Top Stories on 2nd May in a capsule

Portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah sparks row in Aligarh Muslim University

At least three students were injured in police lathicharge at the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University, which has been witnessing a row over a decades-old photograph of Pakistan founder and freedom fighter Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The police on Wednesday lobbed teargas shells to disperse AMU students demanding the arrest of protesters who had barged into the campus, shouting slogans over a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah which hangs at the student union office. The protesters were agitated over the portrait of the Pakistan founder which a local BJP MP wanted to be removed. The right-wing activists were demanding the removal of Jinnah's photo, to which the students objected.

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Demolition of illegal construction continues in Kasauli

The demolition drive of illegal constructions resumed as per the Supreme Court’s order a day after the firing incident near Kasauli in which a woman government official named Shail Bala was killed after being allegedly shot by the son of a guest-house owner while she was supervising demolition. The Himachal Pradesh Police is still clueless about the whereabouts of the accused. However his mother said, “My son lost mental balance as he couldn’t bear to see the guest house being pulled down.” Acting on the Supreme Court’s order, the Himachal Pradesh government had started a drive to demolish the unauthorised construction of 13 hotels which fall in Kasauli town planning.

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Kapil Sharma sends defamation notice to journalist

Actor-comedian Kapil Sharma on Wednesday sent a legal notice to an entertainment portal and its editor, for allegedly publishing defamatory articles against him. Sharma has sought a public apology and Rs 100 crore in damages from the said journalist and the website. Sharma has claimed that the said journalist allegedly published “false, malicious, fraudulent" against him on the digital platform, as reported by PTI.  “In view of the articles by Lalwani on Spotboye to willfully defame my client, we have sent them a legal notice to publicly apologise within seven days failing which we will institute civil and criminal proceedings against both,” Sharma’s advocate Tanveer Nizam said in a statement.

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Aadhaar card not mandatory for mobile sim

The Modi government on Wednesday issued instructions to mobile operators to accept alternative documents of identification such as driving license, passport and voter’s id in place of Aadhaar card for providing new connections. This comes as a relief for consumers who are struggling to get a mobile connection without an Aadhaar card.  Mobile companies have been asked to follow the instructions “immediately” so that consumers are not inconvenienced, telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan told a leading newspaper. The move comes after several reports of people being denied a SIM card came to light owing to unavailability of Aadhaar card. The media report added that these cases were not limited to Indians as a lot of NIRs and foreigners visiting the country also had to face difficulties.

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Chhota Rajan gets life imprisonment in Mumbai Journalist's Murder case

7 years after a veteran journalist was murdered in Mumbai's Powai area by unidentified gunmen, a special Maharashtra court convicted Gangster Chhota Rajan and 8 others and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court, however, acquitted journalist Jigna Vora, who was earlier charged with instigating Rajan in carrying out the killing. The judge also acquitted Paulson Joseph, who was accused of handling the financial operations concerned with the conspiracy. Rajan was witnessing the killings from Tihar jail via video conferencing, and uttered just 2 words, ‘Theek Hai’ (Alright), after the sentence. Earlier last year, Rajan was convicted by a court in Delhi and sentenced to seven years in jail in a case of fake passports. Dey, 56, was shot by two motorcycle-borne men on June 11, 2011, in suburban Powai when he was on his way to his residence. At that time, he worked as a senior editor for the tabloid Mid-Day.
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Amazon formally offered to buy 60% stake in Flipkart: Reports 

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday made a formal offer to buy a 60% stake in Indian online retailer Flipkart, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing sources. Although the company’s offer is at par with Walmart, Amazon also offered Flipkart a breakup fee of $2 billion, if the deal doesn’t go through for some reason. Walmart is close to completing a $12 billion deal to pick up an equivalent amount of stake in the Indian firm. Flipkart's investors and founders are in favor of the deal with Walmart, with founder Sachin Bansal overseeing final negotiations with Walmart, CNBC-TV18 said. If Flipkart goes the other way and makes a deal with Amazon, together they will rule 80% of India’s e-commerce trade.

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900 garbage collectors go on strike in Shimla

More than 900 garbage collectors in Shimla went on indefinite strike on Tuesday, leaving the town to stink with trash strewn across every nook and corner. The garbage collectors who earn a mere 7000/- per month had been seeking regularisation of their jobs and wage enhancement by at least 30%. Garbage was seen scattered on the streets of Shimla's busy lower bazaar, adjoining the Mall Road, while the condition in other wards was no different. Residents ended up throwing trash near dumpers. The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) had in 2009 formed a society, SEHB, to make the town litter-free. SEHB workers also accused SMC and urban development department of ignoring their health, saying authorities did not provide gloves and carry bags to collect garbage.

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India now among world’s top 5 defense spenders

India has joined the US and China as one of the world’s five biggest military spenders, reflecting geopolitical tensions as well as the country’s reliance on imported weapons. New Delhi’s defense spending rose by 5.5% to $63.9 billion in 2017 and has now passed France, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a report released Wednesday. Worldwide military spending rose marginally last year to $1.73 trillion, or roughly 2.2 percent of the global gross domestic product, the group added. Saudi Arabia and Russia are other top spenders after US and China on the list. The rise in defense spending for India mostly goes toward salaries and pensions for roughly 1.4 million serving personnel and more than 2 million veterans.
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Journalist who threw shoes at George Bush in 2008 could be the next Iraq President

The Iraqi journalist who hurled shoes at the then President of America George Bush during a press conference in 2008 is now running for the Presidency of Iraq, a news report said on Tuesday. Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who at the time worked for Egypt-based al-Baghdadi a television network, launched both of his shoes, one at a time, at Bush’s head during a farewell news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at his palace in the Green Zone. “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog,” he yelled in Arabic at Bush while he tried to hit the President. He was jailed for nine months for his actions and is now hoping to become a lawmaker in Iraq.

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