Top news: 2012 Delhi gangrape convicts hanging stayed until further orders

CAA protests: Complaint against Bengal BJP chief for derogatory remarks against woman

The Kolkata Police on Friday lodged a First Information Report against West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh for making derogatory remarks about a woman protesting against the amendments to the Citizenship Act.

Coronavirus outbreak: Army sets up quarantine centre in Manesar for Indians evacuated from Wuhan

The Indian Army has set up a quarantine facility in the town of Manesar near Delhi to keep around 300 Indian students expected to be evacuated from the central Chinese province of Hubei, which is the epicenter of a novel coronavirus outbreak. An Air India aircraft was sent to Wuhan on Friday to bring back the Indian students stuck in Hubei province, the epicenter of coronavirus. The flight is expected to be back in India around 2 am on Saturday. Another special flight may depart for China from Delhi airport on Saturday.

Delhi: 2012 gangrape convicts’ hanging stayed by court

A court in Delhi on Friday stayed the execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case. The execution of the death row convicts was scheduled for February 1 at 6 am.

Indian economy has hit ‘a trough’, hope to achieve 6-6.5% in 2020-’21, says chief economic advisor

Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian on Friday said the Indian economy had hit “a trough” or a low point in terms of economic growth but expressed hope of achieving the targeted Gross Domestic Product growth in the 2020-’21 financial year.

Delhi Assembly elections: BJP promises clean water, wheat flour at Rs 2 per kg in its manifesto

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday released its manifesto for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The document titled “Sankalp Patra” was released in the presence of Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan, the party’s Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari and other parliamentarians.

Budget Session: President Kovind hails Citizenship Amendment Act, but remains silent on NRC

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday hailed the Citizenship Amendment Act as a historic move, but did not mention the National Register of Citizens, which is a proposed exercise to identify undocumented immigrants, in his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session.

Delhi elections: Police chief’s tenure extended by a month ‘in public interest’

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday extended Delhi Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik’s service for a month, till the end of February, “in public interest”. The order came a day after the Election Commission of India approved Patnaik’s extension, sought by the ministry in view of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

Wipro CEO and Managing Director Abidali Z Neemuchwala steps down

Information Technology company Wipro Limited on Friday said its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Abidali Z Neemuchwala has decided to step down from his posts due to family commitments. The company made the announcement in a filing to the BSE.

CAA: Supreme Court asks UP to respond to plea seeking quashing of notices against protestors

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea seeking to quash notices sent by district administrations to alleged protestors against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The notices were sent to recover losses incurred by the state after protestors allegedly damaged properties during the demonstrations.

SC agrees to examine Centre’s plea seeking ‘victim-centric’ rules in cases of death penalty

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the Centre’s plea seeking “victim-centric” guidelines in cases where the convicts have been given the death penalty. In its plea filed on January 22, the Centre had said the current rules were skewed in favour of the convicts, as they allowed them to “play with the law and delay execution”.

Karnataka school’s anti-CAA play: Head teacher and student’s mother booked for sedition

The police in Bidar city of Karnataka on Thursday booked the mother of a school student and the head teacher for sedition after a play was staged by the students against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The police made the arrests after school authorities prevented them from questioning students for long periods of time.

Delhi gangrape: Convict asks SC to review order dismissing his claim that he was a juvenile in 2012

Pawan Gupta, a convict in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case, filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Friday asking for a review of the top court’s decision to dismiss his claim that he was a juvenile at the time of the crime.

Wuhan coronavirus: Air India plane to evacuate over 400 Indians from China today

An Air India plane will leave for Beijing from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Thursday to evacuate Indian citizens stranded in China amid the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus. “The B747 plane is all set to depart from Delhi at 12.30 pm,” a senior airline official said. “It came from Mumbai on Friday morning itself.” The aircraft can accommodate 423 passengers.

Jammu: Three militants killed in encounter with security forces near toll plaza on national highway

Three suspected militants were killed in an encounter with security forces near Nagrota on Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Friday morning, said the police. A policeman also sustained injuries when a group of three or four militants travelling in a truck opened fire at a police team at Bann toll plaza.

UP hostage drama: Captor’s wife beaten to death by locals hours after he was killed in rescue effort

The wife of a man who held more than 20 children and women hostage in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district on Thursday was allegedly beaten to death by locals, PTI reported on Friday, citing police officials. She was thrashed soon after her husband, Subhash Batham, was shot dead by the police to end the eight-hour rescue operation on Thursday night.

Budget Session: Violence in the name of protest weakens the country, says President Kovind

The Budget Session of Parliament began on Friday with an address by President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament. Amid the ongoing anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests, the president said the controversial law fulfilled Mahatma Gandhi’s dream. “My government believes that mutual discussions and debates further strengthen democracy,” said Kovind. “At the same time, any kind of violence in the name of protest weakens the society and the country.”

Jamia firing: Injured student discharged from AIIMS, protestors evicted from police headquarters

The Jamia Millia Islamia University student who was shot by a gunman during an anti-Citizenship Act protests on Thursday was discharged from hospital on Friday morning, PTI reported. Shadab Farooq underwent a surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a friend said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Friday said they detained and removed students who were protesting against the firing. The students had been protesting outside the police headquarters at ITO since Thursday night.

Hours after man shot at Jamia students, Amit Shah asks Delhi voters, ‘With Modi or Shaheen Bagh?’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah once again raised the bogey of protests at Shaheen Bagh on Thursday, during a rally in Chhatarpur in New Delhi on Thursday. He asked voters to choose from Narendra Modi, “who conducted airstrikes and surgical strikes on Pakistan’s soil to kill terrorists”, and those who back Shaheen Bagh protestors.

UP hostage crisis: Captor shot dead by police, all children rescued after eight-hour standoff

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday night rescued over 20 children and women, including a six-month-old, who had been taken hostage by a murder accused inside his home in Farrukhabad district, The Indian Express reported. The 38-year-old captor was shot dead, police said.

IBM names Indian-born Arvind Krishna its next chief executive officer

Information technology company IBM on Thursday named Indian-born Arvind Krishna its chief executive officer to replace Virginia Rometty, who had held the post since 2012. Top technology companies Google and Microsoft are already led by Indian-born CEOs.

Jamia shooting: Amit Shah says culprit will not be spared, Kejriwal urges him to maintain order

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday promised strict action against a gunman who shot a student near Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi earlier in the day during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Delhi polls: Arvind Kejriwal gets EC notice for promising to set up mohalla clinic at court complex

The Election Commission on Thursday issued a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct ahead of the Delhi elections on February 8, PTI reported. The electoral body said Kejriwal had promised to build a mohalla clinic on the premises of a court.

Comedian Kunal Kamra banned solely on the basis of social media posts, says IndiGo pilot

The pilot of the IndiGo flight on which comedian Kunal Kamra heckled journalist Arnab Goswami earlier this week asked the airline on Thursday why it put the comedian on the no-fly list for six months without consulting him.

‘Jamia firing a direct result of provocative remarks by BJP leaders’: Opposition hits out at BJP

Several politicians from across party lines on Thursday condemned the shooting near Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University in which one student was injured. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said the incident was possible only because BJP leaders provoked people to shoot protestors in their speeches.