BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government over the murder of a state BJP leader on Friday, June 2 and said that the situation of law and order in the state is in ‘tatters’ and demanded a probe into the gruesome killing.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote a long post lambasting the state government and said that a BJP leader named Prashanta Ray Basunia was shot dead in Dinhata; Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. The miscreants forcefully entered his house and shot him.

Adhikari also stated that hundreds of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders are quitting the party in Dinhata daily and are joining BJP every day. Adhikari also said that the top leadership of the Mamata Banerjee led-party is rattled and the political murder is a reaction to it.

He said, “I demand CBI investigation as any fair investigation by the police would be obstructed or influenced by the ruling party, due to the involvement of ‘influential’ people.”

The BJP leader also said that the cases of people dying due to explosions or murders in the state are rising significantly and the political murders targeting the opposition party members are becoming a norm.

Adhikari demands resignation of Bengal Home Minister
The Bengal BJP chief also demanded the resignation of the Home Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee saying that she must accept that she miserably failed in maintaining the law and order situation.

A court here on Friday sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for the murder of a man over a monetary dispute nearly nine years ago, a prosecution lawyer said. The court also slapped fine of Rs 20,000 on each of the three convicts. Gulshan, 22, a resident of Suket police station area in Rajasthan’s Kota district, was stoned to death in October 2014. His body was recovered from near the bank of the Patli river on October 3.

A case was registered against three people based on a complaint filed by Gulshan’s father. The special SC/ST court convicted Sonu alias Tonu (22), Babu alias Bajrang (23) and Kailash (22), all residents of Suket, for the murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment, special public prosecutor Hitesh Jain said.

During investigation of the case, it emerged that the thee murdered Gulshan for Rs 1,000 that he had borrowed, he said. Statements of at least 27 witnesses were recorded during the trial and 23 documents were produced before the court, he added. One of the convicts, Sonu alias Tonu, was in jail under judicial custody since his arrest in the case, while the other two were out on bail, he said.

At least 56 passengers were injured after a Himachal roadways bus they were travelling in rammed into a hill on a mountainous road in Rohru area in the district here on Friday, police said.

The accident happened in the Barsheel area when the bus was on its way to Chidgaon from Tinjanu.

As soon as the driver informed the passengers about the brake failure, they started panicking and the driver turned the bus towards the hill, saving it from rolling down into a gorge.

About 20 passengers with major injuries have been shifted to the civil hospital in Rohru while the other 36 were discharged from Community Health Centre Sandasu in Chidgaon after treatment.

This is the second bus accident in the last two days. As many as 40 people were injured after an HRTC bus rolled down the road at Kshol near Karsog in Mandi district on Thursday afternoon. There were no fatalities as the vehicle rammed into a tree.

The Khap mahapanchayat being organised in Kurukshetra has concluded and its leaders have issued an ultimatum to the government to arrest outgoing WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. They have also stated that if the arrest is not made then the farmers will accompany the wrestlers back to the Jantar Mantar for the protest. The Balyan Khap chief Rakesh Tikait, while speaking to mediapersons stated, “The government has time till the 9th (June) to resolve the matter through talks, he (Brij Bhushan) should be arrested or else we will take these children (wrestlers) to sit at Jantar Mantar on the 9th, it has been decided. We will hold panchayats across the country.”

“Wrestlers have said that we had given you 5 days time and nothing has happened yet, we are very tense and any accident can happen,” Rakesh Tikait said.

Naresh Tikait’s intervention
Rakesh Tikait’s intervention in the wrestlers protest came after Sakshi Malik, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and other wrestlers announced that they will immerse their medals in the Ganga at Haridwar, as part of their continuing protest against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Just as they were about to drown their medals, Naresh Tikait, Rakesh Tikait’s younger brother and also a farmer leader, intervened and convinced them against immersing their medals. Naresh Tikait took the medals from the wrestlers and sought five days time to hold parleys with the authorities. That deadline is supposed to end on June 3.

Anurag Thakur’s support to wrestlers
Anurag Thakur, Union Sports Minister, said on Friday that everyone wants to see the wrestlers, but that can only happen once the proper legal procedure is followed, the PTI reported.

