17:02 Naxals massacre 11 CRPF men in Sukma, Chhattisgarh: Just in: Eleven CRPF jawans butchered by Naxals in Sukma in Chhattisgarh during an encounter. Four jawans have been injured in a Naxal ambush in Chintagufa. Additional reinforcements have been sent. Details awaited.
Just last month, exactly the same number of CRPF personnel were killed in an attack by Maoists, yet again in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district. They belonged to the 219 battalion. Several others were injured. Inspector General Sundar Raj said that personnel were taking part in a road-opening exercise when they were attacked.
Representational image.
16:49 No rift in BJP-PDP, just ‘lack of communication’: Ram Madhav : Even as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, amid the turbulent state in the Vallety with soaring protests and clashes, BJP leader Ram Madhav on Monday asserted there was no rift in the BJP-PDP alliance, but didn’t rule out on a possible ‘lack of communication’ between the two parties.
“There is no rift. There is some issue regarding the MLC elections. We noticed that there lack of communication between the two parties,” BJP leader Ram Madhav said.
He added that these issues will be addressed and will be dealt with.Mehbooba Mufti, after meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, assured that within two-three months the situation in the Valley would definitely improve.
“In a period of two-three months, you will see a changed Jammu and Kashmir. Next few months are really crucial for us. We will first restore the normalcy, than we will talk. This issue is as old as 70 years,” Mufti said. Mufti further appealed to the media to help in restoring peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
16:26 SC notice to Centre, Army on ‘sahayak’ system: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Central Government and the Army after hearing a PIL filed by a journalist, who alleged that ‘sahayaks’ and other lower rank staff in the Army were allegedly forced to do domestic and menial chores for seniors.
The journalist shot a sting video in which Lance Naik Roy Mathew criticised the ‘sahayak system’ in the Army.
Following the release of the sting video, Lance Naik Mathew allegedly committed suicide, following which the journalist sought a probe into his death.
The journalist was booked by the Nasik police under sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and those relating to criminal trespass and abetment to suicide under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Challenging the FIR, the journalist urged the apex court to issue suitable guidelines to prevent abuse of the OSA, which not only impinges upon fundamental rights, but also journalistic freedom.
The journalist also sought directions for an appropriate inquiry into the alleged misuse of the ‘sahayak system’ in the Army.
The petition said a fair probe was being scuttled by invoking the OSA and the move would send out the message that exposure of misdeeds of delinquent Army officers would be visited with consequences so draconian that no one should dare to do so.
Retired Army jawan Deep Chand, who ran the Army canteen in Nashik where the sting video was shot, is the co-petitioner with the journalist.
Mattis, making his first visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, was due to meet top officials including President Ashraf Ghani less than two weeks after the US dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on Islamic State hideouts in the country’s east.
He arrived as embattled Afghan security forces faced chaos with the resignations of defence minister Abdullah Habibi and army chief Qadam Shah Shaheem. The resignations, announced in a terse one-line statement from the presidential palace, came amid fury over the Taliban assault on an army base outside the northern city of Mazar-i- Sharif on Friday.
15:44 Six CRPF personnel injured in attack by Maoists in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh: Officials.
15:29 Don Chhota Rajan convicted in fake passport case : Don Chhota Rajan and three others found guilty in a fake passport case by a Delhi’s Patiala House Court.
The Central Bureau of Investigation special judge Virender Kumar Goyal held Rajan guilty of possessing a fake passport
The court on June 8 last year framed charges against Chhota Rajan and then passport officers Jayashree Dattatray Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Lakshmanan under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with criminal conspiracy, cheating, cheating by impersonation and forgery of documents.
The CBI in its chargesheet alleged that Chhota Rajan got issued a fake passport from Bengaluru in 1998-99 in connivance with Rahate, Shah and Lakshmanan in the name of Mohan Kumar.
Rajan is involved in over 85 cases, ranging from murder to extortion, smuggling and drug trafficking.
He has cases pending against him in Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and with the CBI.
The don, held by the Indonesian police on October 25, 2015, was deported to India on November 6, 2015.
