Top stories on 14 June in a casule

Indian jawan's bullet-riden body found within hours of kidnapping

An Indian army man who was abducted by militants on Thursday afternoon was found dead within few hours. The bullet ridden body of the 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry jawan was found just in Gusso while he was abducted from Pulwama, at a distance of 10 kms. Aurangzeb was a part of the task force that was involved in the encounter that killed A++ category terrorist and local Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Sameer Ahmad Bhat alias Sameer Tiger in May. Aurangzeb was on his way to his native residence at Poonch when the kidnapping took place. The state Police has begun a formal investigation into the matter. As per news reports the RR was under the ‘hit list’ of terrorists as they had foiled 19 terror attacks in the region.
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Grief, anger over murder of 'fearless' Shujaat Bukhari

Several journalists, political leaders and personalities came out to condemn to gruesome murder of veteran journalist and editor of Rising Kashmir Shujaat Bukhari on Thursday after he was shot by unknown assailants and succumbed to his injuries. The two personal security officers (PSO) accompanying Bukhari also succumbed to their injuries. Calling it an 'act of cowardice,' Home Minister Rajnath Singh called Bukhari a fearless journalist, while Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who also visited the hospital where the deceased were being treatment couldn’t hold back her tears upon meeting Bukhari 'just a few days ago.' National journalism body, Editors Guild of India called it a grave attack on press freedom and democratic voices. The J&K police upon investigation has termed the incident a terror attack.

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Indian-origin woman to become CFO of America’s largest automaker

Dhivya Suryadevara, an Indian origin woman has been named the Chief Finance Officer of General Motors, America’s largest automaker, media reports said on Thursday. Suryadevara, currently the vice president of corporate finance, will succeed Chuck Stevens, the GM's present CFO, on September 1, the company said in a statement. Dhivya has been GM's vice president of corporate finance since July 2017. She will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra, 56, who has been head of the automaker since 2014. Suryadevara earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in commerce from the University of Madras in the southern Indian town of Chennai. She moved to the US at the age of 22 to pursue her MBA from Harvard University.

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Dusty winds make a comeback in Delhi, CM Kejriwal criticised for absence

Bad air quality gripped the national capital for yet another time as thick clouds of dust and pollution enveloped the city of Delhi and parts of the National capital Region (NCR). The air quality tipped to severe level on Thursday morning with areas like Lodhi Gardens, RK Nagar going to PM 10. The IMD in its warning said, “There will be strong dust raising winds throughout the day. This will continue on Friday as well.” The dusty winds affected air operations as well, with all flights to and from Punjab’s Chandigarh airport being restricted for the day. In wake of the pollution, all construction work has been asked to stop till Sunday, in both Delhi and Haryana, as per govt orders. The BJP unit of Delhi heavily criticised Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for not aiding the public but instead continuing his 'sofa dharna' agianst Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

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Thunderstorms, floods kill 24 across India; Kerala on red-alert

Around 24 people were reportedly killed in different parts of India after thunderstorms and heavy rains created havoc on Thursday, bringing flash floods. As per news reports, one person was dead in Kerala, six in Karnataka, 10 in Uttar Pradesh and 3 in Rajasthan. In the North-eastern region too flash floods killed four people while more than 3000 people were left inundated. Tripura CM Biplab Deb sought the Centre's assistance to tackle the emergency after which the Army was called in rescue those stuck in the floods. Among all the states, Kerala remains the worst affected with the a red alert being issued in five districts due to landslides and flooding. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued heavy rain alert for all the areas around the Western Ghats for the next five days.
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PNB fraud: Nirav Modi flees to Brussels

Nirav Modi, wanted in India's biggest-ever banking scam on Thursday fled to Brussels soon after media reports claimed that he was in London seeking political asylum. The diamond merchant is said to be travelling in and out of the UK freely, possibly on a Singapore passport, not an Indian one, media reports said on Thursday. On Monday, the CBI had requested Interpol for a red corner notice against Nirav Modi and his brother Nishal, a Belgian national. A non-bailable warrant has been issued against Nirav Modi and his family members. Sources said that whatever passport Nirav Modi was on, the Indian government could still obtain an Interpol red corner notice against him, the Times of India reported.
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Madras HC's 'split verdict' gives relief to AIADMK

The Madras High Court failed to reach a consensus on the disqualification of the 18 members of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party on Thursday, giving a ray of hope to the ruling party. The issues pertaining to the Governor’s order of disqualifying rebel lawmakers of AIADMK who had sidelined with Sasikala’s nephew and independent candidate TTV Dhinakaran. Hearing the petitions that challenged the disqualification, the verdict came out to be a split one as Chief Justice Indira Banerjee approved the disqualification, while the second judge, Justice Sundar disagreed. The apeex body ehnce decided to refer the case to a larger bench. As of now, the court has ordered that no elections or by polls will take place, until the third judge’s decision is out.
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India rejects UN reports of Human rights violation in Kashmir

Responding to UN’s report of human rights violation in Kashmir, India on Thursday termed them as false and motivated. In a first such report on Kashmir, the Human rights body chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has called for an investigation into "all civilian killings since July 2016" and also into "the excessive use of force by security forces including serious injuries caused by the use of pellet guns. The report also sought an immediate end to the use of pellet guns for crowd control." It has also suggested considering establishing a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to conduct an independent international investigation, generally reserved for situations like the conflict in Syria.
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