At Delhi CM house, how protesters got too close for comfort
Delhi Police has initiated an internal enquiry to find how 15-20 members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), along with its national president and Lok Sabha MP Tejaswi Surya, got past the third barricade of the North district police and reached the main gate of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in Civil Lines, where they broke the boom barrier and kicked and banged the main gate before painting it red.
The Indian Express has learnt that an application for the protest, filed by Hukum Singh, a BJP office bearer, was rejected by the arrangements cell of North district police, yet the group went ahead with it. “Based on the Special Branch inputs, the North district police made security arrangements after deploying 130 personnel, including one company of women personnel, along three layers of barricades. There were seven inspectors and an additional DCP rank officer supervising the protest,” a senior police officer said.
The Omicron variant of coronavirus was detected in all the 442 samples of Covid positive patients genome sequenced here in March, according to official data.
Between January and March, 578 samples of people who died due to Covid-19 were genome sequenced and 560 samples, around 97 per cent were found infected with the Omicron variant. The laboratories had received 776 samples in March. However, 442 samples were found viable and all of them were found to be infected with the Omicron variant. None of the samples had the Delta variant or its sub-lineages. (PTI)
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Exactly five years ago, in March 2017, Raj Kapoor’s films Mera Naam Joker and Sangam were screened at the Regal Cinema as a sign off for the legendary theatre.
In 1932, when Regal Cinema began operations – as a venue for ballets, plays and talkies – the late director’s father, Prithivraj Kapoor, used to stage shows here.
As a young boy, Raj used to accompany him on some of those jaunts. So, when he grew up in stature as an actor and director, he made sure all his movies were screened at Regal. Not only this, Oscar-winning Hollywood film Gone with the Wind had its Indian premiere here in 1940. Read More
With physical attendance in schools no longer optional from April 1, the ‘Early Warning System’ to pre-emptively identify children in distress by tracking school attendance will become fully operational.
‘The Early Warning System’ is a project of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), which has identified that there are a few reasons largely responsible for sustained absence from school — child labour, begging, substance abuse, parental incarceration, parental death, disability, medical issues, and getting involved in crime. The idea is to track student attendance and intervene in case of sustained absence to try and address distress situations a student may be in.
While the commission has been orienting schools about the system since late last year, physical attendance in school has been optional due to the pandemic and the hybrid mode continued. But from April 1, all schools will move completely offline. Read More
The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Centre to respond within two weeks to a plea by LGBTQ couples who are seeking live streaming of proceedings on a batch of petitions to recognise same-sex marriages under the special, Hindu and foreign marriage laws on the grounds that the matter is of great national and constitutional importance.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla asked the central government to file its response after it was informed that the notice was issued on the application on November 30, 2021 but no reply has been filed yet.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by several same-sex couples, seeking a declaration recognising their marriages under the special, Hindu and foreign marriage laws. A total of eight petitions have been filed in the high court on the issue. (PTI)
Following a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday, Delhi government sources said all Covid-related restrictions by DDMA expected to be lifted, including the doing away of fine on not wearing masks.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin is expected to meet Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, governemnt officials said. Stalin will also visit the government schools and mohalla clinics in the capital.
A fire broke out inside a room at the Kasturba Gandhi hospital in cental Delhi on Thursday, officials said. The fire department received information about the blaze around 3.50 pm, they said. Four fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was doused by 4.20 pm, they said. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court Wednesday slammed the Administrative Reforms department of the Delhi government for delaying the proposal regarding the creation of additional posts for Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka and warned its officers of contempt proceedings for the non-compliance.
The government had earlier made a requisition for 3,059 posts but only 1,204 posts were approved. A fresh proposal was later submitted for approval of additional 1,855 posts by the government. The proposal was rejected by the Administrative Reforms Department. The court in February had directed the AR department to re-examine the proposal and also place it before the Lieutenant Governor.
After the court on Wednesday was told that the situation is still the same, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said the matter has not been placed before Lieutenant Governor also and there appears to be total non-compliance of its previous order. It added that the inaction of the department gives rise to a reason to initiate contempt proceedings against defaulting officers. Read More
A day after BJP youth wing workers allegedly vandalised his official residence in New Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the attack and said he was “ready to lay down his life for the country”. “If the biggest party of the country, which is in power at the Centre, resorts to such hooliganism, it will spread a bad message among people,” he said at an event.
Kejriwal Thursday attacked BJP for 'attack' on his house saying, "if India's biggest party indulges in hooliganism, it will send out wrong message." He further said, "Arvind Kejriwal is not important but the nation is. I can lay down my life for the country."
The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by the family of late Ram Vilas Paswan, a former Union minister, against the Centre's decision to evict the family members from the 12 Janpath bungalow in New Delhi that was allotted to him in 1990.
"It's not your party headquarters," said Justice Yashwant Varma while refusing to interfere with the eviction process initiated by the Directorate of Estate, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, on Wednesday.
A day after 130 workers, including 76 women, of manufacturing company JNS Instruments Ltd were arrested for ‘rioting’ and allegedly setting a bus on fire in IMT Manesar, the workers continued to protest Wednesday demanding the reinstatement of suspended workers who they alleged had been targeted by the company after they decided to form a union. The company has denied the allegations.
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), a set of parents have written to Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal asking that the wearing of masks in schools, especially for children aged 5 to 11, be made optional.
