'Death is only way out': Rape survivor attempts immolation outside Gurugram CP office

GURGAON, April 30: A rape survivor's desperate cry for justice spilled onto the streets outside the Gurugram Police Commissioner's office on Thursday, when she allegedly attempted to end her life by setting herself on fire, claiming months of police inaction in her case.

Clutching a bottle of petrol and a matchbox, the woman reached the gate of the CP office and poured the fuel over herself. Policemen deployed acted promptly and preventing her from setting herself on fire, while also trying to calm her down.

Moments leading up to the incident were captured in videos, now circulating on social media. Though the visuals are unclear, her screams can be distinctly heard.

In another video that the woman recorded before entering the CP's office, she said that she was raped by a man from Panipat and had lodged an FIR at Sector 51 police station. However, even after four months, the accused had not been arrested.

"The accused is still roaming freely. His family and their goons are threatening me and my family to withdraw the case. Now death is the only way out. I am going to the CP office to commit suicide," she said in the video.

While there was no immediate comment from the police in the matter and Police Commissioner Vikas Kumar Arora could not be contacted. Later, in an official statement, Gurugram Police neither confirmed nor denied the incident, but said the accused in the case would be arrested soon.

Maharashtra BJP minister Nitesh Rane gets one-month jail for pouring mud on government staff

MUMBAI, April 27: A Maharashtra court has convicted BJP minister Nitesh Rane in the 2019 case of pouring mud on a National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) engineer, and sentenced him to one month in jail.

The verdict pertains to a 2019 incident in which Rane and his supporters poured mud on an NHAI deputy engineer, Prakash Shedekar, during a protest over the poor condition of the Mumbai-Goa highway.

Rane, a son of former union minister Narayan Rane, was among 30 people charged under various offences, including rioting, assault to deter a public servant, and criminal conspiracy. He was in Congress when the incident occurred.

All the accused, including Nitesh Rane, were acquitted of these offences, as the Sindhudurg court found insufficient evidence to support most of these claims. However, the Kankavali MLA was found guilty of assaulting a public servant and deterring them from performing their official duties under IPC section 504 (intentional insult meant to provoke a breach of public peace).

Later, the court suspended Rane's sentence, allowing him time to appeal before a higher court, while acquitting 29 other accused in the case.

"Even though Rane's intention was to raise a voice against the poor quality of work and inconvenience faced by the people, he was not supposed to humiliate or insult a public servant in public," additional sessions court judge V S Deshmukh stated.

"If such incidents continue to occur, public servants would not be able to discharge their duties with dignity," the judge noted.

Calling the act "abuse of power", the court held that "it is the demand of time to curb such tendency".

Nitesh Rane had called the NHAI Sub-Divisional Engineer to a bridge over the Gad river in Kankavli on July 4, 2019, to inspect the work to widen the Mumbai-Goa Highway.

According to the prosecution, Rane and his followers, frustrated by the poor quality of the roadwork and waterlogging, confronted the engineer. They poured muddy water on the engineer and forced him to walk through slush in public.

The court, after perusing the evidence on record, noted that the informant (victim) was holding a high post in the NHAI.

"Despite that, he was made to walk through the muddy water in public. It would have certainly humiliated and insulted him," the court remarked.

The judge held that Rane's compelling Shedekar to walk through the muddy water "was nothing but an intentional insult to the informant," and that it was a provocation that would cause him to break the public peace.

'Gaddar' graffiti on walls, posters torn in protests against AAP MPs after BJP merger

CHANDIGARH, April 25: A day after seven Aam Aadmi Party MPs from the Rajya Sabha, led by Raghav Chadha, merged with the BJP, workers from AAP staged protests against former party leaders.

Among the seven leaders who quit AAP were Rajya Sabha MPs Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak. The protesting party workers on Saturday termed the MPs who merged with the BJP “traitors”.

The workers wrote spray-painted the term “gaddar (traitor)” on the outer walls and the main gate of former cricketer Singh's residence in Jalandhar and Pathak's house in Ludhiana, as well as outside the main entrance of the Phagwara campus of Lovely Professional University, owned by Mittal. The protestors were also seen defacing Mittal's poster outside the LPU campus, and raised slogans like ‘Punjab de Gaddar’, while accusing them of betraying the people of Punjab, PTI news agency reported.

