1. NCP @20: Concerns Over Dip in Vote Share, Its Reliance on Pawar
As the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) celebrated its 20th anniversary on Monday, its leaders urged party workers to look ahead at the upcoming state Assembly elections rather than dwelling on the Lok Sabha poll results. With a declining vote share since 2009, NCP faces challenges on its road to revival.
After enjoying power for 15 years in coalition with the Congress in the state and the Centre since it was incepted in 1999, being in the Opposition since 2014 has been a struggle for NCP. At an anniversary event held at YB Chavan Centre on Monday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar urged the party to look beyond traditional strongholds.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Malegaon Blast Case: Two More Quizzed
The special court set up to hear the 2008 Malegaon blast case on Monday recorded statements of two more accused – Ramesh Upadhyay and Sudhakar Chaturvedi.
On Friday, the court had recorded statements of Pragya Singh Thakur, Dayanand Pandey alias Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sameer Kulkarni.
Since Upadhyay and Chaturvedi were not present that day, they were questioned by the court on Monday.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Payal Tadvi Suicide Case: Accused Doctors Break Down Outside Court
THE THREE doctors, booked for abetment to suicide and caste-based harassment of Dr Payal Tadvi, claimed on Monday they were “tortured” by police. Hema Ahuja (27), Bhakti Mehare (28) and Ankita Khandelwal (26) made the claims outside the court in an outburst after the hearing on the extension of their judicial custody.
“Hamein torture kar rahe hai. Hamaari baat koi nahi sunta hai, just because someone has called us accused, we are not accused. Hamein nahi pata usne kyun suicide kiya (We are being tortured. Nobody is listening to us. We do not know why she committed suicide),” said Ahuja, while being escorted outside the courtroom and the court building.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Man Booked for ‘Assaulting’ 14-Year-Old, Forcing Him to Drink Phenyl
The police have booked a man over an incident in which a 14-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted, held captive and forced to drink phenyl after being accused of stealing footwear at a housing society in Nallasopara.
Tulinj Police said the incident occurred last Thursday in Vrindavan Society, when the boy was in the society to deliver a canister of water.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. 1,500 Farmers Defy GM Crop Ban
Around 1,500 farmers on Monday defied the central government’s ban on genetically modified (GM) crops by sowing GM cotton in Akola district.
Supported by Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmers' body in Maharashtra, they sowed seeds on 2 acres of private land in Akot taluka of the district. Seven of them came all the way from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to show the support to what the organisation calls a "civil disobedience movement". The organisation has dared the government to take legal action against it and the farmers. It refused to divulge where it had procured the banned seeds from.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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