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Gaya police looking for Chinese woman suspected to be a spy
Police in Bihar’s Gaya are looking for a Chinese woman suspected to be a spy and had also been illegally residing in various parts of the country, including Bodh Gaya.
Confirming the development, Gaya SSP Harpreet Kaur said: “We have been receiving inputs about a Chinese woman living in Bodh Gaya but there are no records of her in any External Affairs departments. Keeping this in view, we have alerted the authorities to look for her. She has not been located yet. We are not denying that she is not a Chinese spy.”
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Gaya police also prepared a sketch of the Chinese woman on the basis of a description provided by the owner of the house in Bodh Gaya where she had been residing.
Local intelligence officials have claimed that she stayed for the maximum time in Bodh Gaya probably to keep an eye on Kaal Chakra Puja and the activities of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama who spends at least one month annually in the town.
The Dalai Lama is currently in Bodh Gaya for the Kaal Chakra Puja.
In the wake of the development, the authorities have enhanced his security.
Woman arrested in Noida for assaulting domestic help
Police in Noida have arrested a woman for assaulting her domestic help in the upscale Cleo County society in Sector 120, a senior official said on Thursday.
An FIR was registered in the Phase-3 police station on Tuesday after the victim’s father, Padam Singh filed a police complaint accusing the accused, Shefali Koul, of kidnapping and physically assaulting his daughter.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media in which Koul can be seen dragging the 20-year-old victim, Anita, from the elevator by her hair, while the latter is fighting hard to escape.
In response to the viral video, the police also took to Twitter and said that necessary legal action had been initiated in the matter.
“An FIR has been registered on the basis of the information provided by the maid’s father who alleged that his daughter was held hostage in the Cleo County society under the Phase-3 police station area,” said the senior police official.
Meanwhile, Koul has claimed that her domestic help had stolen things from her house and even added sleeping pills in her
meals.
The accused also claimed that she has CCTV footage and evidence to back her allegations.
Gold worth Rs 46 lakhs seized at Hyderabad airport
Customs officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here have seized gold valued at over Rs 46 lakhs from a passenger who arrived from Dubai, officials said on Thursday.
Sleuths of the air intelligence unit of Hyderabad Airport Customs intercepted the passenger coming from Dubai by Emirates flight EK 528.
The passenger had concealed the gold in paste form.
The total quantity of seized gold was 827.7 grams valued around Rs 46.51 lakhs. Further investigation is under progress.
This came a day after customs officials intercepted a passenger who had also arrived from Dubai on an Air India flight.
He had concealed the gold in paste form in undergarments, trousers.
The quantity of seized gold was 704 grams valued around Rs. 39.66 lakhs. Officials said further investigation was underway.
The airport has seen a series of gold seizures this month.
On December 16, Customs officials had intercepted a male passenger arriving from Dubai. They seized 24 karat gold weighing 957 grams valued at Rs 46,53,508 from him.
Earlier on December 12, gold amounting to 802 grams was seized from a passenger who had arrived from Dubai. He had concealed the yellow metal in paste form in the innerwear.
The biggest seizure was made on December 10. The officials had seized gold valued over Rs.1.37 crore from a passenger who arrived from Dubai.
The officials checked the baggage of the passenger and found 24 karat gold weighing 1,547 grams 18 karat gold jewellery weighing 1,414 grams.
The total value of the seized contraband was Rs 1,37,92,968.
On November 11, customs officials had seized gold worth Rs 2.8 crore from two passengers who had arrived from Dubai.
Election Commission ready to pilot remote voting
The Election Commission of India on Thursday said that it is ready to pilot remote voting for domestic migrants, and the migrant voters need not travel to their home states to vote.
The ECI has developed a prototype Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine and has invited political parties for demonstration of the prototype RVM.
The prototype RVM can handle multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth
“The migration based disenfranchisement is indeed not an option in the age of technological advancement. The voter turnout in General Elections 2019 was 67.4 per cent and the Election Commission of India is concerned about the issue of over 30 crore electors not exercising their franchise and also differential voter turnout in various states/UTs,” the commission said.
The ECI said that there are multifarious reasons for a voter not opting to register in a new place of residence, thus missing out on exercising the right to vote.
“Inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and ensure participative elections. Although there is no central database available for migration within the country, the analysis of available data in public domain points to work, marriage and education related migration as important components of domestic migration,” it said.
