1. Violence on Eid: Militants Kill Three J&K Cops, BJP Worker
An inspector and two constables of J&K Police were shot dead and a BJP worker was abducted and murdered by militants in four separate incidents on Wednesday, 22 August, in the Valley where violence marred Eid celebrations.
Two other policemen were targeted late in the evening – in one case, the policeman was shot at but escaped unhurt while in the other, militants barged into the home of a policeman who was not in.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Accept Rs 700 Crore UAE Offer or Compensate Us, Kerala Tells Centre
The Kerala government has asked the Centre to go by the 2016 National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) while taking a call on the UAE government’s offer of Rs 700 crore in assistance or compensate the state for the loss of such a hefty sum.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had welcomed the UAE government making the Rs 700 crore offer. It is only natural for nations to help each other. Moreover, the National Disaster Management Plan, brought out by the central government in May 2016, does state clearly that any voluntary offer of assistance from other countries can be accepted,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told a news conference on Wednesday.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Former Union Minister Gurudas Kamat Dies of Cardiac Arrest in Delhi Hospital
Former Union Minister and Senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday morning at Primus Hospital in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri. He was 63.
The five-term MP from Mumbai North-East and North-West was on visit to Delhi to meet senior party leader Ahmed Patel and was supposed to return Mumbai on Wednesday evening.
He had served as the union minister of state for home affairs and minister of state for communications and information technology during UPA-2 regime from 2009 to 2011. He had resigned as minister in 2011 after he felt he was sidelined by shifting to comparatively insignificant portfolio during cabinet reshuffle. He was Mumbai Congress president for five years during 2003 to 2008.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Allahabad HC Pulls Up District Officials
Terming it a “security breach” in violation of its directions, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday pulled up the district administration of Allahabad for allowing unauthorised entry to three persons into an institution where inmates rescued from the Deoria shelter home have been kept for protection.
The court had on 13 August directed the police to transfer the victims to another institution and place them under protective custody to help them recover from the trauma and ensure they are free from fear and pressure. It had also directed the police to restrain people from having contact with the victims without its permission.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Mumbai Building Fire: Four Dead, Developer Abdul Razak Ismail Supariwala Arrested
A fire broke out on the 12th floor of a posh high-rise residential building in Dadar on Wednesday morning, killing four people and injuring 21, fire officials said.
The Mumbai Police has arrested accused Abdul Razak Ismail Supariwala, the developer of Crystal Tower, after a fire incident on Wednesday gutted a floor of the residential building killing at least four people and injuring 22 others.
An FIR had been lodged under Section 304, 336, 337, 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(3) of Maharashtra Fire Prevention & Life Safety Act 2006.
(Source: DNA)
6. Anil Ambani to Congress: Cease and Desist
Anil Ambani's Reliance Group has taken the unusual step of sending legal notices to numerous Congress office-bearers warning them not to make "derogatory" statements about the company, the Opposition party revealed on Wednesday, vowing to go ahead with its planned campaign against the Narendra Modi government on the Rafale deal.
Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil, in reply to a question at a news conference, confirmed that several party leaders across the country had received notices on Tuesday and said he himself had got one earlier, on 1 August.
"I have sent the preliminary reply. When we speak, we speak with authenticated facts and with great responsibility. Till now, no industrialist has sent a notice to a political party... but Rafale is Modiji's monumental scam - the grandmother of all scams. He is very scared and is getting his friends to send legal notices," Gohil added.
(Source: The Telegraph)
7. In a First, Supreme Court Orders Auction of Unitech Directors' Assets
In a strong signal to defaulting real estate firms, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a court-mandated committee to initiate auction of personal assets of directors of distressed real estate giant Unitech, whose managing director Sanjay Chandra and his brother are in jail for nearly a year.
Last year, the court had asked Unitech to deposit Rs 750 crore by December 31, 2017, but the realtor failed to do so. On learning that the auction of Agra properties of the defaulting real estate firm had also run into problems, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud ordered the SC-appointed committee to auction unencumbered personal assets of Unitech directors.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Hours Before Bihar Professor Beaten Up, He Was Slammed on Social Media
Barely three hours after he was warned on Facebook by a BJP IT cell member for his critical post on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 17 August, Sanjay Kumar, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU), was assaulted by a group of 20-25 people.
At 12.34 pm, Rajan Srivastava, a member of BJP’s IT cell in Motihari, responding to Kumar’s post on Facebook, wrote, “MGCUB ke professor mahoday abhi aapne Champaran walon ka muhabbat dekha hai ab latkhurdam dekhne ka samay aa gaya hai (Mr Professor of MGCUB, you have so far seen only the love of Champaran residents, now get ready to see their muscle power).”
Kumar’s two posts, critical of Vajpayee, were on 16 August evening and at 6.48 am, 17 August .
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. India-Pakistan Ties Key to Regional Stability: China
China on Wednesday offered to play a “constructive role” to ease tensions between India and Pakistan.
“We welcome the positive remarks made by the Indian and Pakistani leaders on improving their bilateral relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at his regular media briefing.
Mr. Lu was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reported remarks seeking “meaningful and constructive engagement” with Pakistan, in a letter to Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan.
(Source: The Hindu)