Apart from Singh and Mittal, Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Swati Maliwal, Vikram Singh Sahney, Sandeep Pathak and Rajinder Gupta also left AAP. The MPs will retain their Rajya Sabha memberships, given that they make up 2/3 rd of AAP's strength while deciding to merge with the BJP.

Videos of protests held across Punjab against the MPs were shared by the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday.

“The traitors of Punjab are facing backlash across the entire state. Sharp protest demonstrations held at various places against the Rajya Sabha members who fell at the feet of BJP by betraying Punjab; people also chanted slogans against these members as well as BJP's anti-Punjab policies,” AAP's Punjab unit said in a post on X.

Leading a protest outside the residence of MP Rajinder Guptal, AAP Punjab youth wing acting president Parminder Goldy said the BJP was “unsettled” by AAP's governance, and is “attempting to destabilise” the party, PTI reported.

AAP leaders have alleged that Chadha and the other six MPs had left the party “out of fear”, with some also terming it as “Operation Lotus.”

Raghav Chadha, 6 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs quit party, set to merge with BJP

NEW DELHI, April 24: In a massive setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha members on Friday broke away and are set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marking a significant political realignment in the Upper House. The AAP accused the BJP of running “Operation Lotus” to break and poach MPs.

MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Kumar Mittal met BJP president Nitin Nabin at the party’s headquarters in the evening. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance currently has a strength of 141 in the Upper House.

At a press conference, Chadha said that more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha had quit the party and would merge with the BJP by exercising the provisions of the Constitution. “Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Honourable Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

Chadha, who was accompanied by Pathak and Mittal, said the signatories included former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, and Swati Maliwal.

He accused AAP of having completely strayed from its core principles and values. “The very party that was formed with a solemn vow to eradicate corruption has today fallen disastrously into the hands of corrupt and compromised individuals,” he said, adding that he distanced himself from AAP about a year ago as he “did not want to be complicit in their wrongdoings”.

He said over the past 12 years, the BJP-led Union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken several unprecedented and bold decisions to eradicate terrorism and propel India into the league of the world’s top economies.

Reacting sharply to the development, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of betraying Punjab. His party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, through his X handle, said he would urge the Rajya Sabha Chairman to disqualify the membership of Chadha, Mittal, and Pathak for joining the BJP, as their action entailed “voluntarily relinquishing membership of their original party under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution”.

The sequence of events unfolded weeks after AAP replaced Chadha with Mittal as its Deputy Leader in the Upper House. Incidentally, days later, the Enforcement Directorate searched the premises of Mittal and the educational institutions promoted by him and his family in Haryana and Punjab under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Once considered a close confidant of Kejriwal, Chadha had been with AAP since its inception. He became the party’s youngest spokesperson, national treasurer, and was elected to the Delhi Assembly in 2020. The same year, he was made the party’s co-in-charge for the 2022 State Assembly polls in Punjab.

Following a landslide victory in Punjab, AAP nominated him as a Rajya Sabha member in March 2022. The next year, he was made its Deputy Leader in the House. However, in the recent past, Chadha had kept away from the party’s activities, particularly after the arrest of Kejriwal in the excise policy case.

Highest-ever voter turnout since Independence in Bengal, Tamil Nadu

NEW DELHI, April 23: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday lauded the voters of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu for the highest-ever voter turnout in both states since independence.

While West Bengal, which saw polling for 152 assembly seats in phase 1, recorded a mammoth turnout of 91.91 per cent so far, Tamil Nadu was also not far behind with 84.80 per cent of ballots cast, according to the latest ECI data.

“Highest-ever percentage of polling in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu since Independence. The ECI salutes each voter of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” Gyanesh Kumar said after the polls closed.

The high turnout figures are generally seen as an active electoral exercise as polling drew to a close amid tight security arrangements across constituencies.

Several districts in West Bengal recorded voter turnout of over 90 per cent. Dakshin Dinajpur led with 94.85 per cent, followed by Cooch Behar at 94.54 per cent, Birbhum at 93.70 per cent, Jalpaiguri at 93.23 per cent, and Murshidabad at 92.93 per cent. The figures show consistently high voter participation across the state, with all major districts comfortably above 90 per cent.

