly assaulted Maliwal at the chief minister's official residence on May 13. 

He was under police custody since Saturday. Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal allowed the prosecution's plea seeking Kumar's judicial custody for four days. 

The Delhi police had arrested Kumar on May 18. -- PTI

The 43-year-old woman was handed one count of ill-treating a child under her care under the Children and Young Persons Act. 

The court issued a wide-ranging gag order that forbids publication of the victim's identity, the accused's identity as well as the location of the incident, according to a Channel News Asia report. 

According to the charge sheet, the woman is an Indian national and a Singapore permanent resident, the report said. 

The boy was in her care on November 16, 2022, at the childcare centre when she allegedly stabbed his head several times with a pen. 

As a result, the boy suffered a 1-cm-long abrasion on his scalp, a 2-cm-long abrasion over his eyebrow ridge, and a 1.5-cm-long abrasion over his scalp. 

The woman indicated that she would be pleading guilty. -- PTI

Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma found Patkar guilty of criminal defamation. 

Under the relevant law, the activist may get a jail term of two years or fine or both as the punishment. 

Patkar and Saxena have been locked in a legal battle since 2000 after she filed a suit against him for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. 

Saxena was then the chief of Ahmedabad-based NGO National Council for Civil Liberties. 

Saxena had also filed two cases against her for making derogatory remarks against him on a TV channel and issuing a defamatory press statement. -- PTI

 The INDIA bloc partners have reached a pre-poll understanding for the elections in Delhi. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates on the remaining three seats. This is the first Lok Sabha election in which the AAP and the Congress have fielded joint candidates against the BJP, posing a challenge to the party ruling the Centre. 

 A total of 1.52 crore voters, including 82 lakh male and 69 lakh female voters as well as 1,228 third gender, are eligible to cast their votes at more than 13,000 polling booths in 2,627 places across the seven seats. 

 Voting will start from 7 am with special arrangements at the polling booths to help the voters exercise their franchise amid scorching heat. The weather department has sounded a yellow alert on the polling day with maximum temperature expected around 44 degrees Celsius. -- PTI

 The prosecution had demanded extension of their police custody for further probe. But the court remanded Agarwal and others including the owner and employees of two liquor-serving establishments -- where the teenager had allegedly consumed alcohol before his Porsche car knocked down two software professionals on a motorbike -- in judicial custody instead.

 Attempts were made to make it appear that the minor was not at the wheel and some adult person was driving the car at the time of the accident on May 19, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar had said earlier in the day. PTI

 The 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 7.65 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 75,410.39. During the day, it rallied 218.46 points or 0.28 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day high of 75,636.50. The NSE Nifty breached the 23,000 mark for the first time in early trade.

 "As part of the latest funding round led by Walmart, Flipkart today announced that it will be adding Google as a minority investor, subject to receipt of regulatory and other customary approvals by both parties," Flipkart said in a statement. 

 The e-commerce firm, however, neither disclosed the amount proposed to be invested by Google nor the details of the fund being raised by the firm.

 "Google's proposed investment and its cloud collaboration will help Flipkart expand its business and advance the modernization of its digital infrastructure to serve customers across the country," Flipkart said. PTI

The families have also demanded that the trial in the case should be held in Madhya Pradesh, where the victims hailed from, and not in Maharashtra. Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT professionals hailing from Madhya Pradesh, died on May 19 after a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, hit their motorcycle in Pune city.

 Ashwini hailed from Jabalpur, while Anish belonged to Birsinghpur Pali in Umaria district. 

 Talking to PTI, Ashwini's father, Suresh Kumar Koshta, said, "The Supreme Court should monitor the investigation and trial in the case to ensure that we get justice." 

"The accused should be tried as an adult and not as a minor, considering the serious nature of the crime," he said. 

 Koshta further alleged that the accused was in an inebriated condition when he ran his car over his daughter and Anish. 

 Following the accident, the teenager was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, which granted him bail while asking him to write a 300-word essay. After an outcry over quick bail and the police's review plea, the JJB on Wednesday remanded the teen, son of real estate developer Vishal Agarwal, to the observation home till June 5. The police have also arrested the teenager's father. 

 "I am going to fight for justice till my last breath," Anish's father, Om Prakash Awadhiya, said over the phone. The trial in the case should be held in Madhya Pradesh and not in Pune to ensure justice for the families, he said. 

 He alleged that the accused was given VIP treatment in the police station even though he had no driving licence. The accident should be treated as a double murder, Awadhiya said. PTI

 This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season and will be named Remal, according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region. 

