The Supreme Court of India has directed the Odisha government to decide within six weeks on a plea for remission filed by Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh, who is serving a life sentence for the murders of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons in 1999. Singh, who has spent over 24 years in prison, claims to have "repented" his actions and seeks an opportunity to reform his character. The court issued the notice after Singh argued that he has already served more than the required period of sentence and that his right to liberty is being jeopardized by the delay in processing his plea.
In Kerala's society, known for its high material standard of living, plunging into a state of having nothing overnight can be terrible for one's social standing and sense of self-esteem. Rehabilitation entails piecing a community back together after a disturbance and while its aim is noble, the act of reassembling will bring alive disparities and inequalities, explains Shyam G Menon.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
Uttar Pradesh is on high alert as Holi coincides with Friday namaz, prompting authorities to implement additional security measures in the state, including enhanced patrolling, surveillance drones, and strict monitoring of social media. The decision follows controversial remarks made by some politicians and a police officer, raising concerns about potential incidents in mixed population localities. The administration has also decided to cover mosques to prevent them from being stained with colors, while several mosques have shifted the timing of Friday prayers.
The city of Shahjahanpur in India celebrates Holi with a unique procession called "Laat Saheb," where revellers hurl footwear at a man impersonating a British Lord. The tradition dates back to the 18th century and has evolved over time. The procession involves a seven-kilometer route, prayers at a temple, and a symbolic bribe offered to the police. The event is marked by strict security measures, including barricades, CCTV cameras, and the covering of mosques with tarpaulins. The procession is seen as a way to commemorate the city's history of freedom fighters and to discourage the British colonizers.
Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul, the MLA from Bisfi assembly constituency in Madhubani district, made these remarks while speaking to reporters at the Vidhan Sabha premises.
The Bachchan family have this knack of going out of their way to make you feel extremely comfortable.
The government resolution does not spell out what action would be taken, if any, against those writing and publishing 'negative' news. Nor does it define 'negative news and "misinformation', explains Jyoti Punwani.
Ram Madhvani's series is all over the place and also boring to watch, complains Deepa Gahlot.
Haryana Police have arrested a "friend" of Congress worker Himani Narwal for allegedly strangling her after a fight at her home and later dumping her body in a suitcase. The accused, Sachin, hails from Jhajjar and was arrested in Delhi. Police say he strangled Narwal with a wired mobile phone charger and then took her jewellery, laptop, and ring before dumping her body in a suitcase and fleeing the scene. Narwal's body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Rohtak on Saturday, leading to the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the murder. Congress party members have expressed grief and demanded justice for Narwal, who was a dedicated party worker and also took part in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Bari said he is delighted to see the ICC Champions Trophy being held in Pakistan now and multiple teams landing in the country.
Ibrahim sings Ishq Mein... Palak looks hot in the elevator... Urvashi is in V-Day mood...
The BJP coined a new word for AAP, 'Aapda (crisis)', which Modi repeated constantly during the election campaign to show how Delhi residents's lives had become miserable under AAP's 11-year rule.
There were reports that the screening of the movie was disrupted in North-West London, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Slough, Staines and Manchester.
Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has met auto-rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana, who rushed him to hospital after he was injured in the knife attack at his home in Mumbai in the wee hours last week, and thanked him for the timely help.
The Mumbai Police have found several fingerprints of the accused in Saif Ali Khan's stabbing case at the actor's Bandra residence.
A Mumbai court remanded a man arrested in the Saif Ali Khan attack case in police custody till January 24 after observing that the police's contention of an international conspiracy cannot be ruled out. The alleged attacker was a Bangladeshi national who had illegally entered India and changed his name to Bijoy Das. Police are investigating the motive behind the attack and whether there is an international conspiracy involved. Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times in the attack and underwent a five-hour surgery.
The alleged incident took place around 6 pm on Friday after an altercation between the victim, who is in Class 9, and some other students, the police said.
A tailor's tag on a blood-stained shirt found near the crime scene helped the Odisha Police to crack a mysterious murder case and arrest three people, an officer said.
World's youngest chess champion D Gukesh was felicitated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and others at a function organised by the state government in Chennai on Tuesday.
A severed human head, suspected of that of a woman, was recovered from a garbage dump in Kolkata's Tollygunge area on Friday morning, police said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the BJP in her maiden Lok Sabha speech, accusing the government of trying to weaken the Constitution and prioritizing the interests of one individual over the people. She criticized the BJP's alleged attempts to change the Constitution, the growing monopoly of the Adani Group, atrocities on women, and the demand for a nationwide caste census. She also challenged the BJP to hold elections using ballot paper, saying it would expose the reality.
Twenty-year-old Arjun Tanwar, arrested for killing his parents and sister at their south Delhi residence, had searched online about methods of murder before committing the crime, police sources said on Thursday.
He was a formidable musician but seemed utterly human, a Peter Pan who wore his genius with deceptive lightness. Sandip Roy remembers Ustad Zakir Hussain.
A pregnant tribal woman was allegedly made to wash the blood stains from the bed of a government hospital in Dindori in Madhya Pradesh after her husband bled on it, officials said on Saturday.
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
The government aims to better its last year's Guinness World Record by lighting 25 lakh diyas on the banks of Saryu river.
'There are ominous portents of an isolationist administration not only building a physical wall to the south to prevent unwanted immigrants from entering the land of milk and honey, but also trade walls not just against China, but all nations,' foresees Sreekant Sambrani.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has listed 11 pieces of evidence, such as reports of DNA and blood samples, in its charge sheet to hold arrested Kolkata Police civic volunteer Sanjay Roy as the 'sole accused' in the rape and murder of a woman doctor at the RG Kar hospital in Kolkata.
Singh has sought the application of a more liberal remission policy to ensure his premature release from a prison in the state where he is lodged for more than 24 years.
What are the reasons why a girl's education falls by the wayside? Why was Safeena a casualty too? Maybe because the education system doesn't give youngsters enough options? Or there are societal issues or pressures?
Earlier in response to Iran's rocket barrage on Israel on Tuesday night the UN Chief had said, "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.."
Kareena's sombre performance lingered on long after I had left the theatre, notes Sukanya Verma.
A day after police filed a chargesheet against Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, a photograph of the victim pleading for life emerged on social media on Thursday.
With this incident, 154 Naxalites have been gunned down by the security forces in different encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year, the police said.
The police were waiting for the final post-mortem examination report to come to a conclusion regarding the murder of a woman doctor, whose body was found in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, an officer said.
The body of a woman post-graduate trainee who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of the hospital, was found on Friday morning. The civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday.
A face-off between the government and the opposition was erupted on Wednesday after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency and termed the decision by then prime minister Indira Gandhi an attack on the Constitution.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday expressed anguish over Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge trooping into the Well of the House during an opposition protest, saying it is for the first time that a person occupying the post has engaged in such conduct.
A total 17 people, including Darshan and his friend Pavithra Gowda, are accused in the murder case.
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