Cong slams govt over detention of protesters demanding clean air

Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Monday said she will raise the issue of air pollution in Delhi in the winter session of Parliament and sought suggestions from experts and citizens on the matter.

In a video message posted on X, the former chief of the Delhi Commission for Women said, every year during winter, Delhi and north India become a "gas chamber".

"Breathing here is akin to smoking 20 to 25 cigarettes in a day. It is not just bad air that we are breathing, it is low poison that is seeping into our lungs, heart, brain, and even unborn babies," she said.

PTI

A Delhi court on Monday deferred pronouncement of its order to December 4 on framing of charges in the alleged land-for-job case involving RJD chief and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family members, and several others.

Special CBI Judge Vishal Gogne was hearing the case filed by the agency against Lalu Yadav and others over their alleged involvement in the case.

The matter will now be taken up on December 4, when the court is expected to pronounce its decision on whether there is sufficient evidence to frame charges.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed chargesheets against Lalu Yadav, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, their son Tejashwi Yadav and others in connection with the alleged scam.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday took part in a road show ahead of nomination of BJP candidate Anita Jain from Shalimar Bagh B ward in the MCD bypolls.

She said victory of the BJP candidates is necessary for the 12 wards where bypolls will be held on November 30.

Gupta represented Shalimar Bagh B ward before being elected as MLA and becoming Delhi Chief minister after victory of the BJP in the Assembly polls held in February this year.

She charged that the previous governments in Delhi indulged in politics as a result development of the municipal wards took a backseat.

Last month, the charred body of a UPSC aspirant was found in his rented flat in North Delhi’s Timarpur. The Delhi Police initially suspected that the victim, Ram Kesh Meena, 32, died in a fire sparked by a cylinder blast. As the probe unfolded, police found he was murdered allegedly by his girlfriend, her ex-boyfriend and another person.

The trio were arrested two weeks after the crime. The Delhi Police are now planning to carry out a forensic gait analysis to bolster their case.

According to the police, CCTV footage from the night of the incident has emerged as a key piece of evidence. The footage in question had shown three people, with their faces covered, entering the building. After 39 minutes, one person walked out. At 2.57 am, a woman, along with another person, was seen leaving the building. The fire occurred shortly after their departure, police had said.

A senior Delhi Police officer said that though gait analysis has been used multiple times unofficially, it’s rare to present it as evidence in court. “We use it to zero in on a list of suspects. But usually, it’s corroborated with other sets of evidence which are to be presented to the court. This (the UPSC murder case) will be one of the rare times when it would be presented to the court,” the police officer said.

he Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee on Sunday announced the names of its candidates for the November 30 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by-elections, just a day before the conclusion of the nomination process.

Earlier in the day, the BJP and AAP also announced their candidates.

The Congress list includes Mukesh from Mundka, Sarita Kumari from Shalimar Bagh B, Vishakha Rani from Ashok Vihar, Ajay Kumar Jain from Chandni Chowk, and Kunwar Shehzad Ahmed from Chandni Mahal.

Other candidates are Sumita Malik from Dwarka B, Rashmi Sharma from Dichau Kalan, Manoj Tanwar from Naraina, Suresh Choudhary from Sangam Vihar A, Vikram from Dakshin Puri, Shikha Kapur from Greater Kailash, and Vinay Shankar Dubey from Vinod Nagar.

The last date of filing of nominations is November 10, and the scrutiny of papers will take place on November 12. The last date of withdrawal of nomination is November 15.

In a major security operation in Faridabad, a team from the Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered 350 kg of explosives suspected to be ammonium nitrate, along with an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, three magazines, 20 timers, a walkie-talkie set and ammunition from a rented accommodation at Dhauj village. A doctor from Jammu and Kashmir was also arrested during the operation, said police.

A Faridabad police spokesperson said members of the city police were also present during the operation.

The recovery followed the arrest of Dr Adil Ahmad Rather, a Kashmiri doctor tracked down to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly pasting posters supporting the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar on October 27. 

In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta shared that during questioning, Rather disclosed information that led police to Dr Mujammil Shakeel (also referred to as Mujahil Shakil or Muzammil Shakeel), another doctor from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir employed at the Al-Falah Hospital in Faridabad. 

Shakeel, who had rented the house in Dhauj about three months ago, was arrested, and the cache was seized from his residence in a coordinated raid on Sunday.

The Faridabad Police Commissioner clarified that the material was ammonium nitrate, not RDX as initially reported in some parts of the media.