Top news: ‘China should refrain from such actions,’ says MEA after move to raise Kashmir at UNSC

J&K: Five more Kashmiri political leaders released from detention

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday released five more Kashmiri political leaders from detention, Scroll.in has learnt. They have been detained at the MLA Hostel in Srinagar since the government abrogated the region’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 and divided it into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

2012 Delhi gangrape case: Tihar jail officials asked to file report on steps taken after mercy plea

A court in Delhi on Thursday asked Tihar Jail authorities to file a report about the measures taken by them after one of the four convicts in the 2012 gangrape case filed a mercy plea. This came a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed the convict Mukesh Singh’s plea against his death warrant, and allowed him to challenge it in a sessions court.

Amazon is not doing India any favour by investing $1 billion, says Piyush Goyal

Amazon has not done India any favours by investing $1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) in India, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. “They may have put in a billion dollars but then if they make a loss of a billion dollars every year then they jolly well have to finance that billion dollars,” Goyal said at the Raisina Dialogues 2020 in New Delhi. “So it’s not as if they are doing a great favour to India when they invest a billion dollars.”

Citizenship Act protestors shout slogans at RSS Muslim wing’s pro-CAA event, detained

A group of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protestors shouted slogans and created ruckus at an event organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch in New Delhi on Thursday. The manch is affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Protestors carrying posters such as “Reject CAA-NPR-NRC” shouted slogans while RSS leader Indresh Kumar was present on the stage during the event, which was organised to support the new citizenship law. They were immediately detained by the police and were being interrogated.

CAA protests: Right to dissent is ‘safety valve of democracy’, say faculty at Azim Premji University

Seventy-six individuals from Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, including faculty members and post-doctoral researchers, voiced their concerns on the events that have occurred in the past few months in the country. In a statement, the signatories, who claimed they were writing in their individual capacities, said that the Citizenship Amendment Act violated Articles 14 (equality before the law) and 21 (right to life or personal liberty) of the Constitution.

‘Desperate measures to peddle allegations,’ says MEA on Pakistan’s attempt to raise Kashmir at UNSC

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday castigated Pakistan for raising the matter of Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council through China. “An effort was made by Pakistan through a member of UNSC to once again misuse the platform,” foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a press conference.

MP: Government school principal suspended for distributing notebooks featuring Savarkar

The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday suspended the principal of a government-run school at Malwasa in Ratlam district after the institution distributed notebooks featuring Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on the cover to students. School principal RN Kerawat, who has received an award from President Ram Nath Kovind, said he was “stunned” by his suspension.

Bihar: Amit Shah denies rift with JD(U), says Nitish Kumar will lead NDA into Assembly polls

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday rejected rumours of a rift within the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, and said the state’s Assembly polls later this year would be fought under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership. Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) is a part of the NDA.

‘Why send propagandists?’: Congress asks Centre on plan to send 36 Union ministers for J&K visit

The Congress on Thursday attacked the Centre over its decision to send 36 Union ministers to Jammu and Kashmir, questioning the need for this if everything was normal in the Union Territory.

2012 Delhi gangrape case: BJP blames AAP government’s negligence for delay in convicts’ execution

Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday blamed the Delhi government’s “negligence” for the delay in execution of the four death-row convicts in the 2012 gangrape case. He said it took more than two and a half years for the Aam Aadmi Party government to give notices to the accused after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal against the death sentence in 2017.

PMC Bank scam: Supreme Court stays Bombay HC order to shift accused from jail to house arrest

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Bombay High Court order that allowed promoters of real estate firm Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited – Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan – to be placed under house arrest.

Kerala governor upset as state moves SC against CAA without telling him, says it was common courtesy

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday expressed displeasure at the state government for moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act without informing him. Khan said that “common courtesy demanded that prior permission” should have been taken from him.

