Top news: India protests UN report that raises concerns on situation in Jammu and Kashmir

Telangana: Forest range officer who was assaulted by mob booked for abusing tribals

The Easgaon Police in Telangana on Sunday booked Kagaznagar Forest Range Officer Anitha Chole and 14 other forest department officials after a complaint was lodged by a tribal villager, The Hindu reported. The complainant alleged that the forest officials assaulted the locals and abused them with casteist remarks. The 15 have been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. On June 30, Anitha was attacked by a mob, led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader Koneru Krishna.

‘Go to appropriate authority’: Supreme Court dismisses plea against ‘Article 15’

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea against Bollywood movie Article 15 filed by the Brahman Samaj of India that alleged that the movie contains “objectionable dialogues” and spread caste hatred, PTI reported. The court said that the petitioner should instead approach the appropriate authority. “You go to the appropriate authority under the act,” a bench led by Justices SA Bobde and BR Gavai told the petitioner’s lawyer.

Centre’s decision to increase fuel prices will not be reflected in inflation soon, says RBI

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday said the government’s decision to increase excise duty and road cess by Rs 1 per litre of fuel will not get reflected in inflation soon. “There is a meeting of Monetary Policy Committee in 1st week of August,” said Das, according to ANI. “Our internal team will assess it. It’s not as if it will get reflected in inflation the next day. There is a time lag.”

Union minister Giriraj Singh calls Shabana Azmi ‘new leader of tukde tukde gang’

Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday called actor Shabana Azmi the “new leader of tukde tukde and award wapsi gang”, two days after the actor’s comments on criticising the government on Saturday. Azmi had said that it was imperative to point out flaws of one’s own country so that it can help in bringing reform.

Shashi Tharoor criticises Budget in Parliament, says GDP mentioned only once in whole speech

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday criticised the Union Budget and said that budgetary allocations to different sectors were not specified and the term Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, was mentioned only once in the entire Budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. On July 5, Sitharaman had presented the first Budget of the Narendra Modi government’s second tenure.

‘False and motivated’: India protests UN’s follow-up report on Kashmir

The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday registered its protest against a new report by the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, which said that neither India nor Pakistan have taken any concrete steps to solve the concerns raised in its first report on Kashmir, released in 2018. The ministry said the new report was a continuation of the “false and motivated narrative” on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Karnataka crisis: Rajnath Singh denies BJP role in resignations, blames Rahul Gandhi for the trend

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said in Parliament that the Bharatiya Janata Party had nothing to do with the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition crisis in Karnataka. The government is on the verge of collapse after the resignations of 14 Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs and with one independent MLA having withdrawn support. Following the resignations, all ministers, both Congress and JD(S), quit to pave way for a new state Cabinet.

Watch: Two-wheeler sinks into open manhole during Mumbai rains

A two-wheeler sank into an open manhole by the side of a road in Chembur, a suburb in Mumbai, Maharashtra. A video posted by Sourav Sanyal, executive editor of India Ahead, on Twitter showed a man trying to pull the scooter out of the manhole. He was later joined by three more men who helped him retrieve it.

Maharashtra: Tigress, two cubs found dead in forest in Chandrapur district

A tigress and her two cubs were found dead in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra on Monday morning, PTI reported. Authorities have ordered an inquiry to find the cause of their death.

S Jaishankar takes oath as member of Rajya Sabha

Union Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The former diplomat was elected to the Upper House of Parliament from Gujarat in bye-elections held for two seats on Friday.

Kashmir observes shutdown on Burhan Wani’s death anniversary, curbs imposed in parts of Srinagar

Separatists in Kashmir called for a shutdown on Monday to mark the third death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, reports said. Security was increased across Kashmir and authorities suspended mobile internet services in four southern districts in the Valley.

Maratha quotas: Supreme Court agrees to hear plea against Bombay HC order allowing reservation

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a petition against the Bombay High Court’s decision to uphold reservations for the Maratha community in educational institutions and jobs in public services in Maharashtra. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said the plea would be heard on Friday.

Sensex falls nearly 1,000 points since Budget speech to below 39,000

Both benchmark share indices declined 1.5% by Monday noon, with the losses in the BSE Sensex adding up to nearly 1,000 points since the government presented the Union Budget on Friday. The Sensex was down over 650 points at its lowest level on Monday morning. At noon, it was down 571.04 points, at 38,942.35, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 was 180.50 points lower than Friday’s close, at 11,630.65.

Karnataka crisis: Independent MLA and minister H Nagesh withdraws support to Kumaraswamy government

The coalition government in Karnataka suffered another setback on Monday as independent MLA and Small Industries Minister H Nagesh resigned. Nagesh informed Governor Vajubhai Vala that he was withdrawing support to the coalition government led by HD Kumaraswamy. He said he will extend his support to the Bharatiya Janata Party if it is called to form the government.

Shabana Azmi says it is necessary to point out the flaws of one’s country for its betterment

Actor Shabana Azmi has said it is important to point out flaws in one’s own country because it can help bring reform. Azmi, who spoke at an event in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, said any attempt to divide people was not good for the country.

Amarnath Yatra: J&K governor urges people to bear two-hour traffic restrictions on National Highway

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Sunday said restrictions on civilian traffic on the National Highway during the Amarnath Yatra had been reduced to just two hours.

Madhya Pradesh: 16 men forced to chant ‘gau mata ki jai’ for allegedly transporting cattle illegally

A group of men were tied up and forced to chant “gau mata ki jai” by villagers in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday for allegedly transporting cattle illegally to Maharashtra. The incident took place in Sanwalikheda village in Khalwa tehsil.

West Bengal: Main accused in Malda lynching case arrested

The police in West Bengal’s Malda district on Sunday arrested one more person in connection with last month’s murder of a 20-year-old man for allegedly stealing a bike. Shanaul Sheikh was assaulted by a few local people at Baishnabnagar Bazar on June 26 after he was allegedly caught stealing a bike. He had died three days later.

Uttar Pradesh: At least 29 killed after bus falls 50 feet into a canal near Agra

At least 29 people were killed near Agra in Uttar Pradesh on Monday when the bus they were travelling in skidded off the Yamuna Expressway and fell into a canal. The bus belonged to the Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation and was travelling from Lucknow to Delhi.

Karnataka: Rebel MLAs stand firm on resignations, refuse to go back to Bengaluru

Rebel Karnataka legislators, who moved to Mumbai after resigning on Saturday, have refused to withdraw their resignations. Congress MLA ST Somashekar, one of the 13 legislators in Mumbai, said there was no question of going back to Bengaluru and withdrawing the resignations.

Two FIRs filed against Subramanian Swamy for allegedly saying Rahul Gandhi consumes cocaine

The Congress on Sunday filed two police complaints against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy for alleging that Rahul Gandhi takes cocaine.

Tamil Nadu: DMK lashes out at state government over Hindi stickers on new buses

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday lashed out at the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after photographs of Hindi-language stickers on the emergency doors of new government buses went viral on social media.