India

Giridih, Dec 20 (IANS) A tragic fire incident claimed the lives of a mother and her 12-year-old son in Jilimtand village, Dumri block, Giridih district, Jharkhand, the police said.

The incident occurred late on Thursday night, engulfing their makeshift straw hut in flames. Police recovered their charred bodies and sent them for post-mortem examination.

The victims, identified as Nuniya Devi and her son Babuchand Murmu, were sleeping in a temporary hut within a paddy barn. To ward off the cold, they lit a wood fire nearby. Unfortunately, the flames spread to the straw hut late at night.

Trapped inside, the mother and son were unable to escape, and their cries for help went unheard by the villagers.

Somra Murmu, the husband of Nuniya Devi, reported the fire incident to the villagers and alerted the police.

Dumri police station officers arrived at the scene on Friday morning, extinguished the fire, and retrieved the bodies.

According to Dumri police station in-charge Jagannath Pan, the villagers described the incident as an accident, though an investigation is underway.

Dumri MLA Jairam Mahato visited the site, expressing his condolences to the grieving family. He assured them of support and urged the district administration to provide compensation to the bereaved family and the damage caused by the fire.

He has demanded Rs 4 lakh compensation to the kin of victims from the government.

A pall of gloom descended over the village after the news of the deaths of Nuniya Devi and her son Babuchand Murmu spread.

This tragic event highlights a worrying trend of barn fires in Jharkhand. On December 18, a fire in Vishwaskhani village, Mahagama block, Godda district, destroyed paddy crop spread over three acres.

Similar incidents have been reported in Jharpo, Tatijharia block, Hazaribagh district, and Chakla village, Ormanjhi police station area, Ranchi district, within the past week.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) opened 2.68 crore accounts in 2024 (till November), with 1.56 crore or 59 per cent being owned by women and 77 per cent accounts being opened in rural parts of the country, the government said on Friday.

While 1.04 crore customers availed mobile banking services, 69 lakh utilised VDC (virtual debit card) services and around 2,600 crore were disbursed through AePS (Aadhaar Enabled Payment System) in the January-November period.

About 3.62 crore IPPB customers received direct benefit transfer (DBT) benefits aggregating Rs 34,950 crore while 4.40 lakh digital life certificates were issued to pensioners in the January-November period, according to the Ministry of Communications. Nearly 58 per cent of total DBT beneficiaries are women, and the bank is proactively working towards women empowerment, aligning with the government's directions.

Parcel monitoring application (PMA) revolutionised real-time delivery information sharing from 4.33 lakh articles in May 2019 to 5.35 crore articles in October 2024.

As of October, 400,00 KYC verifications were successfully completed.

According to the ministry, radio frequency identification (RFID) gates have been installed at 42 major mail exchange hubs to ensure real-time tracking across networks.

“The establishment of 233 nodal delivery centres has enhanced the speed and efficiency of parcel delivery, covering over 1600 PIN codes and handling 30 per cent of total parcels delivered across India,” it informed.

Aadhaar centres were extended to defence personnel including the highest centre at Siachen, with 110 operational centres in Army Postal Service locations.

More than 1,000 Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra (DNKs) have been opened to facilitate commercial export through postal channels across the country. The Department of Posts acceded to the Postal Payment Service Multilateral Agreement (PPSMA) for electronic postal payment service exchange between the signatory parties.

Meanwhile, 25,133 individuals were engaged in the first tranche of the Rozgar Mela on October 29.

The construction of 56 new postal buildings and renovation of 95 improved service delivery, according to the ministry.

--IANS

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Nagpur, Dec 20 (IANS) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday that the attack on the Marathi family from Kalyan will be looked into and assured action against the accused irrespective of his position.

Shiv Sena-UBT legislator Sunil Prabhu has raised the issue in the Assembly demanding action against the accused.

Intervening Prabhu, Ajit Pawar said: "No matter how senior the officer (accused) is, action will be taken. The honour of the Marathi people will be maintained in the state. The administration will take prompt action against the accused."