Thakur’s comments come days after the protesting wrestlers vowed to toss their medals into the Ganga river in Haridwar as a form of protest following Singh was accused of sexual harassment.

A slew of complaints against Brij Bhushan
Based on claims of sexual harassment made by wrestlers, the Delhi Police have lodged two FIRs and ten complaints against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the outgoing head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

The Ministry of External Affairs has expressed its dismay over the abrupt shifting of toddler Ariha Shah to a foster home for children with special needs by the German government. The child was separated from her Indian parents by German authorities in 2021 when she was just seven months old. During a press conference on Friday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the government has been working towards the return of Ariha to her parents at the earliest. The child was put under Germany’s youth welfare custody when she was just seven months old and has been in a foster care home for the past 20 months. She was separated from her parents on suspicions of sexual abuse.

“Our embassy is repeatedly requesting the German authority to ensure that Ariha’s connection with our cultural, and religious background is not compromised. We urge German authorities to do all that is necessary to send Ariha to India at the earliest, which is also her inalienable right as an Indian national. We remain committed to ensuring the return of Ariha Shah to India,” Bagchi said.

Ariha’s mother questions the German government
In an exclusive interview with Republic TV, Ariha’s mother Dhara Shah questioned the German government as to why it is unwilling to return her child when the Indian government is vouching for it. She also revealed that her daughter was shifted without a court order to a special foster care last week which is meant for children with special needs. “When the German court-appointed expert said she could live with us, our Indian government has said we can keep her, then why aren’t they handing her over even to the government?’ she questioned.

Speaking about the shifting of the child, Bagchi said, “We are dismayed to learn that the child was abruptly shifted away from her current foster parent to a specialised foster care arrangement. The manner in which this shift was carried out is a matter of concern. We and the parents believe that this rapid change is not in the child’s best interest and could have far-reaching consequences for her emotional and mental development.”

“We were terrified that Ariha was separated from her foster mother with whom she was living for 20 months. But we are now relieved that the Government of India has issued a strong statement. Ariha is an Indian citizen and it is her right to come to India,” Ariha’s mother said.

She again questioned why the German government is unwilling to return the child when the Centre has found a poster parent here in India. Thanking the government for its statement, she said “I have full faith that the Government of India will soon bring Ariha back.”

Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Friday said winnability would be a key factor in thrashing out a seat-sharing arrangement between the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies in Maharashtra for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Chavan said the Congress is a national outfit and will take a decision on the number of Lok Sabha seats it wants to contest in the state based on feedback from party workers.

”We want to ensure that seat-sharing talks take place as per the prevailing political situation and in a positive atmosphere,” said the former chief minister.

A two-day meeting of the state Congress to take stock of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, the second highest in the country after Uttar Pradesh, began in Mumbai on Friday, and Chavan said the party will review its position in these seats.

”We will review the party position in all the 48 Lok Sabha seats, speak to leaders in Assembly segments falling under these constituencies and assess our winning possibility,” he said.

The Congress had won just one Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra, Chandrapur, in the 2019 polls. That seat has now fallen vacant following the death of sitting MP Suresh aalis Balu Dhanorkar earlier this week.

Chavan maintained senior Congress MLAs who have been winning their Assembly seats consistently for three to four terms will be considered for allotting tickets for Lok Sabha polls.

He criticised the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state for not holding the long due local body polls.

“The government is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation of holding local body elections,” said the Congress leader, who was a minister in the previous MVA administration.

Replying to questions, Chavan said bypolls to Chandrapur and Pune Lok Sabha seats, which have fallen vacant due to the death of sitting MPs, are unlikely to take place (apparently because less than one year is left for fresh parliamentary polls).

He said 24 Lok Sabha constituencies will be discussed on the first day of the party meeting.

To curb illegal mining activities in Bihar, the state Mines and Geology department is all set to have its own dedicated ‘Armed Mining Police Force’, an official said.

Two dedicated battalions will be created on the lines of the Bihar Industrial Security Force for ‘Armed Mining Police’, the official said.

he official of the Mines and Geology department on condition of anonymity.