Shiv Sena leader claims Indira Gandhi met Mumbai gangster, backtracks after Congress criticism

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday backtracked after saying that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used to visit an underworld gangster in Mumbai. His clarification came after the Congress expressed its displeasure at his remark. The two parties are in an alliance in Maharashtra.

Prayagraj women’s protests: FIR registered against over 200 people

A first information report has been registered against 19 identified individuals, and over 200 unidentified ones, for continuing a protest in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, against the Citizenship Amendment Act without police protection. One of the organisers of the sit-in protest, 26-year-old Sarah Ahmed, is among those against whom an FIR has been filed.

West Bengal: ABVP members allegedly attack Visva Bharati University students, TMC condemns it

The Trinamool Congress on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party after students of Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan were allegedly assaulted by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members.

BJP government ‘favouring’ Adani’s defence company in Rs 45,000-crore submarine project: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday alleged that the Narendra Modi government was “favouring” industrialist Gautam Adani’s defence company in a Rs 45,000-crore submarine project, and promoting “crony capitalist friends”. The deal has reportedly not been finalised yet.

‘Centre should clarify if NRC and NPR are linked’: Indian Union Muslim League files plea in SC

The Indian Union Muslim League has filed an application seeking direction to the Centre to clarify whether the National Register of Citizens will be prepared countrywide, and if the NRC and the National Population Register are linked. It has also filed a new application in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Centre’s January 10 notification bringing the Citizenship Amendment Act into force.

CAA protests: Investigate UP Police for using ‘excessive and unlawful force’, says human rights body

The International Commission of Jurists, a global human rights organisation, has called on the Narendra Modi government to investigate “the use of excessive and unlawful force by Uttar Pradesh police against demonstrators” protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. At least 19 people were killed in the state during last month’s protests – most of them from firearm injuries.

Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat says only way to end terrorism is ‘like US did after 9/11’

Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat said on Thursday that the only way to end terrorism is to do what the United States did after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The United States invaded Afghanistan and deposed the Taliban from power, and began a hunt for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the terror attack, that ended with his killing by US special forces in 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Odisha: Passenger train derails near Cuttack, at least 25 injured

At least 25 people were injured after five coaches of the Lokmanya Tilak Express derailed near Cuttack in Odisha on Thursday morning, PTI reported. The accident occurred after a collision between the express train, which runs between Mumbai and Bhubaneswar, and a goods train, said a Railways official.

J&K administration ‘forfeits’ gallantry medal awarded to policeman who was caught with militants

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday “forfeited” the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry awarded to suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh, who was caught with Hizbul Mujahideen militants in a car last week, PTI reported on Thursday. The administration’s order said that Singh’s act amounted to disloyalty and brought the police force into disrepute.

Kashmir discussed at UN Security Council, India claims Pakistan’s ‘alarmist scenario’ rejected

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday discussed Kashmir for the second time in five months. “Pakistan’s practice of using false pretenses to distract from addressing the malaise that afflicts it has run its course today,” India’s envoy at the world body, Syed Akbaruddin, told The Hindu after the informal “closed consultations”. “We are happy that neither the alarmist scenario painted by the representatives of Pakistan nor any of the baseless allegations made repeatedly by representatives of Pakistan in UN fora were found to be credible today,” he added.

‘Remember Gujarat?’ BJP workers shout communal slogans during pro-CAA rally in Kerala, case filed

The Kerala Police have registered a case against more than 100 Bharatiya Janata Party workers for allegedly shouting communal slogans during a rally to support the Citizenship Amendment Act in Kozhikode district, Onmanorama reported on Wednesday. The incident took place on Monday in Kuttiadi town. The case was registered on Tuesday after a video was shared widely on social media.

2012 Delhi gangrape case: ‘Death penalty not a deterrent against crimes,’ say women’s rights groups

Sixteen organisations and over 360 individuals working for women’s rights on Tuesday urged President Ram Nath Kovind to stop the execution of all the four convicts in 2012 Delhi gangrape case. This came on the day the Supreme Court dismissed the curative petitions of two of the convicts – Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh.