1. Arrest Hafiz Saeed and Charge Him for His Crimes, US Tells Pakistan
The US on Friday, 24 November, asked Pakistan to arrest Hafiz Saeed and charge him for his crimes, hours after the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder’s release from house arrest brought into focus Islamabad’s failure to act against terrorists operating from its soil.
Saeed, freed days ahead of the ninth anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that he is accused of masterminding, vowed to mobilise people across Pakistan for the “cause of Kashmir”. The Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief also called ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif a “traitor” for seeking peace with India.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Man Found Hanging, Padmavati Graffiti Nearby: Jaipur Police
The body of a 40-year-old man was found hanging from the ramparts of Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur early on Friday morning, with some messages referring to the protests over Padmavati scribbled on the stones inside the fort, said police.
The man was later identified as Chetan Saini, who sold jewellery and handicraft in Nahari ka Naka area, near the Nahargarh Fort on the outskirts of Jaipur.
“Padmavati ka virodh karne walon, hum kille par sirf putle nahi latkate… hum mein hai dum (Those opposing Padmavati, we don’t just hang effigies from forts… we have courage),” said one of the handwritten messages on a stone.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Gujarat Polls: PM Modi Can Give Rs 33k Crore to Tatas but Not 3k Crore to Fishermen, Says Rahul Gandhi
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday, 24 November, alleged that the government had extended benefits worth Rs 33,000 crore to Tata Motors’ Nano car plant but was not willing to spare even Rs 300 crore for providing subsidised diesel and kerosene to fishermen of the state.
The Congress leader claimed PM Modi had worked only for a few big businessmen during his long reign as chief minister of Gujarat and continued on the same mode even after becoming Prime Minister of the country three year ago. Rahul accused Modi of showering state largesse on a selected few big corporate houses while discontinuing assistance to the marginalised.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Patna-Bound Vasco Da Gama Express Derails in UP, Three Killed
Three passengers, among them a six-year-old boy, were killed and nine suffered injuries when 14 coaches of the Patna-bound Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express derailed at Manikpur railway station in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, after 4 am on Friday, 24 November. Fourteen of the train’s coaches derailed one after another when the train was crossing Manikpur station.
The Railways did not speak about the possible reason for the derailment and said an investigation was underway. The Government Railway Police (GRP) Superintendent of Police (SP), Jhansi, said a fracture in the tracks could have led to the accident. Superintendent of Police OP Singh said: “We suspect that the track was fractured which could have caused the derailment.”
He said the GRP also came to know that there was some technical problem with the coaches.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. India Conducts Major Exercise in Strategically-Located Andaman & Nicobar Islands
India has conducted a major military exercise in the strategically-located Andaman and Nicobar Island archipelago, which with requisite force-levels and infrastructure, can effectively act as a pivot to counter China's strategic moves in the Indian Ocean Region as well as ensure security of sea lanes converging towards the Malacca Strait
The "Defence of A&N Islands Exercise" (DANX), with fighters, heavy-lift transport aircraft, warships, infantry combat vehicles, special forces and regular troops, was conducted from 20 November to 24 November to fine-tune operational drills and synergy among the Army, Navy and IAF in the region.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. S&P Keeps India's Rating Unchanged
Global ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Friday, 24 November, kept the sovereign rating and outlook for India unchanged, saying its stable outlook reflects that growth in next two years will remain strong and fiscal deficits will remain broadly in line with the agency's forecast.
Last week, another ratings agency Moody's Investor Service had upgraded India's sovereign rating in a major boost for the NDA government, which is battling slow growth. Policymakers had used the upgrade to slam critics of the government's handling of the economy.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. CBI Picked Vyapam Culprits From List of 10 Lakh Students
The Central Bureau of Investigation created a database of over 10 lakh students from eight states for identification of those who were hired by the Vyapam scam masterminds to appear in the 2012 pre-medical test and facilitate cheating by the candidates who had paid for cracking the examination.
When the agency took over the probe, 145 accused were either unidentified or untraced. A majority of them were paper-solvers who, in connivance with the accused middlemen, had given wrong addresses on their application forms.
“During investigation, the agency came across evidence indicating that the paper-solvers were either from medical colleges or were bright students attending coaching classes in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Maharashtra,” said a CBI official.
(Source: The Hindu)
8. Closer to Ram Temple: RSS
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Friday, 24 November, that a Ram temple and nothing else would come up at the disputed plot in Ayodhya and declared that "we are closer" to the dream now.
.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
"Ram Janmabhoomi par Ram mandir hi banega, aur kuch nahi banega (On Ram Janmabhoomi, only a temple to Ram will be built, nothing else will be built there)," he told a Vishwa Hindu Parishad conference in the temple town of Udupi in southern Karnataka.
"This is not just a declaration to appease people. We are getting closer to realising our dream of a Ram temple in Ayodhya," he added.
(Source: The Telegraph)
9. NIA Report Includes Hadiya Statement That She Wed on Her Own Will
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), in its status report to the Supreme Court on Thursday, is learnt to have attached the statement of Hadiya (Hindu girl Akhila who converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, Shafin Jahan) in which she has reportedly denied any pressure to convert to Islam or marry Jahan.
“She has said that she married Jahan of her own free will and decided to convert voluntarily,” a top government source told The Indian Express. Sources familiar with the investigation said Hadiya has also denied that she was offered any pecuniary benefits.
The development is significant since any investigation against Jahan, or a decision on the annulment of their marriage ordered by the Kerala High Court, would be based on whether she was under pressure.
(Source: The Indian Express)
More From The Quint
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)