“It has also been decided to create permanent outposts of mining police in Bhojpur and Bhagalpur districts where illegal sand mining activities are frequently reported. Arms training will be imparted at the Bihar Police training centres. The armed mining security personnel will work in coordination with the respective district police”,

The final proposal for the creation of the armed mining police is expected to be approved by the competent authority very soon, the official said.

The state has been witnessing incidents of violent attacks by the sand mafia injuring policemen and officers of the mines and geology department.

“Such incidents are mainly reported from Patna, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Saran and Vaishali districts. Recently, three mining officers, including two women inspectors, were brutally attacked by miscreants during a drive against illegal mining in Bihta (near Patna) on April 17.

“Immediately after the incident, the department decided to provide arms training (two-week duration) and also how to command force to its all 90 inspectors, including around 30 women officers, to counter such attacks in future”, the official said, adding now it has been decided to create a dedicated armed mining police.

When contacted, Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Mines Commissioner of Bihar, told PTI, “Yes, we (the department) will soon have own dedicated ‘Armed Mining Police’. The process is being finalised.” In its effort to strictly enforce mining-related regulations in the state, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed a software, for the department, which will keep a tab on the entire sand quarry activity and track trucks carrying sand from the quarry to depots and other designated destinations.

The software ‘Khanansoft’, has been developed by NIC for the Bihar Mines and Geology Department. Registering a massive growth in revenue collection from sand mining, the department earned a record Rs 1,384.46 crore in the financial year 2022-23.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that the Indian Union Muslim League is a completely secular party drew a sharp response from the BJP on Friday as its leaders alleged that the Kerala party is guided by the same mindset which was behind Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s All India Muslim League.

“These are the same people who had stayed back after partition. They formed the Muslim League here after partition and became MPs. They advocated for Sharia law, wanted separate seats reserved for Muslims. They are the same people who are part of the same Muslim League. It is Rahul Gandhi and the Congress that sees Hindu terrorism but feels Muslim League is secular,”

Union minister Anurag Thakur said.

Thakur said it is imperative that the former Congress president speaks favourably of organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist organisation banned in several countries, and the Muslim League as he has to contest against from Wayanad, a Muslim-majority seat, after losing from Amethi.

On a tour to the US, Gandhi told reporters in Washington that the Muslim League is a completely secular party and there is nothing non-secular about it. He was answering a question about his party’ alliance with the regional party.

BJP national spokesperson and MP Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed a link between the regional party and Jinnah’s outfit, which spearheaded the partition stir among Muslims. He noted that Jinnah’s party had swept the pre-Independence provincial polls in Madras presidency, of which today’s Kerala was then a part.

The anticipatory bail plea of Haryana IAS officer Vijay Dahiya, facing arrest in a corruption case, was on Friday dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court here.

The petition was filed by Dahiya, a 2001 Haryana cadre officer, who was earlier posted as the commissioner of the Haryana Skill Development Department in Panchkula. He was booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on April 20 after the arrest of a woman.

According to the allegations, the woman, known to Dahiya, allegedly acted as a facilitator to get some bills cleared in lieu of money.

Apart from the woman, a private person, the ACB had registered an FIR against Dahiya and one more official against various provisions of the law including the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Justice G S Gill pronounced the order dismissing the plea filed by Dahiya, state counsel Deepak Sabharwal said.

Earlier, a Panchkula court had rejected Dahiya’s anticipatory bail plea in the matter on May 3 after which he approached the HC.

The complainant in the case, a Fatehabad resident, had stated that he was running an educational institution and imparting computer training besides running classes for AC mechanics.

He had stated that for the work the Haryana Skill Development Department had to pay bills amounting to Rs 50 lakh to him which were pending for some time and Rs 5 lakh was being demanded by another co-accused in the case to clear them who had told the complainant to meet the woman who was known to Dahiya.

The complainant approached the ACB after which the woman was arrested while allegedly taking Rs 3 lakh as a bribe.

Dahiya has submitted that he was falsely implicated in the case due to “motivated considerations”.

He had also submitted that in the case there was neither any demand by him nor any acceptance of a bribe.

It was submitted that the petitioner has been implicated in the case for the mere reason that he is known to the accused woman and that the prosecution has attempted to concoct the story that the petitioner is also an accused in the case.