15:03 UPDATE: As PM-Mehbooba talk security, terrorists shoot dead PDP leader : Update: PDP Pulwama district president Abdul Gani Dar, who was shot at by terrorists this morning, has succumbed to his injuries.
Dar, who is PDP’s Pulwana district president, was admitted to a local hospital but later shifted to a Srinagar hospital as his condition deteriorated. Dar later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Before joining PDP in November, 2014, Dar held several posts with the Congress.
This was the third such attack on PDP cadre in south Kashmir in the past two weeks.
Two policemen were injured when militants attacked the ancestral residence of PDP leader and minister for Hajj and Auqaf Farooq Abdrabi in Kashmir’s Anantnag district last month.
The militants also took away four service weapons from the guard room at Abdrabi’s Residence at Dooru in Anantnag.
A briefing was organised for Pannerselvam by the Deputy Inspector General of CISF based in Chennai about the dos and don’ts to be observed for strict security measures.
The Intelligence Bureau in Chennai sought this upgradation after a threat perception to him. It may be recalled that during the RK Nagar bypolls in Chennai, it was Dr V Maitreyan who met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking CISF protection for Pannerselvam.
The Centre accorded it a fortnight ago and implemented today
The attack comes on a day when Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the on-going conflict in the Valley.
In Pulwana, schools and colleges that were shut for almost a week, following clashes between students and security personnel, have reopened today.
14:08 Aadhar for cows to check smuggling, Centre tells SC: The Central government today submitted its report in the Supreme Court on cow protection and smuggling of cattle across the India-Bangladesh border. The Centre’s report on the issue states that the “Responsibility of safety and care of abandoned animals is mainly of the State government. Each district should have a shelter home of capacity of at least 500 abandoned animals,” Centre states in the report.
The report also adds that, “each cow and its progeny across India should get a Unique Identification Number for tracking, which will help reduce smuggling.”
The report also recommends special care for cattle beyond the age of milking and stresses on launching of a scheme for distressed farmers.
While talks of a UID for cows last year were met with amusement and criticism, the government has now made its intentions clear at the highest level.
The UID will have details like age, breed, sex, lactation, height, body, colour, horn type, tail switch and special marks of the animal. While the responsibility for care of abandoned animals will lie with the state governments, the Centre is planning shelter homes in each district to accommodate at least 500 abandoned cows.
13:42 4 ways to deal with the Kashmir crisis: “The strategy has to be restoring order in one part and countering the very effective propaganda through a very nimble monitoring and response system,” says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, who retired as the General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Read more
13:27 Bovine intervention: “It’s not only holy reverence that drives them to such vigilantism — there is adventure too. Some of the younger gau rakshaks enjoy the thrill of the chase: Stopping vehicles, wielding weapons, badgering passengers and then gloating.”
Dhruv Munjal on what motivates gau rakshaks. Read
Image: Gau rakshaks get tip-offs about possible cow smugglers in the area on their mobile phones. Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images
13:18 BJP forms high-level committee for Prez polls : BJP President Amit Shah has informally constituted a high-level committee with Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Bhupender Yadav, to study, liaise and coordinate various issues relating to the election of the President of India. This informal committee is expected to meet after Arun Jaitley returns from the USA.
The committee will idenfity and prioritise the list of dos and don’ts for the BJP on the upcoming election of the President like voting patterns and proportional representation apart from interacting with political parties which are neutral like the AIADMK, YSR Congress party and the Telangana Rashtra Samhiti. These parties are key to a BJP candidate winning the Presidential polls.
13:08 Conducive atmosphere required for talks: Mehbooba: Update: J-K CM Mehbooba Mufti today demanded that the ruling dispensation at the Centre must follow the footsteps of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and reach out to the disillusioned and angry youth so as to restore a peaceful atmosphere for governance.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Mehbooba said a conducive atmosphere is required for talks and governance.”We must start from where Vajpayee-ji left… Modi ji has repeatedly said that he would follow the footsteps of Vajpayee-ji, whose policy was of reconciliation, not confrontation. There is no option but to talk,” she asserted.
The Chief Minister also said that she discussed the recent by-poll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, which witnessed large-scale violence and the lowest turnout ever.