 The system will strengthen into a cyclonic storm by Saturday morning and further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Saturday night. 

 "It's very likely to cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts between Sagar Island and Khepupara around Sunday midnight as a severe cyclonic storm," the IMD said in an update. 

 The cyclone could reach a wind speed of 120 kilometres per hour on Sunday. The Met office has warned of extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha on May 26-27. Extremely heavy precipitation may hit parts of northeast India on May 27-28.

The police sought four-day judicial remand of Arvind Kejriwal aide. Bibhav Kumar's lawyer says judicial remand is prerogative of court. The public prosecutor is seeking one hour of judicial custody as per law. Public prosecutor also argued that the accused is not the occupier of CCTV. He also submitted that the pen drive, which was found blank, and was sent to FSL.

Revanna is facing a probe by a Special Investigative Team (SIT) constituted by the Karnataka government over allegations of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a woman who worked in his household.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Jaishankar clarified the procedural aspects, saying, "To impound a passport is governed by an act called the Passport Act. We need a judicial court or a police request to do so. The MEA got this request from Karnataka only on May 21."

Highlighting the adherence to legal procedures, Jaishankar emphasised that the external affairs minister acted promptly upon receiving the request. "We immediately acted on it. On 23rd of May... we have to follow a certain procedure and the procedure is initiated," he added.

Patnaik's remark came while he was speaking to ANI in Mayurbhanj. "There is a limit to the lies that the Bharatiya Janata Party can tell. As you can see, I am in very good health, and I have been campaigning for around a month all over the state," Odisha CM told ANI.

Adding to the criticism of the BJP, BJD leader and key campaign strategist VK Pandian called the attacks substandard and urged the BJP that it should "come up with innovative ideas instead of talking about something which is non-existent. You are all watching the CM, it is very unfortunate, below the belt. The people of Odisha will not appreciate this kind of demeaning of of a CM who enjoys such popularity among the people of Odisha. I only suggest letting them come up with something innovative. It is so substandard," said Pandian.

Naveen Patnaik and Pandian's statements came in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent jibe at the 77-year-old BJD leader.

Shah, on Tuesday, while addressing a poll campaign in Odisha, said that Patanaik should retire due to his advanced age and health issues, promising that the BJP will make a young Odia-speaking 'bhumiputra' the CM if people of the state vote BJP into power.

Shah also asserted that the that the Patnaik-led government in Odisha is forcing 'Babu Shahi and hurting the dignity of the Odia people.

Talking to reporters in Kalaburagi his hometown, Kharge said people have provided a good environment in favour of the INDIA alliance. It is an election between the people and Prime Minister Modi because people are frustrated today, especially due to price rise and high unemployment, he said. Also, there is a big assault happening on democracy and Indian constitution, the Congress president added. 

 He said the BJP is running the administration by misusing the autonomous bodies, due to which people are upset with them and are supporting the INDIA bloc; hence, the alliance has a good opportunity. 

"There is every possibility of INDIA bloc getting majority. INDIA has got the capacity to stop the BJP from coming to power," Kharge said. 

 Asking people to wait till June 4 when the results will be out, he said the next course of action will be decided based on the outcome of election results. 

 When asked how many seats INDIA would get, he said he would not mention an exact number. "I did not calculate like that because in politics such calculations are rare," Kharge said. According to him, the BJP is losing seats in all the states.

"How did Prime Minister Narendra Modi know that (the BJP is) getting above 400 seats when he is losing everywhere? For example, in Karnataka we had got one seat (in 2019). You should tell us whether we will get one or more. Pralhad Joshi has said Congress will win four seats. Isn't it an increase, or is it a decrease? the Congress president sought to know. He said that in Telangana where Congress recently came to power, it had got two seats in 2019. There the Congress's number of seats will increase. Our alliance partner DMK is intact. We will get more seats in Kerala. In Maharashtra, our agadhi' (alliance) will get more than 50 per cent. I am unable to figure out how they will get more when it (BJP's number of seats) is decreasing all over," Kharge pointed out. 

"In Rajasthan we were zero. This time we are going to get seven-to-eight seats. In MP we had (won) two seats. There too our number will gain. In Chhattisgarh we are gaining. Wherever they were 100 per cent, their number has reduced. I don't know on what basis they are saying (400-paar), he wondered. There are enough signs of INDIA bloc getting more seats," Kharge said. -- PTI

 The man, a butcher by profession, has admitted during interrogation that he had helped the other accused in chopping the victim's body before disposing the parts in different locations, the officer claimed. Bengal Police confirmed the murder the Anar, an Awami League MP from Jhenaidah-4 segment in Bangladesh, on Wednesday after the victim went missing from Kolkata on May 13. 

