India

Kolkata, June 16 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigating the alleged multi-crore school recruitment scam in West Bengal faced the wrath of a special court on Friday for not arresting those who got teaching and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools by paying money.

After the CBI presented expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the case, before the court on Friday, the judge observed that while Ghosh acted as an agent, by now the CBI should have arrested some of the individuals who got job against money.

"You have mentioned names of the recipients of the proceeds of crime in your charge sheet. But what about those who had paid money and got jobs? They are also equally guilty," the judge said.

He also said that while some people got jobs by paying money, some did not get jobs even after paying money.

"I can set aside those who did not get jobs. But why are you hesitating to name those who got jobs after paying money," the judge questioned.

The CBI counsel said that the number of people getting jobs after paying money is too high and the central agency is conducting further investigation into the matter.

The judge of the special court then asked the CBI to submit the detailed documents on this count to the court by June 23.

--IANS
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New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration process may be further strengthened by using technology to curb the entry of fake entities into the GST ecosystem.

The minister also called for a nation-wide campaign to explain the objectives of the special drive to weed out the fake entities.

Sitharaman was chairing a review meeting of the ongoing drive against fake billing for GST evasion. The minister was informed that 11,140 fake registrations have already been detected and action has been initiated against them.

Sitharaman was also apprised of the methods being adopted such as identity theft of people, along with the actions being taken against fake registrations.

She also took note of the existing measures being undertaken by the Finance Ministry such as OTP-based verification of Aadhaar and pilot of biometric-based Aadhaar authentication at the time of registration in high-risk cases.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra and CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri apprised Sitharaman that Artificial Intelligence tools are being extensively used to identify the possible fake networks.

--IANS
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Srinagar, June 16 (IANS) Five foreign terrorists have been killed in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces in Jamagund area of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Friday following an infiltration bid, officials said.

"In the recent past, a large number of intelligence inputs were received from various intelligence agencies about likely infiltration of terrorists from across Line of Control. On June 15, a specific intelligence input was received of likely infiltration along Jumagund Nar from JK Police," the army said.

It said that a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army and JK Police was launched in Keran sector on night of June 15/16 "wherein multiple ambushes were laid along the likely routes of infiltration".

The army said on June 16 at around midnight, five heavily armed terrorists were observed crossing the Line of Control and they were engaged by ambush teams along the fence in spite of adverse weather and terrain conditions.

"The ensuing fire fight resulted in elimination of five infiltrating terrorists without any collateral damage. The operation continued throughout the night and the detailed search of the area was carried during early morning."

The army said identity of the terrorists and their the outfit they belonged to is being ascertained. Meanwhile, five AK series rifles, 14 grenades, 500 AK rounds, night vision googles and other huge quantity of war like stores were recovered.

"This successful intelligence-based operation is yet another example of close synergy between Indian Army and JKP. The operation clearly establishes the evil design of terrorist groups which are determined to disrupt peace in Kashmir. It also exposes the facade of false commitment to the ceasefire understanding by Pakistan which has repeatedly been exploited to perpetrate terror in Jammu and Kashmir," the army said.

"The security forces stand steadfast to defeat the nefarious designs of inimical elements to disrupt peace and harmony in Kashmir."

--IANS
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New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Prime minister Narendra Modi has collaborated with an Indian-American singer, Falu, also a Grammy Award winner, for a special song to promote the benefits of millets.

The song also highlights the potential of millets in alleviating world hunger.

A Mumbai-born singer-songwriter, Falguni Shah, known more by her stage name, Falu, and her husband and singer Gaurav Shah, will be releasing the "Abundance of Millets" song later on Friday, reports said.

She was quoted as saying that PM Modi has written the song along with her and her husband.

His speech highlighting the significance of millets has been incorporated in the song, reports suggest. However, neither the PMO, nor the government has reacted officially to this.

The year 2023 has been designated as the 'International Year of Millets' after a proposal for it was brought forward by India and endorsed by members of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Governing Bodies, as well as by the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.

