Top news: India stands for a terrorism-free society, says PM Modi at SCO summit

Mobile phone recovered from former Haryana Chief Minister OP Chautala’s prison cell in Tihar

The Tihar jail authorities on Thursday found a mobile phone from the prison cell of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala during a surprise inspection by the Delhi Police. Additional Inspector General Rajkumar said a mobile phone, a charger, tobacco pouch, and a wire was found from Chautala’s cell.

CBI, CID tell Bombay High Court there is some commonality between Dabholkar, Pansare killings

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department told the Bombay High Court on Friday that they have established some commonality between the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. The court was hearing a plea filed by families of Dabholkar and Pansare seeking court supervision of the investigations into their murders.

‘Those living in Bengal will have to learn to speak in Bengali’, says CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that those living in the state will have to learn to speak Bengali. Banerjee made the comments at a rally in Kanchrapara in the North 24 Parganas district. “We have no problem if you speak other languages, but you’ll have to learn Bengali too,” she said.

Gujarat: Dalit man allegedly hacked to death in Thangadh, two arrested

A Dalit man was allegedly hacked to death on Wednesday and his uncle was shot by three men in Thangadh town of Surendranagar district. Two of the three men have been arrested.

Calcutta HC asks state to persuade protesting doctors, refuses to pass interim order on strike

The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to pass any interim order on the ongoing strike by junior doctors in West Bengal to protest against the assault on their colleagues. A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Suvra Ghosh asked the Mamata Banerjee-led government to persuade the doctors on strike to resume work and provide services to patients.

JEE Advanced results declared, Maharashtra’s Kartikey Gupta is the topper

The Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee on Friday declared the results of the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) 2019. Kartikey Gupta from Ballarpur in Maharashtra came first in the Common Rank List, scoring 346 out of 372 marks.

Southern Railway withdraws circular asking staff to speak only in English and Hindi after protests

The Southern Railway on Friday withdrew a circular which instructed station staff and train operation controllers to avoid using regional languages for official communications. The circular, which was issued on Wednesday, said only English and Hindi should be used to communicate in order to ensure instructions are “fully comprehended”.

Eight people have been arrested in four states over social media posts in India this week

Eight people in different parts of the country have been arrested this past week for social media posts targetting political leaders. Action has also been taken against people from Assam, Tripura and Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh for social media posts.

Karnataka: Two Independent legislators inducted into Cabinet of HD Kumaraswamy government

The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government in Karnataka inducted two Independent legislators in the Cabinet on Friday. Independent MLA H Nagesh and Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party legislator R Shankar took oath at Raj Bhavan.

SCO summit: Countries that support terrorism must be held accountable, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that countries that support terrorism must be held accountable as he appealed to global leaders to tackle the problem. Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Kyrgyzstan’s Capital Bishkek, Modi highlighted the spirit and ideals of the international body to strengthen cooperation to combat terrorism.

2006 Malegaon blasts: Bombay High Court grants bail to four accused

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to four people accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case. A division bench of Justices IA Mahanty and AM Badar gave bail to Manohar Nawaria, Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Lokesh Sharma.

J&K: Two suspected militants killed in gunfight with security forces in Pulwama district

Two suspected militants were killed during a gunfight with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, PTI reported, citing police. Officials are yet to ascertain the identities of the deceased and the group they were affiliated to.

Wholesale inflation eased to 2.45% in May

The Centre on Friday said that the annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices had reduced to 2.45% in May. The Centre attributed it to cheaper food articles, fuel and power items.

Cyclone Vayu skirts Saurashtra coast; Gujarat CM asks evacuees to return

Cyclone Vayu is slowly moving away from the Gujarat coast and moving west-northwestwards skirting Saurashtra, the India Meteorological Department said in its latest update on Friday. The weather department said the previous day that the cyclone was moving towards Oman.