 State CID sleuths on Friday took the arrested person to the Bhangar area where the chopped body parts were put in plastic bags and scattered across different places, he said.

 "The accused is a Bangladeshi citizen and a butcher by profession. He had entered India illegally and was staying in Mumbai hiding his true identity. "He was called to Kolkata a couple of months back as a part of the plan to kill Anar. He has admitted that he was an accomplice to the four men who murdered the politician inside the flat and helped them in skinning and chopping the body," the police officer told PTI. 

 The arrested accused would be produced at a court in Barasat later Friday, he said, adding that a team of CID officers were in the process of searching for the victim's body parts at the Krishnamati village in Bhangar where the butcher had led them. 

 An initial probe also found out that the MP's close friend Akhtaruzzaman, a US citizen, had paid around Rs 5 crore to those involved in the crime, the senior police officer said. 

 A team of the West Bengal CID has visited Bangladesh on Thursday to interrogate the three accused who were arrested by Bangladesh police in connection with the case. 

 The MP's friend has a flat in Kolkata, and is probably in the US at present, he said. Circumstantial evidence indicated that the MP was first strangulated and killed after which his body was chopped into pieces, police claimed. 

 The search for the missing MP, who reportedly arrived in Kolkata on May 12 to undergo medical treatment, began after Gopal Biswas, a resident of Baranagar in north Kolkata and an acquaintance of the Bangladeshi politician, filed a complaint with the local police on May 18. 

 Anar had stayed at Biswas's house upon arrival. In his complaint, Biswas stated that Anar left his Baranagar residence for a doctor's appointment in the afternoon of May 13, while stating that he would be back home for dinner. Biswas claimed that the Bangladesh MP went incommunicado since May 17, which prompted him to file a missing complaint a day later. PTI

He also alleged that CM Kejriwal is making all the efforts to save his aide Bibhav Kumar. 

"When CCTV footage is destroyed it reveals that a heinous crime has been committed and Arvind Kejriwal is trying his best to destroy the evidence. Evidence that is the proof of culpability of Arvind Kejriwal and Bibhav Kumar," Bhatia told reporters. 

"Second circumstantial evidence (that) is very important is the formating of the phone of the Bibhav Kumar. If there was nothing objectionable in the video which could have led to the truth and suggested that Arvind Kejriwal is the kingpin here....The beating has been done at his beck and call, then why would Bibhav Kumar format his phone? Handed to the police and let the truth emerge. Is it too much to expect from a Chief Minister," he added.

 Targeting the Delhi CM, the BJP leader said, "Arvind Kejriwal's silence confirms that he is not standing with the victim woman but the accused. And is making all the efforts to save Bibhav Kumar. 

 Notably, in an exclusive interview with ANI, Swati Maliwal asserted that Bibhav Kumar is a very "influential and powerful man" in the AAP. Calling Bibhav Kumar "raazdaar" (the one who keeps secret) of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Swati Maliwal alleged that the personal aide of Delhi CM Bibhav Kumar is not an "ordinary personal assistant" adding that the entire party is "afraid" of him. -- ANI

 "We are investigating both the case minutely and with full sensitivity. We are making a watertight case. The allegations of any preferential treatment given to the Minor are being investigated by an ACP rank officer...The victim will get justice and the accused will be punished," Pune Commissioner of Police, Amitesh Kumar told reporters in the city. 

The Pune Police commissioner said that efforts were on to try the minor accused as an adult. "We have started the process of appointing a special counsel in the case so that our side should be kept strongly in the case in court. Police are on the stringent way to handle this case," CP Kumar added. Confirming that an effort was made to frame the driver after the accident, CP Kumar said police are investigating the statement of the driver.

 "Effort was made to frame the driver during that period...We are investigating this also...It is true that at the start the driver had said that he was driving the car...We are investigating this part also under whose pressure the driver made that statement we are investigating it." CP Kumar also asserted that the Police had accessed the CCTV footage of the accused drinking liquor in the pub (before the accident). 

 "We have the CCTV footage of him drinking liquor in the pub... The point of saying this is that our case is not alone depending on the blood report, we have other evidence also. He (the minor accused) was in his senses. It was not as if all of them were so drunk that they could not understand anything. They had full knowledge that due to their conduct, an incident like section 304 could happen. There is no fact about the pizza party at the police station...," he added.

