11:30 Om Puri’s postmortem at Cooper, funeral at 6 pm, says Shabana : Veteran actor Om Puri’s sudden death after a massive heart attack this morning has left India bereaved. Both Bollywood — his co-stars, filmmakers, musicians — took to Twitter to mourn his loss — as did the general public, his co-star of 14 films is still coming to terms with the loss.
National Award winning actress Shabana Azmi tweeted to say, “Om Puri! You have left us all too early.. i am so so sorry..The fun the laughter the arguments so vividly etched in my mind..Will miss you.”
The actor shared the screen with Om Puri on various occasions including classics like Mrityudand (1997), Muhafiz (1994), Dharavi (1993), Antarnaad (1992), Disha (1991), Susman (1988), Paar (1985), Sparsh (1984), Mandi (1983), Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1981).
Azmi tweeted later to say, “OM Puri undergoing postmortem at Cooper Hospital. Will be taken to Trishul around 3pm Funeral at Oshiwara electric crematorium around 6 pm.”
Image: Om Puri, Shabana Azmi and Patrick Swazye share a light moment during the filming of City of Joy in Kolkata.
11:12 Mulayam may sacrifice Amar Singh to end rift with Akhilesh: Reports: After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav claimed the support of over 200 lawmakers of the ruling Samajwadi Party, his estranged father Mulayam Singh Yadav met with his top aides till 1 am on Thursday night.
This morning, Shivpal Yadav met Akhilesh for 10 minutes and then headed to to Mulayam Singh’s residence. While a patch-up between the father and son is bleak, reports say Mulayam may sacrifice Amar Singh to end the rift.
The rift between Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav came to the fore after the latter re-inducted Amar Singh into the party fold six years after his expulsion in 2010. Differences grew as Akhilesh rallied for his expulsion calling him an outsider who was trying to create a split in the SP. Mulayam, however, sided with his old associate.
Mulayam Singh is hopelessly outnumbered, with Akhilesh Yadav claiming to have the signed support of 214 lawmakers.
Akhilesh Yadav, 43, was quoted as saying by one of his ministers that he had asked his father to give him control of the party for three months, until the February-March election in Uttar Pradesh.
This will give the Chief Minister complete control over the choice of party candidates, which is at the centre of the massive Yadav family feud simmering over the past few months.
Minister Ravidas Malhotra, who attended the meeting of lawmakers at Akhilesh Yadav’s home yesterday, quoted him as saying: “Netaji is my father. I have asked him to give me authority for three months. After returning to power, he may decide whatever he wants.”
11:11 Uttar Pradesh: BSP releases second list of candidates for assembly elections.
10:51 The funeral of veteran actor Om Puri will be held at 6 pm today.
In 2012, the community majorly supported the SP and are expected to ope for candidates bet placed to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BSP won a majority in the 2007 UP assembly poll but won only 80 of the 403 seats in 2012.
— Amit Agnihotri/Business Standard
10:09 ‘We have lost one of our finest’: Bollywood mourns Om Puri’s demise: As news of Om Puri’s death was reported, Bollywood mourned and grieved, with many taking to Twitter to condole the passing.
Mahesh Bhatt tweeted: “Goodbye Om! A part of me goes with you today. How can I ever forget those passionate nights we spent together talking about cinema & life?”
Boman Irani also tweeted: “RIP Om Puri. We have lost one of our finest. A talent, A Voice, A Spirit.Will miss you Puri Saab.”
Neha Dhupia said, “It’s a sad day for cinema … we just lost one of our greats… gone but will never be forgotten … #RIPOmPuri Saab.”
MP Rajyavardhan Rathore said: Shocked and saddened to hear about the sudden demise of veteran actor Om Puri. May his soul rest in peace. Strength to his family.
Madhuri Dixit-Nene tweeted: Saddened to hear that the fabulous actor #OmPuriji passed away. Loved him in Ardh Satya many more. RIP
Sunny Deol wrote in : Will miss you Omji ..will miss you..will miss you.#Ompuri
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tweeted: Saddened at sudden passing of Om Puri Ji. His acting skills were appreciated around the world. Condolences to family, friends fraternity
Preity Zinta: Sad to hear about the passing of the massively talented Om Puri. May god give peace to his soul & strength to his family #RIPOmPuri
Rajpal Yadav said: Shocked & saddened to wake up to the news that #OmPuri has passed. We have lost a brilliant & talented artist. You will be sorely missed.
Anupam Kher: I have known #OmPuri for d last 43yrs. For me he’ll always b a great actor, a kind & generous man. And that is how world shud remember him.
