Top news: ED to arrest P Chidambaram in INX Media case before custody in CBI case expires

IMF slashes India’s GDP growth projection to 6.1% for 2019-’20, cites ‘sector-specific weaknesses’

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered India’s growth rate projection to 6.1% for the 2019-’20 financial year. In July, it had revised India’s growth forecast from 7.3% to 7%. “India’s economy is set to grow at 6.1% in 2019, picking up to 7% in 2020,” the IMF said its latest World Economic Outlook projections. “The downward revision relative to the April 2019 WEO of 1.2 percentage points for 2019 and 0.5 percentage point for 2020 reflects a weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.”

‘Send my father’s body to Bangladesh,’ says son of Assam man who died after two years in detention

The son of a 65-year-old man in Assam who died on Sunday after almost two years at a detention centre for undocumented immigrants has asked authorities to send his body to Bangladesh if they fail to establish he is Indian, The Times of India reported on Monday.

West Bengal governor says he was insulted at Durga Puja event hosted by CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on Tuesday said he felt “insulted and deeply pained” at a Durga Puja event hosted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, The Indian Express reported. He alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress made him sit on a separate stage during the programme on October 11, which went on for four hours.

ED summons NCP leader Praful Patel for questioning about alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim’s aide

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday summoned Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Aviation Minister Praful Patel in connection with an alleged land deal he struck with gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide Iqbal Mirchi, Hindustan Times reported. Mirchi, who died in 2013, was an accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts in which more than 300 people were killed.

Ayodhya case: ‘Tomorrow is the last day of hearing,’ says CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday said proceedings in the Ayodhya land dispute case would end on Wednesday, ANI reported. “Today is 39th day,” Gogoi said. “Tomorrow is 40th day and last day of hearing in the case.” Earlier this month, the top court had asked the parties in the case to conclude arguments by October 17.

Bhima Koregaon case: Activist Gautam Navlakha’s interim protection from arrest extended by 4 weeks

The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended by four weeks the interim protection from arrest granted to activist Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon case, Bar and Bench reported. It also granted Navlakha permission to approach an appropriate court seeking pre-arrest bail.

INX Media case: Enforcement Directorate allowed to arrest P Chidambaram

A court in Delhi on Tuesday allowed the Enforcement Directorate to arrest Congress leader P Chidambaram in the INX Media case. The 74-year-old former Union finance minister has been in jail since September 5 in connection with the case. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is also conducting inquiries, on August 21.

Haryana elections: Modi promises to stop water from flowing to Pakistan, bring it back for farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India would stop river water from flowing to Pakistan, and divert it to Haryana as farmers in the state were its rightful claimants, IANS reported. Modi, who addressed an election rally in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri district, said: “For 70 years, the water which belongs to India and the farmers of Haryana flowed to Pakistan. Modi will stop this water [from flowing into Pakistan] and bring to your houses.”

Delhi court extends Congress leader DK Shivakumar’s judicial custody till October 25

A court in Delhi on Tuesday extended till October 25 the judicial custody of Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar in connection with an Enforcement Directorate investigation in a money laundering case. The Congress leader did not oppose his custody being extended.

Bihar: Ink thrown at Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey after his visit to Patna hospital

Ink was thrown at Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Patna on Tuesday by a supporter of Jan Adhikar Party leader Pappu Yadav. The incident took place after Choubey visited the Patna Medical College and Hospital to take stock of the measures in place to combat dengue in the city.

India will fight and win next war using indigenous weapons, says Army chief Bipin Rawat

Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday called for increased inclusion of indigenous technology in the security forces and said that India will fight and win its next war using home-grown weaponry.

Hope NYAY scheme that Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee helped with becomes reality: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday congratulated Indian-origin economist Abhijit Banerjee, who won the Nobel Prize. Gandhi said she hoped that her party’s minimum income guarantee scheme called NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana), which Banerjee helped conceptualise would become a reality in the future.

BCCI appointments: Sharad Pawar refuses to oppose Jay Shah’s election as secretary

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he does not want to oppose the appointment of BJP National President Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. There has been criticism about Jay Shah’s appointment as the BCCI secretary.

Murshidabad murders: 20-year-old ex-neighbour held, police say 3 were killed over insurance policy

The West Bengal Police on Tuesday claimed to have solved the Murshidabad triple murder case with the arrest of a 20-year-old man. Utpal Behara, the accused, had allegedly killed school teacher Bandhu Prakash Pal, his pregnant wife Beauty and their five-year-old son Angan on October 8 over non-payment of an insurance policy premium.

Farooq Abdullah’s sister, daughter among women detained after protests break out in Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday rounded up and detained several women, including former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s sister and daughter, for protesting near the Lal Chowk area in Srinagar. The group demanded the restoration of civil liberties and rights, the demilitarisation of rural and urban areas and the release of detainees.

Akal Takht chief calls for ban on RSS, says allowing it to operate freely will ‘divide the nation’

The chief of the top Sikh body, the Akal Takht, on Monday called for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, claiming that allowing it to operate freely would “divide the nation”.

PMC crisis: Day after bank customer dies of heart attack, Fadnavis says he will seek Centre’s help

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he will request the central government to resolve the crisis in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank after the October 21 state Assembly elections. His statement came a day after 51-year-old Sanjay Gulati, whose family had reportedly deposited around Rs 90 lakh in the bank, died of a heart attack in Mumbai.

