Top stories on 5 December in a capsule

Scientist killed, 3 injured in Explosion at IISc Bangalore

A scientist, working with a startup called Super-wave Technology, was killed and three others were injured after a suspected hydrogen cylinder exploded in a laboratory inside the campus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Manoj Kumar who is a native of Hyderabad and the three injured have been identified as Karthik, Naresh Kumar and Adulya. As per earlier reports, the explosion occurred around 2.20 pm at the research laboratory of Aerospace Department’s Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shockwave. The four people present in the laboratory at the time of the explosion suffered injuries due to the shockwave that was emitted after the incident. Atulya, Karthik and Naresh Kumar were severely injured and rushed to Ramaiah hospital where they are reported to be in a critical state.

_________________ 

RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5 % for the second time in a row

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday kept the key lending rate (repo) unchanged at 6.5% at its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review in the year. The reverse repo rate was also kept unchanged at 6.5 per cent. Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends short-term money to the banks and the reverse repo rate is the rate at which RBI borrows money from commercial banks. The decision was made following a three-day meeting led by the RBI Governor Urjit Patel on the backdrop of rising fuel prices. This is for the second time that the central bank did not change its lending rates. For the common man, this means that home loan and car loan rates will remain the same. The central bank has also retained GDP growth projection for 2018-19 at 7.4 per cent. 

_________________

Ab Rajdaar raaz kholega: PM Modi on Christian Michel extradition

A night after AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel was brought to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked the Opposition over the same and said, ab"Razdaar raaz kholega" in an apparent dig at the Congress party and the Gandhis. Addressing a rally in the poll-bound state of Rajasthan, PM Modi said, “The 36,000 crore VVIP chopper scam was carried out during the UPA government’s era. Now ‘Rajdaar’ (Michel) will reveal secrets of the politicians he served.” He further said that corruption has been a way of life for the Congress since long and they will never fight it. Meanwhile, Michel was produced before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday after which he was sent to 5-day custody. Meanwhile, Michel's lawyer Aljo K Joseph met Congress General Secretary Deepak Babaria at the party headquarter. When asked about the same, Joseph said he was doing his duty only as a lawyer.

_____________________

Main Accused in Bulandshahr cop killing claims innocence

The main accused in the Bulandshahr policeman killing case, Yogesh Raj who is currently on the run, released a video on Wednesday where he claimed innocence and said it is a conspiracy to trap him. Raj, a local Bajrang Dal leader said he had received a call on Monday morning that a few people were slaughtering cow near the sugarcane fields. After the call, he went to the fields after which he visited the Siyana police station to report the incident. However, Raj’s claims contradict his initial statement that he had gone for a walk on Monday when he saw a few people slaughtering cows. “I have full faith in God that my name will be cleared. I did not kill inspector Subodh Kumar Singh,” Raj went on to say on the video. As of now, 4 people are arrested in the case, while 24 more have been named in the FIR.
_____________________

SC okays Witness Protection Scheme plan, asks states to implement it

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a green signal for the implementation of a witness protection program draft introduced by the government and asked all states to implement it till the Parliament decides to make it a law. The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice AK Sikri after a petition had asked protection of witnesses in godman Asaram Bapu related rape case. According to news reports, the draft proposes several measures to safeguard a witness in criminal cases like- not bringing them in face-to-face contact with the accused, safeguarding personal properties of the witness and even changing the identity of the witness. "This will strengthen the criminal justice system and will consequently enhance national security scenario,” the draft said.

_____________________