Congress criticises former ISRO chairman for alleging that UPA government delayed Chandrayaan-2

The Congress on Thursday criticised former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair for claiming that the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon was delayed due to certain political decisions of the United Progressive Alliance government

Rajasthan government removes Savarkar’s ‘Veer’ honorific in Class 12 history textbook

The Congress government in Rajasthan has made several changes related to historical events and personalities in textbooks for students in schools affiliated to the state board. The Ashok Gehlot-led state administration rolled back decisions taken by the previous National Democratic Alliance government on the basis of the recommendations of a textbook review committee set up on February 13.

Doctors’ strike: Health minister asks Mamata Banerjee not to make it a matter of prestige

Junior doctors across West Bengal on Friday continued their strike for the fourth day. The ongoing strike has paralysed services in most of West Bengal’s government hospitals. The junior doctors at the hospital went on a strike on Tuesday, a day after the family of a patient allegedly attacked two interns.

Two BJP supporters arrested in Assam and Tripura for allegedly posting defamatory social media posts

Two supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party were arrested in Assam and Tripura over the last two days after they put up allegedly derogatory posts on social media.

Bihar encephalitis outbreak: Toll rises to 50 in Muzaffarpur district

The toll in the encephalitis outbreak in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district increased to 50 on Thursday after seven more children died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome. Of the 50 deaths, 48 have occurred this month. State Health Minister Mangal Pandey is scheduled to visit Muzaffarpur on Friday to take stock of the situation.

Uttarakhand: 32-member team launches fresh expedition to locate 8 climbers near Nanda Devi peak

A 32-member team, including 11 mountaineers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, launched a fresh expedition on Thursday to retrieve the bodies of eight climbers who attempted to scale Nanda Devi East peak on May 25. The team also includes personnel from the State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force. Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vijay Kumar Jogdande said the team left for Munsiyari on Thursday.

Chhattisgarh: Raipur resident arrested for posting ‘abusive comments’ about CM Bhupesh Baghel

The police in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur have arrested a 34-year-old man for allegedly posting objectionable remarks about Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Unidentified senior police officers said a man, identified as Lalit Yadav, was arrested on June 9 after they received a complaint from Congress workers. Yadav was booked under Section 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, which deals with online obscenity. Yadav is a resident of Saragaon in Raipur district.

West Bengal doctors’ agitation: NRS Medical College principal and medical superintendent resign

The principal and medical superintendent of the state-run Neel Ratan Sircar Medical College in Kolkata resigned late on Thursday night amid an ongoing junior doctors’ strike that has paralysed services in most of West Bengal’s government hospitals. The junior doctors at the hospital went on a strike on Tuesday, a day after the family of a patient allegedly attacked two interns. Soon, the protests spread to state-run medical facilities across the state.

Pakistan extends ban on airspace along eastern border with India till June 28

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday extended the ban on the use of the airspace along its eastern border with India till June 28. This is the third extension since the ban was put in place on February 26, when India targetted a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot in Pakistan. The country has since opened only two out of 11 routes that go through South Pakistan. On March 27, Pakistan opened its airspace for all flights excluding those to New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

BJP’s Indore MP opposes Railways plan to provide massage services on trains, calls it ‘standardless’

Shankar Lalwani, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Indore, has questioned the Indian Railways’ proposal to provide massage services to passengers on board trains and called it “standardless”. The Ratlam division of the Western Railway zone had announced last week that massage facility will be made available on board 39 trains departing from Indore.

Cyclone Vayu skirts Gujarat as it moves towards Oman, state to remain on high alert for 24 hours

Cyclone Vayu on Thursday began moving away from the Gujarat coast towards Oman, but Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the state will remain on high alert in view of strong winds and rain along the coast. Rupani said the cyclone “no longer poses any danger” but the administration in the coastal region will remain on alert. He also said schools in coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch will remain closed on Friday.

PM Narendra Modi should use mandate to improve ties with Pakistan, says Imran Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that he hoped his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will use the big mandate he won in the Lok Sabha elections to improve relations between the two nations. Khan told a Russian media outlet during an interview that Pakistan’s main difference with India is Kashmir. “And if the heads of two countries resolve, if two governments decide, this issue can be resolved,” he said. “But, unfortunately, we have not had much success from India so far.”