UIDAI: Biometric information purely for generating Aadhaar, cannot be shared
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday stated that as per Sec 29 of the Aadhaar Act, the biometric data collected by UIDAI can be used only for the purpose of generating Aadhaar and for authentication of the identity of Aadhaar holders and cannot be used for any other purpose. The clarification came after a report emerged about purported use of Aadhaar biometric data for the purpose of investigating a crime. The UIDAI has said it cannot share Aadhaar biometric data for crime investigations, as proposed by the chief of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ish Kumar on Thursday. The NCRB Director had yesterday stated that around 50 lakh cases were registered every year in the country and most of them committed by first-time offenders, who leave their fingerprints, which would not be available in police records and hence had asked for biometric information from Aadhaar to which the UIDAI declined on Friday.
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Angry Mamta cancels trip to China hours before flight
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee on Friday cancelled her nine-day trip to China at the last minute hours before boarding a flight to Beijing. In a series of Tweets, she mentioned her reasons for cancellation as she was angry after there was no confirmation from China over her meetings with the communist party's leadership "at an appropriate level". The cancellation was announced by finance minister Amit Mitra at a hurriedly-called press meet in the state secretariat at 2.30 pm. She was scheduled to fly out later during the night. “Although our Ambassador in China had tried his best to make the programme a success, non-confirmation of the political meetings at the appropriate level as proposed by the Indian Ambassador to China, at the last moment, has unfortunately compelled us to cancel the visit”, the CM Tweeted.
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Justice Chelameswar resigns from Supreme Court, says ‘no regrets’
Justice Jasti Chelameswar, who was the second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, retired on Friday after serving India's top court for nearly seven years. He said in an interview that he has no regrets about holding a press conference – unprecedented for a judge of the top court – along with three of his fellow judges on January 12, airing grievances over the way Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra was allocating cases and administering the court. He also disapproved the Centre's decision not to elevate Justice KM Joseph + to the Supreme Court, terming the action as "not sustainable". Justice Chelameswar's last working day was on May 18, right before the Supreme Court closed for summer vacation.
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Assam Floods: Death toll increases to 24
Three more persons died due to floods in two districts of Barak Valley in Assam increasing the death toll to 24, although the overall flood situation improved in the state on Friday, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. The incidents occurred even when the overall flood conditions were seen to be approving on Friday however over 3.67 lakh people in five districts are still suffering from the adversity, informed ASDMA. Of the three, two died at Sadar and Katigorah in Cachar district respectively, while the third person died at Nilambazar in Karimganj district. As many as 449 villages were under water and 1,898 hectares of crop area was damaged, the report issued by the ASDMA said. It added that the authorities had set up 211 relief camps and distribution centres in four districts, where 39,760 people had taken shelter.
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5 NGO workers raped, filmed at gunpoint in Jharkhand
Five women engaged in an anti-human trafficking campaign in Khunti district in Jharkhand were gang-raped by 6 armed men earlier this week, police said on Thursday. The men also made videos and threatened the girls that they would make the videos viral if the incident was disclosed to anyone. The survivors, engaged with an NGO supported by Christian missionary, were abducted by motorcycle-borne armed men while they were performing a street play at RC Mission School in Khunti’s Kochang block. A priest associated with the Kochang RC Church in the area reported the matter to the police but there was no investigation. The organisation, then, lodged a complaint with higher authorities, which is when the police swung into action. The National Commission for Women on Friday constituted a three-member inquiry team to probe the case.
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Twist in Kashmir Stone Pelting story; Employer accuses UP men of stealing, faking to evade arrest
After six Uttar Pradesh youths informed police that they were ‘told’ to pelt stones in Kashmir’s Pulwama, state DGP O P Singh on Friday dismissed their claim as fake and fabricated. “During our investigation, it was found that the owner of the tailoring factory, contacted them and accused them of stealing clothes. Realising that they could be caught soon, the youths decided to cook up a story to avoid arrest,” Singh revealed. He further said that thereafter, the youths went around telling people that they had gone to Kashmir to work, but were forced to pelt stones near an Army camp. The matter came to light earlier in the day when the top police officer said that six youths from Baghpat and Saharanpur districts have complained that they were told to take part in stone pelting. The DGP had announced to deal with this issue “very discreetly”. He said that the state’s anti-terror squad will probe the matter. Singh added that they have not been arrested because there is no formal complaint.
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Kerala CM denied appointment by PMO fourth time in a row
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office denied an appointment to them for the fourth time in the last two years, media reports said. CM Vijayan and an all-party delegation was planning to meet PM Modi to discuss disparities in ration allocation meant for Kerala. Chief Minister Vijayan is currently visiting Delhi to attend a CPI(M) central committee meeting. The PMO, however, has reportedly responded to the request, saying the chief minister can meet Food and Public Distribution Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, if needed.
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10-year-old shot dead for plucking mangoes in Bihar
A 10-year-old boy was shot dead allegedly for plucking mangoes at Pathraha village in Khagaria district of Bihar on Thursday. Makuni Yadav said his son Satyam Kumar was shot in the head by the orchard’s security guard Ramashish Yadav. The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. The incident occurred when the boy was playing in Shergarh village and had reportedly entered the orchard to pluck mangoes. When the accused saw the boy picking mangoes, he got enraged and allegedly fired at him. The police have sent the boy's body for post-mortem and investigations are underway, an officer told news agency ANI. The accused has been absconding since the incident.
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Indian origin woman accused of biggest scam in US Navy
A 57-year-old Indian-origin woman is accused of being involved in the largest bribery case in the history of the US Navy, media reports said on Friday. Sharon Rachael Gursharan Kaur was a lead contract specialist for the US Navy and was involved in the $35-million 'Fat Leonard' scandal. The court heard on Thursday that she received more than SGD 130,000 in bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian chief executive of Glenn Defence Marine Asia (GDMA), which provides goods and services for American ships in at least a dozen countries in Asia. Francis, also known to several US Navy personnel as “Fat Leonard”, had allegedly paid Kaur bribes between 2006 and 2011 as a reward for giving him information. GDMA submitted bids for 14 of them and was awarded 11 contracts worth some $48 million in total. Kaur had pleaded guilty to three corruption charges on June 30 last year. She is now out on bail of SGD 50,000 and is expected to be sentenced on July 6. She may face 3 years in jail.
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Trump's wife wears jacket with 'I really Don't care" written on it during her visit to child migrants
US President Donald Trump's wife Melania on Thursday visited the child migrants on the US-Mexico border wearing a jacket saying ‘I really don’t care, do you?’ These images surfaced when Trump and the US administration is already criticized for its immigration policies which separated many families from their children. When asked about the controversial jacket, the first lady's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham tweeted "After today's important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn't going to choose to focus on her wardrobe. #SheCares #ItsJustAJacket. Melania Trump's unannounced trip to a youth shelter for migrants came one day after President Donald Trump made a sudden decision to end the practice of splitting immigrant families that have left more than 2,300 minors separated from their parents.
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