Former Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam. (File)Delhi-NCR weather forecast, Delhi News Highlights: The Delhi Police Monday said they will question Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajendra Pal Gautam in connection with the event at Delhi’s Ambedkar Bhavan, where 10,000 people converted to Buddhism. A senior police officer told The Indian Express, “We received a complaint and have asked Gautam to join the probe. We have issued a notice asking him and others to appear on Tuesday. We want to question him about the allegations, his presence at the event, and check videos.” Gautam resigned as Delhi’s cabinet minister on Sunday after a video emerged of him at an event where 10,000 people converted to Buddhism. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday approved Gautam’s resignation.
In other news, the first list of undergraduate seats allocated through Delhi University’s new admission system will be released on October 18, the university said on Monday. The university has also extended the deadline for UG admission registrations till October 12, DU registrar Vikas Gupta said on Monday.
In a separate development, Delhi police on Monday registered an FIR against the organisers of the VHP’s Virat Hindu Sabha event under IPC section 188 for not taking permission from the police. DCP (Shahdara) R. Sathiyasundaram confirmed that the Police have registered an FIR and will take action against the organisers. The meeting of the Hindu groups in North East Delhi’s Dilshad Garden on Sunday was under the police scanner over alleged hate speeches made there, officers said.
Eight leopards caught on camera, 2-4 striped hyenas — and the relationship that plays out between the two.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday laid foundation stone for a six-lane flyover between Apsara Border and Anand Vihar in east Delhi and said his government has ended the step motherly treatment to the area in terms of development works.
Kejriwal also claimed that the government has saved around Rs 125 crore in the award of work for the 1.4-km-long flyover in east Delhi. Addressing a gathering, Kejriwal said that there used to be a step motherly treatment to east Delhi area in terms of development, but in the last seven years the AAP government has ended that trend.
"We have ended this step motherly treatment to east Delhi. Now, equal number of development works are taking place in east Delhi as are in other parts of the city. This six-lane flyover will be completed in 15 months and ease traffic congestion in the region. Our government has saved around Rs 125 crore in this flyover project," the Delhi CM said. (PTI)
Days after the NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) asked the Election Commission (EC) to initiate necessary action and an inquiry into a complaint against the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for allegedly “misusing children as political tools” in the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, a delegation of senior Congress leaders Monday met the election commissioners and asked them to reject the plea by the apex child rights body.
The EC had sent a notice to the Congress on the basis of the letter by the NCPCR.
After the meeting, Congress leaders said they told the poll body that the complaint against the Congress was “frivolous” and accused the NCPCR of indulging in “electioneering” and levelling “bogus allegations.” Read more
Tragedy struck a family living in Central Delhi’s Farash Khana when a building collapsed, killing a four-year-old girl who was walking past with her father on Sunday evening. The incident also left two senior citizens dead and injured 10 others. The building, containing shops and residences, had collapsed amid heavy rain.
The victims have been identified as Khusi (4), Suleman (74) and Shagufta (70). Several family members of the elderly victims were also among those injured in the collapse.
Khusi’s family was devastated by her loss with her uncle Bhim Singh saying, “My cousin Sukhbir has lost his only daughter… our family has been badly affected. My son, Raj, was also stuck under the rubble… but we managed to pull him out quickly.” Read more
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking transfer of the trial in the gold smuggling case in which senior IAS officer M Sivasankar — who was formerly principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan — is one of the accused, to a designated court in Karnataka.
Issuing the notice to the Kerala government, a bench of Chief Justice of India U U Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat fixed it for hearing on October 20.
The ED in its plea “submitted that at every stage of the investigation there has been an intervention and interference by the state machinery in the exercise of power under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act)” by the agency and that “timely judicial intervention is necessary to ensure that illegal attempts to derail proceedings are thwarted”. Read more
Delhi has recorded 121.7 mm of rainfall in October so far, the second highest in the month since 2007, according to India Meteorological Department data.
The city recorded 25.3 mm rainfall on Saturday, 74.3 mm on Sunday and 21.8 mm on Monday. The rainfall so far this month is around four times the normal rainfall of 28 mm and three times the precipitation recorded (41.6 mm) in August, which is the wettest month of the monsoon season.
The national capital received a record 122.5 mm of rainfall in October last year. The city did not receive any rain in October 2020, 2018 and 2017 and logged 47.3 mm of rainfall in October 2019.
The ongoing rainfall is the second prolonged spell within three weeks. (PTI)
Several purported videos of the 'Virat Hindu Sabha' organised by VHP and other outfits on Sunday have come to the fore including one in which BJP MLA from Loni in Ghaziabad Nand Kishor Gurjar said that he will not desist from killing "jihadis" if they murder any Hindus.
There were some reports that suggested that Gurjar at the event talked about his alleged involvement in the February 2020 north-east Delhi riots. The MLA, however, denied that he entered Delhi during the riots. "What have I to do with riots in Delhi? I did not go there. I said at the event that I was ready with 25,000 people at Loni so no riots took place here even as riots happened in Delhi," Gurjar told PTI.