Tamil Nadu also recorded a strong turnout across key districts, with Karur leading at 92.48 per cent, followed closely by Salem at 90.42 per cent, Dharmapuri at 90.02 per cent, Erode at 89.97 per cent and Namakkal at 89.63 per cent.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, West Bengal recorded a voter turnout of 85.2 per cent while Tamil Nadu recorded 76.6 per cent. The numbers reflect an overwhelming voter turnout across districts, reinforcing both states' consistent trend of high electoral participation.

Polling for the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 152 constituencies in West Bengal began amid tight security on Thursday. Polling in the remaining 142 constituencies in West Bengal is slated for May 29, and counting of votes will take place on May 4.

US national arrested after a satellite phone found in his luggage at Srinagar airport

SRINAGAR, April 19: A US national and his companion were detained at the Srinagar International Airport on Sunday after a satellite phone was recovered from their luggage during routine screening.

The individuals were questioned by airport security and later handed over to the police for further investigation. The police later confirmed that one of the individuals, a US national whose bag the satellite phone was found in, had been arrested.

The use of satellite phones is prohibited in India without prior government approval. Devices such as Thuraya and Iridium phones are subject to strict regulation, and unauthorised possession can lead to detention, arrest, and seizure under the Indian Telegraph Act and other security rules.

According to official guidelines, travellers must obtain written permission from the Department of Telecommunications before carrying or using satellite communication devices in the country.

India enforces stringent telecom restrictions due to security concerns, and both foreign nationals and Indian citizens have faced action in the past for carrying satellite communicators.

A US-based ophthalmologist was stopped at Puducherry airport last May, after an Iridium satellite phone was found in her possession. She was prevented from boarding a flight to Hyderabad, and a police investigation was initiated.

Authorities have also reported previous detentions involving foreign nationals, including a Chinese citizen and a British executive, for carrying unauthorised satellite devices at airports and hotels across the country.

To curb such violations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed airlines operating flights to India in January last year to inform passengers about the ban through in-flight announcements, overseas offices and onboard publications.

Foreign governments have also taken note of the strict regulations around satellite phones in India. Travel advisories issued by the US and the UK warn citizens that carrying satellite phones or similar GPS devices into India could lead to hefty fines of up to ₹2 crore, confiscation of equipment, or arrest.

Women's quota bill fails to get two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI, April 17: The Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak Women's Reservation Bill was defeated in Lok Sabha after the government failed to get a special majority in the Parliament on Friday evening.

While 298 members voted in favour of the government backing the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 230 members from the opposition voted against the proposed law.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that the bill failed to get two-thirds majority in the house and adjourned the proceedings.

"The Constitution (131st Amendment) Amendment Bill did not pass as it did not achieve a 2/3 majority during voting in the House," Birla told the house.

Two other bills, meant for delimitation and increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, were not put to vote in the Lower House after the 131st Amendment Bill failed for get two-thirds majority. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the government would no longer pursue the two related pieces of legislation, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026.

The voting in the Lok Sabha comes after two days of marathon debates, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other members spoke.

While the NDA camp, led by PM Modi, Shah and Kiren Rijiju argued in favour of the two-thirds reservation for women, the opposition members questioned the intention behind the law, with Rahul Gandhi saying it had “nothing to do with women empowerment”.

The defeat has triggered due to attempts by a united Opposition, with the Leader of Opposition in the Lower House, Rahul Gandhi, reaching out to TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee to consolidate votes against the motion.

The ruling BJP, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at the opposition and called the mandate an “insult to the Nari Shakti”.

“Today, a very strange scene unfolded in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, TMC, DMK, and Samajwadi Party did not allow the passage of the essential Constitution Amendment Bill for the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Rejecting the bill that would grant 33% reservation to women, celebrating it, and raising victory cries over it is truly reprehensible and beyond imagination,” Shah wrote on X.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Opposition’s conduct “reflects a consistent resistance to women’s advancement”, adding that the quota bill introduced by the government was aimed at increasing the participation of Matrashakti in national interest.

After the motion was defeated, a meeting of NDA floor leaders began in Parliament on Friday with several senior leaders of the alliance in attendance.

