BENGALURU: The first arrest warrant was issued on Saturday against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who had been absconding after the sexual abuse cases registered against him. Sources confirmed that the warrant was issued by the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court following an application by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) established to investigate the cases against Prajwal. However, sources in the SIT refused to reveal the grounds mentioned in the application filed befor

NEW DELHI: India on Saturday advised its students in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to stay indoors amidst reports of mob violence that erupted after some student groups got into an altercation. According to estimates, there are close to 8000 Indian students studying in Kyrgyzstan. We are in touch with our students. The situation is presently calm but students are advised to stay indoors for the moment and get in touch with the Embassy in case of any issue, said a statement released by the Indian Embassy

NEW DELHI: As the ongoing row between the West Bengal government and Governor C V Ananda Bose came knocking at its doors, the Supreme Court warned both the parties to resolve the issue relating to appointing VCs amicably between them, or else the court would have to intervene. Please try to resolve your (State Government VS Governor) differences, amicably, in appointing VCs, else, we will come in picture and appoint, a two-judge bench of the top court led by Justice Surya Kant and comprising Jus

NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), met in London on May 17 for the annual UK-India Strategic Dialogue. Kwatra also met other senior leaders and officials including the UK Minister of State for Defence Procurement. The two reviewed he progress made on the UK-India 2030 Roadmap since the last Dialogue in January 2023 and looked ahead to the next phase of bilateral coope

MUMBAI: A confident Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge declared on Saturday that the INDIA alliance is poised to secure 46 out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Thirteen seats in the state, including six in Mumbai, are scheduled for polling In the upcoming fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20. Kharge was addressing a press conference alongside his Maha Vikas Aghadi partners, former Union Minister and NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and former Chief Minister and Shiv Sen

LUCKNOW: In a last-minute push to BJP's poll campaign in the prestigious seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that he is confident that Rahul Gandhi is losing from Rae Bareli this time. Asking the people of Amethi to opt between PM Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he accused the latter of fleeing to Wayanad after losing Amethi in 2019. Now Rahul Baba is back in Raebareli. I have been in Raebareli for three days and can say with co

NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has alerted traders, fruit handlers and Food Business Operators (FBOs) to strictly ensure compliance with the prohibition on calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits, particularly during the mango season. Calcium carbide, commonly used for ripening fruits like mangoes, releases acetylene gas, which contains harmful traces of arsenic and phosphorus. Recently, FSSAI seized 575 kg of mangoes worth Rs 72,000 from fruit stal

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed the entire country is seething in anger against the BJP and will end its dictatorial rule on June 4, the counting day of the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a street meeting in West Delhi's Najafgarh area, he claimed the BJP would soon arrest AAP leaders such as Raghav Chaddha, Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to crush the opposition. The AAP national convener made the comments on the day his aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested in connection

NEW DELHI: The poll panel on Saturday said that the election-time seizures of inducements reached to Rs 8,889 crore that aimed to influence voters, as confiscation of narcotics and other contrabands amounted to 45 percent of the total seizure. The Election Commission of India (ECI) also revealed that over 4.24 lakh complaints were received from citizens on cVigil app in the last two months and 99.9 per cent of them have been disposed of. At 45 per cent, drugs and other contrabands constituted th

NEW DELHI: Indias biggest skill competition has drawn maximum participation from the southern states, with Tamil Nadu witnessing the highest number of competitors who are showcasing their expertise in areas as varied as traditional crafts to the latest technologies. From Tamil Nadu 86 participants - the highest from any state in India - are competing in the India Skills Competition 2024, followed by Karnataka with 61 competitors. This year, IndiaSkills is witnessing the participation of over 900

LUCKNOW: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday targeted the BJP over its slogan of winning more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, saying it indicated that the party was making a devious attempt to bring a new Constitution for the country. Accusing the BJP government at the Centre of being anti-farmer, he said PM Narendra Modi brought a constitution amendment bill in 2014 to weaken the land acquisition law that was brought in by the previous Congress-led dispensation. Farmers we

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party was planning to ban its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), after winning a third term in power. Speaking at his last rally here before the campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections ended in Maharashtra, Thackeray also said that the Election Commissioner who was acting like Modi's servant will be removed after the INDIA alliance government comes to power. The way they tried to

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat BJP has launched a unique campaign to attract voters from Uttar Pradesh. Thousands of migrant workers residing in Surat, Gujarat, are calling their relatives in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, urging them to vote for the BJP. During these conversations, they highlight the Gujarat model of development. As an incentive, participants in this effort will have the opportunity to meet Gujarat BJP president CR Patil for lunch or dinner. This election campaign strategy is

