Mumbai, Jul 5 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he and MNS head Raj Thackeray have come together to stay united as the cousins shared a political stage for the first time after two decades on the issue of Marathi identity and "imposition" of the Hindi language. Addressing a "victory" rally in Worli here to celebrate the rollback of the Hindi language GRs (resolutions) by the BJP-led government, Uddhav hinted at contesting the upcoming civic elections together. "We h...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) The US authorities have arrested the younger brother of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi on the basis of the extradition requests from the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI, officials said Saturday. Nehal Modi was taken into custody on Friday, US authorities have informed India, they said. The next date for the hearing in the matter is July 17, when Nihal may seek bail, but it will be opposed by the US prosecutors, they said. The move came on an extradition request joi...Read More
Mumbai, Jul 5 (PTI) Five Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters were detained on Saturday for the attack on investor Sushil Kedia's office in Worli here over the latter's social media post about not learning Marathi and his "kya karna hai bol" dare to Raj Thackeray. In response, MNS supporters, shouting slogans in support of Thackeray and Marathi, had thrown coconuts at the glass door entrance of Kedia's office this morning, with videos of the attack going viral on social media immediately. In ...Read More
Patna, Jul 5 (PTI) Prominent Bihar-based businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead outside his residence in Patna by a bike-borne assailant, seven years after miscreants had gunned down his son in Hajipur, police said on Saturday. The incident took place around 11.40 pm on Friday near the gate of Khemka's house in Gandhi Maidan locality as he was about to alight from his car, they said. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar convened a meeting on Saturday to review the law and order situation in the state d...Read More
Hyderabad, Jul 5 (PTI) The death toll in the explosion at the Sigachi Industries' pharma plant in Sangareddy district rose to 40 on Saturday following the death of one more person who was undergoing treatment in a hospital, officials said. The 48-year-old person from Uttar Pradesh, who had suffered more than 70 per cent burns in the June 30 explosion, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital on Saturday, they said. Nineteen people were undergoing treatment in hospitals as of Saturday morning,...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) Two men died in the fire that broke out at Vishal Mega Mart in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area, police said on Saturday. Kumar Dhirender Pratap, 25, was found dead inside a lift. He is suspected to have died of suffocation, according to police. Another male charred body was recovered from the building later during the cooling operations. Efforts are on to identify the second body. At 6.51 pm on Friday, Dhirender began sending desperate messages to his elder brother from...Read More
Bhubaneswar, Jul 5 (PTI) The death toll of workers from Odisha in the explosion at the chemical factory in Telangana rose to nine, with authorities confirming the identity of one more person using DNA-based analysis, an officer said on Saturday. The latest victim of the factory blast was identified as Purna Chandra Sahu, a native of Sukarpada in Cuttack district, said Pritish Panda, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Directorate of Odisha Parivaar. With his death, a total of nine people from Odish...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) makers are expecting their topline growth to be impacted in the June quarter due to headwinds like unseasonal rains, a brief summer span and inflation pressure on key inputs. However, the FMCG industry witnessed a sequential recovery in demand during the quarter, with an uptick in volume growth, particularly in urban markets. Margins of FMCG majors such as Marico, Dabur, and Godrej Consumer remained below the normative level, and they ex...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 5 (TI) The Association of Democratic Reforms has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commission's direction for a Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls in Bihar. The EC on June 24 issued instructions to carry out an SIR in Bihar, apparently to weed out ineligible names and ensure only eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll. Bihar goes to the polls later this year. The NGO has sought the setting aside of the order and communication, a...Read More
Thiruvananthapuram/Palakkad, Jul 5 (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ought to have sought Health Minister Veena George's resignation before going abroad in view of her alleged "inefficiency", "indifference", and "grave mistakes". The opposition Congress is seeking the Health Minister's resignation over the death of a woman in the collapse of a part of the Kottayam Medical College two days ago. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, while launch...Read More