Union Ministers JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Meghwal and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were present at the meeting, along with BJP National President Nitin Nabin.

Among other leaders attending the meeting were Shrikant Shinde, Anupriya Patel, Jayant Chaudhary, HD Deve Gowda and Upendra Kushwaha.

Nitish Kumar resigns; Samrat Choudhary set to become next Bihar CM

PATNA, April 14: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stepped down on Tuesday, amid hectic political developments in the State. Earlier in the day, Kumar held his last State Cabinet meeting. He informed his Cabinet colleagues about his decision to dissolve the Council of Ministers, a constitutional requirement before tendering his resignation.

Meanwhile Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary is set to become the next CM of Bihar after he was elected as the BJP’s leader of the Legislature Party in the State.

For the first time, the BJP is set to have a Chief Minister in the State. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new government on April 15 at Lok Bhawan.

Pawan Khera claims Himanta Sarma's wife holds 3 passports, Assam CM to sue him

NEW DELHI, April 5: A political controversy erupted in Assam on Sunday after the Congress accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Riniki Sarma, of holding passports from three countries and owning significant assets overseas.

Shortly after, the Assam Chief Minister hit out, dismissing these allegations as unfounded and politically driven.

"Today’s press conference by Pawan Khera reflects the deep frustration and panic within the Congress party. As Assam moves decisively towards a historic mandate, such desperate and baseless attacks only expose their sinking ground," Sarma wrote on X.

Terming Khera’s allegations ‘malicious, fabricated, and politically motivated,’ Sarma said that both he and his wife would file criminal and civil defamation suits against Pawan Khera within 48 hours, asserting that Khera would be held accountable for his statements.

At a press briefing earlier today, Khera presented documents he claimed were obtained from associates abroad. Khera stated that Riniki Sarma holds valid passports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Antigua and Barbuda.

He further alleged that she owns properties in Dubai and a company registered in Wyoming, United States, with a budget of USD 34.67 billion, including plans to enter the hotel industry.

Khera further questioned the Chief Minister's adherence to Indian electoral laws, highlighting that these assets were not disclosed in Sarma's election affidavit.

He asked whether Riniki Sarma holds Indian citizenship and a passport, emphasising that India does not permit dual citizenship.

The Congress leader called for the arrest and disqualification of Himanta Biswa Sarma from the forthcoming Assembly elections. He alleged that the undisclosed international assets suggest corruption and possible attempts to relocate abroad should the election results be unfavourable.

Khera requested intervention from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and urged the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the claims.

In response, the Assam Chief Minister accused Congress of conducting a “desperate and baseless” campaign to mislead Assam's citizens. On X, he pointed out alleged inconsistencies in the documents shared by Congress, citing digital tampering and glaring errors in the passports and related identification papers.

Sarma highlighted discrepancies such as surname mismatches, publicly available images presented as biometric photographs, and irregularities in the UAE, Egyptian, and Antigua and Barbuda passports.

He noted that the UAE ID showed a nationality discrepancy, the Egyptian passport contained spelling mistakes and incorrect references, and the Antigua and Barbuda passport had conflicting expiry dates. Additionally, a QR code on a title deed was described as invalid and not linked to authentic records.

Centre-state clashes weaken constitutional fabric: Justice BV Nagarathna

PATNA, April 4: A sharp rise in legal confrontations between states and the Union government risks undermining India’s constitutional design, Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna said on Saturday, cautioning that such disputes erode the spirit of cooperative federalism and weaken institutional balance.

Delivering the First Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture on ‘Constitutionalism beyond rights: Why structure matters’ at Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) in Patna, Justice Nagarathna stressed that a “mature federation” must prioritise dialogue and negotiation over litigation, warning that the growing tendency of governments to rush to courts reflects deeper structural concerns.

“Increase in conflict between the States of the Union or between the Centre and the States does not augur well for the nation,” she said, adding that such disputes “create a dent in constitutional form of governance and thus must be avoided.”

In one of the most pointed observations of her address, the judge remarked: “A mature federation ought not rush to courts as adversaries; instead it should turn to dialogue, negotiation, and mediation. When States begin filing suits against one another, or against the Centre, it reflects not strength, but a weakening of cooperative federalism.”

