1. Three Youths Killed, Over 60 Cops Injured as Protests Rock Valley
Three persons were killed Tuesday and another 25 injured when residents of Durbugh Chadoora in Budgam district of the Valley obstructed a security operation and tried to help a militant flee from a house where he had holed up. The militant was also killed in the gunbattle.
J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said attempts were made to persuade the militant to lay down his weapon. “Nothing can be achieved with violence. Whatever can be achieved has to be through dialogue and peace,’’ she said.
She appealed to parents to keep their children away from encounter sites and stone-throwing crowds because “these places are not free from danger”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. African Students in Greater Noida Stay Away from Public Places, Colleges
Fear and anger gripped the African student community on Tuesday despite increased police presence, the Centre’s promise of swift action and more arrests in the violence against Nigerians in Greater Noida a day earlier.
The African Association of Students of India (AASI) asked students in Greater Noida, a township coming up in Uttar Pradesh, to stay away from colleges till they were provided police security.
“We are hopeful the situation will improve. Yet, it is too early to advice students to resume their normal life. They are terrified,” said ‘Chemist’ Goodwill, a Nigerian who is also a representative of AASI.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Four More States Crack Down on Meat Shops
A day after Jharkhand followed in the footsteps of UP by clamping down on illegal slaughterhouses, the crackdown spread to four more BJP-ruled states – Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh – on Tuesday. While three meat shops were sealed in Haridwar, 11 were shut in Raipur and one in Indore.
Around 4,000 illegal shops face closure in Jaipur with the civic corporation announcing its crackdown on such shops and slaughterhouses from April. Meat sellers claimed that 950 of these 4,000 shops were authorised, but the corporation did not renew their licences after 31 March last year.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Kerala Congress Wisdom: Menstruation Impure, Don't Enter Temples
The Congress in Kerala came under fire after its interim state chief MM Hassan described menstruation as “impure” and said women should not enter temples during that period.
Addressing a camp for journalism students organised by the State Youth Welfare Board on Monday, Hassan said that during the menstruation period, women should not go to temples and stay put at home. “Menstruation period marks days of impurity,’’ said Hassan, responding to a question on why menstruating women are not allowed to enter the Sabarimala hill shrine.
Women participants at the camp protested and questioned Hassan. One of them said: “If menstrual blood is impure, the same blood is flowing through your veins.’’ Another asked him whether he considered blood and organs impure as well.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Lalit Modi Case: Interpol Says India Should File for Extradition, Not RCN
In a setback to the Modi government, Interpol has rejected a long-pending request from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for issuing a red corner notice (RCN) against fallen cricket czar Lalit Modi, who is believed to be in the United Kingdom since 2010.
"The red corner notice is meant to trace the fugitive who has been absconding and wanted in India in multiple cases. However, the grounds on which Interpol has rejected the RCN request are contradictory to the general practice," a top ED source said.
Interpol is understood to have communicated that India needs to file for extradition before moving for a red corner notice (RCN), the source said, questioning the application of law.
(Source: The Times in India)
6. Ex-IIT Professor, Wife Locked Themselves in Flat for 4 Months, Rescued
Four months ago, a former Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) professor and his wife decided to shun society and lock themselves inside their Twin Towers flat at Sharda Nagar in Kanpur. The two were found unconscious on Tuesday, with excrement lying littered all over the apartment floor.
The matter came to light on Monday night, when neighbours noticed a stench emanating from the two-room apartment occupied by Sanjeev Dayal and Vidya. The police were summoned, but even they weren’t prepared for the scene that greeted them upon breaking down the door.
The 50-year-old professor lay fully dressed in one room, his beard having grown all the way to his stomach because he hadn’t shaved in months. In the other room was his wife, lying naked under a bed.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Shedding Reluctance, SC Agrees to Open Courtrooms to Cameras
After years of reluctance, the judiciary has finally allowed cameras to enter its courtrooms.
The Supreme Court has ordered installation of CCTV cameras – without audio recording – at least in two districts in all states and union territories to record court proceedings.
In an unprecedented order by the apex judiciary, a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit directed 24 high courts across the country to make sure district and sessions courts in a minimum of two districts in every state and union territories have CCTV cameras installed inside courtrooms and also in the court precincts within three months.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. AI Cancels Sena MP’s Ticket Twice in a Day
“No means no.” Air India's Maharaja conveyed this message loud and clear to Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on Tuesday by cancelling his ticket yet again, twice.
An unrepentant Gaikwad tried to book the 8 am AI flight from Mumbai to Delhi (AI 806) for Wednesday. The airline found out and cancelled his ticket.
Then, AI sources say , the MP tried to book a seat from Hyderabad to Delhi on Flight AI 551 for Wednesday , which was also cancelled.
The MP beat an AI staffer with a sandal 25 times last Thursday and tried to throw him off the ladder.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Bhopal-Ujjain Train Blast Case: Group That Caused Train Blast Sent Updates to Handler
The group of youths arrested in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month in connection with a blast on a Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train, were interacting with a handler operating under the identity of “Stranger” on messaging platform Telegram, investigations have allegedly revealed.
On 7 March, after planting the improved explosive device (IED) on the train, the group, allegedly “inspired” by the ISIS, reportedly provided an image of the IED – placed on a rack, where it exploded – to the handler’s Telegram account. They later uploaded news of the blast to “Stranger’’, the probe has allegedly found.
Investigation into the group began after their arrest following the train blast, and the subsequent death of one group member, Saifullah Khan, 23, in Lucknow during a long-drawn police siege on his rented house.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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