Top stories on 20 April in a capsule
North Korea to suspend nuclear and missiles tests
Ahead of the series of summit it is going to hold with South Korea and the USA, North Korea is going through a complete change of global image, as on Saturday it announced that it will stop all nuclear and missile tests with immediate effect. The statement released by state media Yonhap also said that head of state Kim Jong Un has ordered the suspension of nuclear tests sites as well. "We no longer need any nuclear test or test launches of intermediate and intercontinental range ballistic missiles, and because of this the northern nuclear test site has finished its mission," Kim said, as per media reports.
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A divided Congress stood before the public as the troop of 71 Members of Parliament from seven political parties moved the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra on Friday, as some leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh differed in opinion. Explaining Singh’s absence Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, Singh was kept out of it as he is the ex PM. Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid expressed his displeasure with the move and said he is ‘not party to the discussions that have taken place’ between the political parties. Ex Finance Minister P Chidambaram, whose signature also did not make in the list was reportedly because of the court cases against him and son Karti.
Absence of veteran Congress leaders from impeachment motion pose questions
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The Centre is mulling over the possibility of awarding death penalty to child rapists, as it made its stand clear by telling the Supreme Court that it has started the process of amending the Protection Of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on Friday. As of now, the Act only sentences acussed to jail for up to seven years. However after the rapes of Kathua and Unnao, where the victims were alleged minors, the Centre has decided to take the call including Minister of Women and Children Development. The law is likely to be chaired today in the Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister Modi will be back from his five nation tour.
Centre to amend POCSO, bring in death penalty for child rapists
The Centre is mulling over the possibility of awarding death penalty to child rapists, as it made its stand clear by telling the Supreme Court that it has started the process of amending the Protection Of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on Friday. As of now, the Act only sentences acussed to jail for up to seven years. However after the rapes of Kathua and Unnao, where the victims were alleged minors, the Centre has decided to take the call including Minister of Women and Children Development. The law is likely to be chaired today in the Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister Modi will be back from his five nation tour.
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The rape and murder case of an 11-year-old found dead in a forest area of Surat was declared solved by the Ahmedabad police on Friday as the main accused among two others was arrested by the state police. The accused, Harshsai Gurjar, originally from Rajasthan had bought the girl and her mother as bonded laborers on March last year. The victim’s mother had also gone missing and the police suspects Gurjar killed her too. On April 5, he killed the minor after torturing her for a week while neighbor Ram Naresh and brother Hari Gurjar acted as accomplice in the crime. Earlier an Andhra Pradesh man had caimed the deceased as his daughter.
Surat rape and murder case solved, 3 accused held
The rape and murder case of an 11-year-old found dead in a forest area of Surat was declared solved by the Ahmedabad police on Friday as the main accused among two others was arrested by the state police. The accused, Harshsai Gurjar, originally from Rajasthan had bought the girl and her mother as bonded laborers on March last year. The victim’s mother had also gone missing and the police suspects Gurjar killed her too. On April 5, he killed the minor after torturing her for a week while neighbor Ram Naresh and brother Hari Gurjar acted as accomplice in the crime. Earlier an Andhra Pradesh man had caimed the deceased as his daughter.
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Tamil Nadu BJP leader S Ve Shekher on Friday sparked controversy with his comment questioning the morality of women journalists. In a Facebook post supporting the Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who was criticised for patting the cheek of a lady reporter, Shekher said the Governor should "wash his hands with phenyl" for touching her. The now deleted post also said, "recent complaints show they (journalists) can't become reporters or anchors without sleeping with big shots.” While Venkataraman has issued an apology on the matter, Chennai journalists have criticised the comment and are protesting against the BJP.
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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday held a hunger strike on the eve of 68th his birthday, to urge the Central government to allow the Special Category Status (SCS) to his state. Setting the stage at IGMC stadium in Vijayawada, the CM flanked by religious heads and political well-wishers, began his day-long fast, that is supposed to continue till 7 pm. Called the 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' or 'Fight for Justice', the protest was simultaneously held 13 ministers of Naidu’s cabinet in several districts of the state. Naidu has been raising the demand for SCS under which the Centre will pay 90 percent funds to the state.
