Top stories on 30th July in a capsule

Maharashtra faces reservation heat again as protests erupt in Pune, 40 buses burnt, 50 vandalised

The demand for reservation in government jobs and offices by the Maratha community in Maharashtra received a fresh wave of agitation on Monday as violence erupted in the city of Pune. As of evening, it was reported by News18 that around 40 buses were set on fire and 50 were attacked by supposedly members of the Maratha Kranti Morcha , who also raised their voice in support of two fellow members who killed themselves earlier in the day. While a youth jumped in front of a train and ended his life in Aurangabad another 38-year-old hanged himself in Nanded, taking the death toll to four in connection with the protest. As of now, Section 144 has been imposed in Chakan area of Pune-Nashik highway.

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TRAI chief's daughter threatened in private mail after Aadhaar controversy

A day after Telecom Regulator Association of India (TRAI) chief RS Sharma’s bank account was hacked and an amount of 1 paise was deposited in the same, his daughter Kavita Sharma was threatened on her email. The case has erupted as Mr Sharma, on Sunday had posted his Aadhaar number on microblogging site Twitter in a bid to challenge those who question the security of the unique identification code. The email that demanded a ransom, warned KAvita that ‘if you do not respond to this email in the next 24 hrs. The consequences would be regretful.’ It also threatened to release all of Sharma’s private mails and calls in the media, if demands are not met.
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Lok Sabha passes bill for death to rapists of girls below 12 years

The Lok Sabha on Monday during its Monsoon session passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018 that awards death penalty to convicts charges with rape of girls below the age of 12 years. The bill, which will next be placed before the upper house or Rajya Sabha, will replace the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance that currently says, “Rape and gang rape of girls below the age of 12 years will carry minimum imprisonment of twenty years and is extendable to life imprisonment or death.” Speaking before the house in a two hour discussion, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said ‘there are provisions for rape and gang rape of woman but not for minor girls and that needs to change.
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Mentally challenged minor raped by 10 over two months in Meghalaya

In a shocking case from north eastern state of Meghalaya a 13-year-old mentally challenged girl was raped by over 10 people for a period of two months in the North Garo Hills region. The case apparently came to light after the wife of one of the accused caught the men in act and reported the same to the village. The parents of the girl lodged a complaint in the Resubelpara police station on Sunday, on the basis of which 9 people were arrested while one is currently on the run. “The accused confessed to their crime that they took turns to rape the girl at various times and at various locations in the village,” Circle Inspector G K Sangma was quoted by Hindustan Times. Among the accused are two minors, while others are married men.

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Assam tables final NRC draft, 40 lakh face deportation 

The Assam government on Monday released the final draft of the highly debated National Register of Citizens (NRC), putting the position of around 40 lakhs people as immigrants. The NRC is a list of citizens in Assam and being recorded for the first time since 1951, in a process to separate illegal immigrants from the rest. Immediate political reactions came from the side of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who called this BJP’s way to ‘divide and rule’, and against Biharis and Bengalis. Slamming similar reactions from opposition parties, Home Minister Rajnath Singh warned, “It is happening under the supervision of the Supreme Court. Such sensitive issues should not be politicized."

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India tightens grip on Antigua to corner Mehul Choksi

In a launch to catch the fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, the Indian intelligence agencies on Monday tried forcing the Antigua and Barbuda government to restrict the corrupt jeweler’s movement through land, sea or air transport. As per reports by the Press Trust of India (PTI), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) alerted the Caribbean country ‘in writing and verbally, to confirm his presence in their territory and detain him.’ The report further says that an MEA high commissioner will meet the authorities of the foreign country today. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi who have been on the run since the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud was unearthed, on Friday had said that he took the Antiguan citizenship last year to expand his business.

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Alliance with BJP was like drinking poison: Mehbooba Mufti

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday lashed on its ex-ally BJP, saying it was like drinking a cup of poison and only continued the three-year alliance for her late father and her political predecessor Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s sake. "Mufti Sahab agreed to join hands with BJP again because we had a good alliance during Vajpayee Ji reign. But this time, it was a difficult decision. Forming an alliance with BJP was like drinking poison. I suffered during the two years two months of the alliance," Mehbooba Mufti said. The leader further said ‘commitment to the agenda of alliance’ from the government had forced her to continue to the coalition.

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7 members of a family commit mass suicide in Jharkhand

Seven members of the same family allegedly committed suicide in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district on Monday. Two bodies were found hanging and five others bodies were found on the bed of the home, said police. The deceased have been identified as Deepak Jha (45) who hailed from Bhagalpur district, his old father & mother, his younger brother Rupesh (30), his wife Pinki Jha (40), his daughter Shrishti (5) and son Jangu (18 months). The bodies of Deepak & his brother Rupesh were hanging were the rest were found on the bed. According to house owner A. Mishra, Deepak Jha, 40, wanted to set up his own business but was in debt. His younger brother, Rupesh Jha, 30, was unemployed.  The incident came to notice when the school van of Deepak Jha's daughter kept blowing its horn on Monday morning. A girl student from van knocked on the door and saw the bodies. This is the second case of mass deaths in a family in the last 10 days in Jharkhand.

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Kerala priest, who offered bribe to nun to withdraw rape case, asked to step down

The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) catholic church on Monday has ordered a priest to step down a day after he bribed a nun to withdraw rape case against a bishop. A 46-year-old nun has accused Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mullackal of sexually abusing her 13 times during 2014 and 2016. The matter came to light when the accused himself went to police to file a complaint against the victim and five others for threatening and blackmailing him. She leaked an audio of a phone call on Sunday where a priest can be heard saying "We can buy some land, build a convent and shift you all there safely. This won't happen tomorrow but everything has a time. We can think about it." He also gave threats if she does not withdraw the case against the Archbishop. In a statement, the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), to which Father James Ethayil belongs to, has termed the incident as unfortunate and went on to clarify that the Church has nothing to do with the alleged offers made by the priest to the nun.

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