“I discussed the issue of less voting percentage in the recent elections and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with Prime Minister Modi,” she said.
Mehbooba’s PDP lost the seat in the by-poll to National Conference, just in nearly three years after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Chief Minister also discussed the huge losses to the state due to the Indus water treaty.
“I pressed that Jammu and Kashmir doesn’t have control over water resources, and how losses caused by the Indus Waters Treaty can be compensated,” she said, adding the Prime Minister has assured assistance in this regard.
The meeting comes in the wake of recent incidents of violence, including the clashes between security forces and civilians during the Srinagar by-elections.
The classes in all the colleges across the Valley were suspended on Tuesday following widespread student demonstrations a day earlier against the alleged high- handedness of security forces against the students of Degree College Pulwama on April 15.
Students of many of these institutions held protests demonstrations on Monday and clashed with the security forces, leaving several dozen students injured.
12:45 Situation in J-K will change in 3 months, says Mehbooba after Rajnath meet: J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi today in the backdrop of the Niti Aayog meeting. Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the HM, Mehbooba said, “Agle do teen mahine mein aap Jammu-Kashmir ke haalaat ko bilkul badla hua paayenge. You will the situation in Jammu-Kashmir changed in the next two-three months.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the deteriorating security situation in the state and reports of strains in the PDP-BJP coalition.
Mufti, who is in Delhi for the Niti Aayog meeting, discussed the current situation in the state with the PM and sought a solution from the Centre to address the issues of the people of the Valley; especially after the increase in the incidents of stone-pelting.
File pic.
12:19 PM’s 3 warnings to CMs : Prime Minister Narendra Modi met BJP chief ministers individually at a dinner at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi hosted by BJP Chief Amit Shah. Modi’s focus was to direct ministers not to speak out of turn and avoid personal conversations over the phone. The PM issued the following warnings:
1. Beware, your enemies are bound to trap you in sex scandals and bribery scandals.
2. You are now in the peak of your glory, so ensure that you protect and safeguard the interest of the state, your party and yourself.
3. Beware of phone tapping by adversaries.
These dictats are hardly new to chief ministers, but this time the warnings came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a person they hold in high esteem.
You may recall that the PM offered similar advise to the Union Council of Ministers in 2014 and with the party at its peak performance, the PM makes sure he repeats the advise at every personal meeting.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pressed for dialogue.
Mehbooba, who is under mounting attack in the face of fresh spurt in violence in Kashmir, briefed Modi on the prevailing situation in the state and the way forward.
She told the prime minister that the Centre should seriously think about the welfare of the state.
“There is no option but to talk,” Mehbooba said.
Later speaking to the media, she said that the low voter turnout percentage during the bypolls was also discussed.
“We also discussed Indus Water Treaty and the financial loss J-K is incurring. PM has assured his full cooperation. Modi ji has repeatedly said he would follow Vajpayee ji’s footsteps, whose policy is of reconciliation not confrontation.”
11:28 Shekhar Gupta tweets this cartoon by Hindu’s Keshav.
He writes, “No comment or caption needed for this @keshav61 masterpiece. Simple lines tell you the state of the nation better than 1000 words would.”
11:11 J-K CM Mufti meetsmeet PM Narendra Modi over unrest:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to discuss the unrest in the Valley.
Mehbooba, who arrived in the capital on Saturday to attend the Niti Aayog governing council meet, is also likely to meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other central ministers to review the current situation.
The rise in the unrest has also led to a friction between the PDP and the BJP, which are running the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP, however on Sunday, said there were no differences between coalition partners in Jammu and Kashmir and the state government was “working well”.
“As far as the coalition is concerned, there are no differences among the partners. The PDP-BJP government is working well. Everyone is performing his or her task,” state BJP unit chief Sat Sharma told reporters.
10:55 Vijay Goel mocks Kejriwal, says Delhi CM suffering from EVM fever:
Union Minister Vijay Goel today took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s allegations that the EVMs used during Sunday’s MCD elections were tampered with.
“Baithe Baithe Kya Karein Karna Hai Kuch Kaam, Shuru Karo #EVMBahana Leke #DramaQueenKejriwal Ka Naam,” Vijay Goel tweeted.
