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Mumbai, Dec 10 (IANS) The death toll in Monday's ghastly accident -- in which an allegedly drunk BEST bus driver mowed down at least 25 vehicles -- climbed to five and another 36 persons injured, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Tuesday.

The tragedy occurred in the crowded Kurla West market around 9.30 p.m. when the BEST air-conditioned electric bus Route No. A-332 came at a dizzying speed and rammed into moving and stationary vehicles, including a police jeep.

The shocking mayhem near the busy Lal Bahadur Shastri Road resulted in at least five people getting killed and some 36 injured, many critically, as the bus ground to a halt after some 500 metres.

As per preliminary reports, the bus driver, identified as Sanjay More, was allegedly in an inebriated state and lost control of the vehicle, which hurtled into the vehicles and pedestrians, while eyewitnesses claimed he was seen laughing and enjoying his death drive.

CCTV footage of the tragedy that emerged this morning showed people screaming, running helter-skelter to save themselves on the narrow and congested road.

Police and BMC Officials said that the wet-leased bus of Kurla Bus Depot was proceeding to Sakinaka, and the deadly drive occurred near the Anjuman-e-Islam School on S. G. Barve Marg in Kurla (West).

The locals and other authorities rushed the injured to Bhabha Hospital and private clinics in the vicinity.

Some of the deceased have been identified as Kaniz Fatema Ansari, 55, Afreen A. Shaikh, 19, Anam Shaikh, 18, and Shivam Kashyap, 18.

The vehicles damaged included autorickshaws, scooters, motorcycles, some cars, a police jeep, etc.

Though the exact causes of the crash are being probed, it is suspected that the accident happened due to a brake failure. Additionally, the bus driver has been booked on multiple charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, former External Affairs Minister and Chief Minister of Karnataka passed away at his Bengaluru residence in the early hours of Tuesday at the age of 92 and had been undergoing treatment for age-related ailments.

Known for his intellectual prowess and administrative acumen, S M Krishna had an illustrious political career spanning over five decades.

Born on May 1, 1932, in Maddur, Karnataka, Krishna pursued his education at Maharaja’s College in Mysuru and the Government Law College in Bengaluru before earning advanced degrees from Southern Methodist University in Texas and George Washington University in Washington, DC. A recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, Krishna was one of the most academically accomplished leaders of his time.

He served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004, during which he was instrumental in transforming Bengaluru into a global IT hub. His tenure as External Affairs Minister from 2009 to 2012 under the UPA government further cemented his reputation as a distinguished statesman. He also held the positions of Governor of Maharashtra (2004–2008) and Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (1989–1993).

Initially a long-time Congress stalwart, Krishna joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2017, citing ideological differences and continued to remain a guiding figure in Karnataka politics until his retirement. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2023.

Krishna’s commitment to public service and his vision for Karnataka left an indelible mark on the state’s governance and development. Even after stepping back from active politics, his connection with Karnataka’s cultural heritage remained strong, as evidenced by his inauguration of the Mysuru Dasara festivities in 2021.

--IANS

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Gurugram, Dec 9 (IANS) A cybercrime team of the Gurugram Police have arrested an accused for allegedly duping a man of Rs 5 lakh for posing as a representative of a matrimonial site, police said.

The accused was identified as Jafir Ansari a native of Jharkhand. The accused was arrested on Saturday from Chennai.

According to the police, they received a complaint in which the victim stated that on December 2, Rs 1,988 was automatically debited from his bank account.

The next day, the complainant closed his auto pay option on Shadi.com and searched for the customer care number of the matrimonial site on Google.

The victim then contacted the number found on Google; soon after, he got a call from a person who offered him help; the accused later contacted the victim on WhatsApp call, saying that there was a network issue and asking for other information from him.

"The complainant got suspicious of that person, but by the time he called the customer care of his bank and closed his account, he had been duped of Rs 5 lakh which was debited from his account," Inspector Naveen Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Cyber Crime (South) police station said.

During police interrogation, it was found that the accused and his companions had given their number in the name of customer care at shaadi.com. Whenever someone searches for the customer care number of shaadi.com, their number appears in the search engine.

Following this, they would come to know that someone has searched their number. After this, a person would call them, or the accused would call that person and get the person to click on a link in the name of help and by sharing the screen, they would get the information of the bank account and commit fraud.

The police have recovered 14 mobile phones, 08 Aadhar cards, 06 ATM/credit cards and 01 PAN card used in the fraud from the possession of the accused.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Former Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP legislator Usha Thakur on Monday described the “Hindutva is a disease” remark of Iltija Mufti, daughter of former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, as baseless and meaningless.

