Top Stories on 19 March in a capsule
Sasikala's husband Natarajan Maruthappa passes away at 74
Natarajan Maruthappa, businessman and husband of J Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala Natarajan, died at a private hospital in Chennai in the wee hours of Tuesday.Natarajan had been admitted to the Gleneagles Global Hospital in Chennai after his condition deteriorated a few days ago and he had been placed on a ventilator.He had been on a transplant waitlist since April 2017 and underwent a combined liver and kidney transplant surgery in October 2017. Sasikala, lodged in Bengaluru Central prison after she was found guilty in a disproportionate assets case was allowed to visit her ailing husband on parole.
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FIR filed against JNU professor accused of sexual harassment
The Delhi police on Monday evening filed an FIR against professor Atul Johri of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has been accused of sexual misconduct. The FIR was files after protesting students clashed with the police and sat down on a hunger strike while continuously shouting ‘Arrest Johri’ slogans, outside the Vasant Kunj police station. The man in question, Johri of life science stream has been accused of sexual harassment by nine female students. Meanwhile another point of debate has sparked between the students and teachers as JNU's internal committee claimed that they have not received any complaint while the students accused them of 'shielding' the professor.
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IRCTC to provide Ola cab service through website and app
Railway chief body IRCTC tied up with cab aggregator Ola to provide door-to-door service to passengers. The move will enable passengers to book cabs right from IRCTC’s website or the Rail Connect app. The six month pilot project will provide all of the Ola cab services such as Micro, Mini, Autos and Share cabs. Customers will be able to pre book the cabs seven days in advance or directly from the IRCTC or Ola cabs kiosks at the railway station itself. The development has come after Ola along with other can aggregator Uber held protest on prominent cities over non uniform rates on Monday.
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Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit will be taking over the role of last actress Sridevi in Karan Johan’s new production. The news was confirmed by Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor in her Instagram account. , "Abhishek Varman’s (the director) next film was very close to mom’s heart ....Dad, Khushi and I are thankful to Madhuriji for now being a part of this beautiful film,” Kapoor said. The film reportedly had an ensemble cast comprising of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur.
Madhuri to step into Sridevi's role in new film
Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit will be taking over the role of last actress Sridevi in Karan Johan’s new production. The news was confirmed by Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor in her Instagram account. , "Abhishek Varman’s (the director) next film was very close to mom’s heart ....Dad, Khushi and I are thankful to Madhuriji for now being a part of this beautiful film,” Kapoor said. The film reportedly had an ensemble cast comprising of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur.
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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday met his West Bengal counterpart, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, over the issue of making a third front. The leaders who had the meeting in Kolkata talked about the formation of a non-BJP, non-Congress alternation. “It will a collective, federal leadership,” KCR said following the meeting. Mamata, too addressing the media said, “Whatever we discussed is aimed towards the development of the country. I think it is a good beginning.”
KCR meets Mamata over making of a third front
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday met his West Bengal counterpart, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, over the issue of making a third front. The leaders who had the meeting in Kolkata talked about the formation of a non-BJP, non-Congress alternation. “It will a collective, federal leadership,” KCR said following the meeting. Mamata, too addressing the media said, “Whatever we discussed is aimed towards the development of the country. I think it is a good beginning.”
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The Indian Army on Monday issued a warning to the citizens of the country, over China spying through WhatsApp. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Army’s official account said Chinese hackers are using WhatsApp to seize personal information of Indian users. The army advised citizens to regular tally the number of their group members and check for numbers starting with +86. “The Chinese are using many platforms to penetrate your digital world. WhatsApp groups are a new way of hacking into your system. Chinese numbers barge into your groups and start extracting all the data,” the video tweet by the Additional Directorate General of Public Interface said.
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Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad on Monday was pronounced guilty in the fourth Fodder scam case, to his growing dismay. Lalu was convicted in the case relating to the alleged withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury, over 20 years ago. While the RJD chief has been held guilty along with 12 others, former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra found not guilty in this case. In what has been a setback for Lalu since he was admitted in hospital following complaints of chest pain, the RJD has called it ‘Nitish-Modi’ politics. Lalu is already spending a 13.5 year term in Birsa Munda jail, as charged in three other fodder scam related cases.