Prabhu claimed that a Marathi man was severely beaten up by a person named Akhilesh Shukla in a society in the Yogidham area of Kalyan.

"Who is behind the serious assault on a Marathi family in Kalyan? Will Maharashtra now have to see this every day?" asked Prabhu.

Shukla also claimed that he has contacts with who's who and was not bothered about police action, Prabhu said.

Prabhu said that Shukla projected himself as a government officer, claiming he was not worried about any action against him.

Prabhu was supported by other opposition members demanding stern action, saying that the efforts to divide Marathi and non-Marathi should be foiled and Kalyan-like clashes be avoided.

The Kalyan attack issue was raised by Opposition outside the state legislature.

NCP-SP legislator Rohit Pawar condemned the incident and asked whether the state would have to see such attacks every day now.

Shiv Sena-UBT legislator Aaditya Thackeray demanded that the offence be registered under the Sedition Law against those attacking the Marathi people.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should make an announcement today in this regard. Besides, the occupation certificate of housing societies where such attacks take place against the Marathi people should be scrapped," he said.

"If the Chief Minister is a lover of Maharashtra, if he is from this soil, he will respect our demand and announce action under the sedition law against those attacking the Marathi people. Builders are also changing the names of various areas and naming them Upper Cuffe Parade, Upper Worli," he added.

Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut Such incidents have happened not only in Kalyan but also in Mumbai. "I have been saying this repeatedly, in Kalyan, migrants attacked Marathi people, saying that they are dirty. They abused them. In Mumbai too, Marathi people are being deprived of jobs by saying that they should not speak Marathi," said Raut.

"In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray fought for the rights of the Marathi people. BJP weakened the Marathi people by breaking the organisation of the Marathi people. This was done to give the Marathi people secondary treatment. After the election results, attacks on Marathi people have started increasing. Efforts are underway to oust Marathi people from Mumbai," alleged Raut.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) With an increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in legal work, 36,324 Supreme Court judgments have been translated into Hindi and 42,765 verdicts have been translated into 17 regional languages, as on date, and made available on the e-SCR portal, the Parliament was informed on Friday.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal said, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, that AI Translation Committees of the High Courts are monitoring the entire work relating to translation of the Supreme Court and High Court judgments into vernacular languages.

Highlighting AI initiative in legal research and translation, MoS Meghwal said Al is being used in areas such as translation, prediction and forecast, improving administrative efficiency, Natural Language Processing (NLP), automated filing, intelligent scheduling, enhancing the case information system and communicating with the litigants through chatbots.

The MoS said under e-Courts Project Phase III, an attempt is being made to integrate modern technologies for smoother user experience and to build a "smart" system in which registries will have minimal data entry and scrutiny of files.

To create a smart system, the latest technologies like Al and its subsets Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language Processing (NLP) are being used in the e-Courts software applications, the MoS said.

As on date, 17 High Courts have already started placing, e-High Court Reports (e-HCR) or e-Indian Law Reports (e-ILR) on their websites, the MoS said, adding that e-HCR/e-ILR are digital legal platforms that provide online access to judgments in the vernacular languages.

Replying to a question on how the government plans to address concerns regarding data privacy in relation to AI usage, MoS Meghwal said a sub-committee consisting of six judges of the various High Courts, assisted by technical working group members consisting of domain experts, has been constituted by the Chairperson of the eCommittee of the Supreme Court to recommend secure connectivity and authentication mechanisms for data protection, to preserve the right to privacy.

He said the sub-committee is mandated to critically assess and examine the digital infrastructure, network and service delivery solutions created under the eCourts project for giving solutions for strengthening data security and for protecting the privacy of citizens.

Citing use of technology in legal work, he said that the daily proceeding of each case is entered in the Case Information System (CIS) and the litigant is made aware of the same from the eCourts service platforms like website and Mobile Applications.

Apart from this, there are model rules in place for live-streaming and recording of court proceedings.