Approximately 85 per cent of the internal migration is within the states.
The ECI team has deliberated at length to find inclusive solutions to facilitate electoral participation of migrants across all socio-economic strata and explored alternative voting methods like two-way physical transit postal ballots, proxy voting, early voting at special Early Voting Centres, one-way or two-way electronic transmission of postal ballots (ETPBS), Internet-based voting system.
Devotees pay tribute to Guru Gobind Singh in Golden Temple
Tens of thousands of devotees on Thursday visited the holiest of Sikh shrines, Harmandir Sahib, popularly known as the Golden Temple in Amritsar, to pay tributes to Guru Gobind Singh on the occasion of the 365th birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh guru.
The Golden Temple was decked up in festive spirit.
Braving chill, since early morning thousands of devotees have turned up to offer prayers at the shrine and took dip in the holy sarovar at Golden Temple.
The Sikh devotees participated in Nagar Kirtan at Harmandir Sahib ahead of the birth anniversary of the tenth Sikh leader Guru Gobind Singh.
Elsewhere in Punjab, people thronged various shrines in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and other towns.
The festival spirit could also be seen in Chandigarh and towns and cities in Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Guru Gobind Singh.
“His unparalleled courage would continue to motivate people for years to come,” Modi tweeted, and posted a previous clip of his speech lauding the guru.
“On the sacred occasion of his Parkash Purab, I bow to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and recall his contribution towards serving humanity. His unparalleled courage will continue to motivate people for years to come,” the Prime Minister said.
December 26 was celebrated as Veer Bal Diwas from 2022 as a tribute to the bravery and martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons.
Delhi air quality dips to very poor category
Amid the chilly weather, the air quality in the national capital dipped to very poor quality as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city reached 311 on Thursday morning, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
The AQI at Dhirpur entered into a severe category with PM 2.5 at 324, under a ‘very poor’ category.
Experts said that the air quality may also remain in a very poor category on Friday.
The AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.
In Pusa, the AQI recorded PM 2.5 at 318 very poor category.
At Lodhi Road, the Air Quality Index with PM 2.5 concentration was at 3o1 under the very poor category and the PM 10 stood at 163 under the moderate category. In Ayanagar the PM 2.5 was at 286, poor category while the PM 10 reached 156, in moderate�category.
The Air Quality Index at the city’s Mathura Road was also under the very poor category with PM 2.5 at 312 with PM 10 concentration at 255 under the poor category.
According to the forecast from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the air quality of the city will deteriorate further under a very poor category with PM 2.5 reaching 322 and the PM 10 concentration at 184 under ‘moderate category’ on Friday.
However, the Air Quality Index of Delhi’s neighbouring cities of Noida stood at 339 under very poor category and the PM 10 concentration at 207 under poor category, while Gurugram’s AQI was reported at 303 under the very poor category and the PM 10 concentration at 146 under moderate category.
Meanwhile, Delhiites woke up to a thin layer of fog and a cold day with Palam weather station in Delhi recording a minimum temperature of 9.7 degree Celsius while Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 7 degree Celsius.
A ‘cold day’ is when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 10 degrees Celsius below normal and the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 degrees below normal. A ‘severe cold day’ is when the maximum is 6.5 degrees or more below normal. A ‘severe’ cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.
TN Police not to allow any public celebration after 1 am on Jan 1
The Tamil Nadu Police have stated that no public celebrations will be allowed on New Year’s day after 1 a.m.
The state police will be deploying 90,000 policemen on duty across the state to maintain law and order celebrations on the New Year eve and early morning of January 1. A total of 10,000 home guards would also be deployed for assisting the policemen.
A statement from the office of the state DGP said that vehicle checks would be conducted across the state and have informed the public not to venture into the seas during the celebrations.
The public, who are travelling long distances, has been directed to stop after every three hours and to take rest before proceeding further. Police have also advised the public to inform the local police station if they are travelling out of the station by locking their homes.
The statement also said that all resorts/ hotels should follow conditions imposed by the police during the celebrations.
Police have also said that adequate security has been provided at the places of worship and anyone who creates any issues at these places would be arrested.
CCTV cameras fitted patrol vehicles will monitor the roads on New Year’s eve and appropriate action would be taken against the people indulging in drinking and driving and those who indulge in bike-racing.