Speaking to IANS, Thakur said, “The statement of Iltiza is very baseless and meaningless. Neither does she know about Hindutva nor does she know about Shri Ram. India is a country of Vedas; of Sanatanis... such comments of her on the world's best way of life (Hindutva) only show her lack of intelligence.”

Reacting to Iltija Mufti’s comment on Lord Ram, the BJP leader said, “Ram is the nation, he is synonymous with the nation. The dignified life of Ram ji is an inspiration for every Indian. To have such thoughts for Lord Shri Ram shows her anti-nation mindset.”

When asked whether there should be ‘Ram Ki Pathshala’ in schools of J&K, she said, “Why shouldn't it happen? Why only in Jammu and Kashmir and only in India? These schools should be all over the world. We are going to become the Vishwaguru. We are going to be Swarnim Bharat by 2047 and if the entire humanity wants happiness, peace and satisfaction, then they should lead the best life of Lord Shri Ram.”

The controversy over Iltija’s remarks erupted on Saturday after she posted on X, stating, "Hindutva is a disease."

"Even Lord Ram will have to hang his head in shame after seeing all this. Minor Muslim children are being beaten with chappals just because of their refusal to take the name of Ram. Hindutva is a disease that has affected millions of Indians and tarnished the name of God," she wrote.

Following the backlash, Iltija clarified her stance, stating that she invoked Lord Ram in her post to spotlight the hypocrisy of those who claim to uphold Ram Rajya while indulging in acts of brutality.

--IANS

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Amaravati, Dec 9 (IANS) The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has announced Beedha Masthan Rao and Sana Satish as its candidates for bye-elections to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh.

TDP president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu cleared the names of Masthan Rao and Satish, a day before the nominations are to end for December 20 bye-elections to three seats.

The TDP has left one seat to its ally BJP, which has decided to field R. Krishnaiah, a backward-class leader who hails from Telangana.

The vacancies were caused by the recent resignations of Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, Masthan Rao Yadav and Krishnaiah, all of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

While Mopidevi and Matshan Rao joined the TDP after resigning from the YSRCP in August, Krishnaiah announced that he would work to strengthen the backward class movement.

Mopidevi had his term up to June 21, 2026, while the term of the other two was to end on June 21, 2028.

Masthan Rao, an industrialist and Krishnaiah will return to Rajya Sabha while Satish, a businessman-turned-politician, will be making his debut as the MP.

Mastan Rao quit TDP to join YSRCP in 2019, a few months after YSRCP stormed to power. In 2022, Jagan Mohan Reddy rewarded Mastan Rao with the Rajya Sabha seat

Mastan Rao was elected MLA on the TDP ticket from Kavali in 2009 but lost the election in 2014. He contested unsuccessfully from Nellore Lok Sabha constituency on a TDP ticket in 2019.

The election of all three candidates of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by TDP is likely to be unanimous going by its strength in the 175-member Assembly. The TDP has 135 members while its allies Jana Sena and BJP have 21 and 8 seats respectively.

The YSRCP, which lost power to the NDA in the elections held in May, has only 11 MLAs.

With the election of Masthan Rao and Satish, the TDP will re-enter the upper house of the Parliament.

The TDP had stayed away from Rajya Sabha elections held in February this year due to a lack of sufficient numbers in the Assembly. For the first time in its four-decade history, the TDP had no representation in Rajya Sabha.

--IANS

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Patna, Dec 9 (IANS) BPSC Chairman Ravi Manu Bhai Parmar on Monday said that the 70th combined PT examination will take place at the scheduled time on December 13.

He reiterated the commission's commitment to conducting a fair and secure examination.

In a bid to secure the examination, he said that the current process was implemented after March 15.

“Under the examination process, the examination centres will be monitored through CCTV cameras and signal jammers will be installed to prevent the use of unauthorised communication devices,” Parmar said.

He clarified that the rumours about the postponement of the exam on social media caused some candidates from other states to cancel their train tickets, potentially missing their chance to appear.

“The commission is actively working to identify individuals spreading false information. Details of such individuals have been shared with the cyber police, and legal action may follow,” Parmar said.

He said that candidates are urged to ignore rumours and rely only on official announcements.

“Strict measures, including surveillance and secure paper handling, are in place to maintain the examination's integrity. The examination will be held in 912 centres across all districts of Bihar and approximately 4.83 lakh applicants have applied for the examination,” he said.

He pointed out four sets of question papers; each set has 10 series of questions, with variations in the number of questions and answer options across the series.