Arvind Kejriwal had raked up the EVM malfunction issue as people were casting their votes for MCD election.
“Reports from all over Delhi of EVM malfunction, people with voter slips not allowed to vote. What is SEC (state election commission) doing?” the Aam Aadmi Party convenor had tweeted.
State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava in a press conference after the voting said that Delhi recorded a turnout of around 54 per cent. North corporation’s Bakhtawarpur ward recorded the highest turnout at over 68 per cent, while south Delhi’s Lado Sarai registered the least turnout at 39 per cent.
A liberal blogger who wrote satirical critiques of the Maldivian government and the spread of radical Islam died Sunday after being stabbed in the stairway of his apartment building.
The blogger, Yameen Rasheed, 29, had complained repeatedly to the police about receiving death threats, he said in an interview with The New York Times this year, adding that the police often failed to return his calls or dropped his complaints without investigation.
The police said that Rasheed was found with multiple stab wounds in his apartment building in the capital, Mal, shortly before 3 am. He was rushed to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and died soon after.
10:19 HT scribe wins Journalist of Change Mobility award: Snigdha Poonam, a journalist from the Hindustan Times based in New Delhi, has won the 2017 Journalist of Change Mobility Award.
Poonam received the award from Krishna Prasad, former editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine and member of Press Council India, for her reportage on the Kota suicides at an evening ceremony at the British Council in New Delhi.
The Journalist of Change Award is offered by the UK-based Bournemouth University through Connect India, it global outreach arm for the Indian subcontinent.
Part of BU’s continuing engagement with the Indian subcontinent, the award seeks to recognise ‘excellence in journalism that has inspired — or has the potential to inspire — social change’. The award allows the winner to spend time on Bournemouth University campus in England, participating in active programmes and interacting with students, scholars and journalism practitioners.
Poonam’s reportage on Kota had appeared in Huffington Post India under the title ‘Why 57 Young Students Have Taken Their Lives In Kota’, when she was an independent journalist.
“I am extremely honoured to receive the Journalist of Change Mobility Award,’ Poonam said. “I thank Bournemouth University’s Connect India for recognising the importance of student suicides in Kota and what the trend tells us about the weaknesses of India’s education and employment scenario.”
The award, open to under-35 journalists publishing in Indian news and alternative outlets, considered nominations in the print and online categories.
The finalists included Nikita Saxena and Priyanka Dubey, both of Caravan magazine, Rhythma Kaul of Hindustan Times, Shafaq Shah of Rising Kashmir, and Pallavi Rebbapragada of First Post.
Besides the Journalist of Change, Bournemouth University this year also initiated the Global Talent Young India Mobility Award, which seeks to encourage a global outlook and recognise holistic achievements among Indian youth, and which was won by 17-year-old Samridhi Khanna from Springdales school, New Delhi.
Two other students from the same school — Aarushi Bharadwaj and Anavi Chander — were finalists in this category.
The mobility awards formed part of the Global Festival of Learning-India 2017, a unique educational event that Bournemouth University had organised in partnership with the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Pune; the University of Madras, Chennai; and Ashoka University, Sonepat.
10:05 Cow vigilante attack: Video shows how Jammu family begged for mercy: Two days after five members of a family including a 9-year-old girl were attacked allegedly by ‘gau rakshaks’ in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, 11 people have been arrested for the assault.
Meanwhile, shocking videos have emerged of the attack on the nomad family in Reasi near Jammu. The videos show the family pleading for mercy as the attackers go on a rampage breaking and burning their sheds while chanting slogans.
In the video, cops can be seen trying to stop the attackers, who are in larger numbers and seem to be undeterred.
The incident took place on Friday evening when a nomad family was moving with their livestock near the Talwara area. They were intercepted by a large group of ‘gau rakshaks’ and beaten up with iron rods.
“Eleven people have been arrested for thrashing members of the nomadic family while they were transporting bovines without permission on Thursday evening,” a senior cop Tahir Bhat said.
He, however, said the situation was under control in the area.
