Man tries to enter Parliament with knife, detained
New Delhi: A 26-year-old man was detained while he was allegedly trying to enter the Parliament House with a knife on Monday, police said. Sagar, a resident of Laxmi Nagar area of Delhi, was detained from gate number 1 of the Parliament around 10.45 am while he was carrying a knife in his hand, the police said. “He was immediately overpowered and handed over to the police. There is no security threat found in his act so far,” Eish Singhal, deputy commissioner of police, New Delhi, said. The DCP said the man appeared to be mentally-disturbed about some issues. His joint interrogation is underway by the special cell and the police. (PTI)
SC orders SIT probe into sexual harassment case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to set up a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe sexual harassment allegations made by a law student against former union minister Swami Chinmayanand. A police officer of Inspector General rank will head the SIT. The top court transferred the matter to Allahabad High Court for monitoring. The Apex Court also asked Allahabad High Court to monitor the probe on complaint filed by the student and directed the Chief Secretary of the state to provide securtiy to the girl and her parents. The Supreme Court took up the matter after a group of lawyers wrote to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Thursday. The girl student, who went missing after levelling sexual harassment charges against the BJP leader, was later traced to Rajasthan on Friday and produced within hours before the Supreme Court.
Apex Court to hear contempt plea against ex-govt official
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on Tuesday a contempt plea filed by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who is representing Muslim parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, claiming that he has been threatened for taking up the matter. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Dhavan, that the contempt plea would be taken up. “It will be listed for hearing tomorrow,” the bench said. Dhavan, who appeared for lead petitioner M Siddiq and the All India Sunni Waqf Board, has said he received a letter on August 14, 2019 from N Shanmugam, a retired education officer, threatening him for appearing for the Muslim parties. (PTI)
2 NDA leaders shot in Bihar
Patna: Two leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar were shot dead by unidentified men in two separate incidents, police said on Monday. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sant Kumar Singh was shot dead by bike-borne criminals late on Sunday in Mahthi village in Samastipur district, a police official said. In another incident, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Kalyan Dutt Pandey was shot dead by assailants in Dehura locality of Siwan district on Sunday, a police official said. The police has lodged cases in both the incidents, but no arrests have been made so far. (IANS)
Pilgrim thrashed on suspicion
Johdpur: A pilgrim was brutally beaten up by some villagers on the suspicion of child lifting in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district, police said on Monday. They took him to the nearest police chowki but fled after learning that he was a pilgrim and was just resting at a Mandla Kalan village school, they said. “A video of the villagers beating him up mercilessly went viral on social media. On the basis of it, we have identified four persons. A case has been registered against them,” said Phalodi SHO Rajeev Bhadu. The victim was identified as Shambhulal Garasia from Sirohi district in Rajasthan. He was on his way to Ramdeora near Pokhran in Jaisalmer district to pay obeisance to local deity Baba Ramdeo. “On the way to the temple, he halted to take rest at a school in Mandla Kalan village. Seeing him sitting alone, some villagers enquired about him but on not finding his response to their satisfaction, they started beating him up, suspecting him to be a child lifter,” said the police officer. (PTI)
Journalist booked in UP
Mirzapur (UP): The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has filed a case against the journalist, who shot the video of school children being served roti with salt for mid-day meal in Mirzapur. Pawan Jaiswal, a local journalist with Jansandesh Times, was booked on charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy, based on a complaint by the Block Education Officer of the area, which accused him and a representative of the local village head, of conspiring to defame the Uttar Pradesh government. In the video from the Mirzapur school, children were seen sitting on the floor and eating rotis with salt. However, the FIR mentions only rotis were cooked in the school on the day the video was shot. It adds that the village head’s representative should have arranged for vegetables, instead of calling a reporter to the school premises. The FIR also says Jaiswal shot the video and forwarded it to a news agency which was widely shared on the social media and defamed the state government. After the video went viral, Mirzapur District Magistrate Anurag Patel had said: “I ordered an inquiry and the incident was found to be true. Prima facie, it is the fault of the teacher in charge of the school and the supervisor at the gram panchayat. Both have been suspended.” The website of the Uttar Pradesh Mid Day Meal Authority—the body overseeing the scheme in the state—describes an elaborate menu that is supposed to be served to the children at the state-run primary schools. (IANS)
Exorcist shot in UP
Pratapgarh: A 40-year-old tantrik has been shot dead in the Fatahanpur police station area in Pratapgarh district. The incident took place on Sunday and an FIR has been registered against an unidentified biker with whom the victim, Lalta Prasad, was last seen. Prasad, a resident of Narayanpur Kala and an on-call exorcist for almost a decade, was approached by the youth on Sunday. According to Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police, Abhishek Singh, “The youth wanted Prasad to accompany him to Khakhapur village for an exorcism job. As they approached the Bari Nahar bridge in Fatahanpur, the youth asked Prasad, who was riding pillion, to get off his bike. Prasad did as told and was shot in the chest from close range.” The biker escaped before the villagers working in a nearby field rushed to the bridge after hearing the gunshot. They took Prasad to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. (IANS)