“The set to be used will be determined on the day of the exam through a lottery system, 3 hours before the examination starts, at the BPSC office. Question papers are being sent to the districts securely. On exam day, the question paper box will be opened in the exam hall in the presence of candidates, maintaining transparency. A randomly selected candidate in each class will break the seal of the envelope containing the papers,” Parmar said.

The BPSC has implemented stringent measures to uphold the integrity of the examination process. Candidates are advised to focus on their preparation and ignore unverified information on social media.

--IANS

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Guwahati, Dec 9 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday asserted that in order to free himself up for the upcoming Assembly election in the state, he had given the ministers control over a number of departments that were under his purview.

In light of the next assembly elections in 2026, he stated that he would free up his time to work on further projects.

“I want to focus on the next Assembly election for the next year. As a result, I have made the decision to lessen the workload for the departments that supported me,” he said.

Sarma went on to say that for the upcoming year, he will spend as much time as possible with people.

He said, “I shall devote more time to the people of Assam in the upcoming year. The cabinet was expanded for this reason.”

Four ministers Prasanta Phookan, Kaushik Rai, Krishnendu Paul and Rupesh Goala were inducted into the Cabinet on Saturday.

This is the first expansion of the Cabinet since Himanta Biswa Sarma took the Chief Minister’s post in the state three years ago.

In the cabinet, there were four vacant berths—three existed since the beginning of Sarma taking the post of Chief Minister, and one position got vacant after former minister Parimal Suklabaidya won this year’s Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Kaushik Rai is a replacement for Parimal Suklabaidya as both of them belong to the same Cachar district in the Barak valley.

Prasanta Phookan is an MLA from Dibrugarh, and Krishnendu Paul is from the Patharkandi Assembly constituency in the Sribhumi district.

Rupesh Goala is a legislator from the Doom Dooma constituency in the Tinsukia district.

Both Rai and Gola became MLAs in the 2021 Assembly polls while Paul won on a BJP ticket twice from the Patharkandi Assembly seat in the 2016 and 2021 Assembly polls. He was once a Congress leader and switched sides before the 2016 Assembly election.

On the other hand, Prasanta Phookan is a senior BJP leader and a four-time MLA from Dibrugarh. He has not lost here since the 2006 Assembly election.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Kishan was asked to resign from the minister’s post and he was replaced by Rupesh Goala.

However, Sarma had said that Kishan would continue to concentrate on his Assembly and the party would give him proper responsibility.

--IANS

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Srinagar, Dec 9 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO) set up and sponsored the Jammu & Kashmir Pavilion at the 18th Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX), held in Amritsar from December 5-9.

An official statement said on Monday that the pavilion, with its impressive showcase of traditional artistry, authentic products, and emerging entrepreneurial talent, became a focal point of the expo, garnering widespread appreciation from visitors, business delegations, and media alike.

With 30 dedicated stalls, including representation from 12 women entrepreneurs, JKTPO sponsored exhibitors from across Jammu and Kashmir who displayed their unique local artistry, making the pavilion a significant attraction for over four lakh visitors from India and abroad.

The Jammu & Kashmir Pavilion showcased a unique collection of products, such as Basohli Pashmina Shawls, Kani and Sozni embroidered clothes and stoles, the world-famous Kashmiri saffron, dry fruits and dried vegetables, hand-embroidered Phiran and Kashmiri garments, honey and Rajmash from the Jammu region.

The pavilion turned into a vibrant hub where visitors not only purchased these exceptional products but also engaged directly with artisans, gaining insight into the stories and dedication behind each creation.

The event generated significant sales of over Rs 1 Cr and business leads with potential for future orders, promising substantial economic growth for artisans and entrepreneurs.

PITEX 2024 hosted exhibitors from both within India and abroad, with participants from 15 Indian states and various international representatives showcasing their products.

The success of the Jammu & Kashmir Pavilion at PITEX 2024 reflects the dedication of JKTPO to facilitating market access for local artisans and entrepreneurs. By fostering B2B and B2C engagements, the initiative continues to bridge cultures, support livelihoods, and drive economic growth in the Union Territory.

Building on the successes of such activities, JKTPO has recently organized key events such as the JK Textile Sourcing Fair 2024 in Srinagar on 28-29 Nov,24, the Basmati Fair in Jammu, and participation in IITF 2024 in Delhi, showcasing Jammu and Kashmir's economic potential.

Moving forward, JKTPO plans to participate in major events like the India International Mega Trade Fair in Kolkata, Indus Food, MITEX, Surajkund Mela, and Bharat Tex 2025, along with organising the 2nd Agro & Food Fest on January 22, 2025, and the JK Trade Show 2025, Winter edition, January 31, 2025.