Minor was drinking alcohol before accident: "We have the CCTV footage of him drinking liquor in the pub. The point of saying this is that our case is depending on the blood report alone, we have other evidence also. He (minor accused) was in his senses. It was not as if all of them were so drunk that they could not understand anything. They had full knowledge that due to their conduct, an incident like section 304 can happen. There is no fact about the pizza party at the police station. 

Driver changed: "Effort was made to change the driver during that period...We are investigating this also. It is true that at the start the driver had said that he was driving the car. We are investigating this part also under whose pressure the driver made that statement we are investigating it.

Allegations of preferential treatment given to the accused:  As of now, nothing has been found in the investigation. If we receive any information that the eyewitness had to face any trouble, action will be taken against those police personnel as well. We have not received the blood report yet. The blood report was taken at the very first and sent to forensics. We have requested forensics to take a DNA sample of both the samples.

Investigations: We are investigating both the case minutely and with full sensitivity. We are making a watertight case. Over the allegations of any preferential treatment given to minor an ACP rank officer is investigating the allegations. The victim will get justice and the accused will be punished. We have started the process of appointing a special counsel in the case so that our side should be kept strongly in the case in court. Police are stringently handling this case."

 A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said it cannot issue any such directions at the moment as five phases of polling have concluded and two remain. 

 The top court adjourned the interlocutory application filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to be listed before the regular bench after the elections and pointed out that prima facie it appears the prayers in the application are similar to the main petition pending since 2019 on the issue.

 The bench said it would be difficult for the poll panel to mobilise manpower for uploading the voter turnout data on its website.

 Granting any relief in IA will amount to granting relief in the main petition which is pending, the bench said. On May 17, the top court had sought within a week a response from the Election Commission on the NGO's plea seeking a direction to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections. 

 The ADR has filed an interim application in its 2019 PIL seeking directions to the poll panel that "scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)" of all polling stations be uploaded immediately after the polls. PTI

 Prajwal Revanna is facing a probe by an SIT constituted by the Karnataka government over allegations of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a woman who worked in his household. In a letter posted on X, the former PM said that he is not aware of where his grandson is but has warned him to return home and face the law. 

 "I have already said that he should be given the harshest punishment under the law if found guilty. I also cannot convince people that I was unaware of Prajwal's activities. I cannot convince them that I have no desire to shield him. I cannot convince them that I am not aware of his movements and that I was not aware of his foreign trip. I believe in answering my conscience. I believe in God, and I know the almighty knows the truth," the former PM wrote on Thursday. -- ANI

The First Information Report (FIR) names company owners/directors Malti Pradip Mehta, Mayal Pradip Mehta and other directors, management staff and officials, who were supervising the factory. They have been booked for culpable homicide and other charges. 

 The FIR was registered by the Manpada police in Maharashtra's Thane district around 1.50 am on Friday, nearly 12 hours after a blast ripped through the unit of Amudan Chemicals located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC area. 

According to the FIR, some more people might be buried under the rubble of the factory that collapsed due to a blast in its boiler. The accused have been booked for culpable homicide (section 304), voluntarily causing hurt and negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter and explosive substances under the Indian Penal Code. 

 Besides IPC, the police have also invoked charges under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Explosive Substances Act. 

 The company had not taken precautions over mixing of chemicals, final products, and their storage knowing well that any lapses might lead to an explosion which could affect and damage the company and structures around it, says the FIR.

The police also initiated action against him in a separate hit-and-run case, in which the minor, who is yet to attain the legal age to drive, injured four people in the Barra area of Kanpur.

According to sources, a probe was also initiated against a section of the local police over their alleged inaction in the case. It was alleged that the minor was allowed to roam free despite being prima facie involved in the two hit-and-run cases.

Briefing reporters, the additional commissioner of police (Law and Order), Harish Chandra, said a departmental inquiry has been launched over the alleged delay in the filing of the chargesheet against the accused teen and acting against him.

"On October 27, 2023, a case was registered that a car was involved in a hit-and-run incident in which two persons lost their lives. The case was registered under IPC Section 304 A, and, further investigation determined that a minor was behind the wheel of the vehicle. The accused was detained and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on May 21, this year. The Board committed him to a juvenile correctional centre," ACP Harish Chander said.

"Another hit-and-run case was registered against the same minor earlier. The father, too, was booked along with the accused. Action will be taken against the officers in charge of the previous case for not filing a chargesheet in the matter," the ACP said.

