Top stories on 17 April in a capsule
Government to increase printing of Rs 500 notes by 5 times
After a cash crunch crisis hit the entire nation on Tuesday, S C Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, while briefing the media, said that the government has taken steps to increase the printing of Rs 500 notes by five times.Explaining the situation Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the situation is only temporary and will be tackled soon. “Overall there is more than adequate currency in circulation and also in the bank. The temporary shortage caused by ‘sudden and unusual increase’ is being tackled,” Jaitley was quoted in media reports. The ‘cash crunch’ situation has gripped the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana since many months but by Tuesday it had spread to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Chhatisgarh, and Delhi. Junior finance minister Shiv Pratap Shukla has given a 3 days period for the cash to be back in ATMs.
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____________________Andhra Pradesh family claims Surat rape victim is their daughter
The 11-year-old rape victim who was reportedly found dead in Gujarat’s Surat has been claimed to be native from Andhra Pradesh by a family who has identified the girl as their daughter, the Gujarat police said on Tuesday. The victim was found dead on April 6 in a forest area of Pandesara. The post-mortem report which was released on Sunday revealed that she had 86 injury marks on her body and was and raped for 8 days. “She (the victim) had been missing since October last year. After the news went viral, the Andhra Pradesh police identified the parents,” Police Commissioner Satish Sharma said. The DNA samples of the father and the victim have been sent for test.Nine advisors of Delhi government sacked by Home Ministry
In a big setback to the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday sacked nine ministers from the post of advisors in the Delhi cabinet. According to the order issued by General Administration Department (GAD), the MHA wrote in its letter that these posts on which the appointees were holding office are not in the list of posts approved for the ministers and the chief minister. Reacting to the development, the AAP has called it a ‘divisionary tactic,” to divert public’s attention from the ‘spate of rapes, cash crunch etc’, as quoted by party spokesperson Raghav Chadda, who is also been sacked.
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Karnataka Congress Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao’s name has been registered in an FIR for the comment he made against Uttar radish Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying “if he ever comes here beat his slippers.” Rao on Monday created controversy for his sharp remarks while attending a rally to protest against the Unnao rape case. He held Adityanath responsible for the same, calling him ‘crook’, ‘unfit CM’ and fake saint. He had later apologized for the same calling it ‘emotional outburst.’ The FIR has been filed at high Grounds Police station under IPC 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) by a local resident.
Karnataka Polls 2018: FIR against Cong leader for ‘slipper’ comment on Adityanath
Karnataka Congress Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao’s name has been registered in an FIR for the comment he made against Uttar radish Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying “if he ever comes here beat his slippers.” Rao on Monday created controversy for his sharp remarks while attending a rally to protest against the Unnao rape case. He held Adityanath responsible for the same, calling him ‘crook’, ‘unfit CM’ and fake saint. He had later apologized for the same calling it ‘emotional outburst.’ The FIR has been filed at high Grounds Police station under IPC 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) by a local resident.
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Three states ruled by the BJP namely- Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh implemented the SC/ST Act only have it revoked on Tuesday after orders from the Central government. The SC?ST Act order of March 20, that had caused widespread protest after the Supreme Court had ruled that no automatic arrest of a public servant will be done under the Act, but only after investigation. The step was taken by the government of the three states in line with PM Modi’s directive that assured the public that the Centre would not allow the law to be affected. The states would now be submitting review petitions against the order in Supreme court as well.
Three BJP states ‘U-Turn’ on implementation of SC/ST Act
Three states ruled by the BJP namely- Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh implemented the SC/ST Act only have it revoked on Tuesday after orders from the Central government. The SC?ST Act order of March 20, that had caused widespread protest after the Supreme Court had ruled that no automatic arrest of a public servant will be done under the Act, but only after investigation. The step was taken by the government of the three states in line with PM Modi’s directive that assured the public that the Centre would not allow the law to be affected. The states would now be submitting review petitions against the order in Supreme court as well.
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In a shocking claim against former Pakistani Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf, retired judge Javed Iqbal had accused the leader of human trafficking, saying he sold over 4,000 Pakistani locals to foreigners. Iqbal, who heads the commission of missing persons made these accusations in a briefing to the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday. He also said that the entire process of selling off the locals was done in exchange for money in a ‘secret handover.’ With no parliamentarian objecting to the accusations made by Iqbal and declaring Musharraf’s actions as illegal and unlawful, recommendations have been put forward for further investigation.
Musharraf sold 4,000 Pakistani locals to foreigners: Ex-Judge
In a shocking claim against former Pakistani Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf, retired judge Javed Iqbal had accused the leader of human trafficking, saying he sold over 4,000 Pakistani locals to foreigners. Iqbal, who heads the commission of missing persons made these accusations in a briefing to the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday. He also said that the entire process of selling off the locals was done in exchange for money in a ‘secret handover.’ With no parliamentarian objecting to the accusations made by Iqbal and declaring Musharraf’s actions as illegal and unlawful, recommendations have been put forward for further investigation.
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Tamil Nadu professor held for holding sex racket in University
A Tamil Nadu professor has been arrested on charges of allegedly making her students offer sexual favors to members of a University’s administration on Tuesday. A professor of Mathematics at Devanga Arts College (autonomous) in Aruppukottai, Nirmala Devi was taken under police custody after audio tapes on social media were released that featured her telling some students to keep ‘higher ups’ in keeping the officials of Madurai Kamaraj University (to which the college is affiliated) happy, so the college gets facilities. Minister of Higher Education Anbazhagan has promised strong action, while Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit, who also happens to be the University chancellor, has ordered high-level in the matter.
____________________Appoint Lokpal at the earliest: SC tells Centre
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the PM Modi government to implement Lokpal (system to control corruption) at the earliest. The bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi, however, did not pass an order on the plea, as the Centre represented by Attorney General KK Venugopal said the process of appointing Lokpal is on the works. “We are in the process of naming an eminent jurist to the Selection Committee for appointing Lokpal. A meeting was held on April 10 and recommendations have been made,” Venugopal said. Senior advocate PP Rao was earlier the jurist of the Committee but the post fell vacant after he passed away last year.
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India wins 6 major positions at UN subsidiaries
Amidst the UN raising concerns about India’s rape crisis, the country has won 6 elections to the Economic and Social Council, 5 of them unanimously. In the polls held on Monday, India won places on the executive boards of 5 UN bodies, 3 commissions, and a committee. India faced an election within the Asia-Pacific group only for the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Committee and it polled the highest number of votes, receiving 46 votes, followed by Pakistan with 43, while China received 39. India was among the 17 members elected by acclamation to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The elected members will serve a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2019, and expiring on December 31, 2021.
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Parliamentary Panel calls Urjit Patel to ask about bank scams
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Blackbuck Poaching Case: Jodhpur court allows Salman Khan to travel abroad
The Jodhpur District and Sessions Court on Tuesday granted permission to actor Salman Khan for traveling in four countries abroad. Khan who was granted bail in the ‘blackbuck poaching case’, had filed a petition before Jodhpur District Court seeking permission to travel abroad, on Tuesday. The judge asked the actor to appear before the court after a month on May 7 when it will hear his plea for suspension of sentence. He was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his movie 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' in 1998. The actor spent two nights in Jodhpur Jail but was later granted bail by the Jodhpur court on two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
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