--IANS

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Belagavi, Dec 20 (IANS) C.T. Ravi, the arrested BJP MLC over ‘derogatory remarks’ against Karnataka women and child welfare minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, claimed on Saturday that he was assaulted and tortured by the policemen during custody.

Ravi made the accusations in a local Belagavi court, where he was produced by the Karnataka police.

Ravi made the statement in the court after Judge Sparsha M D’souza asked him about his arrest. C.T. Ravi claimed that the police took him to three districts for 10 hours, throughout the night.

“The cops took me to isolated places and sugarcane fields,” he added.

Ravi further stated in the court that he was assaulted in the Khanapur police station on head and he was bleeding.

When asked whether he would be able to identify those police personnel, Ravi expressed his ‘inability’ in doing the same.

“I have been tortured, physically and mentally. The police used to get calls every 10 minutes and they acted as per their instructions,” he charged.

“The police have not explained to me, the reason behind my arrest. I have been attacked three times in the premises of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha,” Ravi stated.

“They snatched away my mobile and watch. I had lodged a complaint regarding assault on me and requested the police to file zero FIR. Not registering a case against the minister is a crime. No leaders were allowed to meet me for two-and-half hours,” Ravi stated.

Lawyer M.B. Jirali, who appeared for C.T. Ravi, submitted that his client was boarded into the police vehicle like ‘animal’ and was in clear violation of the protocol.

“It is a violation of Article 21. This is a false case and the police have not allowed the Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka to meet Ravi,” he underlined.

“My client’s mental and physical health should not be affected. The Speaker is the Constitutional head and he knows everything about the incident. No decision in this regard has been taken by him. My client needs medical treatment first and bail needs to be granted to him,” Counsel Jirali stated.

The BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka and other MLAs were present in the court hall.

Ravi was also seen getting emotional in the court corridors, with senior BJP leaders like R. Ashoka and others comforting him.

The prosecution is yet to submit its arguments opposing Ravi’s bail petition.

-- IANS

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Mandya (Karnataka), Dec 20 (IANS) Commenting on the arrest of BJP MLC, C.T. Ravi over alleged derogatory remarks against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar on the floor of the Legislative Council, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday, "Generally, no woman will file a false complaint with such allegations.”

Responding to media queries in Mandya on Friday regarding the BJP's protest in support of C.T. Ravi, CM Siddaramaiah questioned that if the accusation of using derogatory language was false, why was C.T. Ravi arrested?

"The BJP is supporting those who speak in a derogatory and insulting manner towards women. People present on the spot heard C.T. Ravi using foul language. There is audio and video evidence of the objectionable language he used," he stated.

"However, I have not personally seen it. If Ravi's words were false, why was he arrested? Women usually do not file false complaints in such cases. I do not know why C.T. Ravi used such derogatory language. This is a criminal offense," the CM added.

Responding to media reports that Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti mentioned C.T. Ravi used the word "frustration," and not “prostitute” as is being claimed, the CM said, "C.T. Ravi now claims he used the word ‘frustration.’ This is an afterthought. He is saying this now, but the truth is that derogatory language was used, which is why the minister filed a complaint."

"Other members also stated that they heard Ravi's foul language. After the Chairman left the floor, the incident occurred, and many have confirmed that there is audio and video evidence of the derogatory word’s usage," Siddaramaiah said.

Responding to C.T. Ravi's statement that he received death threats and the government is responsible, the CM stated, "Once an FIR is filed, the police have to investigate, and legal action must be taken. Due to public outrage against C.T. Ravi in Belagavi, he was moved to Khanapur for his safety."

Commenting over the issue, former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai said the truth behind the alleged inappropriate statement made by MLC C.T. Ravi in the Legislative Council must be investigated.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Friday, he stressed the need for a thorough enquiry into the matter.

