1. Biggest combing in 15 years: Army, police security net around Shopian
Following attacks by militants on policemen and banking facilities in J&K, the Army, security forces and police launched a massive “cordon and combing” operation in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday. A senior official told The Indian Express that an operation “of this magnitude has not been undertaken in Kashmir in the last 15 years”.
In the evening, however, a vehicle carrying soldiers of 62 Rashtriya Rifles, who were involved in the operation, were attacked by militants near the Imam Sahib area, leading to the death of a civilian driver and injuries to four soldiers.
Officials said the Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attack. The driver who was killed has been identified as Nazir Ahmad, a resident of Kachdoora village in Shopian.
In Delhi, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat told reporters that the combing operation was being carried out to bring the situation in the Valley under control. “The combing operation is going on as some banks were looted and some policemen have been killed. It has been launched to ensure that the situation is brought under control. These operations are carried out regularly,” he said.
(Source: Indian Express)
2. Five Cops Held Guilty in Bilkis Gang Rape Case
The Bombay high court held five policemen from Gujarat guilty on Thursday in a rare conviction of government servants in a post-Godhra riots case. The high court set aside their acquittal by a trial court and convicted them, along with two doctors, on charges of destroying evidence and attempting to shield the accused.
The order came in the case of the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of eight members of her family amid riots that broke out in 2002 after 'kar sevaks' were killed in a blaze on the Sabarmati Express.
The high court upheld the convictions and life terms awarded to 11 others by the trial court for the gang rape of Bilkis and two other women, and the murders. The maximum sentence the policemen attract for offences under section 201 and 218 of the IPC is three years of jail.
(Source: Times of India)
3. Government Pushes Ahead With Plan for SC/ST Quota in Promotions
The Centre is moving ahead on the proposal to provide reservation in promotion for SC and ST employees in government jobs with a key official report saying underprivileged sections needed affirmative action.
A report prepared by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, supported quotas in promotion for SCs and STs. "For equal opportunity and inclusive growth, there is need for reservation in promotion to continue in favour of SCs and STs," it said.
The DoPT was asked to prepare a report following a meeting chaired by Modi, in March 2016, to deal with several judicial orders against reservation in promotion on the basis of a constitution bench verdict in the M Nagraj case in 2006.
The judgment said Article 16(4A) was only an enabling provision, and not mandatory, which gave freedom to the state to provide for reservation in matters of promotion to SC and ST employees.
(Source: Times of India)
4. Countdown Begins For South Asia Satellite Launch
The 28-hour countdown for the launch of the South Asia Satellite or GSAT-9, which will be India's gift to its neighbouring countries, started on Thursday. The rocket is set to blast off from Sriharikota space station on 5 May.
The countdown operations of GSLV-F09/GSAT-9 mission started at 12:57 hours IST, on 4 May 2017, said Isro.
The Prime Minister had asked Isro in 2014 to develop a SAARC satellite that can be dedicated as a 'gift' to the country's neighbours. It was earlier referred as the SAARC satellite, but was renamed after Pakistan opted out of the project.
It has been estimated that the total cost of launching this satellite is around Rs 235 crore, which India has borne entirely. The Prime Minister said that the satellite will help region's economic and developmental priorities.
(Source: Business Standard)
Also Read: India’s ‘Gift’ to Neighbours, South Asia Satellite Launches Friday
5. Britain to Expedite All Extradition Requests Including That of Mallya: Govt Sources
The United Kingdom has agreed to expedite all Indian requests for extradition of Indian fugitives, including that of embattled industrialist Vijay Mallya, government sources said on Thursday.
“During the first home affairs dialogue between India and the UK on Thursday all pending extradition requests, including of Mallya, were taken up,” said a home ministry official on condition of anonymity.
The Indian side was led by Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and the UK delegation was led by Patsy Wilkinson, the second permanent secretary in the home office.
The UK has agreed to help India in 10 such cases while New Delhi has assured support in extraditing 11 fugitives from India. Later, in an official briefing, home ministry adviser Ashok Prasad said the specific details of Mallya’s case had not been discussed.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Congress Brings More Changes in Leadership of Its State Units
The Congress on Thursday appointed Avinash Pande as its general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan and named Sunil Jakhar and Pritam Singh as the party chiefs of Punjab and Uttarakhand respectively.
Making another set of structural alterations after its drubbing in the recent assembly elections, the Congress leadership also appointed Vivek Tankha – a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh – as the head of the party’s legal department.
Pande, 58, replaces Gurudas Kamat, who had requested the Congress high command to relieve him of all organisational responsibilities following differences with Mumbai unit chief Sanjay Nirupam and Maharashtra’s party general secretary in-charge Mohan Prakash over their functioning.
A former Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra, Pande has been a party secretary for nearly a decade now. He will be assisted in Rajasthan by a four-member team of secretaries, comprising Vivek Bansal, Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin, Devendra Yadav and Tarun Kumar.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Cyber Hub Gets Nod to Serve Liquor Again
You can once again head to Cyber Hub for an evening drink.
The first pegs were measured in Gurgaon's most popular hangout on Thursday evening since 1 April when the Supreme Court ban on sale of alcohol near highways came into effect, its bars springing back to life after a clearance from the excise commissioner's office in Chandigarh. Of the 36 pubs, bars and restaurants at Cyber Hub, 32 have got permission to serve liquor again. The remaining four haven't applied for renewal, excise officials said.
“The final nod has been granted to outlets in Cyber Hub, and they are allowed to start serving alcohol post the order," said HC Dahiya, deputy excise commissioner, Gurgaon (west), who oversaw the measurement exercise on which hinged the fates of bars as well as pubs and restaurants with liquor licences in Cyber Hub.
(Source: Times of India)
8. Dalai Lama’s Arunachal Visit: China Said No to Foreign Mins’ Meet in Delhi
Upset with the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, especially Tawang, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi refused to come to Delhi to attend the Russia-India-China foreign ministers’ trilateral meeting in April, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said the RIC ministerial meeting, to be hosted by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, was scheduled to be held in Delhi on 14 April, but Wang refused to come for the meeting.
The Indian side tried to accommodate Wang and also suggested alternate dates later in April, but the Chinese side did not agree to attend the meeting even then.
Sources said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had confirmed his participation and was ready to visit India, but he was asked by the Indian side to hold on. The meeting was finally cancelled.
(Source: Indian Express)
9. Activist in BBC Kaziranga Documentary Arrested Again
A tribal rights activist, Pranab Doley, who spoke about the “dangerous impunity” enjoyed by Kaziranga park staff in a BBC documentary, has been arrested in a fresh case.
Following a case filed on 19 April, Doley and his associate Soneswar Narah, both from Jeepal Krishak Shramik Sangha (JKSS), were arrested on 24 April on charges of obstructing public servants from discharging their duty and threatening to burn down a forest office.
After being denied bail twice, Doley was granted bail on Thursday, only to be arrested in a fresh case. The Bokakhat police brought out a second FIR dated April 24, slapping the same charges on them, this time for disrupting police functioning.
(Source: Indian Express)
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