Image: Om Puri with Sadashiv Amrapurkar in the film, Ardh Satya. Amrapurkar passed away in 2014.
Police got information about it after Nair Hospital authorities informed the police control room.
Senior police officials late last night went to the hospital to see the victim, who is reported to be out of danger.
The Tardeo police have registered an offence under relevant IPC sections for attempt to murder, in connection with the incident. The woman worked at a private company in Mumbai and since some months was seeing a 22-year-old man.
Last evening, at around 7.30 pm, the man went to meet her at the race course and found her sitting under a tree with stab marks on her chest, following which she was taken to hospital. Further investigation into the incident was on, police added.
09:53 Just in: Mastermind of Bangladesh cafe attack killed in shootout with police in Dhaka, says police.
09:38 Om Puri passes away at 66: Veteran actor Om Puri has passed away at the age of 66. He died after he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Puri, who has appeared in mainstream commercial Pakistani, Indian, British, and Hollywood, Independent films and art films, was awarded the Padma Shri.
He was critically acclaimed for his performances in many unconventional roles such as in Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Maachis and as Dhoop.
08:56 JUST IN: A 28-year-old woman was stabbed while waiting for a friend near Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course on Thursday night.
08:51 No evidence of Bengaluru mass molestation, says police chief:
Days after the uproar over alleged incidents of mass molestation on New Years Eve in the central business district of Bengaluru, the citys police commissioner said police did not find evidence of any kind of molestation in the footage from 60-odd CCTV cameras.
Commissioner of Police Praveen Sood told reporters: On January 2, one of the newspapers raised this issue with still photographs, blurred photographs. We had to take it very seriously. We could not ignore it. At the same time, we cannot imagine things. We started looking into the whole video footage from approximately 55 to 60 cameras, he said. These videos were also sourced by the media from the police. We could not find any kind of molestation, said Sood, who took charge on January 1.
He said four separate cases had been registered on the basis of media reports. He added that four youths had been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a woman from the Northeast.
According to the police, the images of women crying on shoulders of policewomen and friends were not linked to incidents of molestation, but reactions to stampede when the police resorted to lathicharge to control the crowd in CBD. Sood asked mediapersons why incidents of alleged mass molestation were not brought to his notice on January 1 when he took charge and interacted with reporters.
08:23 BJP national executive meet to laud PM Narendra Modi, government:
The Bharatiya Janata Party national executive, to meet for a two-day session on Friday and Saturday, is likely to pass a resolution lauding the leadership provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past few months.
With particular mention of the September 29 surgical strikes by the army on insurgent camps across the Kashmir border and the demonetisation decision.
The meeting comes barely a month before the assembly polls in five states, including in Uttar Pradesh. The political resolution is expected to touch upon the several pro-poor, pro-farmer and like schemes the PM has announced.
The earlier meeting was at Kozhikode, Kerala, on September 23, 24 and 25, right after Uri terrorist attack on September 18. The latter had dominated the proceedings.
The meet will see speeches on the international support India has received on the issue of terrorism. It will refer to the Modi governments decision to implement one rank, one pension for retired defence personnel. But, the focus, according to sources, will be the coming polls and the governments efforts at welfare of the poor.
— Archis Mohan/Business Standard
08:19 JUST IN: Terrorists opened fire on a guard outside National conference MLC Showkat Ganie’s residence in Shopian. The guard fired back in retaliation
08:01 Wanted Lashkar commander killed in an encounter in Budgam: Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Muzzafar Ahmed has been killed in encounter in Machu area of Budgam of Jammu Kashmir in the early morning hours. According to reports, one policeman has also been critically injured in the encounter.
00:16 Trump insists he is ‘big fan’ of US intel community:
President-elect Donald Trump insisted that he supports the US intelligence agencies despite having cast doubts on their conclusion that Russia interfered with the US presidential election.
“The media lies to make it look like I am against ‘Intelligence’ when in fact I am a big fan!” Trump said in a two-tweet statement.
“The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with Julian Assange – wrong. I simply state what he states, it is for the people…to make up their own minds as to the truth.”
Trump has cited WikiLeaks founder Assange to express doubts that Moscow was behind the hacking of Democratic Party computers and accounts that led to the release of embarrassing documents and emails via the anti-secrecy group.
The White House, FBI and CIA have all said the top levels of the Russian government were behind the hacking and leaks, which hurt Trump rival Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
But Trump appeared to reject the intelligence agencies’ conclusions in tweets Tuesday and yesterday, preferring Assange’s view.
“Julian Assange said ‘a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta’ – why was DNC so careless?” he said, referring to the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clinton campaign chief John Podesta.
Source: Rediff