Shrine governing body deposits over Rs 12,000 cr in banks
Tirupati: The fixed deposits put in several banks by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), that governs the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala, has crossed Rs 12,000 crore mark, a temple official said. The deposits made with several nationalised and private banks by TTD has crossed the Rs 12,000 crore mark with an annual estimated interest of about Rs 845 crore, he said on Tuesday. The temple official said the over 2000-year-old Lord Venkateswara temple was growing richer by the year with an annual income of about Rs 31 billion with the devotee footfall of about 25 million from all over the world. TTD has about 8.7 tonnes of pure gold, besides nearly 550 kg of gold jewellery sets. (PTI)
‘Declaring me fugitive offender is like economic death penalty’
Mumbai: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya told the Bombay High Court Wednesday that by declaring him a fugitive economic offender and allowing attachment of his assets, a special court had awarded him an “economic death penalty”. Mallya made the statement before a bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre, during arguments on his plea challenging several provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act that came into existence in August last. “My debts and the interest on such debts are mounting. I have assets to pay off these debts but the government won’t allow the use of these assets to clear the debts. I have no control over my properties,” the businessman said. (PTI)
J-K landslide kills five
Bhaderwah/Jammu: Five persons, including three women, were killed and nine others injured, when a mini bus came under a boulder after a landslide hit a stretch of road in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district Wednesday, officials said. The mini bus was on its way to Gandoh from Thathri, when the boulder hit it at Piyakul belt late afternoon on Wednesday, they said. Sub-Divisional Police Officer Gandoh Bhallesa Nawaz Khanday said five persons were killed and nine others injured in the incident. Mohd Anwar Banday, SDM Thathri, said preliminary reports suggest that the mini bus, which was crossing the muddy patch, came under debris and rocks after a sudden landslide. Locals and police immediately reached the spot and after rescuing the passengers, shifted them to Primary Health Centre (PHC) Kahara. Initially, three persons died on the spot and 11 others were injured, some of them critically. Later on, two more succumbed in the hospital, they said. The deceased have been identified as Shakeela Bagum, Mansoor Ahmad, his wife Gulshan Bagum, Mudaser Husain and Kamlesha Devi- all of them from Doda district. (PTI)
Madras HC lifts ban on TikTok
Chennai: The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench on Wednesday lifted the ban on video mobile application TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, subject to certain conditions. Deciding the case filed by advocate Muthukumar, the bench vacated its interim order banning the app, subject to conditions that pornographic videos will not be uploaded on it, failing with the contempt of court proceedings would begin. Early this month, the high court, on a petition filed by the advocate, issued an interim order to the Central government banning downloading of the app in India and restricted the media from telecasting videos taken using the app. The high court had passed an interim order banning the app citing inappropriate and pornographic content. Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology Minister M. Manikandan had earlier said that the state would write to the Central government seeking a ban on the app in India. The high court had appointed leading lawyer Arvind Datar as an independent counsel to the court. On an appeal filed by the Chinese company, the Supreme Court, on April 22, asked the Madras High Court to decide on TikTok’s plea for an interim relief by April 24, failing which the ban imposed on the mobile app will stand lifted. (IANS)
Train runs over two in Sikar
Jaipur: Two people have been killed after a train ran over them in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, officials said Wednesday. The deceased were identified as brick kiln workers Shankar Balai (22) and Deepak Regar (23), SHO Neem Ka Thana Rajendra Prasad said. The Phulera-Rewari Passenger Train ran over them under Neem ka Thana area on Tuesday night, he said. The bodies were handed over to family members after post-mortem. The matter has been registered under section 174 of CrPC, he added. Meanwhile in Ajmer district, a 36-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of the Ranikhet Express on Wednesday. (PTI)