"We cannot justify the behaviour of the police. In the past, this government did not punish those who chanted 'Pakistan Zindabad' in the Vidhana Soudha. The BJP MLC has very clearly denied making such a statement. We are speaking in a fair manner, and we have not opposed an investigation. However, making a final decision without a proper investigation or verification of facts is incorrect," Bommai said.

--IANS

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Agartala, Dec 20 (IANS) Union Home Minister and former BJP national President Amit Shah will lay the foundation stone of the Tripura state head office of the ruling BJP on December 22, a party leader said here on Friday.

A BJP leader said that Shah would lay the foundation stone of the state Pradesh office (state head office) at Natun Nagar on the outskirts of Agartala city.

“The proposed four-storey building has been designed to accommodate all necessary modern facilities including an auditorium and small meeting halls. The buildings of the existing party headquarters in the city have huge space problems,” the party leader said.

He said that BJP started organisational work in 1983 and due to its and other frontal organisations’ constant work, the party successfully wrested power in Tripura in March 2018, defeating the CPI-M-led Left Front, which governed the state for 35 years in two phases (1978-1988 and 1993-2018).

During its recent drive, BJP in Tripura almost doubled its membership, compared to 2019, and registered 11.91 lakh members.

BJP leader Bhagaban Chandra Das, who is Tripura state in-charge for the membership drive, said that out of the total of over 11.91 lakh BJP members, 9.41 lakh people have enrolled their names online while 2.50 lakh have registered on offline mode.

He said that in the previous membership drive in 2019, 6.50 lakh people in Tripura registered their membership.

"Due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-people schemes, projects and welfare measures, people from all walks of life spontaneously enrolled for it," Das, a former minister, had told the press.

He had said that tribals, people from Scheduled Castes, women, farmers, youths, workers, and service holders in large numbers became the party's members.

Das, currently BJP MLA, said that after the enrollment of members, the election to 3,349 party booths across Tripura has been started.

After completion of booth level organisational election, elections to all 60 'Mandals' would be held and then district-level election and finally state-level election would be held, he said.

--IANS

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Jaipur, Dec 20 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condoled the loss of lives in the horrific accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway in Rajasthan and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

In his message, he said, "Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer Highway in Rajasthan. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000 each.”

It needs to be mentioned here that a tragic accident on Friday morning at the Ajmer Highway in Jaipur claimed the lives of eight people and left over 30 injured, when an LPG gas tanker collided with a truck.

The collision triggered a massive explosion and fire, engulfing the area in flames, leaving over 35 people injured.

A sleeper bus carrying 34 passengers caught fire and out of the 34 passengers, 20 suffered severe burns, while 14 others, including the driver and conductor, remain missing.

The fire caused by the explosion produced towering flames that burned numerous birds in the vicinity.

Several vehicles on the highway, including the bus and a truck, were engulfed in the blaze. The intense heat caused a bike rider’s helmet to melt and stick to his face, severely burning his eyes.

The accident occurred on Friday morning near Delhi Public School, following a devastating collision between an LPG (BPCL) tanker and a truck.

Eight people were burned alive, and 35 others sustained burns.

Even hours after the incident, people in the area reported experiencing suffocation and irritation in their eyes due to the lingering effects of the fire.

--IANS

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Belagavi, Dec 20 (IANS) The Karnataka BJP on Saturday lambasted state administration as well as police for the ill-treatment and arrest of MLC C.T. Ravi over ‘derogatory’ remarks against Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar.

R Ashoka, the leader of Opposition, addressing the media, stated that Ravi was treated like a terrorist by the police.

Lashing out at the state govt, he said, “If a representative of people is treated in this manner, imagine the plight of BJP party workers and Hindu activists under the Congress government. A mini–Pakistan is created out of Karnataka state.”

He further alleged that the police department has turned into a puppet at the hands of the state government.

“Throughout the night, the police have taken C.T. Ravi to 10 taluks and tortured him. He was beaten by the police. The government has done an unpardonable crime,” he further charged.

“The decision on C.T. Ravi using foul language has already been given by the Chairman of the council. He has clearly stated that there is no record of it,” Ashoka stated.