Anand, Jul 5 (PTI) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said India's upcoming first national university for the cooperative sector in Gujarat will work to end nepotism as only trained persons will get jobs in this sector in the future. Shah was addressing a gathering at the campus of Anand Agriculture University after laying the foundation stone of Tribhuvan Sahkari University (TSU) on the premises of the adjoining Water and Land Management Institute. The university has be...Read More
Shimla, July 5 (PTI) More than 260 roads, including 176 in Mandi district, are blocked in Himachal Pradesh following heavy rains over the past few days, officials said on Saturday. The local MeT office has issued a 'red' alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Kangra, Sirmaur and Mandi districts on Sunday. An 'orange' warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places has been issued for Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Solan, Shimla and Kullu districts....Read More
New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Centre, Tamil Nadu Governor's office, and others on a plea by the TN government challenging a Madras High Court order that stayed its power to appoint vice-chancellors at state universities. Besides the two, a bench of justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan also issued a notice to the University Grants Commission on a plea against the May 21 interim order passed by a vacation bench of the high court. The provision of the la...Read More
Patna, Jul 5 (PTI) Prominent Bihar-based businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead near his residence in Patna by a bike-borne assailant, police said on Saturday. The incident took place around 11.40 pm on Friday in the Gandhi Maidan locality. "Officers of the local police station and personnel in patrolling vehicles immediately reached the spot and secured the crime scene. Forensic experts are collecting evidence. Investigation is underway," SP (Patna Central) Diksha told reporters. "A bullet a...Read More
Berhampur (Odisha), Jul 5 (PTI) A woman in Odisha's Ganjam district has moved police stating that she is unable to contact her son, who is working at a cement factory in the West African country of Mali, an official said on Saturday. P Narasama, a resident of Samarajhol village under Hinjili police station limits, said she is worried about her 28-year-old son P Venkatraman working in a cement factory in Kayes in Mali after getting the news about the abduction of three Indians working at a cemen...Read More
Mumbai: As estranged Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj take the public stage together in Mumbai today for a "mega victory gathering", their first in two decades, their brand of language politics appears to be finding few takers. The much-hyped rally, currently underway at the NSCI Dome in Worli, comes even as Raj Thackeray's supporters allegedly vandalised the office of investor Sushil Kedia in the city's Worli area this morning. Kedia, who had publicly declared he would not learn Marathi and h...Read More
Sambhal (UP), Jul 5 (PTI) Eight people died while two others were injured after their SUV rammed into a wall in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Saturday. The accident occurred when a groom and nine others, who were accompanying him, were en route from Har Govindpur village to Sirtoul in Budaun, Additional Superintendent of Police (South) Anukriti Sharma said. The vehicle lost control and collided with a wall near Janata Inter College in Junawai area of Sambhal district. Upon...Read More
Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday said the three-language formula imposed by the state government was a precursor to its plan to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra as he shared the political stage with his cousin Uddhav after almost 20 years. Addressing a "victory" rally, Raj Thackeray, in a lighter vein, said Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has managed to bring him and Uddhav together, a feat he said even Balasaheb Thackeray could not accomplish. After two decades, Uddhav and Raj sha...Read More
Mumbai: Unidentified persons raised slogans supporting MNS chief Raj Thackeray and vandalised the office of investor Sushil Kedia in Worli area of Mumbai on Saturday, police said. Kedia had challenged Raj Thackeray and asserted that he would not learn Marathi. He had approached the police after he was threatened over his post on X handle. Some individuals reached Kedia's office in the morning and threw stones, a police official said. The attackers were raising slogans in support of Marathi an...Read More
New Delhi: In a disturbing escalation of language politics, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, has once again resorted to violence and intimidation, this time targeting the Mumbai office of entrepreneur Sushil Kedia. The vandalism, reportedly carried out by MNS workers, stems from Kedia's earlier statement that he would not learn Marathi, a stance that has ignited a fresh wave of controversy in the state's already fraught linguistic landscape. The founder of a Mumbai-b...Read More
