1. Former Indian Cricket Team Captain Ajit Wadekar Passes Away at 77
Former Indian cricket team captain Ajit Wadekar died at the age of 77 in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. The left-hander was well known for leading the side to Test victories over West Indies and England on foreign soil in the 1970s.
Under Wadekar’s captaincy, India won over five matches in the West Indies in the early 1970s, and then defeated England in a three-match series. He led India to a third successive series victory, beating England cricket team once again – this time, 2–1 in a five-match series in 1972–73.
He played just one more ODI encounter in his career and with 73 runs from 2 matches, he decided to retire from international cricket following the team’s dismal show in the series.
After his retirement, Wadekar also served as the manager of the Indian cricket team in the 1990s, alongside captain Mohammad Azharuddin. He was one of the few Indian cricketers to represent the country as Test player, captain, coach/manager and the chairman of selectors.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Put on Life Support: AIIMS
The health condition of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who has been admitted at AIIMS for the last nine weeks, worsened over the last 24 hours.
“His condition is critical and he is on life support system,” Dr Aarti Vij, chairperson of media and protocol division, said late on Wednesday, 15 August.
The BJP stalwart was admitted at AIIMS on 11 June, after he was diagnosed with kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection and low urine output, and is currently undergoing treatment at the premier institute.
In the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited AIIMS to inquire about the former PM’s health condition in what was his fourth visit and spent about 50 minutes there. Apart from Prime Minister Modi, union ministers Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani also visited the hospital to check on the former Prime Minister
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Easy to Criticise but Difficult to Transform an Institution: CJI Dipak Misra
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Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Wednesday, 15 August, said that to criticise, attack and destroy a system was easy but it was difficult and challenging to transform it into a performing one.
The Chief Justice, while delivering his speech after unfurling the national flag at the 72nd Independence Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said one has to transcend his personal ambitions and take constructive steps with positive mindset so that the institution can go to greater heights.
"To criticise, attack and destroy the system is quite easy. What is difficult and challenging is to transform it into a performing one. For this, one has to transcend one's personal ambitions or grievances and rather constructive steps need to be taken with positive mindset of reforms...with rationality, maturity, responsibility and composure," Justice Misra said.
(Source: PTI)
4. Ashutosh Quits AAP, Kejriwal Refuses Resignation
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal outrightly refused to accept the resignation of party leader Ashutosh. “How can we ever accept your resignation? Not in this lifetime,” Kejriwal tweeted, hours after Ashutosh announced that he was resigning from the party.
In a tweet this morning, Ashutosh announced that he will be leaving the party for a ‘very, very personal reason’.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi convenor Gopal Rai also told reporters that the leadership will talk to Ashutosh and urge him to reconsider his decision.
Ties between Ashutosh and the AAP had considerably strained in the recent months after the party decided against nominating him to the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, he distanced himself from the party, saying he was working on his next book, which is likely to be out in October. Ashutosh had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk constituency.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Attack on Umar Khalid: Police Track Key Phone Number
The Delhi Police, having so far failed to identify the man who attacked JNU student Umar Khalid outside Constitution Club on Monday, are hoping that the number used to send threat messages to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and JNU student Shehla Rashid will provide leads.
According to sources in the Delhi Police Special Cell, it is being probed whether the number is registered in a foreign country. “We will contact the service provider… to ascertain which country the messages came from,” said a police officer. Police sources said once they identify the country, they can access the details of the user.
The message was sent to Rashid and Mewani in June and in August, with the sender claiming to be gangster Ravi Pujari. The sender had also warned Mewani that he would harm Khalid.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. At Least 75 Dead as Floods Bring State to Standstill
The death toll in Kerala has climbed to 75 as the state is reeling under one of the worst floods in history. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed that the rain fury claimed 25 lives on Wednesday, More than 1.5 lakh people have been lodged in relief across the state, Vijayan said, adding that the heavy rains would continue for some more days, which will further worsen the situation.
For the first time in history, the state has opened 35 of its 39 dams. A red alert has been issued in all the 14 districts of the state.
Spelling more trouble for Kerala, the Tamil Nadu government opened the sluice gates of the Mullaperiyar dam at 2.30 am on Wednesday, 15 August, to release excess water from the reservoir. A government release said Vijayan spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the grave situation the state was facing following the rains.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. On Independence Day, UK Returns Indian Buddha Statue Stolen 57 Years Ago
A 12th century bronze Buddha statue stolen from a museum at Nalanda in Bihar nearly 60 years ago was returned to India on Wednesday, 15 August, by the London's Metropolitan Police as part of a ceremony here to mark India's Independence Day.
The bronze statue with silver inlay is one of the 14 statues stolen in 1961 from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) site museum in Nalanda and changed several hands over the years before surfacing at a London auction.
Once the dealer and the owner were made aware the sculpture was the same one that had been stolen from India, the Metropolitan Police said they cooperated with the Met's Art and Antiques Unit and agreed for the piece to be returned to India.
The statue was identified at a trade fair in March this year by Lynda Albertson of the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA) and Vijay Kumar from the India Pride Project, who then alerted the police.
(Source: PTI)
8. Killing of Sadhus Sparks Tension in UP’s Auraiya, Two Policemen Suspended
Killing of two Hindu sadhus in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya has triggered protests and tension in the district, PTI reported on Wednesday, 15 August.
The two sadhus were stabbed to death at the Bhayanaknath temple in Kudarkot area of Bidhoona on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday and another was injured after which angry people took to the streets and staged demonstrations on highways.
The exact motive for the crime was not immediately clear, police said adding they suspected the victims’ opposition to cow slaughter could be one reason. Additional DG (Kanpur range) Avinash Chandra said the priests were found lying in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds on their necks and other body parts.
According to officials, two policemen have been suspended for dereliction of duty after the violence.
Police suspect the monks were attacked as they opposed some people who were allegedly into cow slaughter.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Indian Arrested in Pakistan Without Valid Travel Documents
Pakistani law enforcement agencies on Wednesday, 15 August, said they had arrested an Indian national named Ram Bahar who was in the Kurram tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province without valid travel documents.
Local media reported that Ram Bahar had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan and was apprehended at Parachinar airport.
He reportedly hails from Gujarat state and speaks only Gujarati, officials said. They said the Indian man did not possess any identity documents at the time of his arrest and that he was aged 35 to 36 years.
No further details about Ram Bahar were made available.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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