--IANS
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New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) The autopsy report of the 16-year-old Sakshi, who was stabbed 34 times, kicked multiple times, and struck with a cemented stone six times by Mohammad Sahil Khan here in the Shahbad Dairy area on May 28, revealed that her skull was broken into pieces and due to multiple stabbing by knife, her intestines also came out of the body, a source said on Sunday.

According to sources, there were 16 deep wounds in Sakshi's body, with excessive bleeding leading to her death.

"A total of 11 wounds were detected on her vital organs and that caused her death. Her left lung was punctured due to stabbing and her intestines were protruding from the body. There was a deep wound below the abdomen," claimed sources.

In the bone-chilling CCTV footage which captured the crime, Sahil, who is wearing a blue t-shirt, can be seen stabbing the girl. Around seven to eight bystanders were also present when he stabbed her.

A man wearing a dark red-coloured shirt attempts to intervene, but Sahil pushes him away.

In the video, Sahil continues to stab the girl while also issuing threats to the bystanders, causing them to disperse.

After stabbing her, Sahil proceeds to kick the girl multiple times and then strikes her with a boulder five times.

He then briefly leaves the scene but returns shortly. He strikes the girl with the boulder once again, kicks her multiple times, and then finally departs.

--IANS
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Chennai, June 4 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has no information of 8 people of the 127 people from the state who had reserved tickets in the Coromondel Express that met with an accident in Odisha's Balasore on Friday, leaving at least 275 dead, an official statement said on Sunday.

The eight passengers were identified as Naragani Gopi, 34, Raghunath, 21, Karthik, 19, Kamal, 26, Arun, 21, and A. Jagadeesan, 47 (all males) and Kalpana, 19, and Meena, 66 (both females), the statement said, adding that the remaining 119 passengers are safe.

The state government communique called upon the relatives of these missing persons to contact the state helpline numbers: 1070, 9445869843.

Several passengers from the state on the accident-struck Coromandel Express reached Chennai's Dr MGR central railway station on Sunday morning in a special train. Of this 18 people were grievously injured.

--IANS
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New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) As the Congress on Sunday sharpened its attack on the BJP over the Odisha train tragedy, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that accountability should be fixed and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw must resign.

In a tweet, Priyanka said, "More than 24 hours have passed since the horrific train accident in Balasore, Odisha. Shouldn't the accountability of the people sitting on top positions be fixed on human and moral grounds?

"Who is responsible for ignoring the warnings and suggestions of experts, parliamentary committee, CAG report? Whose responsibility will be fixed for the vacant posts in Railways and lack of funds in important areas? Following the ethical path of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, Nitish Kumar ji, Madhav Rao Scindia ji, shouldn't the Railway Minister resign?"

Her remarks came soon after the Congress held a press conference and demanded the resignation of the railway minister.

Congress leader Pawan Khera and Shaktisinh Gohil cited several internal reports of the Railways, CAG audit report to highlight the lapses.

In one of the horrific tragedies at least 275 people died while over 1,000 were injured when 21 coaches of two -- Coromandel Express and SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express -- and a goods train collided and derailed on Friday evening near Bahanaga Bazar Railway station in Odisha's Balasore.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, June 4 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar has said that the threat of pandemics is far from over and called for integrating and strengthening One Health-based surveillance system.

She was addressing the third health working group meeting under G20 India Presidency which began here on Sunday.

Underlining the importance of global collaboration and partnerships, she said "the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that partnerships are most fruitful only when developed during peacetime and not amidst an ongoing pandemic; and that we need to focus on creating resilient health systems, with primary health as its cornerstone." She further stated that "partnership we share as G20 members is vital and facilitates in building trust, sharing knowledge, creating networks and working together to achieve meaningful impact and results."

The two-day meeting is being attended by top officials, representatives from the G20 member countries, special invitee countries, international organisations, forums and partners like WHO, World Bank and WEF.

Dr Pawar also highlighted the need for availability of safe, effective and quality medical countermeasures. Stating that India's G20 Presidency is working towards building consensus for an end-to-end Global Medical Countermeasure (MCM) ecosystem, following a Network of Networks approach and leveraging existing global and regional initiatives, Dr Pawar urged the leadership of G20 countries to create an interim platform which will be guided by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) process and will feed into the same.

