Regional

Srinagar, Dec 25 (IANS) At minus 5.8, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far on Sunday as Christmas celebrations missed the traditional snowfall in Kashmir Valley this year.

"With minus 5.8 as the minimum temperature today, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far. Cold, dry weather with mainly clear sky is expected in J&K and Ladakh during the next 24 hours," an official of the MeT department said.

Srinagar had minus 5.8, Pahalgam minus 7 and Gulmarg minus 5.6 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature today.

In Ladakh region, Kargil had minus 12.4 and Leh minus 14.5 as the minimum temperature.

Jammu had 4.1, Katra 5.8, Batote 0.6, Banihal minus 0.3 and Bhaderwah minus 1 as the minimum temperature.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Dec 25 (IANS) The weekly holiday in madrasas of Uttar Pradesh will continue to be on Fridays as per the holiday calendar for the year 2023 that has been released by the State Madrasa Education Board.

The suggestion to change the weekly off from Friday to Sunday is likely to come up for discussion sometime in January. Until then, the weekly off will continue to be on Friday.

After releasing the holiday calendar, Madrasa Board chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed said that the weekly holiday in the madrasas would continue to be on Friday and the suggestion to make Sunday as a week off was unlikely to be implemented because it would cause inconvenience to madrasa people.

He said the annual calendar has been released while the academic calendar would be announced in March 2023.

He said in 2023, madrasas would have 75 holidays, including 36 days of Ramzan and Eid-ul-Fitr.

In a meeting convened by the Madrasa Board last week to discuss amendments to the Uttar Pradesh Non-Governmental Arabic and Persian Recognition Administration and Service Regulation - 2016, several suggestions came up, including shifting the weekly holiday of madrasas on Sundays instead of Fridays.

--IANS
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Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 25 (IANS) Two persons, including a police constable, have been arrested for allegedly abducting an elderly businessman for ransom and threatening to kill him if the money was not paid.

The constable was identified as Mukesh Kumar, 37, posted at Pheel Khana police station.

His aide, 40-year-old Shalu Nanda, a tea vendor from Kidwai Nagar area, was also arrested.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Pramod Kumar said that Shalu was nominated as a Special Police Officer (SPO) about two years ago. Two others involved in the incident, head constable Amit Kumar, posted at the Kotwali police station and his associate Monu alias Boxer were at large.

According to the police official, it took place when the victim, Raghuveer Chandra Kapoor, was at his grocery shop in Govind Nagar.

Two men in khaki arrived in a silver car, the DCP said. They claimed that they were from the Special Task Force and forced Kapoor into the car and drove away.

Soon afterwards, Kapoor's nephew Pankaj Kapoor received a ransom call from Monu whom he knew. He asked Pankaj for Rs 35,000 for the release of his uncle.

Pankaj immediately informed the police and told them about the ransom call. "We traced the call and established the identities of the two constables who were in the car. One of them, Mukesh, was booked in a similar case two years ago. He was held but Amit Kumar is on the run," the DCP said. Shalu was held after Mukesh told of his involvement.

The services of the two constables would be terminated, the DCP said, adding a drive had been launched to identify the policemen with a chequered past. They would be transferred to far-away places, he said.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Dec 25 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government will host multiple events to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday.

Kavi Sammelans, plays and debates will be held across the state to celebrate Vajpayee's life, who was himself a prolific poet.

A week-long campaign to provide tap water connections to every household in the state will also be carried out from December 25-31.

The day will begin with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paying floral tributes to Vajpayee at Lok Bhawan. Through the day, various cultural programmes dedicated to the former Prime Minister will be organised in several cities.

A short play on the life of Vajpayee will also be staged. The department of culture has organised an Atal Geet Ganga programme in Agra's Bateshwar where artists will recite poems written by Vajpayee.

In another programme in Balrampur, poets like Mukul Mahan, Shiv Kumar Vyas, Shashi Shreya, Yogi Yogesh Shukla and Shreyas Tripathi will recite Vajpayee's poetry.

The Lok Bhawan in Lucknow itself will be lit up on the occasion when Yogi Adityanath inaugurates dynamic facade lighting at the government office premises, where a statue of Vajpayee has been installed at the entrance.

"Apart from normal days, on special occasions like Women's Day, Farmers' Day, Independence Day and Republic Day, theme-based lighting will make the building more visible. In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled a 25- feet tall statue of Vajpayee in the Lok Bhavan premises," said a government spokesman.

A speech by Vajpayee will also be played here. A special rendition of Vajpayee's poetry will be done in the voice of Hariharan and Jagjit Singh. More than 250 children have been invited to the programme.

--IANS
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Srinagar, Dec 24 (IANS) The J&K Department of Social Welfare on Saturday informed that applications for grant of pension under the Integrated Social Security Scheme (ISSS) shall be submitted online and the beneficiaries are no longer required to visit the offices of the department.

As per a communique issued here, the Department of Social Welfare had already accorded sanction to the implementation of the J&K Integrated Social Security Rules 2022 vide an order dated September 8, as per which applications for grant of pension under ISSS shall be submitted online.

The department also clarified that all the existing/prospective beneficiaries shall upload necessary documents on the portal https://jansugam.jk.gov.in in order to receive financial assistance under the scheme.

Applications/documents shall be submitted through online mode only and the parties concerned are not required to visit the offices of the Social Welfare Department for the said purpose.

