1. Tahir Hussain Charged With Murder in Delhi Violence, Suspended by AAP
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tahir Hussain was suspended from the primary membership of his party after he was charged with murder and arson in connection with the death of Ankit Sharma, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) employee found dead in one of the areas in northeast Delhi most affected by violence over citizenship law protests.
Hussain will remain suspended until the charges against him are investigated and he is cleared, a tweet by Delhi's ruling AAP added.
Ankit Sharma, whose body was found in a drain near his home in Jafrabad, was allegedly attacked by a mob and stabbed to death on his way home on Tuesday, 25 February. The post-mortem report, released on Thursday, 27 February, indicated multiple stab wounds across his body.
(Source: NDTV)
2. Trump Told PM Modi He Was Asked by Imran Khan to Mediate but Said No
US President Donald Trump is learnt to have told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he doesn’t intend to mediate between India and Pakistan although Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been seeking mediation by the US.
This has been one of the major takeaways of the bilateral conversation between the US President and the Prime Minister on Monday and Tuesday.
A government source privy to the discussions said that the US President told Modi that Khan keeps pressing him to mediate every time they meet, but made it clear that he is not going to do it. Sources said that New Delhi understands that the US needs Pakistan to fulfill its objectives in Afghanistan, but asked it to keep a “close eye” on Pakistan. The Indian side is learnt to have conveyed that Washington must continue to put pressure on Pakistan in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and also take action against the terror infrastructure in the territory under its control.
Trump is said to have reiterated India’s right to defend itself when faced with terrorist attacks.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Bihar May Have Caste Census
After passing a resolution against a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the state, the Bihar Assembly on Thursday passed another unanimous resolution demanding a caste-based census in 2021 in which information about an individual’s caste be collected and compiled during the nationwide population count survey.
The demand, on which the wider policy of the Union government and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) is unclear, was pushed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar months ahead of Assembly polls in the state.
To be sure, after the 2011 Census, the Union government got a socio-economic caste census carried out, but while the economic data was published, the case data was not.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. India to Attend Signing of Taliban Peace Pact With US
In its first step towards engaging with the Taliban, India has decided to send its envoy to the signing of the peace pact between the US and Taliban in Doha on Saturday, 29 February, according to sources.
This is the first time that an official representative will attend a ceremony where the Taliban representatives will be present. When Taliban was in power between 1996 and 2001, India did not recognise it diplomatically and officially.
Sources said India received an “invitation” from Qatar, and after deliberations at the highest level, the government has decided to send India’s Ambassador to Qatar, P Kumaran. While the decision is not linked to US President Donald Trump’s recent visit to India, the signing of the pact will have strategic, security and political implications for India. The matter was discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump during their bilateral meetings.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. SC-Appointed Panel Says Resume Sealing in Delhi
The Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee has directed civic agencies in Delhi to “immediately” comply with its sealing orders against commercial properties found violating development control norms.
It also directed the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to act against shops in Connaught Place for violating lease deeds and the Master Plan of Delhi-2021 (MPD-2021) provisions.
In a meeting held on 20 February, the committee said, “Sealing orders issued by the monitoring committee…have not yet be complied with probably due to Model Code of Conduct (enforced in January) as well as deployment of officials for conducting Delhi Assembly elections-2020 ensure immediate compliance of the sealing orders.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. 2 Dalits Tortured in Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot Submits Report to Sonia Gandhi
Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the Congress' state unit chief Sachin Pilot submitted a report to party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, 27 February over the recent incident of torture of two Dalit men in Nagaur district.
The report was based on the findings of a three-member fact-finding panel comprising Rajasthan Cabinet Minister and state Congress vice-president Bhanwar Lal Meghwal, MLA Harish Meena and the party's state unit general secretary Mahesh Sharma.
Sources said lapses were found on part of police in the handling of the case as the incident happened on 16 February but the FIR was registered four days later only after the video of it went viral.
(Source: NDTV)
7. Will Look Into Kunal Kamra’s Representation Against Airlines: DGCA to Delhi High Court
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday, 27 February, informed the Delhi High Court that it will look into stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s representation against the airlines which imposed a flying ban on him.
The DGCA’s response came against the backdrop of the High Court expressing its displeasure on 25 February while hearing Kamra’s plea against the flying ban. The court had pulled up DGCA for asking airline companies to impose the flying ban on Kamra pending inquiry.
After the DGCA counsel made the statement before Justice Navin Chawla, he disposed of Kamra’s plea and asked it to take a decision on his representation within eight weeks. Meanwhile, the committee set up by IndiGo informed Justice Chawla that it has approved a flying ban on Kamra for only three months, instead of the six months imposed initially.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Kejriwal Says Govt Will Pay for Private Hospital Expenses
The Delhi government on Thursday, 27 February, announced a compensation scheme of up to ₹10 lakh for those affected by communal riots that ravaged parts of northeast Delhi over the past four days, and extended its “Farishtey Dilli Ke” scheme to help the distressed.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who addressed the press after holding a meeting with top government officials earlier in the day to devise rehabilitation and relief mechanisms, said victims admitted to even private hospitals will get free treatment.
“The incidents of violence have decreased since Wednesday. We are extending our Farishtey scheme, otherwise meant for road accident victims, to crime affected and riot affected people. Our government hospitals are already free, but now the Delhi government will also bear the cost of treatment of victims in private hospitals,” he said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. 348 Cases Related to Bhima Koregaon Withdrawn so Far: Anil Deshmukh
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday, 27 February, told the Legislative Council that 348 cases related to the Koregaon Bhima violence have been withdrawn by the state government so far.
He said this in response to a query by Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise.
"Of the total 649 cases filed against several people in Koregaon Bhima violence, 348 cases have been withdrawn so far. Rest of the cases will be withdrawn as and when the inquiry gets over," he said. Deshmukh also said that the state government was considering to set up an inquiry commission under the Maharashtra Police Act to probe the Elgar Parishad case.
(Source: NDTV)
(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.)