Top stories on 2 July in a capsule
No alliance with Congress, all fake news: Mehbooba Mufti
With troubles brewing for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, both the BJP and Congress are competing to stake claim in the state, in wake of the former alliance of BJP-PDP crashing after a three-year governance. As per several news reports, former Chief Minster Mehbooba Mufti and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be meeting in the next few days, hinting at a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress alliance. However Mufti refuted the allegations, calling them fake news. "Amused at media speculations about possible PDP-INC alliance to form government in Jammu and Kashmir. Conjecture also includes impending meeting between Sonia ji and I. this is utter fabriction and yet another unfortunate example of fake news," the former CM said in her micro-bloogin site Twitter's account. Meanwhile, there were also reports that rebel PDP MLAs are all set to join the BJP and claim power in the 89 seater assembly, post Amarnath Yatra.
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12 boys and their coach were rescued alive on Monday evening from Thailand’s Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai district, who had been missing since 23rd June. The boys, aged 11 to 15 years, were part of a national soccer team and had gone visiting to the caves when heavy rains lashed across the region and possibly pushed them into the deeper rooms. Joyful relatives and family members thronged the area as news broke out that the boys are safe with one of the rescuers sharing a photograph for four boys smiling. "They are all safe but the mission is not completed," the Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said at all press conference while stressing that the main focus now is to get the party safely out of the enclosure. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also the global rescue team consisting of US military team, Australian rescuers, British cave experts, Chinese lifesaving responders and the Thai Navy SEALS for their “tremendous efforts.”
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12 missing Thai soccer team boys found after 9 days
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Journalist Rajat Sharma elected as new DDCA President
Famed journalist Rajat Sharma, who is known for his popular show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ was elected the new President of Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), in a close fought competition with former World Cup winning cricketer Madan Lal. The veteran journalist passed over the test cricketer by a margin of 517 votes, as Sharma received 1521 votes while Lal garnered 1004. Taking to micro blogging site Twitter, the Padma Bhushan awardee thanked the DDCA members who voted for him and invited ‘all the members to join hands to bring about transparency in the functioning of DDCA.’ Sharma will now hold the post for a three year tenure.
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Punjab govt recommends death penalty for drug smugglers to Centre
The Punjab government, in a defiant move to curb the problem of drug addiction in the state, has recommended death penalty for drug peddlers and smugglers to the Central government on Monday. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh emphasized that the menace of addiction needs to be stopped as it is ‘destroying generations.’ "My govt has decided to recommend death penalty for drug peddling/smuggling. The recommendation is being forwarded to the Union government. Since drug peddling is destroying entire generations, it deserves exemplary punishment. I stand by my commitment for a drug-free Punjab," the CM posted on micro-blogging site Twitter after the meeting.
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Delhi Burari Mystery Deaths: Post-mortem reports suggest suicide
The post-mortem reports of all 11 bodies were completed today which reveal that all 11 members have committed suicide, Joint CP Crime Branch Alok Kumar informed the media on Monday. However, the post-mortem report of five bodies revealed the presence of a liquid chemical substance. The police have not found any signs of strangulation. Handwritten notes recovered from the scene reveal that the family was planning this act for a long time. The notes have a strong similarity with the manner in which the mouths and eyes of the deceased were tied and taped. Also, the notes appear to be extracted from some kind of Tantrik literature. The police also found 11 pipes near the entrance of the house. The pipes, coming out of the house in an unusual manner, can be seen awkwardly hanging outside the wall. Of the 11 pipes, four are straight while seven are tilted. The fact that amongst the deceased, seven were women and four were men, have given rise to suspicions of the pipes representing the members of the family.
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Vinod Kambli, wife Andrea accused of assaulting singer Ankit Tiwari's father
Former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli and his wife Andrea Hewitt have been accused of assaulting singer Ankit Tiwari’s father at the Inorbit Mall in Mumbai's Malad on Sunday afternoon. Tiwari’s father RK Tiwari has alleged that the celebrity couple assaulted him, adding that Andrea also used her footwear to beat him. The singer’s brother Ankur was accompanying his father at that time. Andrea accused Rajendra of repeatedly touching her with 'malicious intent.' Kambli himself stepped in and a heated argument broke out between him and Rajendra and Ankur Tiwari. It is learnt that while the Kamblis filed an FIR, the Tiwaris too have registered a police complaint against the former cricketer and his wife.
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8 States get SC notice about delay in filling RTI posts
The centre and eight states were pulled up today by the Supreme Court over a delay in appointing top officials who are expected to oversee requests under the Right to Information law. The vacancies have created a huge backlog in RTI responses. "Why are appointments are not made despite huge backlog?" the Supreme Court asked, demanding that the states and the Centre file their response. The petition in the case alleged that the Centre and the states -- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, and Telangana -- were trying to "stifle" the landmark transparency law by neglecting to fill up the vacancies. The petition said there is a "backlog of more than 23,500 appeals and complaints" pending before Central Information Commission. The CIC website shows that even appeals and complaints filed in 2016 are currently pending for disposal by the commission.
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Kerala student leader stabbed to death, CPM calls it 'planned murder'
A 20-year-old Kerala man was stabbed to death during a fresher’s day celebrations in Ernakulam’s Maharaja college, while two were injured as student bodies clashed with one another on Sunday night. The deceased, identified as Abhimanyu who was a second-degree student, was the leader of Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM). According to the news reports, the student body clashed with Islamic extremist group Popular Front of India (PFI) and its student group Campus Front of India (CFI). Condemning the attack, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan called it a ‘planned murder’. As of now, three CFI, PFI have been detained.
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