Top news: All 35 minors from Muzaffarpur shelter home, thought to be dead, are alive, CBI tells SC

Jharkhand: Sedition charges filed against over 3,000 anti-Citizenship Act protestors in Dhanbad

The police in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad city on Tuesday filed sedition charges against more than 3,000 people for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Seven Musim men were named in the FIR. The police’s move was confirmed by Dhanbad Senior Superintendent of Police Kishore Kaushal, Shadab, a lawyer, told Scroll.in. He said the protestors were now discussing the option of mass surrender instead of applying for bail.

Srinagar: Clashes erupt in Nowgam after 16-year-old boy gets run over by police vehicle

Clashes erupted in Srinagar district’s Nowgam area on Tuesday after a 16-year-old boy was crushed to death by a police vehicle. The Class 10 student, identified as Tehseen Nazir Bhat, was on his way to tuition classes when the accident occurred. Enraged local residents erected barricades and allegedly pelted stones at the police. Four people were injured in these clashes, a local hospital told the news website. But PTI reported that three people were injured in the clashes and three in the accident.

Muzaffarpur shelter home case: No evidence of murder of children, CBI tells Supreme Court

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that there was no evidence of murder of children in the Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar, PTI reported. The agency said that it had been completed its inquiry into the shelter home case.

The last decade was India’s hottest on record, 2019 was seventh warmest year: IMD

The past decade was the hottest on record for India, and the year 2019 was the seventh warmest since 1901, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday. The average temperature during the year was 0.36 degrees Celsius higher than the average for the period 1981–2010.

‘Blood or colour’ on Aishe Ghosh’s head: West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh calls JNU violence staged

Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday said that Sunday’s mob attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University students was a “staged incident”, IANS reported. The remarks came a day after Ghosh proclaimed that Communists in the country getting assaulted in the country perhaps “deserve it”.

JNU violence: Chidambaram demands vice chancellor’s resignation, asks him to ‘follow his own advice’

Congress leader P Chidambaram is the latest to join the bandwagon demanding the resignation of Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar. On Wednesday morning, he asked Kumar to “follow his own advice” and quit the post over the January 5 mob attack.

Mumbai beef trader attacked by cow vigilantes in 2014 gets refugee status in Canada

A Muslim beef trader from Mumbai has been granted refugee status in Canada as the country’s Immigration and Refugee Board noted that the man had a “subjective fear of persecution in India as a Muslim” and as someone involved in the industry in India, Mumbai Mirror reported on Wednesday.

Bharat bandh: Rahul Gandhi lends support to trade unions; some vandalism reported in Bengal

A nationwide shutdown called by 10 trade unions against government policies hit normal life in some parts of West Bengal and Kerala on Wednesday morning. The “Bharat bandh” received support from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who claimed the Centre’s “anti-people and anti-labour” policies had created catastrophic unemployment.

‘Under what authority are you collecting money?’: Karnataka HC raps Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday asked Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation to disclose how much money it has collected for its Cauvery Calling campaign, Live Law reported. The bench, led by Chief Justice Abhay Oka, was hearing a petition filed against the foundation for collecting money from farmers to fund the initiative.

Centre moves Supreme Court to seek transfer of all anti-CAA pleas from High Courts

The Centre on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court to seek the transfer of various petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act from the High Courts to the top court, PTI reported. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea on Friday.

Iran-US conflict: As tensions mount in West Asia, India advises citizens to avoid travel to Iraq

India on Wednesday advised its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Iraq in the wake of an attack by Iran on two airbases housing American troops in the country, PTI reported. The Ministry of External Affairs also advised Indians in Iraq to stay alert and avoid travel within the country.

Delhi: Two women evicted after Amit Shah-led CAA campaign turns into angry mob

Two women lawyers were allegedly evicted from their rented home in Delhi after members of a campaign led by Home Minister Amit Shah saw a poster opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act hanging outside their balcony on Sunday. The mob attacked their house the moment Shah left the door-to-door campaign he was leading in Lajpat Nagar to mobilise support for the law, the women claimed.

Amartya Sen says he is appalled by violence against students at JNU

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Tuesday said he was appalled by the violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University. The economist also condemned the delay by the university administration and the police in bringing the situation under control.

‘All is well’, says Trump after Iran launches missile attack on 2 Iraq airbases used by US forces

Iran targeted at least two airbases housing US troops in Iraq with over a dozen ballistic missiles on Wednesday, reported BBC. It is still unclear if there have been any casualties at the two sites in Irbil and Al-Asad. However, Trump said, “all is well”, and that he would make a statement later. He tweeted that assessment of casualties and damages was underway.

In early trade, the BSE Sensex slumped nearly 400 points as global markets reacted to the news. The index later recovered, and was down 105 points at 10.20 am.

Citizenship Act protests: Activist Sadaf Jafar alleges torture, abuse in UP police custody

Congress worker and activist Sadaf Jafar on Tuesday alleged that she suffered abuse and torture in police custody after she walked out of jail. Jafar and retired Indian Police Service officer SR Darapuri, both arrested in connection with protests against the amended citizenship law in Lucknow on December 19, were granted bail on January 4. However, the two were released only three days later after formalities were completed.

CAA protests: UP government gets HC notice on claim that crackdown breached constitutional values

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, based on an email by a Mumbai-based lawyer, alleging that the situation in the state during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act was “antithetical to core constitutional values”.

JNU violence: Deepika Padukone visits campus to express solidarity during protest

Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone on Tuesday visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by a masked mob on Sunday, PTI reported. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has been accused of carrying out the attack.