--IANS

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Jammu, Dec 9 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to supporting local industries in overcoming the challenges they are currently facing.

Speaking at an event organised by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) at its office, the Chief Minister was felicitated for assuming office as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah acknowledged the persistent challenges faced by the industrial sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is no shortage of issues. If I were to claim that these problems have only emerged in the past decade, it would be misleading. These challenges are not new, nor are they solely the result of Jammu and Kashmir’s transition into a Union Territory. However, the UT transition has undoubtedly compounded these issues,” he stated.

Highlighting the geographical constraints of the region, the Chief Minister said: “Several challenges stem from our location. Jammu and Kashmir is situated in a corner of the country. Our market is very small, and our raw material base is limited. An industry that relies on importing raw materials and exporting finished products cannot sustain itself without governmental support.”

Reiterating his government’s responsibility, he added, “When we hold your hand and provide support, it is not a reflection of your helplessness or weakness. It is our responsibility, and we will fulfil it.”

On the tourism potential of Jammu, the Chief Minister emphasiaed the untapped opportunities presented by the large number of pilgrims visiting the region.

“Over a crore pilgrims visit Jammu for Mata Vaishno Devi every year. If we can successfully divert even 15 per cent of them to local tourist destinations, we would gain 15 lakh tourists immediately. We have managed the entire tourism economy of Kashmir with just 15 lakh tourists,” he remarked.

He stressed the need to showcase Jammu’s unique cultural heritage.

“Our Dogra culture is a treasure unique to Jammu. Our traditions, food, and specialities are unmatched and must be leveraged as key selling points for tourism,” he said.

On the resumption of the now-defunct Darbar Move, Omar Abdullah highlighted its positive impact on Jammu’s vibrancy.

“The hallmark of Jammu city was the biannual Darbar Move. For six months, people from Srinagar would work here, creating a lively environment. It fostered interaction between people from both sides of the mountains, whether at Wave Mall, Residency Road, or Gole Market. I assure you that we will resume the Darbar Move in the future. Unfortunately, time constraints prevented us from doing so this time,” he said.

Discussing the impact of industrial packages, he cautioned against their transient nature. “Industries attracted solely by packages stay only as long as the incentives last. Once the benefits end, they pack up and leave. The industries that endure are those rooted in this land, run by people who are inherently connected to it,” he stated.

The Chief Minister also highlighted the challenges related to lease agreements for institutions and businesses.

“Today, schools on leased land are being asked to produce 10-year leases, failing which their registration will not be renewed. Similarly, hotels on leased land cannot even make minor repairs due to the absence of valid leases. These issues need immediate attention,” he added.

Omar Abdullah, in his conclusion, assured his government’s commitment to addressing industrial concerns.

“Whatever issues you want us to raise with the Finance Minister, please provide me with a detailed note. We will take them up with the Union government and work toward tangible solutions,” he said.

--IANS

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Jaipur, Dec 9 (IANS) Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari said on Monday that the state government is focussing on technology and branding to promote tourism.

She said that tourism is not just a means of business, it is a medium to share our culture and our experiences. While interacting with all the people present during the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit, she said that the aim of the Rajasthan government is to promote repeat tourism in the state.

She said that all should try to ensure that the tourists visiting Rajasthan come to the state again for tourism. “For this, we will have to promote new tourist destinations and expand tourist facilities,” she claimed.

She also claimed that the focus of the government will be on marketing and promotion to promote tourism in the state, in which new technology will play a significant role.

She claimed that events like Rising Rajasthan are not just events but a continuous process of moving towards development.

She further claimed that the Rajasthan government is committed to taking tourism to new heights in the state.

“The topic of today's sectoral session is also inspired by the Prime Minister's idea in which he said that tourism should be a medium to connect the country's economy and society. Our government also aims to provide better employment and business opportunities to every section of the society,” she said.

The Rising Rajasthan Investment Global Summit was inaugurated with great pomp on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated this summit. Prime Minister in his address described tourism as synonymous with Rajasthan and also mentioned the tourism specialty of Rajasthan in his address.

As special speakers in the tourism session, poet and actor Shailesh Lodha, actor Nakul Mehta, tourism expert Anjali Bhartrihari Ravi and Neha Arora said in unison that the kind of diversity seen in Rajasthan is not found in any other state of the country or abroad.

In the special session based on tourism in Rising Rajasthan, Tourism Secretary Shri Ravi Jain gave a special presentation in which complete information about Rajasthan tourism along with the immense possibilities of investment was given in detail.

--IANS

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