The helicopter landed a few metres from the helipad at the Himalayan temple, an official said. The helicopter was carrying seven people, including the pilot, and everyone is safe, he said. PTI

"The net inflow number by FIIs on Thursday is Rs 4670 crores. The key factor to watch will be if this FII buying sustains going into the May 31st market close, which will be the last trading day before the Exit Polls of June 1st. We expect a subdued though positive market, as the Election uncertainty is rapidly reducing," said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert.

According to the MND, as of 6 am on Friday, a total of 49 China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including SU-30, J-16, and KJ-500, along with 19 China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and 7 China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels, were detected operating around Taiwan.

Of particular concern was the fact that 35 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwest Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). In response to this heightened activity, Taiwan's armed forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and coast guard, were closely monitoring the situation and taking concrete actions to safeguard the island's freedom and democracy, as stated by the MND. -- ANI

Disinfection steps will be taken in the affected area and a radius of 1 to 10 km from the poultry farm was declared as a surveillance zone, it said. Besides that, a ban was imposed on the sale and import of poultry products of chicken, duck, quails and other birds in Kottayam district of the state.

The measures were taken following an inter-departmental meeting held at the Collectorate after district Collector V Vigneshwari confirmed the avian flu outbreak at the poultry farm run by the Animal Husbandry department. Around nine thousand chickens were reared at the farm, it said. 

 The H5N1 outbreak was confirmed by the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases lab in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, after testing samples of the chickens which died in large numbers at the farm. PTI

 In a video message, the teen's mother stressed that the clip had nothing to do with her son and that it was fake. 

"The video which is being circulated is not of my son. That is a fake video. My son is in the detention centre," says the teen's mother in her message.

 Appealing to the police to protect her son, the mother breaks down, shows her video message.  A rap song purportedly featuring the teenager, boasting about how he got away with the car crash, went viral on social media, but Pune police have clarified that it was a fake account and that the teenager had no role in the video.

Later, it was found that the rap video was of a social media influencer. 

 A Porsche, allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, who the police claim was drunk at the time, fatally knocked down two motorbike-borne software engineers in the city in the early hours of Sunday. 

The teenager was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) which granted him bail while asking him to write a 300-word essay. 

Following an outcry over quick bail and the police's review plea, the JJB on Wednesday remanded the teen, son of real estate developer Vishal Agarwal, to the observation home till June 5. 

The police have also arrested the teenager's father in connection with the case. -- PTI

The West Bengal CID on Thursday evening detained one person for his alleged involvement in the "murder" of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar, an officer said.

Police suspect that the MP could have been "lured" into a New Town flat by a woman and then murdered by contract killers.

The detained person, who is a resident of an area in West Bengal close to the international border with Bangladesh, had met one of the prime accused in the murder case, the officer said.

Further investigation is underway to find out why the person had met him and what they discussed, the officer said, without divulging the identity of the detained person.

An initial probe also found out that the MP's close friend, a US citizen, had paid around Rs 5 crore to those involved in the crime, the senior police officer said.

The Awami League MP's friend owns a flat in Kolkata, and is probably in the US at present, he said.

Police also said that the flat in Kolkata's New Town area, where the Bangladesh MP was last seen entering, was rented out to his friend by its owner, an excise department employee.

"Investigation indicated that the Bangladeshi parliamentarian fell into a honey trap laid by a woman who was also close to the victim's friend. It seems, Anar was lured into the New Town flat by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," he said.

The CID is examining the CCTV footage which showed Anar entering the flat with a man and a woman, the officer said.

"It was a well-planned murder. A huge amount of money, around Rs 5 crore, was paid by an old friend of the MP to the contract killers to execute the crime. Further investigation is underway," he said.

"In the CCTV footage, the politician was seen entering the flat with the two persons. The duo was later seen coming out and again re-entering the flat the next day but the MP was not seen again," the officer told PTI.

Police said the duo was later seen coming out of the flat with a big trolley suitcase.

Anar, who went missing in Kolkata on May 13, was found murdered and three people have been arrested, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Wednesday.

The state CID, which is investigating the case, has found blood stains inside the New Town flat and also recovered several plastic bags, which they believe were used to dump the body parts.

Circumstantial evidence indicates that the MP was first strangulated and then his body was cut into several pieces, police claimed.

"We suspect that after killing Anar, the murderers mutilated the body, segregated the flesh from the bones and mixed those with turmeric powder to delay decomposition.

