QBullet: 2-Hr Window for Fire Crackers; 2 Dead in Howrah Stampede
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1. Two-Hour Window for Diwali Crackers: SC
Taking a “balanced approach” to tackle air pollution ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 23 October, restricted the use of fireworks during all festivals and events across the country to a window between 8 pm and 10 pm. And while ruling out a complete ban, the Court also imposed stringent conditions on the manufacture and sale of firecrackers.
Applying the “precautionary principle” of environmental law, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan ordered that only crackers with reduced emission and “green crackers” can be manufactured and sold. They will also have to stick to permissible noise emission standards.
The Court also ordered a complete ban on all other crackers including joined firecrackers (series crackers or laris), which will apply not to just festivals, but also marriage ceremonies etc where crackers are used.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Two Dead, 17 Injured in Santragachi Bridge Stampede
Two people died and seventeen others were injured, including two children and two women, following a stampede on a foot over bridge at Santragachi railway station in West Bengal. Sources said the incident occurred due to the arrival of two trains at the same time. People rushed to board the trains and that created a stampede-like situation on the bridge.
A Railway official said due to overcrowding on the bridge, eight people became unconscious and compounded the situation. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the spot to take stock of the situation and blamed negligence on part of Railways for the incident.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. SC to Hear Sabarimala Petitions Before Temple Reopening in Nov
Four days before the Sabarimala temple in Kerala reopens on 17 November for monthly rituals, the Supreme Court will hear petitions on 13 November, challenging its verdict allowing women of all age groups entry into the temple, the court said on Tuesday, 23 October.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul told lawyer Mathews J Nedumpara that it has already passed an order with regard to listing of petitions on 13 November. Nedumpara was mentioning the petition filed by National Ayyappa Devotees Association, PTI reported.
There were 19 review petitions pending in the matter, filed by the Association and others seeking a review of its Sabarimala verdict.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Boss Trying to Frame Me, CBI No 2- Rakesh Asthana Tells Court
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Alok Verma on Tuesday, 23 October, divested special director Rakesh Asthana of all cases he is overseeing and recommended that he be transferred out of the agency, hours after the Delhi High Court refused to halt an investigation against the latter, that has turned out to be one of the most controversial chapters in the agency’s history, complete with a raid on its own headquarters and the arrest of a deputy superintendent of police (DSP).
Asthana, the second senior-most officer in the federal agency who has been accused of taking bribes, secured protection from arrest from the high court, which ordered a ‘status quo’ until the next hearing on 29 October.
In his petition filed through advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, Asthana said the case against him was “mala fide” and that the highest officer of the CBI (Verma) was “trying to falsely implicate him (Asthana) to hide his own criminal misconduct of influencing investigation in exchange of money”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Paytm Employee Allegedly Steals Data from Ceo’s Laptop, Demands 20 Cr
Three persons, including a woman employee of an e-wallet giant located in Sector 5, were arrested by the Sector 20 police on Monday, 22 October, for allegedly stealing personal and confidential data from the founder’s laptop and threatening to leak the information if they are not paid Rs 20 crore.
The woman employee of Paytm founder and chief executive officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who had access to Sharma’s personal laptop, had allegedly stolen the data and was blackmailing him to cough up Rs 20 crore, alleged the management of Paytm. Besides her, the other two arrested included her husband, a property dealer, and Devendra Kumar, another employee of Paytm.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Odisha: Abhijit Iyer-Mitra Arrested
Delhi-based defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was on Tuesday, 23 October, arrested in Bhubaneswar for his remarks seen as derogatory to the history and culture of the state. Iyer-Mitra has been arrested under Sections 294, 295 (A), 153 (A), 500 of the IPC.
Earlier in the day, he appeared before an all-party committee of MLAs in the Odisha Legislative Assembly in Bhubaneswar and apologised for his remarks in which he lampooned the intellect of the state’s legislators.
Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra, who gave the press a summary of the day’s closed-door proceedings, said that Iyer-Mitra apologised “because of my stupidity”, adding that the journalist has been ordered to appear before the committee again in November.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. BJP-Shiv Sena Will Ally for 2019 Polls: Devendra Fadnavis
The BJP and Shiv Sena would enter into a pre-poll alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday, 23 October.
Speaking at a India Today conclave in Mumbai, Fadnavis said: “The BJP and Shiv Sena are set to contest together… as nobody would risk burning their own house.”
Dismissing Shiv Sena’s recent criticism of the Modi government, he added: “Politics is not driven by who says what. Look at the larger aspect. A couple of days ago, (Shiv Sena chief) Uddhav Thackeray had spoken on Hindutva. Now, other than BJP, who speaks about Hindutva? So, it shows the commonality between Sena and BJP.” Exuding confidence about BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls, he said that Maharashtra will “contribute with maximum number of seats” to the BJP tally.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Have Urged All Parties to Take Part in J&K Polls: Rajnath Singh
After a dismal turnout in the Jammu and Kashmir municipal polls, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has appealed to mainstream political parties to participate in the upcoming panchayat elections.
Saying that the security situation has improved, Singh said that there is no hesitation in talking to those who want to talk, but talks and terror cannot go together.
“I have spoken to all political parties regarding the panchayat elections. I have appealed to them to participate in panchayat elections… I am sure they will take part in it,” the minister said, addressing a press conference.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Congress Worker Found Dead in Ghatkopar
A 45-year-old Congress worker was found dead after being allegedly attacked in Ghatkopar’s Asalfa area on Monday, 22 October.
While patrolling the area, officials from Saki Naka police station noticed the deceased, Manoj Dube, lying in a pool of blood, and took him to Rajawadi Hospital, where he was declared dead. The police have registered a case of murder in Dube’s death and detained two suspects.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)