1. TVF Founder Accused of Sexual Harassment
Around Sunday midnight, an anonymous blog post that surfaced on the portal medium.com under the handle Indian Fowler and claimed to be the personal account by a former employee of the digital content company, TheViralFever (TVF), has accused founder-CEO Arunabh Kumar of sexually exploiting the girl during her two-year stint at the firm.
The official response from TVF came as a comment on the blog where they have called the allegations “baseless” and termed the post “completely ludicrous and defamatory.” TVF spokesperson Aditi Singh said that according to their records, no employee of such description has ever worked at the company.
But after the blog post went viral, a number of anonymous and identified statements accusing Kumar of molestation have emerged on the internet.
2. Goa: BJP Swearing-In Today, Congress Dials Smaller Allies
Amid fears of a last-minute U-turn by one of its alliance partners and hectic negotiations for ministerial berths, the BJP was busy making preparations for a coalition government, headed by Manohar Parrikar, to take oath in Goa on Tuesday, following an invitation from Governor Mridula Sinha.
On Monday, Parrikar set the stage for his return as Chief Minister by resigning as Union Defence Minister – Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take additional charge of the portfolio.
But late in the evening, with the Congress approaching Supreme Court against the Governor’s decision, doubts emerged over Goa Forward’s support for the BJP-led move.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Arun Jaitley Gets Additional Charge of Defence Ministry After Parrikar Resigns
President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted the resignation of Manohar Parrikar, who stepped down from the defence minister’s post on Monday ahead of taking oath as chief minister of Goa on Tuesday.
The President, acting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice, assigned the charge of the Defence Ministry to Arun Jaitley, who is also the Finance Minister.
This will be the 64-year-old Jaitley’s second stint as Defence Minister. He was also appointed defence minister in 2014 when the Modi government came into power.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. BJP Names N Biren Singh as CM Candidate for Manipur
Ending two days of speculations and closed-door meetings, Nongthombam Biren Singh was elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislature party in Manipur on Monday evening.
A former minister in the Congress government-led by Okram Ibobi Singh, the 56-year-old will be the first BJP chief minister in the Northeastern state if the party forms the next government.
Incumbent Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh too met the Governor nearly an hour after the BJP and submitted his resignation. He reiterated the party’s claim to form to the next government as it is the single largest in the assembly.
It is expected the governor would invite one of the two parties, most probably on Tuesday, and ask it to form the next government.
5. JNU Dalit Scholar Found Dead at Friend's House
A 28-year-old Dalit PhD scholar at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his friend’s house in the national capital on Monday. Muthu Krishnan had been at the forefront of the movement for justice for his friend and another Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide in Hyderabad last year.
The Delhi Police said that they received a call at 5.05 pm about Krishnan having locked himself in a room. “On reaching the spot, police forced open the door. A young man was found hanging from the ceiling fan,’’ said Additional DCP South (Delhi) Chinmoy Biswal.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Student from Arunachal Assaulted, 'Forced to Lick Shoes' in Bengaluru
The brutal attack on a student from Arunachal Pradesh has kicked up a storm in the city's Northeast (N-E) community. A 20-year-old Northeastern student’s landlord allegedly thrashed him and forced him to lick his shoes for wasting water here.
Higio Gungtey, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, was assaulted on 6 March. A police complaint was lodged after Forum for Northeast Solidarity was informed about it. Hemanth Kumar, the landlord, was arrested on 9 March and released on bail for the assault on the second-year BA student at Bengaluru’s Christ College.
(Source: The Indian Express)
Also Read: North-East Student Attacked in Bengaluru for Using Excess Water
7. No Limits on Cash Withdrawal From Banks and ATMs
The limits on withdrawing cash from banks and ATMs end on Monday, four months after they were imposed following the demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which created a currency shortage across the country.
Ever since the government’s surprise move to ban the high-value notes on 8 November, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been gradually relaxing the limits.
However, India’s leading private banks – HDFC, ICICI, Axis – have decided to charge Rs 150 for cash deposits and withdrawals after four free transactions in a month.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Also Read: All Cash Withdrawal Limits Go Back to Pre-Demonetisation Era
8. In Maharashtra, over 50% Development Fund Yet to Be Used
Less than three weeks before the end of the financial year, more than half the funds budgeted for development work in 2016-17 remains unspent in Maharashtra, according to the state finance department’s website .
Of the Rs 89,778 crore budgeted for plan spending this year, Rs 46,809 crore remained unutilised till 13 March, reveal official estimates. This roughly translates into non-utilisation of 52 percent of the budgeted amount.
Records show that the state’s housing department has the worst budget utilisation ratio.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Kannada Writer's Face Smeared with Black Ink
A "progressive" writer's face was smeared with black ink here, allegedly by right-wing activists who also warned him of "dire" consequences if he dare write against Hindu gods, said a senior police official.
Yogesh Master was attacked by eight or nine persons who smeared his face with black ink and fled, when he was having tea at a nearby stall here on Sunday, Davanagere Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled told PTI.
Yogesh was warned of dire consequences for writing against Hindu gods, Guled said, adding that the suspects shouted "Jai Sri Ram" before fleeing.
(Source: The Times of India)
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