The Tamil Nadu Police have also said that the police checkposts would be installed at all the major points where the public congregates, including beaches and other public places.
MP govt issues security alert to ensure peace, communal harmony
After receiving inputs from the central agencies that communal harmony may be disrupted in the state around the New Year, the Madhya Pradesh government has issued a statewide security alert.
A gazette notification issued by the Home department on December 26 mentioned that the security alert will remain till March 2023. The district collectors have been authorised to use power of detention under the National Security Act (NSA) till March next year.
“The state has received a report that certain elements are active to threaten communal harmony and commit acts prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and security of the state. Having regard to such circumstances prevailing in the areas within the local limits of the districts, the state government is satisfied that it is necessary to authorise the district magistrates to exercise powers conferred under section 3 (3) of the National Security Act 1980,” the notification read.
It further stated, “The state government hereby authorises district magistrates from a period of January 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023, within their respective jurisdictions to exercise the powers to order detention under NSA.”
Notably, the state will have Assembly elections in 2023.
Andhra tourist dead as houseboat capsizes in Alappuzha
A houseboat capsized in the back waters of Kerala’s Alappuzha on Thursday, which led to the death of a tourist from Andhra Pradesh, while four others on board were rescued.
The incident occurred when water gushed in through a leak at the bottom of the houseboat.
The 55-year-old victim has been identified as Ramachandra Reddy. Of the rescued persons, three were members of the victim’s family, while the fourth was a staffer of the houseboat.
Following the capsize, all five were taken to a hospital, where the victim passed away.
Rescue operations were conducted by houseboats that was anchored near the one that sunk.
Scattered to widespread rain, snow likely in Kashmir
Weather was dry and cold in J&K during the last 24 hours as the Meteorological (MeT) office said on Thursday that scattered to widespread rain/snow is expected.
“Scattered to widespread rain/snow is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours,” an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar had minus 3.2, Pahalgam minus 4.5 and Gulmarg minus 4.8 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
In Ladakh region, Kargil minus 10.8 and Leh minus 12.6 as the minimum temperature.
Jammu had 6, Katra 7.6, Batote 2.1, Banihal minus 0.2 and Bhaderwah 0.6 as the minimum temperature.
Man kills girlfriend after ‘informing’ his mother in UP
A young man allegedly strangled his girlfriend to death but he ‘informed’ his mother that he was going to commit the crime.
“I am going to kill my love, don’t wait for me,” he told his mother just before the murder.
The policemen investigating the case have recovered the purported audio clip from his possession.
According to the police reports, the incident took place on December 23 and the matter came to light a day later when the victim’s body was found lying in her rented accommodation by her landlord.
The accused Shiva Singh has now been arrested.
A senior police officer said Shiva Singh was in a relationship with one Sonia for the past eight months. Sonia lived in a rented accommodation in the Shivpuri area and used to make idols to eke out a living.
Recently he came to know of her friendship with another youth and this angered him to such an extent that he killed her.
Three Class 12 girls die by suicide in separate incidents in UP
Three girls from Class 12 ended their lives by suicide within a span of eight days beginning December 10.
The Sitapur police have now arrested seven persons in the connection with the three suicide cases.
According to police reports, one girl student hanged herself from the ceiling of her room on December 10, while another consumed poison on December 12. On December 18, yet another student jumped into the river.
The three suicides sent the police into a tizzy as the students were of Class 12 at the same school.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Sitapur, Narendra Pratap Singh said that on December 20, a committee was constituted by the district police chief for investigating the cases.
Singh said that the first case of a 17-year-old girl was reported from Kursianpurwa. “The girl was in touch with a 25-year-old grocery seller, Rahul Yadav. Despite the victim’s father asking him not to talk to his daughter, the man continued to communicate with her. On December 10, the girl’s father scolded the man, following which the girl committed suicide,” said Singh.
Yadav and his friend Lalit Kumar have been arrested.
The December 12 case was reported from Jyotishahalampur village. A detailed probe revealed that the girl wanted to marry one Ankit.
“The girl’s parents had met Ankit’s parents to discuss prospects of their daughter and Ankit. But Ankit’s mother demanded a bike and dowry for marriage,” said the officer.
When the girl learnt about it, she consumed poison.
“Ankit and his mother have been arrested”, he said.
The third case was reported from the Tiwaripurwa village, Singh said.