"Then the body parts were probably put inside plastic bags as well as in the trolley bag and scattered at different locations. We also suspect that some parts were kept in a refrigerator and we have collected samples," the officer said, adding search for the body parts was underway.

Messages were also sent from his mobile phone to a few of his contacts asking them "not to contact him as he was travelling to Delhi".

"It seems these messages were sent from the MP's mobile phone to confuse his family members and friends and prevent them from launching a search for him... there is a possibility that these messages were sent after his murder," he said. -- PTI

At least seven people died and 20 were injured when a minibus was hit by a truck in Ambala in the early hours of Friday, police said.

 

The accident took place near Mohra village, close to Ambala Cantt.

The bus was carrying around 30 people from Uttar Pradesh who were going to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, they said. -- PTI

In a major triumph for India at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, Chidananda S. Naik's Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know... has won the first prize of La Cinef at Cannes. 

The Mysuru doctor-turned filmmaker made the film at the end of his one-year course in the television wing of Pune's Film and Television Institute of India.

Sunflowers... is based on Kannada folk tale about an old woman who steals a rooster. As a result of her action, the son stops rising in the village. 

The third prize of the La Cinef competition on Thursday went to India-born Mansi Maheshwari's animation film Bunnyhood. 

Maheshwari, born in from Meerut and an ex-student of NIFT Delhi, made the film as a student of UK's National Film and Television School. 

The second prize was shared by Out of the Widow Through the Wall, directed by Columbia University's Asya Segalovich, and The Chaos She Left Behind, made by Nikos Kolioukos of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Cannes Film Festival awards a 15000 Euro grant for the first prize winner, 11,250 euros for second prize and 7,500 euros for the third prize.

The awarded films will be screened at the Cinema du Pantheon on June 3 and at the MK2 Quai de Seine on June 4.

The first prize for Naik is India's second in five years. In 2020, Ashmita Guha Neogi, also from FTII, won the award for her film CatDog. -- PTI 

Twenty-two passengers from a Singapore Airlines flight that was hit by turbulence May 21, have spinal cord injuries and six have brain and skull injuries, according to media reports. 

Twenty people remained in intensive care, although none were life-threatening cases, reported The Straits Times, citing Dr Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, director of Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital.

 The oldest patient at the hospital is 83, while the youngest is a two-year-old child who suffered a concussion.

He added that there were 40 patients from Flight SQ321 at the hospital. The London to Singapore flight made an emergency landing in Bangkok.

Nearly 60 passengers were injured after the flight on May 21 encountered "sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000 feet about 10 hours after departure".

Forty-six passengers and two crew members aboard the SIA flight remain in the Thai capital for medical treatment.

The pilot diverted the Boeing 777-300ER carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 3.45pm (4.45pm Singapore time), making an emergency landing.

Flight SQ321, which was heading to Singapore from London, experienced sudden extreme turbulence on May 21. Briton Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, died during the turbulence, reportedly due to a heart attack.

Formerly serving as the secretary of BJP's Basirhat mandal in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, Parveen's decision to switch sides was marked by a public event attended by state minister Shashi Panja and TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur. 

Addressing reporters, Parveen expressed her disenchantment with the BJP, accusing it of fabricating lies about the situation in Sandeshkhali. 

She pointed to a sting video operation that allegedly exposed BJP leaders' involvement in instigating women and causing unrest in the area. 

Parveen lamented that despite initially believing the BJP was advocating for women's causes, she claimed that the party seemed more focused on politicising issues for its own gain rather than addressing genuine grievances. 

Pledging her allegiance to Mamata Banerjee's leadership, Parveen declared her intent to work towards TMC's victory in Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, with Sandeshkhali playing a pivotal role in the upcoming elections scheduled for June 1. -- PTI

Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch claimed the responsibility for the slogans, such as "Ek hi raasta Naxalbari," written on the walls. 

The self-proclaimed youth organisation posted photos of the slogans on its Instagram page. 

The police said they noticed the slogans written in the area during morning patrolling on Thursday. 

"Accordingly, two FIRs under the Defacement Act have been registered," deputy commissioner of police (north) Manoj Kumar Meena said. -- PTI

They were married as per the Hindu customs on April 24, he said. 

Chandan Nagar police filed a case against them under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. 

The Madhya Pradesh government started a campaign called Lado Abhiyan in 2013 to keep a check on child marriages. 

Mahendra Pathak, who is part of the flying squad under this campaign, said the minor girl's father told them that his daughter and the 19-year-old man were in love with each other. 

The girl had even threatened that them if they don't let her marry him, she would end her own life, he said. -- PTI