KOLKATA: Asserting that electors of the country will teach a lesson to the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the term of the saffron party-led NDA government at the Centre will expire soon. Addressing a rally in Kultali in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district in support of Trinamool Congress candidate from Jaynagar Pratima Mandal, Banerjee blamed the BJP for making the lives of poor people miserable. A right lesson ha

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that he and other AAP leaders would go to the BJP headquarters on March 19 so that the prime minister can send anyone he wants to jail. The BJP is saying they will send AAP MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail too, he claimed at a press briefing hours after his aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on his party's parliamentarian Swati Maliwal. Kejriwal, who is als

GONDA: Karan Bhushan Singh, the BJP's Kaiserganj Lok Sabha candidate, brushes aside the sexual assault allegations levelled against his father Brij Bhushan Singh saying these are political and made up as he urges the people to bless him with their votes like they have always done to his family. Karan Bhushan, 33, has been attending an average of 10 small public meetings every day in different parts of the constituency. Apart from elderly and a handful of women, young men form a major chunk in th

NEW DELHI: Former vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and former Union minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi have cast their votes using the home voting facility, the Delhi poll body said. The office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi on Thursday kicked off the home voting facility for elderly voters and persons with disabilities (PwDs) and it will go on till May 24. According to the data shared by the office,

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday deplored the BJP for esorting to violence and attacking its North East Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, saying this showed everyone in the saffron party was nervous in the face of a historic defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Fearing defeat, the BJP MP from North East Delhi has now resorted to hooliganism. Remember, the Congress party is Gandhian, not Godse-wadi. Our identity is not of those who fear, but of those who fight for justice, Congress general secret

NEW DELHI: The Modi government's first-of-its-kind initiative to record the experiences of government employees has elicited enthusiastic responses. More than18000 government employees from across 96 departments and organizations have shared their 'in-service experiences' through the initiative known as 'Anubhav-Portal', started in 2015 by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension. The concept was to record the experiences of retired employees and officials and publish them after

PATNA: Former Union minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday voiced strong displeasure over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the Congress, if it came to power, will bulldoze the Ram temple at Ayodhya. Addressing a press conference at the Sadaqat Ashram, the state Congress headquarters, Khurshid also reminded Modi that he entire nation has accepted the temple that was built in accordance with a Supreme Court verdict. The Prime Minister should remember that the credit for the construction o

GOGHAT: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the INDIA bloc will come to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and BJP will ot cross the 200 mark in the polls. She accused Congress, and CPI(M) of having entered into a nexus with BJP in the state to discredit the state government and asked the electorate not to vote for any non-TMC parties which will benefit the saffron camp. Addressing an election rally at Goghat under the Arambagh L

AMBALA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharpened his attack on the Congress on Saturday and said it was his dhakad (strong) government that brought down the wall of Article 370 and as a result, Kashmir is now moving ahead on the path of development. Modi said the history of the Congress has been of betraying India's forces and soldiers as he referred to the Jeep scandal, the first scam during the grand old party's rule. Could a weak government have changed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir? Modi

SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Kashmir to issue directions to the administration, the BJP and its proxies on defeating the National Conference, party leader Omar Abdullah alleged on Saturday. Shah on Friday wrapped up his brief visit to the Kashmir Valley during which he interacted with several delegations, including local Sikhs, Paharis, and those from the BJP, officials said. Though his visit in the midst of Lok Sabha elections led to speculation of his meetings with some Kash

NEW DELHI: The extreme heat crippling large parts of northwest India will continue for another five days, with Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh predicted to bear the maximum impact. Swathes of north India stewed in brutal heat on Friday, with maximum temperatures soaring to a scorching 47.4 degrees Celsius in west Delhi's Najafgarh, the highest this season in the country so far. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted severe heat wave over the plains of

NEW DELHI: Sahara Group has criticised the upcoming series titled Scam 2010 - The Subrata Roy Saga, calling it an abusive and grossly condemnable act and said it is contemplating suitable legal action against the makers. The series, dubbed as a dust-to-diamonds story of maverick businessman Subrata Roy, is the third chapter of filmmaker Hansal Mehta's smash hit series Scam for streaming service Sony LIV after Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story and Scam 2003: The Telgi Story. The latest instalmen

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday asked why Narendra Modi has roken his promise of giving legal sanctity to a minimum support price for crops and why he prioritises his politics over the country's daughters, as the prime minister hits the campaign trail in Haryana. Referring to the protest by women wrestlers from Haryana, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the prime minister did not take action against his party's MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is accused of molestation by the wome