Similarly, she also underlined the responsibility of the Union government in maintaining federal equilibrium, stating that the Centre must view states as coordinates and not subordinates. “No doubt, the Constitution of India is said to be federal in structure and unitary in spirit. Yet, the vertical separation of powers between governments - centre and State - is not a hierarchy or of priority. It is a constitutional arrangement of co-equals,” she added.

Her remarks come at a time when the Supreme Court is increasingly being drawn into politically charged Centre-State and inter-governmental disputes. The court is currently seized of a clutch of petitions by Opposition parties challenging the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale disenfranchisement, while also hearing a high-stakes petition by the Enforcement Directorate against the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over the alleged obstruction of I-PAC raids, a case the court itself described as raising issues that “strike at the rule of law.”

At the same time, continuing litigation over the powers of Governors, particularly in matters such as assent to Bills and appointments of vice-chancellors, has kept the faultlines between elected state governments and constitutional authorities under the scanner, even prompting a presidential reference to the court on the scope of such powers.

Supreme Court judge Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Patna High Court chief justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and vice-chancellor of CNLU Faizan Mustafa also attended the event.

Justice Nagarathna’s lecture went beyond federal tensions to situate these concerns within the broader framework of constitutionalism and institutional design. Justice Nagarathna spoke at length about the doctrine of separation of powers, describing it as a foundational principle that ensures that no single organ of the state overreaches its mandate.

She highlighted how constitutional institutions are designed not merely to function independently, but to “check, balance, and, where necessary, restrain each other,” thereby preserving democratic accountability. Any weakening of this delicate equilibrium, she suggested, risks upsetting the rule of law.

Her address also touched upon the importance of institutional integrity and constitutional morality, noting that governance structures derive legitimacy not just from legal authority but from adherence to constitutional values. In this context, she stressed that the judiciary, legislature, and executive must operate within their defined spheres while respecting the roles of one another.

Tremors felt in Delhi, parts of North India as earthquake jolts Afghanistan

NEW DELHI, April 3: Tremors were felt across Delhi and parts of north India after a strong earthquake struck Afghanistan, sending brief waves of panic among residents.

According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), an earthquake of upto 5.9 magnitude hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region and the Hindu Kush area on Friday.

The quake occurred at a significant depth, with estimates ranging up to around 177 km, which often allows seismic waves to travel farther distances, which explains why tremors were felt across northern India.

It is suspected that there could be damage to poorly-made buildings, however, there were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties.

The earthquake’s epicentre was located near Darawan in Afghanistan, at Latitude 36.398 North and Longitude of 70.878 East.

Residents in Delhi-NCR and nearby regions reported feeling mild shaking, with some stepping out of homes and offices as a precaution. Mild earthquake tremors were experienced across other parts of north India as well, from Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The shaking, which was felt at around 9:46 pm, lasted only a few seconds. People in Pakistan's capital Islamabad also felt tremors, reported Reuters.

People in several areas said they noticed sudden vibrations, especially in multi-storey buildings. A resident in Chandigarh said he felt a noticeable jolt for a short duration, while another person living on a higher floor in Zirakpur said they considered stepping outside but the tremors subsided quickly.

In a related development, the National Center for Seismology recorded a separate, smaller earthquake of magnitude 3.8 in Tibet at a shallow depth of 10 km. Authorities continue to monitor the situation, while further details from the affected regions in Afghanistan are awaited.

Modi chairs security meet amid West Asia crisis; reviews fuel, energy supply

NEW DELHI, April 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a key meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review measures taken by various ministries/ departments amid the West Asia crisis. This was the second CCS meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on the matter.

During the meeting, Modi reviewed supply diversification for LPG and LNG, as well as fuel duty reduction and power sector measures to ensure that essentials remain stable.

In a release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) after the meeting, the government said efforts to globally diversify sources of energy, fertilizers and other supply chains were being taken.

The cabinet secretary briefed the members about the action taken to ensure supply of petroleum products, particularly LNG/LPG, and sufficient power availability. Interventions across agriculture, fertilizers, shipping, aviation, logistics and MSME's were discussed to face the challenges emerging out of the crisis, the PMO statement said.