Acknowledging the convergence between G7 and G20 priorities, including the launch of MCM Delivery Partnership during Japan's G7 Presidency which aligns with G20's proposal of an end-to-end MCM ecosystem, Dr Pawar urged the global community to strengthen ongoing efforts in that direction. "Pandemics may not wait for the finalisation of the Pandemic Treaty and hence, the time to act is now," she stated

Dr Pawar also informed the delegates about India's proposal of a Global initiative on Digital Health, a WHO-managed network to converge ongoing initiatives in use of technology in the global health arena. She stated that "this initiative can enable bridging the digital divide amongst nations and ensure that the fruits of technology are made available to every citizen of the world."

Underscoring the contribution of Indian traditional knowledge systems to healthcare, Union Minister of Tourism G. Kishan Reddy stated that the Indian traditional knowledge system propagated preventive and holistic wellbeing for all. He highlighted the significant impact of Ayurveda and Yoga across the world. He stated that "Indian civilization and cultural heritage has given us the Ayurveda or the Science of Lives which is a 5,000 year old medical practice. Similarly, Yoga has emerged as one of the most trusted practices to boost both physical and mental wellbeing."

Highlighting the vision of the Prime Minister to make India one of the new hubs of medical value travel, the Union Tourism Minister said that India is home to affordable, efficient and reliable healthcare which positions the country as a go to destination for medical value travel. He also informed that India is among the top ten countries preferred by people all over the world for health and wellness.

Kishan Reddy stated, "India takes great pride in being a reliable partner in the noble vision of saving lives and protecting livelihoods" and highlighted India's recognition as the 'Pharmacy of the World'. He stated that the Genome Valley in Hyderabad alone contributes close to 33 per cent of world's vaccine production.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prof S.P. Singh Baghel noted that pandemic prevention, preparedness and response require diverse multilateral efforts. "The recent Covid-19 pandemic taught us that only through a sustainable health system a sustainable economy can be built. Effective pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response can only be facilitated through continuous interventions in the health sector at the regional, national, and global levels," he stated.

The Union Minister stated that India aims to ensure best health facilities, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for all through the platform of the G20. He commended the efforts of the G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force and the G7 for prioritizing the issue of financing health systems and societies in the face of an emergency, besides preparedness financing.

--IANS
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Srinagar, June 4 (IANS) Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti was issued a passport after three years.

Mehbooba confirmed to reporters that she has got the passport from the passport officer.

It must be recalled that the Delhi high court had asked the passport authorities in March to decide within three months the issuance of travel documents to Mehbooba.

Mehbooba was denied passport after the Jammu and Kashmir Police had cited an 'adverse report' in March 2021.

--IANS
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Bhubaneswar, June 4 (IANS) The Odisha government on Sunday said the death figure in the tragic triple train accident at Bahanaga station in Balasore stood at 275.

"Some of the bodies have been counted twice at the accident site and also in hospitals. So, after proper counting, the final death figure stood at 275," said Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.

Out of 275 dead bodies, 78 bodies were identified and handed over to their family members after autopsy, he said, adding that the handing over of another 10 bodies was also under process.

Jena said of the remaining 187 bodies, 170 bodies have been brought to Bhubaneswar while another 17 bodies were in transit to the capital city from Balasore.

The bodies have been brought to different mortuaries of Bhubaneswar in a dignified way by 85 ambulances. Only two bodies were brought in each ambulance, he informed.

Stating that the major challenge before the government was to identify the bodies, the chief secretary said, "We have uploaded the pictures of the dead bodies on websites. If someone can identify the body of their family member, he/she can contact the helpline number 18003450061 /1929 (24A-7)."

The pictures of bodies have been uploaded on the websites: https://srcodisha.nic.in/, https://www.bmc.gov.in, and https://www.osdma.org. The list of injured have also been uploaded in these websites.

The government has also taken steps to provide death certificates to the family members of deceased persons in a hassle-free manner, he informed.

As many as 1,175 patients were admitted to various hospitals, out of which 793 have been discharged. Most of the injured patients are in stable condition. A total of 382 passengers were undergoing treatment in various government and private hospitals.

--IANS
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