DEHRADUN: Amidst the controversy surrounding the Uttarakhand High Court's order to shift from Nainital, lawyers have petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the decision. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari requested the incumbent Chief Minister to intervene in the matter, supporting Kumaon lawyers who are opposing the High Court relocation issue. A special leave petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by lawyers hailing from various districts of Kumaon, in

MALEGAON: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday hit out at the Congress over its alleged proposal to introduce inheritance, and said Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's soul has crept into the grand old party. He said the inheritance tax is like the 'jizya' tax imposed by Aurangzeb. Addressing a rally in Malegaon town in Maharashtra's Nashik district, he said the BJP is contesting elections not merely for power but to build a developed India. There should be no doubt that Narendra Modi

After physical assault against Swati Maliwal by Kejriwal's personal secretary Bibhav Kumar, AAP has released a fresh CCTV footage of her in a bid to 'expose her.' In the fresh footage shared by AAP, the party Rajya Sabha MP could be seen engaged in an argument with the security personnel who escorted her out of the house, even as she was walking out of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence. The party shared the video clip on the platform X with a caption in Hindi reading, This video exposes

IMPHAL: A 30-year-old man was shot at in Manipur's Imphal West district on Saturday morning, police said. The incident happened near Khumbong primary health centre in the Patsoi police station area, they said. The man, identified as Laishram Kumarjit -- a designer by profession, was shot in his left calf, they added. He was rushed to a hospital in Imphal for treatment. The gunmen are yet to be identified, police said, stating that the motive behind the shooting is yet to be established.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Saturday arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide Bibhav Kumar in connection with Swati Maliwal assault case. Kumar was apprehended from the residence of CM Kejriwal. Delhi Police had registered a case of molestation and attempt to culpable homicide against Kumar for physically assaulting AAP Rajya Sabha MP, Maliwal at the CM's residence on May 13. The police had lodged an FIR under sections 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 341 (wrongful restraint

WASHINGTON: Six individuals, including four Indian nationals, were on Friday indicted by a federal court for staging armed robberies in Chicago and the suburbs so that the victims could apply for immigration visas reserved for certain crime victims in the United States. According to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Chicago, the four individuals Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel and Rajni Kumar Patel, arranged with Parth Nayi and Kewong Young to be victims of the staged ro

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has restrained various entities from using actor Jackie Shroff's name, including sobriquets Jackie and Jaggu Dadda, voice and images for commercial purposes without permission. Justice Sanjeev Narula, in an interim order dated May 15, said the entities selling wallpapers, T-shirts and posters, etc. on e-commerce websites and operating an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platform were prima facie acting in violation of the actor's personality and publicity righ

MUMBAI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of inciting people and dividing society through his election speeches. Kharge was addressing a press conference of the INDIA bloc, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders were present. The opposition alliance held an election rally in the city on Friday. No prime minister before Modi has ever indulged in inciting people like he has been doing. He

NEW DELHI: AAP leader Atishi on Saturday claimed party MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her, is facing arrest in an illegal recruitment case and she was lackmailed by the BJP to become part of the conspiracy against the Chief Minister. Talking to PTI-Video, Atishi, who is also a cabinet minister in the Delhi government, alleged that Maliwal went to the chief minister's official residence on Monday without an appointment. Fight gets nasty as Mal

BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK: A double-engine government by BJP is crucial for acceleration of development in Odisha, said Bollywood's dream girl and BJP leader Hema Malini on Friday. The star campaigner of BJP in her first election campaign in the state targeted the BJD government accusing it of failing to secure Odisha's progress on many fronts. Hema, who attended BJP's Ashirvad Samabesh at Salia Sahi, the state capital's biggest slum, to canvass for party's Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha candidate Aparajita Sa

CUTTACK: The Railway Board has sanctioned a final location survey for a new line between Angul and Nayagarh Town via Narasinghpur, Kantilo and Khandapada and a chord line between Khurda Town and Kaipadar Road. Addressing a Vijay Sankalp Samabesh at Sri Ram Bazaar in Narasinghpur, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw showed the sanction order and said the new line is poised to bring significant economic and infrastructural benefits to the region, enhancing connectivity and fostering growth. The Rail

CHENNAI: DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of picking up a cheap strategy of stoking confrontation between states as his propaganda of communal hatred did not help. Stalin slammed what he called Modi's imaginary tales and bags of lies by alleging that leaders of southern states including Tamil Nadu (INDIA bloc constituents) were speaking in a derogatory manner, against the people of Uttar Pradesh. Days ago, PM Modi had alleged in a poll