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In the latest controversy regarding pacer Mohammad Shami’s ongoing legal tussle with wife Hasin Jahan, she revealed that she had spoken to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, before revealing Shami’s affairs on Facebook. Making the claims on an Indian television channel, Jahan said, “I called Sourav sir before I posted the issue on Facebook. I told him that I am in trouble and Shami has been treating me in wrongly. He is asking for a divorce. Sourav sir said that he will give me a call next week.” She added that Ganguly never contacted her again and he must have refrained thinking it was a domestic issue.
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The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Amrinder Singh is all set to impose a permamnt ban on hookah bars, across the states, aiming to reduce its practice among youngsters. Taking the decision on Monday, the state cabinet made amendments in the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) of 2003 that is ‘for the prevention and control of diseases caused by the use of tobacco products.’ The amendment would now be presented in the Vidha Soudha and upon approval would be presented before the President of India. Punjab has had a long history of struggling with addiction and alcohol problem.
WhatsApp carefully, China is watching you: Indian Army
The Indian Army on Monday issued a warning to the citizens of the country, over China spying through WhatsApp. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Army’s official account said Chinese hackers are using WhatsApp to seize personal information of Indian users. The army advised citizens to regular tally the number of their group members and check for numbers starting with +86. “The Chinese are using many platforms to penetrate your digital world. WhatsApp groups are a new way of hacking into your system. Chinese numbers barge into your groups and start extracting all the data,” the video tweet by the Additional Directorate General of Public Interface said.
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Lalu Yadav held guilty in fourth Fodder Scam case
Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad on Monday was pronounced guilty in the fourth Fodder scam case, to his growing dismay. Lalu was convicted in the case relating to the alleged withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury, over 20 years ago. While the RJD chief has been held guilty along with 12 others, former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra found not guilty in this case. In what has been a setback for Lalu since he was admitted in hospital following complaints of chest pain, the RJD has called it ‘Nitish-Modi’ politics. Lalu is already spending a 13.5 year term in Birsa Munda jail, as charged in three other fodder scam related cases.
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Told Ganguly before revealing Shami’s affairs, says Shami's wife: Reports
In the latest controversy regarding pacer Mohammad Shami’s ongoing legal tussle with wife Hasin Jahan, she revealed that she had spoken to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, before revealing Shami’s affairs on Facebook. Making the claims on an Indian television channel, Jahan said, “I called Sourav sir before I posted the issue on Facebook. I told him that I am in trouble and Shami has been treating me in wrongly. He is asking for a divorce. Sourav sir said that he will give me a call next week.” She added that Ganguly never contacted her again and he must have refrained thinking it was a domestic issue.
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Punjab govt to permanently ban Hookah bars
The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Amrinder Singh is all set to impose a permamnt ban on hookah bars, across the states, aiming to reduce its practice among youngsters. Taking the decision on Monday, the state cabinet made amendments in the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) of 2003 that is ‘for the prevention and control of diseases caused by the use of tobacco products.’ The amendment would now be presented in the Vidha Soudha and upon approval would be presented before the President of India. Punjab has had a long history of struggling with addiction and alcohol problem.
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In a major pre poll development for the state of Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramiah’s government on Monday moved separate religion tag for the Lingayat community. The government took note of the suggestions made by the seven member committee, headed by HN Nagmohan Das that in the March 2 report had said “Lingayats in Karnataka maybe considered as religious minority.” The approval of the separate religion status is an important one in the run up to the Assembly elections, as Lingayats are one of the mist prominent community, constituting 17% of Karnataka’s population. It is also a tough reply to opposition’s BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa also belongs from the Lingayat community.
Karnataka govt gifts separate religion status for Lingayat
In a major pre poll development for the state of Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramiah’s government on Monday moved separate religion tag for the Lingayat community. The government took note of the suggestions made by the seven member committee, headed by HN Nagmohan Das that in the March 2 report had said “Lingayats in Karnataka maybe considered as religious minority.” The approval of the separate religion status is an important one in the run up to the Assembly elections, as Lingayats are one of the mist prominent community, constituting 17% of Karnataka’s population. It is also a tough reply to opposition’s BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa also belongs from the Lingayat community.
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