The Sunday event, organised against the killing of a Hindu youth Manish from Sundar Nagari in north-east Delhi earlier this month, has sparked controversy for alleged hate speeches by participants. (PTI)
Delhi reported 67 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to a government health bulletin issued on Monday.
The test positivity rate (TPR) rose from 1.52% on Sunday to 3.10% on Monday, as the total number of tests conducted declined from 5,191 on Sunday to 2,160 on Monday.
62 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours and no related deaths were recorded.
The Delhi Police on Tuesday will question AAP's Rajendra Pal Gautam who resigned as Social Justice Minister on Sunday.
"We received a complaint against Gautam. We will call him tomorrow and question him about the event where he gave a speech. No case has been registered. We are only calling him to question him about the event and check videos and documents." said a senior police officer.
Gautam resigned as Delhi's cabinet minister on Sunday after a video emerged of him at an event where 10,000 people converted to Buddhism. The former minister will be questioned about his presence in the event and details will be sought from him regarding what actually happened there, officers said.
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The University of Delhi announced on Monday evening that the registration deadline for admissions has been extended by two more days, till 4.59 pm on October 12. During this time, candidates can continue to fill preferences on the DU admission portal. Key dates are as follows:
Correction Window for OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST, Minority, PwBD and CW candidates: 05:00pm Tuesday, October 11 to 04:59pm Thursday, October 13
Declaration of Simulated List: 05:00pm Friday, October 14
Preference Change Window: 05:00pm Friday, October 14 – 04:59pm Sunday, October 16
First round of allotments
Declaration of First CSAS Allocation List: 05:00pm Tuesday, October 18
Candidates to “Accept” the Allocated seat: 10:00am Wednesday, October 19 -04:59pm Friday, October 21 Read more
Adani group is in talks to buy the cement businesses of debt-laden Jaypee Group for about Rs 5,000 crore as the conglomerate helmed by the richest Asian consolidates its presence in a sector it entered a few weeks back.
Sources said Adani group is in advanced talks with the management of Jaiprakash Associates and the deal could be announced shortly.
Both Adani group and Jaypee group declined to comment.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had recently forayed into the cement sector with the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd to become the nation’s second-largest cement maker with annual production capacity of 67.5 million tonnes. Read more
A 16-year-old boy sustained injuries in a blast in east Delhi's Ashok Nagar on Monday.
Police said the accident occurred when the boy was filling a liquid substance into a pipe to make a firecracker, following which the pipe exploded and the boy got injured.
Priyanka Kashyap, DCP (East), said, “Inquiry revealed that the boy was putting the unknown substance inside a hollow pipe. It was meant to be used as a cracker and to scare animals. The spot was inspected by the crime team and bomb disposal squad. Further verification is under way and appropriate action will be taken”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday approved resignation of Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam.
The related file has been forwarded to L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena and sent to President for the final approval.
Gautam resigned as Delhi cabinet minister days after a video emerged of him at an event where 10,000 people converted to Buddhism.
The first list of undergraduate seats allocated through Delhi University's new admission system will be released on October 18, the university said on Monday.
The deadline for Delhi University admission registrations will be extended by two more days, DU registrar Vikas Gupta said on Monday.
Gupta added that the extension has been granted keeping in view the requests from candidates who said the "incessant rains" in the city made completing their registrations difficult.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Monday informed the Delhi High Court that a copy of the FIR and arrest memo was supplied to a man who was arrested by the agency over his alleged association with the Popular Front of India (PFI).
A single judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta was hearing a plea by one Mohammad Yusuf who alleged that he was arrested by the agency from his home in Chennai on September 22 in connection with an FIR lodged against him under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code over alleged involvement in terrorist activities. Malavika Prasad writes
The Delhi Metro announced Monday that it will extend the timing of the last trains on all lines to facilitate spectators who want to watch the one day match between India and South Africa at Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday.
The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed Satyendar Jain’s plea challenging benami proceedings undertaken by the Income Tax department under the amended Benami law.
The Supreme Court in August had held that authorities cannot initiate any criminal action or any proceedings for transactions entered into prior to the enforcement of the new benami law. The petition was allowed in light of the said decision of the apex court.
Delhi reported as many as 321 cases of dengue last week, a reduction of 91 since last week when 412 cases were reported, according to officials of the MCD Monday. Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials said while the number of dengue cases has gone down, it cannot be said they have reached a peak.
“We cannot say anything at the moment and it there are conditions for breeding cases but for now a plateau of cases can also be seen from next month,” said an MCD official.
According to MCD officials, with the temperature going down because of the rain, the cases are unlikely to rise. Read more
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the Election Commission of India's (ECI) order for freezing the party name and election symbol.
In view of the upcoming bypoll in Maharashtra, the poll regulatory body has frozen the Shiv Sena’s 'bow and arrow' symbol and barrred both Thackeray's faction of the party and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction from using it. The EC has asked the two groups to suggest by Monday three different name choices of the party and as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups. Read more
In new videos from the Virat Hindu Sabha organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s local unit and other Hindu organisations on Sunday, BJP MLA from Loni, Nand Kishor Gurjar, appears to acknowledge he was involved in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. When contacted, though, he claimed he was speaking about violence in Loni, Ghaziabad. (Read more)