Top stories on 4 July in a capsule
Punjab makes drug test compulsory for all govt employees
In the latest development to curb the drug menace in the state of Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday rolled out the rule for every government official in the state to go through a drug test. With the implementation of the rule, around 3.50 lakh state government employees to go through the test including police personnel, from the time of their recruitment through every stage of their service. Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh has been assigned to form regulations on the same an also issue an official notification soon. The announcement comes a day after the CM has written to the Central government requesting death penalty for drug smugglers and peddler.
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Emirates re-introduces 'Hindu meal' after criticism
Following backlash through customer feedback on social media backlash, UAE based airline Emirates on late Wednesday, announced that they are re-introducing the Hindu meal, that was earlier decided to be made unavailable. Earlier in the day, the airlines had announced that the meal will not be available on board and customers can choose from a variety of regionally-inspired vegetarian and special meals. Citing food and drinks as an integral part of the airline’s flight experience, Emirates in its official statement said, “based on feedback from our customers, Emirates confirms we will continue to provide a Hindu meal option.”
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Burari Mystery Deaths Update: Police probe presence of 12th person in house
The Delhi police during investigation of the deaths of 11 members of the same family in Delhi’s Burari have found a new clue. The investigative officers are doubting the presence of a 12th person in the house during the deaths as the cause why the main door of the house was left open. “We are working on two theories. Either the family believed that a superpower would enter through the gate and save them the moment they hanged (themselves), or a 12th person was present in the house at the time of the deaths,” an officer informed the media. The police has also recovered more handwritten notes that suggest that the family has been involved in occult practices since 2007.
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Malayalee TV star arrested along with mother, sister in fake currency case
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Puducherry CM wants a Delhi repeat in state
After Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday curtailed the powers of the LG in Delhi, Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy wants a replication of the law in his union territory. Naranaswamy, who is locked in a bitter turf war with Union Territory Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi for a long time now, hailed the Supreme Court judgement, and insisted it was "totally applicable" to Puducherry. In a judgement seen as a major victory for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court today ruled that the LG has no independent power to take decisions and is bound by the elected government's advice. The Supreme Court said that except for three issues — public order, police and land — the Delhi government has the power to legislate and govern on other issues. Narayanaswamy has repeatedly accused Bedi of "overreach and interference" in the day-to-day running of the administration.
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Union government raises MSP for Kharif crops
In a big bonus for farmers, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government on Wednesday approved the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops for 2018-19. The minimum support price for paddy has been hiked by 1.5 times - the rest by approximately 50 per cent. As per news reports the price for the crops, that comprises of rice, millet and jowar among others, has been fixed at Rs 200 per quintal. The move is said to cost the government Rs 15000 crores in pubic funds. The fulfilment of the MSP promise comes in line with 2018 Budget promise where incumbent Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced to give farmers a price of 1.5 times of cost. Following the approval, BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar applauded the PM for his decision.
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The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) announced on Tuesday that the son of its elusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has died in a suicide attack in the Homs province of Syria. In a graphic released through official ISIS channels on Telegram, the jihadi group announced the death of Hudhayfah al-Badri, who shares the same birth surname as his father, Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri, better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The graphics and accompanying statement were attributed to ISIS' Homs branch, Wilayah Hims, which said that the son of the ISIS leader, or "khalifah," was killed battling supporters of the Syrian government. The report comes less than two weeks after Iraq conducted an air strike on three houses in the Syrian town of Hajin where Islamic State leaders were meeting, killing 45 members of the militant group.
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Controversial Islamic preacher and founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) Zakir Naik on Wednesday denied media reports that he will be arriving in India as baseless and false. “I have no plans to come to India until I feel safe from unfair prosecution. When I feel that the Indian government will be just and fair, I will surely return to my homeland,” said Naik, who is believed to have fled India in July 2016 after being accused of supporting terrorism. It was reported on Tuesday that Malaysian authorities had agreed to extradite Naik to India. His lawyer Shaharuddin Ali, however, said that Naik was yet to receive a formal request from the home minister of foreign affairs ministry on his deportation. The preacher, known for propagating hardline Salafi ideology, enjoys a wide following among a section of fundamentalists, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which is believed to have even bestowed him with a citizenship.
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Amid the news of lynchings triggered by messages on its platform, WhatsApp on Wednesday said it is "horrified" by the "terrible acts of violence", and outlined steps being taken by the company to address the issue. The government on Tuesday had issued a stern warning to the social media platform asking it to take immediate measures to prevent the spread of “irresponsible and explosive message”. The messenger officials said that they were testing labels that would highlight forwarded messages, thereby allowing people to reconsider before believing the contents of a message. WhatsApp said it is keen to share "best practices" on how the platform can be used by local police as a resource for their community. The messaging service also announced plans of working with academia to understand the spread of misinformation in India.
ISIS head Baghdadi’s son killed in Syria
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Islamic preacher Zakir Naik denies reports of coming to India
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WhatsApp reacts to lynchings after government's concern
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Lucknow passport regional office clears passports of UP inter-faith couple
The Passport Regional office of Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Wednesday submitted its reports on the controversial case of an inter-faith couple being denied their passports, by the now transferred regional officer, citing no obstruction in providing the couple with passports. The report by Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) said the police did not file any ‘adverse report’, which means six points related to criminal antecedents and citizenship. The couple, Anas Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth were apparently ‘heckled’ by former Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Vikas Mishra over their marriage and religion. "The passports of Tanvi Seth and Anas Siddiqui have been cleared, current RPO Piyush Verma, Lucknow told news agencies. Moreover, an internal investigation done by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) found the Mishra has exceeded his limits by asking the couple irrelevant questions.’ Earlier the Lucknow police had held Seth guilty of describing a different residential address than her actual one.
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