However for special assistance for filing online applications/documents, those concerned may contact the social workers of the department or visit the tehsil social welfare/district social welfare offices.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, Dec 24 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, on Saturday requested Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to restore flight services from Punjab to Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra, the last resting place of Guru Gobind Singh, asserting that the Amritsar-Nanded Sahib flight had not been restarted after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a letter to Scindia, Harsimrat Badal said restarting the Amritsar-Nanded Sahib flight would facilitate pilgrims who are unable to take other forms of transport to visit the holy Takht.

She said pilgrims are particularly keen to visit Nanded Sahib on the Parkash Purb of the great Guru, which falls on December 29.

Harsimrat Badal also requested the minister to rename the Delhi International Airport Terminal 3 as Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji International Airport to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of the Guru in protecting religious freedom during a time of tyranny.

"This sacrifice to protect religious freedom is unparalleled in history," Harsimrat Badal said.

The SAD MP said since Guru Tegh Bahadur had been martyred at Chandani Chowk in Delhi, it would be a fitting tribute to him to name the international airport in his honour.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Dec 24 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated on Saturday that guidelines will be announced soon for celebration of New Year in the state in the backdrop of fresh Covid-19 scare.

Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Bommai said Health Minister K. Sudhakar and Revenue Minister R. Ashoka will be holding a meeting on Sunday regarding the handling of Covid situation in the state.

"To administer booster doses, camps would be organised on a large scale at taluk and district levels. The actions will be taken to ensure wearing of masks, maintaining distance and other protocols," he further stated.

The directions have been given to stock medicines, vaccines and other health infrastructure. The directions have also been given to ensure that oxygen plants are in good and working condition, Bommai stated. They have been told to conduct dry runs, he added.

The restictions are already in place at the airports. The crisis situation should be faced from the individual, organisation, society and the government as well. The people need not panic on Covid-19 pandemic. But, taking precautionary measures is a must, stated the Chief Minister.

In the backdrop of Covid fears in the state, Recognized Unaided Private Schools Association (RUPSA) in Karnataka announced Covid guidelines for the schools on Saturday. RUPSA has made wearing of masks compulsory for students.

The guidelines further stated that students with cold, fever, cough symptoms should be sent back, to get school premises sanitised for once in two days and to avoid grouping of students and ensure students do not share food.

In order to create awareness, marshals have been deputed at public places in Bengaluru city.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Dec 23 (IANS) Karnataka Police were awaiting the results of brain mapping and polygraph tests conducted on two accused persons to crack the case of missing 17-year-old boy.

The police are suspecting that the accused persons, including an advocate, have killed the boy after attempting to sexually abuse him, police said on Friday.

Police sources said that since the accused was an advocate, the murder was committed with a foolproof plan and the body was disposed of.

The accused persons were arrested and lodged in prison. Police said that both were not giving any clues about what happened to the boy.

The 17-year-old boy, the only son of a garment worker, went out on May 19 from Kanakapura taluk and never returned. After searching, his mother lodged a complaint with the Kanakapura police station.

After investigations, the police arrested Shankaregowda and Arun in connection with the case. The police, not able to get information from them about the missing boy, obtained permission from the court to conduct brain mapping and polygraph tests on them.

Police sources stated that accused Shankaregowda, though married with children, was a gay. Another accused Arun was his partner. It is suspected that both accused had called the minor boy to the office and had tried to abuse him.

The police were suspecting that when the boy did not agree for sex, the accused killed him and dumped his body into a river.

Ramanagar Superintendent of Police (SP) K. Santhosh Babu said that the test results will help the police in gathering clues about the boy. The police got the tests done in the Forensic Science Laboratory of Bengaluru.

Along with brain mapping and polygraph tests, the accused were also subjected to Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOS) test, he said.

BEOS is an ECG technique by which a suspect's participation in a crime is detected by eliciting electrophysiological impulses. The police are hopeful of solving the case once they get the reports.

--IANS
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Kolkata, Dec 23 (IANS) The West Bengal government, which is already riddled with multiple scams relating to recruitment irregularities in the education sector, received yet another jolt on Friday as the Calcutta High Court ordered the cancellation of the entire 2018 panel of 1,500 new recruits in the fire services department.

This follows allegations of corruption and irregularities in the recruitment process.

Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Prasenjit Biswas, while cancelling the entire panel ordered that not a single recruitment from that panel can be done.

The division bench also directed the state fire services department to publish a fresh panel within the next two months after thoroughly reviewing the allegations of irregularities on this count.

In 2018, the state fire services department issued a notification for recruitment of 1,500 fire operators. The written examinations and interviews were conducted and the panel was published.

Thereafter a number of candidates appearing for the examination and interview approached the Calcutta High Court alleging massive irregularities in the recruitment process.

There were mainly three charges against the state fire services department on this count.

The first charge was that several candidates in the general category were illegally given recruitment under the reserved category.

The second charge was that the recruitment process was continued ignoring some major mistakes in the questions at the written examinations.

The third charge was that in case candidates getting the same marks in the written examination, preferential treatments were given to certain candidates in the interview.

--IANS
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Badaun (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 23 (IANS) A woman has been booked for throwing nine puppies in a pond in the Bilsi area in Badaun district.

Animal lovers, on learning about the incident, reported the matter to the police and the dead puppies were fished out of the pond.

A local journalist tweeted about the incident.

A case has been registered with the Bilsi police and an official said that efforts were on to identify the woman.

Further details were awaited

--IANS
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