INDIA

Over 60 diaspora groups, feminist and Dalit in the United Kingdom have urged the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Commissioner)  Michelle Bachelet to ask Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to dismiss Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in view of the outrage over the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl last month by four upper-caste men in Hathras district of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state. And to set up an international enquiry into the Hathras rape case and other rapes and crimes against women, particularly Dalit and oppressed caste women in UP since the Yogi government came to power in the state. The full text and signatories are below: To the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet Dear Ms Bachelet, We are...

According to the Ministry of Health, India's COVID-19 death toll crossed One lakh-mark on Saturday after 1,069 people succumbed to coronavirus in the last 24 hours. More than 79,476 cases reported in the span of the last 24 hours. The country's total tally surged past 64-lakh. The government claimed that the recovery rate stands at a high of 83.84%, while the fatality rate has come down to 1.56 %. As per ICMR, 7,78,50,403 samples of COVID-19 have been tested in India till Friday out of which 11,32,675 samples were tested. As per the Johns Hopkins University data, India is the second worst-hit nation in terms of  after the United States and is at the third place in terms of COVID-19 deaths. However, India is in the first position in terms of the number of recovered coronavirus...

The Delhi police special cell has arrested four Kashmiri youths and recovered over 120 rounds of ammunition and four sophisticated pistols from their possession. Police said that one of the arrested persons Ishfaq Majeed Koka is the elder brother of slain Militant Burhan Koka, ex-chief of the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an offshoot of the Al Qaeda in Jammu Kashmir. The other three arrested include Altaf Ahmad Dar, Mushtaq Ahmad Gani and Aqib Safi. On October 2, specific source information was received by the Special Cell that a group of Kashmiri youths who were camping in Delhi for the past few days, had collected a huge cache of arms-ammunition and that they will be visiting the area in and around ITO and Daryaganj. According to Delhi police, they came to Delhi on September 27 an...

India on Saturday successfully test-fired an advanced version of the Shaurya surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile in Odisha. The Shaurya missile can strike targets at a range of around 800 kilometres, and will complement the existing class of missile systems. “It will be lighter and easier to operate,” sources in the government said. In the final phase of its course, the missile moves at hypersonic speeds while moving close to its target, the sources further said. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has lately carried out a slew of missile tests amid heightened tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control.

After the Indian government shuts down Amnesty international operations in India and freezes its bank accounts, India has received attention at the highest levels in the US government, according to a senior State Department official. About the Indian government's action against Amnesty International, the official said on Wednesday, "We've been focused, we've been very, very closely following this issue, not just in the administration, but I know that our members of Congress have as well. It has received attention at the highest levels of our government. "We look forward to a response, and a resolution to a situation that's consistent with international principles and the rule of law." Accusing the Indian government of running a "witch hunt", the international human right...

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanaka Gandhi were going to meet the family of the victim in the Hathras gang rape who died on Tuesday and whose dead-of-night cremation by the UP police has provoked nationwide outrage. They were stopped by the Police in Greater Noida near the Yamuna Expressway. Rahul Gandhi claimed that he was pushed to the ground and lathi-charged. “Just now police pushed me, lathicharged me and threw me to the ground. I want to ask, can only Modi Ji and RSS walk in this country? Can’t a normal person walk? Our vehicle was stopped, so we started walking,” the former Congress president said. “Nothing will stop those who fight for justice. Not bullets, not batons, not even tyrants,” the Congress said in a tweet. Photos and videos on social media showed Rahul Gandhi falling down ...

Two Indian soldiers were killed and four others were injured in firing by Pakistani army along the Line of Control in Naugam sector of Kupwara in north Kashmir, Indian army said on Thursday. “Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along LoC in Naugam Sector, Kupwara today morning by firing mortars and other weapons. Two soldiers (were killed) and four soldiers were injured who are being evacuated,” Col Rajesh Kalia, defence ministry spokesman based in Srinagar said. “Befitting response is being given,” the spokesman added. Last night army said that a soldier, Lance Naik Karnail Singh, was killed and another, Virender Singh, injured in Pakistan firing along LoC in Poonch’s Krishana Ghati sector.

BJP stalwart LK Advani, acquitted of conspiracy charges in the 1992 Babri mosque demolition, said Wednesday that the judgment vindicated his and the BJP’s belief and commitment towards the Ram temple movement. He also said he had chanted “Jai Shri Ram” after the verdict, describing it as a “moment of happiness for all of us”. “The judgement vindicates my personal and the BJP’s belief and commitment towards the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. I also feel blessed that this judgment has come in the footsteps of another landmark verdict of the Supreme Court given in November 2019, which paved the way for my long cherished dream of seeing a grand Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, the foundation-laying ceremony of which was held on August 5,” Mr Advani, 92, said in a statement. In the months building up to...

The family of 19-year-old Dalit Girl, claims that the girl's body was taken away by the police in the middle of the night for cremation the final rites. “The police have forcibly taken the dead body, and my father along with them for cremation. When my father reached Hathras, he was immediately taken (to the crematorium) by the police,” her brother said. The girl who was gangraped by four men on September 14 in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras and was receiving treatment at Delhi hospital was cremated in the middle of the night, the family of the victim has alleged. She was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the police said the cremation was being carried out “as per the wishes of the family”. An official said, “Other Administratio...

The Babri mosque demolition was not planned, a judge in Uttar Pradesh said today, acquitting all 32 accused including BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. The verdict in the 28-year-old case involving the demolition of Babri Masjid, which stood at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, was announced by a special court in Lucknow. The 1992 demolition, when thousands of Hindu activists tore down the mosque on December 6, was preceded by a series of rath yatras by the BJP's LK Advani. Mr Advani, 92, Murli Manohar Joshi, 86, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh were not present in court but joined via video link. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh are among the 32 surviving accused in the case; they were charged with criminal conspiracy and promoting ...