1. 1993 Mumbai Blasts Case: Special Court Convicts Six, Acquits One
Six accused were pronounced guilty on Friday by a special court in the 1993 serial blasts case that claimed 257 lives in the city. Qayyum Shaikh, 64, behind bars for almost 11 years, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Special judge Govind A Sanap found "concrete evidence" against gangsters Abu Salem, 48, Mustafa Dossa, 60, Taher Merchant, 55, Feroze Khan, 47, and Karimullah Khan, 55, and convicted them on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and indulging in acts of terrorism that cause death during the hour-long procedure.
Riyaz Siddiqui, 67, was found guilty of abetting and aiding terrorism, a charge that attracts a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
Arguments by the prosecution on the quantum of sentence are likely to begin in the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court on Monday.
Source: Times of India
2. Six Policemen Killed in Militant Ambush in Anantnag
Six policemen, including a Sub-Inspector, were killed as militants ambushed a police party in Achabal in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. SHO Firoz Dar, a resident of Pulwama, was among the casualties as he fell to indiscriminate firing from militants.
Director General of Police SP Vaid told PTI that a driver and four other policemen who were on a routine round in jeep were targeted by the militants.
Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba is believed to be behind the attack, a senior police official told the news agency, adding they wanted to take revenge of the Kulgam encounter in which their local commander Junaid Mattoo was killed by security forces.
The bodies of Mattoo and two other terrorists have not been recovered so far. Local combing operations are going on.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Government Makes Aadhaar Must for Bank A/Cs
The government has made the Aadhaar card mandatory for opening bank accounts and conducting financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above.
Those with existing accounts will also have to submit their unique identification number by the end of December. Not disclosing it by 31 December will lead to suspension of the account.
While the income tax department had earlier announced the decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for banking and financial purposes, the new regulations were notified through amendments to rules related to maintenance of records under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The move came around the time the Supreme Court upheld the validity of an I-T Act provision, making Aadhaar a must for allotment of PAN cards and for filing income tax returns.
Source: Times of India
4. NDA Woos Opposition to Build Consensus on Presidential Nominee
The NDA was hopeful of enlarging support for its presidential nominee with sections of the Opposition like the Samajwadi Party and the NCP indicating that a "credible candidate" who is not a saffron hardliner could be acceptable as the next occupant of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The NDA candidate, who will be announced before PM Narendra Modi departs for the US on 24 June, is likely to be an experienced politician with parliamentary experience, political sources indicated. The possibility of a non-political person as nominee is being ruled out.
Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu who interacted with several Opposition leaders is understood to have received a "positive" response from SP chief Mulayam Singh and NCP leader Sharad Pawar.
Source: Times of India
5. Man Killed After He Objected to Officials 'Photographing Women Defecating in Public'
A group of government officials allegedly lynched a 55-year-old Muslim man for trying to stop them from photographing women defecating in public in a Rajasthan town on Friday.
Five municipal council officials – including the commissioner – allegedly kicked, punched and beat social worker Zafar Khan with a stick in Pratapgarh town, said a police complaint filed by his brother. The officials were out on a morning round in a slum to photograph people defecating in the open when Zafar objected, local residents said.
Police said they registered a case of murder against the five officials. “We are investigating the case and no arrests have been made so far,” said Pratapgarh station house office Mangilal Bishnoi. The Pratapgarh assembly seat is held by the BJP.
Source: Hindustan Times
6. TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar Steps Down in the Wake of Sexual Harassment Case
Arunabh Kumar, CEO of The Viral Fever (TVF) group, announced Friday that he was stepping down from his post, a month after he was embroiled in multiple sexual harassment cases.
“A lot has happened in the last three months which has mentally and emotionally drained me. However, I have faith and confidence that eventually truth will prevail,” said Kumar in a note posted on Twitter.
“In the wake of the recent personal attacks, what really breaks me is the blemish on the brand’s true promise. I have therefore taken the decision to step down as the CEO of TVF,” he wrote.
Source: The Indian Express
7. Centre: Won't Send More Force Till West Bengal Govt Submits Report
As stranded tourists, shut shops and sporadic incidents of arson marked the second day of the indefinite bandh called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the hills, the Centre on Friday held back additional paramilitary personnel who were supposed to be sent to Darjeeling till the West Bengal government sends a report on the situation there.
The 400 additional personnel, whom the Home Ministry had on Thursday decided to send to Darjeeling on a request from the state government, will not be dispatched immediately.
Source: The Indian Express
8. Suspend Delhi Govt but Don't Harass Us Everyday: AAP on CBI Action
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday criticised the Centre for what it called a ‘raid’ by the CBI at deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s residence, saying it signalled the BJP-led government’s ‘resolve’ to not let the AAP regime in Delhi work.
Addressing a press conference at the party office, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, instead of ‘daily harassment’ it would be better for the Centre to suspend the Arvind Kejriwal government.
The CBI denied AAP’s charge and said no “search or raid” was conducted at Sisodia’s residence. The agency said they “visited” to seek a clarification about a preliminary enquiry (PE) against him relating to alleged irregularities in a campaign launched by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, ‘Talk to AK’.
Source: Hindustan Times
9. 2014 Uber Rape: Court Records Show Evidence Was 'Sealed'
Even as a 27-year-old woman – who was raped inside an Uber taxi in Delhi in 2014 – filed a complaint against the cab aggregator and its officials for “obtaining and sharing her detailed and confidential medical records” in California, court documents in Delhi showed that the medical evidence in the case was “sealed”.
Officials from Wigdor LLP, the law firm which has filed a civil suit on behalf of the woman, seeking compensation before the US District Court, Northern District of California, said, “The new complaint arises as a result of Uber obtaining her detailed and confidential medical records, sharing them amongst executives and discussing that her rape was somehow part of a plan hatched by a competitor to derail Uber’s growth in India.”
However, records at Tis Hazari fast-track court – where the trial in the case took place – point out that after the woman was examined at Hindu Rao Hospital on 6 December 2014, medical evidence in the case were “sealed”.
Source: The Indian Express
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