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Varun Dhawan-starrer romantic drama 'October' is in trouble after Marathi Director Sarika Mene claimed that the storyline and characters of the movie are plagiarized from her 2017 Marathi film 'Aarti-The Unknown Love Story.’ IN a letter to director Shoojit Sircar, Sarika said that, "When the trailer was out, I did get a gut feeling that it would be same". The movie had a slow start on Friday, but sustained itself well over the week and earned in Rs. 30.24 crore. In reply to Sarika’s claim, Sircar said, "We have received a letter. And we will surely respond to the letter officially... We will let you know our official statement."
HC acquits BJP MLA in 2002 Naroda Pitaya riot case
The Gujarat High Court on Friday acquitted BJP MLA Maya Kodnani in the Naroda Patiya massacre case that occurred during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat which witnessed the killing of 97 Muslims. Kodnani was earlier sentenced by a Special Invesigation Court to 28 years of imprisonment on charges of orchestrating the violence and inciting communal hatred that took place on 28 February 2002. The HC Division Bench of Justices Harsha Devani and A S Supehiya excused Kodnani on grounds that ‘no charges could be established.’ The court however upheld the conviction of key accused Babu Bajrangi, who was sentenced earlier to life imprisonment.
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Seize Dawood’s properties: SC orders Govt
In a huge setback to international gangster Dawood Ibrahim, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Central government to seize his seven properties in Mumbai and dismissed the plea filed by his sister Hasina Parkkar and mother Amina Bi Kaskar. In 1988, the Supreme Court had sealed the Dawood's properties which were considered to be worth crores. The central government had filed a report before the SC stating that the properties in Mumbai’s Nagpada belonged to Ibrahim and he had acquired them through "undeclared and ill-gotten income" from his criminal activities. Last November, the Finance Ministry had auctioned Dawood-owned Hotel Raunaq Afroz, Shabnam Guest House and six rooms in Damarwala building, all located in South Mumbai for over Rs 11.58 crores.
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Centre supports petitions to make female genital mutilation a crime
The Central government on Friday supported the petitions against the practice of female genital mutilation prevalent among the Dawoodi Bohra community. Representing the Central government, Attorney General KK Venugopal told the apex court that the practice is currently criminal under the Indian Penal Court (IPC). The court was hearing the petition by advocate Sunita Tiwari and an intervention application by Dawoodi Bohra Dilshad Tavawalla, who alleged that she had been suffering under the practice since the age of 7. The petitioner has pleaded the court to set guidelines to be put against the practice and sought directions to be issued to police officials to take action under IPC till stricter laws are framed.___________________
TN Minister’s comment on women journalist lands him in trouble
Tamil Nadu BJP leader S Ve Shekher on Friday sparked controversy with his comment questioning the morality of women journalists. In a Facebook post supporting the Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who was criticised for patting the cheek of a lady reporter, Shekher said the Governor should "wash his hands with phenyl" for touching her. The now deleted post also said, "recent complaints show they (journalists) can't become reporters or anchors without sleeping with big shots.” While Venkataraman has issued an apology on the matter, Chennai journalists have criticised the comment and are protesting against the BJP.
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Chandrababu Naidu holds day-long fast for Andhra on his birthday
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday held a hunger strike on the eve of 68th his birthday, to urge the Central government to allow the Special Category Status (SCS) to his state. Setting the stage at IGMC stadium in Vijayawada, the CM flanked by religious heads and political well-wishers, began his day-long fast, that is supposed to continue till 7 pm. Called the 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' or 'Fight for Justice', the protest was simultaneously held 13 ministers of Naidu’s cabinet in several districts of the state. Naidu has been raising the demand for SCS under which the Centre will pay 90 percent funds to the state.
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Marathi Filmmaker claims ‘October’ is a copy of her film
Varun Dhawan-starrer romantic drama 'October' is in trouble after Marathi Director Sarika Mene claimed that the storyline and characters of the movie are plagiarized from her 2017 Marathi film 'Aarti-The Unknown Love Story.’ IN a letter to director Shoojit Sircar, Sarika said that, "When the trailer was out, I did get a gut feeling that it would be same". The movie had a slow start on Friday, but sustained itself well over the week and earned in Rs. 30.24 crore. In reply to Sarika’s claim, Sircar said, "We have received a letter. And we will surely respond to the letter officially... We will let you know our official statement."
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