09:49 Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray demands Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar:
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray wants the Bharat Ratna award for freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
While speaking at the closing function of a three-day long convention on Savarkar’s writings, the Sena president said the country’s highest civilian award should be bestowed upon the freedom fighter and the party will urge the opposition to back them on this demand.
“We all are together in demanding (Bharat Ratna for Savarkar) and some leaders of opposition (in Maharashtra) also want the highest honour for Savarkar. We should now act to make this a reality,” Thackeray said.
09:19 Happy birthday to India, from India: Modi wishes Jonty Rhodes’ daughter:
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes celebrated his daughter’s second birthday on Sunday. The 47-year-old shared a candid photo with the 2-year-old and many on Twitter sent their love and wishes for her.
But a special birthday wish came from the 1.2 billion people of the country she was named after. PM Narendra Modi wished the 2-year-old, who is named India, and said, “Happy Birthday to India, From India”.
PM Modi’s birthday tweet was retweeted 6,300 times in less than 12 hours.
Trains towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus are running late after a track fractured between Vashi-Mankhurd station. Repair work is on.
09:02 300 WhatsApp groups were used to mobilise stone-pelters at encounter sites in Kashmir:
Nearly 300 WhatsApp groups were being used to mobilise stone-pelters in Kashmir to disrupt security forces’ operations at encounter sites, of which 90 per cent have been shut down, a police official said.
Each of these 300 WhatsApp groups had around 250 members, the official said while explaining how determined attempts were being made to disrupt the operations of the security forces by mobilising stone-pelting mobs at the encounter sites.
“We identified the groups and the group administrators, who were called in by police for counselling. We have had a good response to this initiative,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
In the last three weeks, more than 90 per cent of these WhatsApp groups have been shut down, the official said.
He said the government’s policy of suspending internet services appeared to be showing positive results in curbing stone-pelting during encounters and cited the case of yesterday’s encounter in Budgam district.
Stone-pelting on security forces near the encounter sites has been causing major operational problems for the law enforcing agencies over the past one year. More than half a dozen youth have been killed in such incidents in the first quarter of this year.
In the wake of the current turbulent atmosphere in the Valley, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to discuss the situation and possibly formulate a solution.
Besides her meeting with the prime minister, the chief minister will also meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Upon Mufti’s invitation, Prime Minister Modi on Sunday suggested that other states should organise events in Jammu and Kashmir and urged them to reach out to the students from the Valley studying in other states.
08:47 JUST IN: Security guard at Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate found dead, police suspect murder
08:31 After marathon 11-hour grilling, Dinakaran to be questioned today again: After a marathon 11-hour grilling on Sunday, the interrogation of ousted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV. Dinakaran will continue today by the Crime Branch office of Delhi Police, where he will be probed in a case involving bribing of an Election Commission official to get the party’s ‘two-leaves’ symbol.
Dinakaran was cross examined along with his ‘friend’ Mallikarjuna and his Personal Assistant Janardhanan, sources state.
They were quizzed about the money trail of the alleged bribe. Also the matter of Dinakaran staying over with Mallikarjuna for around 10 days after an FIR was filed against him, was also brought up during the interrogation.
While the two men will be quizzed again today at 2 pm., Dinakaran’s questioning is set to continue at 4 pm.
07:54 AIADMK reunion on the cards? EPS and OPS camps kick off talks today:
AIADMK factions led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his predecessor O Panneerselvam will begin formal merger talks on Monday, three days after they formed their respective committees to hold discussions.
Rajya Sabha MP R Vaithilingam will head the panel set up by the Palaniswami group, while the Panneerselvam camp has named senior leader and former minister KP Munusamy as the head of a seven-member committee. Former ministers C Ponnaiyan, R Viswanathan and K Pandiarajan, Rajya Sabha MP V Maithreyan, former MP TH Manoj Pandian and former MLA JCD Prabhakar were the other members.
Informal talks between the two camps appeared to have hit a roadblock last week with the Panneerselvam camp seeking formal expulsion of VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran from the party.
It had also sought a CBI probe into the circumstances leading to former chief minister Jayalalithaa’s death on December 5 last year.
Hardening its stance, the OPS camp had also demanded that 30 members of the Sasikala family be formally expelled from the party.
Source: Rediff