Mumbai, July 5 (PTI) Thousands of MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers marched enthusiastically to the venue of the joint rally organised by cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray on Saturday, sharing the public platform for the first time after nearly 20 years. Amid a heavy rush, hundreds of workers forced their way inside the NSCI Dome campus in Worli to listen to the Thackeray brothers. "Supporters of both parties forcefully entered the venue by breaking down the main gate. Police later shut the gate ...Read More
Anand, Jul 5 (PTI) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday laid the foundation stone of Tribhuvan, India's first national university for cooperatives, in Gujarat's Anand district. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel, Union ministers of state for cooperation Krishan Pal Gurjar and Muralidhar Mohol attended the event held on the campus of the Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) here. Shah performed a ritualistic pooja and unveiled a plaque. The university has be...Read More
Kolkata, Jul 5 (PTI) With the 2026 West Bengal assembly polls on the horizon, the BJP has placed its bet on soft-spoken RSS loyalist and party veteran Samik Bhattacharya to steer its troubled state unit out of a prolonged phase of internal discord, grassroots disarray and "cultural disconnect" with the Bengali electorate. But as Bhattacharya, a quintessential Bengali 'bhadralok' takes charge, a key challenge before him is whether the state BJP under his leadership pursues a moderate, inclusive ...Read More
New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) The new Research Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore will help the industry and startups access funds to undertake research in key technology sectors, such as quantum computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence, a government official said. The scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet on July 1, will help boost domestic manufacturing of high-end goods and services and create jobs in the country. It will also support the acquisition of...Read More
Thiruvananthapuram/Palakkad, Jul 5 (PTI) Protests seeking resignation of Kerala Health Minister Veena George, over the death of a woman in the collapse of a part of the Kottayam Medical College two days ago, continued on Saturday with the Congress' women's wing holding a march to the Palakkad district hospital. The Mahila Congress workers with their mouths tied shut with a black cloth marched to the Palakkad district hospital carrying banners and placards seeking George's resignation. The prot...Read More
Ramban/Jammu, Jul 5 (PTI) At least 36 Amarnath pilgrims suffered minor injuries when five buses slammed into each other in Ramban district on Saturday, officials said. The buses were part of a convoy headed for Pahalgam base camp in south Kashmir from Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar. The accident took place near Chanderkoot, along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, at around 8 am, officials said. They said the collision occurred due to the failure of the brakes of one of the buses in the convoy. "T...Read More
Patna, Jul 5 (PTI) Prominent Bihar-based businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead near his residence in Patna by a bike-borne assailant, police said on Saturday. The incident took place around 11.40 pm on Friday in the Gandhi Maidan locality. "Officers of the local police station and personnel in patrolling vehicles immediately reached the spot and secured the crime scene. Forensic experts are collecting evidence. Investigation is underway," SP (Patna Central) Diksha told reporters. "A bullet a...Read More
Jammu, Jul 5 (PTI) Braving heavy rain, a fresh batch of over 6,900 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday to pay a visit to the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. About 30,000 pilgrims have prayed at the 3,880 metre-high cave shrine since July 3 when the 38-day annual yatra commenced from the twin tracks in Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district. The fourth batch of 6,979 pilgrims -- 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 ...Read More
Patna: In a shocking incident that has sent shockwaves through the city, prominent businessman and owner of Magadh Hospital, Gopal Khemka, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Gandhi Maidan area of Patna on Friday. According to initial reports, Khemka was attacked as soon as he stepped out of his car near his apartment, close to the Parnas Hotel. The miscreants opened fire at point-blank range, killing him on the spot. The broad daylight murder has triggered panic in the locality and...Read More
NEW DELHI: ED on Friday said it has attached properties worth Rs 34 crore linked to Kannada actor Ranya Rao and her associates in its ongoing gold smuggling and money laundering case.The case had assumed significance after the actor claimed proximity to a Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara. Premises of the latter were searched by ED in May in connection with the money laundering case.Later, ED shifted its investigation into the gold smuggling case from Bengaluru to its headquarters in Delhi....Read More