BHUBANESWAR: As campaign has reached a peak ahead of the second phase elections in Odisha on May 20, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday came down heavily on the Union ministers, CMs from other states and others leaders for resorting to what he termed derogatory and abusive language in their campaign meetings and rallies. With the Opposition, particularly the BJP pressing all its might in the state to win the polls by bringing in top ministers, its CMs and top leaders, the chief minister sai

SAMBALPUR/ANGUL: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday visited Sambalpur, Angul and Dhenkanal districts urging people to exercise their franchise in favour of BJD candidates from the areas during the polls. In Sambalpur, the chief minister, bolstering his support for BJD organisational secretary and MP candidate from Sambalpur seat Pranab Prakash Das along with MLA candidates from Sambalpur and Rengali, Rohit Pujari and Sudarshan Haripal, appealed to the people to vote for Jodi Sankha. Address

NEW DELHI: India on Saturday asked its students in Bishkek to stay indoors after the Kyrgyz capital city reported fights between some locals and foreigners. The Indian embassy in the Central Asian country said it is in touch with the Indian students and the situation is calm now. The mission asked Indian students in the city to stay indoors. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar advised the Indian students to stay in regular touch with the Indian embassy. Monitoring the welfare of Indian studen

NEW DELHI: Congress leader and partys candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from the Northeast Delhi constituency, Kanhaiya Kumar, was slapped by some unidentified people while he was campaigning in his constituency on Friday. According to the police, apart from Kanhaiya, an AAP councillor named Chhaya Sharma was also assaulted in the incident. Sharing details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said information regarding the incident was received at 6.53 pm, the caller stating

BHUBANESWAR: A day after ordering deployment of 20 companies of CAPF in Ganjam in view of pre-poll violence in Khallikote, chief electoral officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal on Friday held talks with political parties seeking their cooperation in ensuring peaceful voting in the next three phases of elections. During the meeting, attended by leaders of major political parties, the CEO reiterated there is no place for violence in democracy and no law and order situation will be tolerated during the

ROURKELA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah once again launched a scathing attack on the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government, dubbing it the Jhola Sarkar over issues related to the Public Distribution System (PDS) rice scheme. Addressing a massive election rally in Rourkela, Shah sought votes for BJPs Sundargarh Lok Sabha candidate Jual Oram and the partys Assembly candidates for Rourkela, RN Pali, and Birmitrapur. Shah questioned the competence of the BJD government, raising concerns about the admini

HYDERABAD: Though there is still over a fortnight left for the votes cast for the Lok Sabha elections to be counted, supporters of some candidates in Telangana are expressing confidence that their leaders would not only win, but also bag a berth in the Union Cabinet. With votes in four of the seven phases of elections now cast, both the NDA and INDIA blocs are claiming that they are ahead and would form the government at the Centre. In the state, candidates fielded by the Congress and BJP are co

A distance of 335 km between two places can change many things. Two different geographies could mean different lives, livelihood, dialects, climate, cultural practices, food and a lot more. But, between Hinjili and Kantabanji, there are dissimilarities and equally, a common ground. Hinjili, for all the attention it garnered over the last two decades and a half, is like a reluctant celebrity. A quaint little semi-urban place, it has grown over the years into a municipal area with modern amenities

HYDERABAD: With the Telangana phase of the Lok Sabha elections ending, a swarm of Congress leaders from the state have landed in Uttar Pradeshs Rae Bareli to campaign for former AICC president Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is also planning to campaign for Rahul in Rae Bareli. Minister for Panchayat Raj, Women and Child Welfare Danasari Anasuya, alias Seethakka, confirmed that she was in Rae Bareli campaigning. She said that the Congress leaders are campaigning with the slogan Ab K

GURUGRAM: At least nine people were burnt alive and 15 injured when a moving bus caught fire near Tauru in Haryana's Nuh district in the early hours of Saturday, police said. The incident occurred around 2 am on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway. The bus was carrying around 60 people, all residents of Punjab's Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana, who were returning from pilgrim towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. All of them are relatives, police said. Nine people -- six women and three men -- were kil

NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast severe heatwave over plains of northwest, Bihar, east and central India in the next five days. The forecast indicates that northwestern India, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi, will experience a period of intense heat for five days. It will include unusually warm night time temperatures, which can intensify the risk of heat-related illness and death, IMD said in its forecast on Thursday. In its advisory, the weath

RANCHI: For the first time in Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat, two candidates of backward caste (OBC) have locked horns against each other making the contest interesting besides making it unpredictable also. Hazaribagh LS seat, a BJP stronghold with former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and his son Jayant Sinha winning the seat on BJP ticket for the last three terms, has become difficult for the party this time as the contest is primarily between the two backward (OBC) candidates Hazaribagh (Sadar) M