Dabholkar murder case: CBI says it will file chargesheet against two accused in a month

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday told the Bombay High Court that it will file the chargesheet against two accused – advocate Sanjeev Punalekar and his assistant Vikram Bhave – in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case within a month.

J&K Police refute Amit Shah’s claim that Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti booked under PSA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were detained under the Public Safety Act.

Bhima Koregaon: Bombay HC rejects bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday denied bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Arun Ferreira, who were arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. The three are accused of having links with banned Maoist groups.

#MeToo: Google seeks to revoke order to remove posts on Subodh Gupta, says it’s against free speech

Google on Monday moved the Delhi High Court, asking it to revoke the order instructing the search engine to take down web pages that show sexual harassment allegations against Indian artist Subodh Gupta. Allegations against Gupta emerged a year ago during the #MeToo movement.

Maharashtra: Asaduddin Owaisi calls Congress sinking ship, criticises Rahul Gandhi for deserting it

All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised former Congress President Rahul Gandhi for deserting his party when it is going through one of its worst phases. “When a ship sinks in the middle of a sea, the captain evacuates everyone safely but Gandhi is a captain who himself left after seeing the Congress sinking,” Owaisi said while campaigning in Bhiwandi in Thane district of poll-bound Maharashtra.

Ayodhya case: Muslim petitioners ask SC to restore Babri mosque, say they own the land

The Muslim respondents in the Ayodhya land dispute told the Supreme Court on Monday that they want the restoration of the Babri Masjid as it was before being demolished in 1992, NDTV reported. They added that there was no claim on the land by the Hindu parties till 1989.

Plea says Section 377 excludes transgenders as victims of unnatural sex, court seeks Centre’s reply

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Ministry of Law and Justice on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, reported Bar and Bench. The petitioner, Assistant Public Prosecutor Jamshed Ansari, said it violated Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution as it excludes transgenders as victims of unnatural offences.

RBI reveals no Rs 2,000 note printed this year as NIA says high quality fake currency has resurfaced

The Reserve Bank of India has stopped printing Rs 2,000 currency notes, The New Indian Express reported on Monday citing a Right To Information response. The Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran has not printed a single Rs 2,000 note this financial year. The RBI’s reply came at a time when the National Investigation Agency has said that “high quality” fake currency notes have resurfaced, reported The Hindu. NIA Inspector General Alok Mittal shared a presentation on Monday where he accused Pakistan of being the main source of printing of high quality fake Indian currency notes.

Ghaziabad: Missing student’s body found buried in former landlord’s basement

The Ghaziabad Police on Monday found the body of a law student, who was missing for nearly a week, buried in the basement of his former landlord’s house in the city’s Sahibabad area, The Indian Express reported.

The victim was identified as 27-year-old Pankaj Kumar Singh. He had rented Munna Yadav’s first floor residence in Sahibabad’s Girdhar Enclave for a short period last month. He moved out early October and was reported missing on October 9.

Sonbhadra killings: Police name 51 people, including village head and his brothers, in chargesheet

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday named 51 people in a chargesheet filed in connection with the killing of 11 Adivasi farmers in Sonbhadra district’s Umbha village in July. The Adivasis were attacked by a village head and his associates on July 17 over a land dispute. The police had later arrested 65 people. The chargesheet, filed in a local court in Sonbhadra, said village head Yagyadutt Bhuriya, his brothers Nidhidutt, Devdutt and a person named Vijay shot at the Adivasis.

J&K: Suspected militants have killed a truck driver in Shopian, assaulted orchard owner, say reports

Suspected militants in Jammu and Kashmir killed a truck driver in the state’s Shopian district on Monday. The truck driver, identified as Shrief Khan, was transporting apples. The suspected militants also beat the owner of the orchard from which the apples had been plucked. The Jammu-bound truck, bearing a Rajasthan registration number, was set on fire.

PNB scam: Red Corner Notices issued against Nirav Modi’s brothers no longer visible on Interpol site

Red Corner Notices issued against diamond merchant Nirav Modi’s brothers Neeshal Modi and Nehal Modi are no longer displayed on Interpol’s website. It is not clear whether the notices – issued in connection with the Punjab National Bank scam – were executed or withdrawn.

UP: IAS officer among five officials suspended because of alleged negligence in managing cow shelter

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday suspended five officials in Maharajganj district, including the magistrate, because of alleged irregularities in a cow protection programme. The state’s Chief Secretary RK Tiwari said the officials were suspended for falsifying figures and negligence at a state-run cow shelter. Chief Minister Adityanath has instructed officials to take disciplinary action against the five officers.

‘Boys and girls can now talk to each other,’ says J&K governor after postpaid mobile services resume

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday said boys and girls in the state would now be able to speak to each other as mobile phone services were restored. Postpaid mobile phone connections were restored in the Valley on Monday, 72 days after restrictions were imposed ahead of the Centre’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir special constitutional status. Internet services, however, are still down.

PMC Bank crisis: RBI raises customers’ withdrawal limit from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday increased the withdrawal limit for account holders of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000. The central bank said: “With the above relaxation, about 77% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.”

GDP growth slowdown ‘is a very serious concern’, says Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee

Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee on Monday said that the decline in Gross Domestic Product growth rate, which slipped to 5% in the April to June quarter, was a big concern. The Nobel laureate said the Indian government should conduct pilot studies and evaluate poverty alleviation policies before implementing them. He said there was a willingness in India to announce new policies because they “sound good” or have a political purpose.