Issuing a warning of sorts, he said that there will be a change of power soon and the same scenes are going to be repeated in the state.

On the other hand, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar lashed out at CT Ravi for derogatory term and dubbed him a ‘serial abuser’.

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, “This is not the first time that C. T. Ravi is foul mouthing someone. We all know the abusive words he used against CM Siddaramaiah in the past.”

Asked about C T Ravi’s arrest, he said, “In the past he had addressed CM Siddaramaiah as Sidramulla Khan. He has been foul mouthing our leaders. Is this the culture of Chikkamagaluru? Is it India’s culture? Or is it BJP’s culture? I haven’t seen such a culture in Chikkamagaluru district. He must be the only person from the district with such unscrupulous culture.”

“There was a discussion in the House on Union Home Minister insulting Dr B R Ambedkar. C. T. Ravi interfered and called Rahul Gandhi a ‘drug addict’. When Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar jumped in to defend her party leader, he called her ‘pro******e’ several times. Is it wrong on our part to defend our leaders like the BJP leaders do for their leaders? Can he use such a derogatory word,” he questioned.

“He used the word 12 times. The media must take this up seriously. If you don’t have the evidence, I will share it with you. This incident happened when I came to the Legislative Assembly after finishing proceedings in the Legislative Council,” he explained.

Asked if the Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti could have taken action if there was evidence, he said, “He is a senior leader and I have respect for him, but his move in this case is disappointing. He must protect everyone in the House irrespective of the party line. He should have investigated it. If Lakshmi Hebbalkar was wrong, he should have called her out. But it is not correct that he called both of them and took a statement.”

-- IANS

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Hyderabad, Dec 20 (IANS) Corruption case booked against former minister K. T. Rama Rao in connection with the Formula-E car race rocked the Telangana State Assembly on Friday with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) insisting on a debate on the issue.

The House witnessed uproarious scenes as the BRS members stalled the proceedings to demand the debate.

As soon as the House met for the day, the BRS raised the issue of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) booking a case against the BRS working president and demanded a debate.

Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar rejected the demand for the debate and tried to proceed with the listed agenda for the day. The BRS tried to disrupt the proceedings by raising slogans against the government.

Congress MLA R. Prakash Reddy said when the Governor has given permission to register a case against KTR and the ACB has taken up the investigation, there is no scope for discussion in the House. He alleged that BRS was trying to create confusion among people.

The Speaker asked BRS members to participate in the debate on the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Bill, 2024. He remarked that the "Formula E-race relates to one person while the Bhu Bharati Bill relates to people."

When Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy was speaking on the Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Bill, 2024, BRS members tried to advance towards the Speaker's podium while marshals intervened to stop them. Some BRS members threw pieces of paper towards the Speaker. Amid the pandemonium, some Congress MLAs tore papers and flung them towards BRS members, leading to utter chaos.

BRS members alleged that Congress MLA Veernapally Shankar showed a shoe to a Dalit legislator. They demanded that a case be booked against the Congress MLA.

Amid the uproar, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes. When the House re-assembled, the BRS continued its protest demanding debate on the ACB case.

Despite repeated appeals by the Speaker to allow the House to continue its proceedings, the BRS members remained in the well, demanding a debate.

The Speaker adjourned the House for the second time and called BRS MLAs to his chambers.

He appealed to them to cooperate in running the House. They demanded that the discussion be allowed on the Formula-E race case. The Speaker said he would discuss their demand with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who is the leader of the House and take a decision.

Earlier, speaking on the issue, BRS member Harish Rao said that at a time when the Assembly is in session, an illegal case has been booked against a member.

Harish Rao alleged that the ruling party is trying to create problems for BRS by "tarnishing" the image of KTR.

Denying any wrongdoing in the Formula-E race, Harish Rao said the BRS government conducted the race to increase the state's revenues. "Since the Congress government is saying we did something wrong, we are demanding the government to explain the same to this August House by allowing a debate," he said.

--IANS

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