Taslima Nasreen’s Indian residence permit extended
New Delhi: The Indian government has again extended the residence permit of controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen for one more year, an official said on Sunday. The residence permit of the author, a citizen of Sweden, was on Saturday extended till July 2020. The 56-year-old writer, physician, feminist and human rights activist’s permit has been extended regularly since 2004. The permit was extended for three months on July 17, a day after she made a request to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Home Ministry extended the permit for one year when she took to Twitter to request Shah. Nasreen left Bangladesh in 1994 in the wake of death threats by fundamentalist outfits for her alleged anti-Islamic views. Since then she has been living in exile. The author had applied for permanent residency in India but the Home Ministry has not taken any decision over her plea. (IANS)
Modi condoles Garg’s death
New Delhi: Former legislator and ex-BJP Delhi president Mange Ram Garg passed away on Sunday morning. Garg was critically ill and was admitted to Balaji Action Hospital in Paschim Vihar here. He took his last breath in the hospital, a family member said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in a series of tweets. “Leaders like Shri Mange Ram Gargji are assets for any party. They work selflessly at the grassroots and touch the lives of several people through various community service initiatives. The good work that Gargji did would continue to be remembered for years,” Modi wrote. (IANS)
Ex Lok Sabha MP passes away
Dhanbad: Former Lok Sabha MP and founder of Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC), A K Roy passed away at a hospital here on Sunday. Roy, a bachelor, was 90, party sources said. The veteran Left leader and chief patron of CITU Jharkhand state committee was admitted to the Central Hospital here on July 8 following age-related problems and he died of multi-organ failure, doctors said. He was one of the founders of the Jharkhand movement. The three-time MP from Dhanbad was also founder of Jharkhand’s regional party Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC). “He was the first MP in the country who opposed increase in perks and pension proposals in 1989 for MPs, though his proposal was defeated,” Anand Mahto, a former MCC MLA, said. (PTI)
LJP leader passes away
New Delhi: Lok Sabha member Ramchandra Paswan, younger brother of central Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, died at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here on Sunday due to cardiac arrest, the family said. He was 56. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader passed away around 10.30 a.m. He was admitted to the hospital a week ago. A four-time MP, Ramchandra Paswan represented Bihar’s Samstipur in the Lok Sabha. He is survived by his wife Sunaina Kumari, two sons and a daughter. (IANS)
1 killed in Mumbai building fire
Mumbai: A fire broke out in a four-storey residential building located behind the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel here on Sunday, leaving one person dead and another seriously injured, officials said. Fourteen people have so far been rescued from the Churchill Chamber building where the blaze erupted shortly after noon, they said. The deceased has been identified as 54-year-old Shyam Aiyar. The fire brigade got a call around 12.17 pm about the blaze in the ground plus four-storey building, located on Merry Weather Road, a fire official said. “Following the level-2 fire, smoke engulfed the entire premises,” he said. Fire fighters rushed to the spot and managed to rescue 14 people, including some senior citizens, with the help of ladders, the official said. Some of those rescued complained of breathing problems due to inhalation of smoke and were admitted to a state-run hospital, he said. A search was underway for those trapped in the building, he said. The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said, adding that four fire engines and as many water tankers were at the spot and efforts were still on to douse the flames. (PTI)
Man held for eating beef
Thanjavur: A 24-year-old man, who was allegedly attacked by a group of people here for posting a picture of himself consuming beef soup, was arrested Sunday on charge of disturbing peace, soon after he was discharged from a hospital, according to police. Earlier four people were arrested for allegedly attacking him. The people had gone to Mohammed Faisan’s house in Poravacheri village on July 11 and objected to the post, police had said, adding after a quarrel, they attacked him. Faisan was injured and admitted to a government hospital. A case had been registered against him and some others for trying to disturb peace and communal harmony, police said. (PTI )