QBullet: COVID-19 Cases in India at 39; UP Banners Order Reserved
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1. Five New Kerala Infections Take Virus Cases Up to 39
Five people of a family, including three who recently came back from Italy, tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Kerala, prompting authorities to put the state on high alert, health minister KK Shailaja said on Sunday.
Three of the five people in Pathanamthitta district had returned from Italy last month and two other relatives were infected after they came into contact with them.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. UP 'Name-And-Shame' Hoardings: Allahabad HC Reserves Order
The Allahabad High Court on Sunday reserved its order in a matter related to the 'name-and-shame' hoardings, carrying names, addresses, and photos of 57 persons who had been served recovery notices for allegedly vandalising public and private properties during the anti-CAA protests on 19 December.
The court will deliver its judgment on Monday.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. As Crisis Loomed Over Yes Bank, in Six Months, Depositors Took Out Rs 18,000 Crore
Anticipating trouble in the wake of its failure to get capital infusion and rising non-performing assets, Yes Bank depositors pulled out over Rs 18,000 crore between April and September last year with experts not ruling out another 10-20 per cent more withdrawals from October 2019 to February 2020.
Early Sunday, Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor was arrested in Mumbai by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on alleged money-laundering charges and remanded in the agency’s custody till March 11 by a local court.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. The Magnificent 7 Who Set PM’s Social Media Accounts Abuzz With Stories of Grit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media accounts buzzed on Sunday with stories of empowerment as seven women achievers steered the discourse, taking millions of his followers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook through their empowering journey of overcoming the odds to emerge as changemakers.
To mark International Women’s Day, the PM signed off from all his social media accounts and handed them over to the women achievers for the day.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. ED Arrests Yes Bank Founder Kapoor; CBI Alleges Kickbacks to Firm Held by Daughters
Rana Kapoor, the founder of crisis-ridden Yes Bank, was arrested by the ED on Sunday under money-laundering charges after over 20 hours of questioning and remanded to its custody till March 11, a day after the CBI booked him for allegedly receiving kickbacks of Rs 600 crore in form of loans to a company held by his three daughters.
As the agencies tightened the noose around the 62-year-old, his daughter Roshni Kapoor was stopped by ED from taking a flight to London as she is required to join the probe, officials said.
(Source: The Tribune)
6. ‘Azhar Shifted to Rawalpindi Over Safety Concerns’
Days after he mocked the US as a “wolf whose tail was cut” by Taliban jihadists in Afghanistan, ailing Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief and global terrorist Masood Azhar has been shifted by Pakistan’s deep state from his Bahawalpur headquarters to Rawalpindi for his personal safety, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
While it is not clear whether Azhar was shifted by the Rawalpindi General Headquarters under pressure from the Trump administration, counterterror operatives say the JeM chief was moved to a safe house in Rawalpindi on March 3, a day after he was summoned by Rawalpindi GHQ along with his brothers Maulana Rauf Asghar, the de facto chief of operations of JeM, and Maulana Ammar, who heads the terror group’s jihadist magazine Al Qalam.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Couple Held for IS-CAA Protest Link: Delhi Police
The Delhi Police Special Cell Sunday arrested a couple from Kashmir with alleged Islamic State links, claiming that they were instigating protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. An FIR has been registered against the two, residents of Southeast Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, under sections of sedition and criminal conspiracy and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
DCP (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said Jahanzaib Sami (36) and wife Hina Bashir Beg (39), who belong to Srinagar’s Shivpora, “have links with the Khorasan module of IS (ISKP)”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Former Jammu and Kashmir Minister Bukhari Launches New Political Outfit
The former finance minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government Altaf Bukhari launched the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party – a new political formation – in Srinagar on Sunday.
But, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, former deputy chief minister and a PDP member, who was to be an influential voice for the new formation, was conspicuous by his absence. Baig, who was recently conferred the Padma Bhushan, declined to comment. A government official, who didn’t want to be named, said “negotiations broke down at the last minute”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Pulwama Attack Case: Dead Suspect’s Phone Helped NIA Join the Dots
After months of tardy progress in the investigation into the 2019 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel, the NIA got a major breakthrough due to the recovery of the phone of a dead suspect. The memory of the phone had not been cleared. Not only did it have several numbers crucial to the probe, it also had pictures related to preparation for the attack. It was this breakthrough that paved the way for five arrests in the past few days.
In November 2019, J&K police raided the residence of a suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) overground worker in south Kashmir. Among the recovered items was a mobile phone that police shared with NIA.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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