Journalist Rana Ayyub, who was stopped from flying to London from the Mumbai International Airport Tuesday evening, has approached the Delhi High Court against the lookout circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is probing her in connection with a case of alleged money laundering.
A mention regarding the urgent listing of the case was made before the division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi. Justice Sanghi said that the matter will ordinarily be listed for Friday in case it is filed before noon.
A week after a student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) died while being taken to AIIMS, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor regarding the resumption of services of specialist doctors and upgradation of the on-campus health centre.
The memorandum read, “The lackadaisical approach of the Health Centre last week, when complications occurred to the student of the university and subsequent referral to AIIMS by ambulance without critical care service, further leading to his unfortunate death is not unknown to all. This incident was a result of various factors which need to be seriously looked at, rectified and improved so that no one has to go through the same ordeal.”
The overall contribution of local and regional sources to PM 2.5 levels in the national capital during winter is higher than the contribution from stubble burning, an analysis of air pollution levels in the past winter by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed. Read More
Saurabh Bhardwaj in the petition said, 'It appears that Delhi Police was hand in glove with the goons as the goons are members of the ruling party in the Central Government, which has absolute control over Delhi Police through the Ministry of Home Affairs. Due to such inaction and complicity of the police, the BJP goons have become emboldened to carry out repeated attacks on the elected officials of the Government of NCT of Delhi.'
AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj has approached the Delhi High Court in light of the attack on and vandalization of the official residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday. The petition seeks criminal investigation with respect to the attack and its perpetrators, and appropriate directions for ensuring the security of the Delhi CM and his residence in the future.
Heatwave conditions remain in the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for Delhi on Thursday with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 40 degrees Celsius. Heatwave conditions are also likely to persist in the national capital from April 3 to 6. The maximum temperature is set to increase to 41 degrees Celsius on April 6.
The Delhi Police told the Delhi Waqf Board Thursday that the mosque at Markaz Nizamuddin will be allowed to reopen during the month of Ramzan, but while adhering to the terms and conditions as laid down by the High Court on March 16 for Shab-e-Barat.
The Police has also directed the Markaz management to re-install the missing CCTV cameras at the entrance and the exit gates, and the staircase of each floor of the mosque. The Police has also ordered the management to put up a notice board specifying the conditions for entrance of foreign devotees.
Delhi Police has initiated an internal inquiry to find how 15-20 members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), along with its national president and Lok Sabha MP Tejaswi Surya, got past the third barricade of the North district police and reached the main gate of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in Civil Lines, where they broke the boom barrier and kicked and banged the main gate before painting it red.
From fistfights to slippers being raised at each other, pandemonium broke out during the East Delhi Municipal Corporation house meeting Wednesday over a comment made by Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his statements on The Kashmir Files. A senior official said councillors of both parties had “manhandled” each other.
BJYM national president and Lok Sabha MP Tejaswi Surya led the protesters, many of whom were captured on CCTV breaking the boom barrier, and kicking and banging the main gate before throwing red paint on it. DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said a CCTV camera was also damaged.
THE WAR of words in Delhi over Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal remarks on the film, The Kashmir Files, led to dramatic scenes outside his residence on Wednesday when nearly 200 protesters from the opposition BJP’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), broke through police barricades and slammed the main gate, prompting AAP to accuse them of “trying to kill” the CM.
Delhi Police Thursday arrested eight persons in connection with the alleged attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house on Wednesday.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed concern over the alleged sharing of user data by Facebook with other companies and referred to the Cambridge Analytica scandal which pertains to the use of user data for political purposes.
The observations were made during the hearing of Facebook and WhatsApp’s appeals against a single-bench order declining to interfere with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation into the messaging application’s privacy policy. However, the court clarified that it was making the observations generally and not particularly with regard to the case. Read More
Two men, aged 35 and 25, who worked as contractual employees with the Delhi Jal Board died after they allegedly fell into a sewage treatment plant in East Delhi’s Kondli area Wednesday afternoon. Delhi Fire Services said they received a call around 5 pm and sent teams to rescue the men. Around 8 pm, the DFS recovered two bodies from the pit.
Delhi on Wednesday reported 123 fresh Covid-19 cases and one death, the health bulletin said. The city's positivity rate stood at 0.50% when 24,706 tests were conducted. 106 patients recovered from the infection today.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, is absolutely a constitutional bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Lok Sabha today.
"Talks are being held about the rights of states. CM Kejriwal speaks the same...I can't bring such a Bill for Maharashtra, Gujarat, or Bengal. Neither I nor Centre can do it in the states. But if you don't know the difference between state & UT, I think Constitution needs to be studied again," he said.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to merge the three municipal corporations of the national capital into a single entity.
The Delhi Police said they have registered an FIR against unidentified persons for breaking the boom barrier and charging up to CM Arvind Kejriwal's house gate. According to the officials, teams have been formed to nab the accused.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), Section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), and Section 34 (common intension) of the Indian Penal Code and The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, said DCP (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi.
Four swimming instructors from Gurugram near Delhi have been arrested for the alleged gang rape of a 22-year old nurse here, police said.
According to police, one of the accused Rajat Suresh befriended the woman on a dating app and took her to a hotel on March 24. Later, he took her to his room that he had shared with three of his friends, who have been identified as Yogesh Kumar, Shiv Rana and Dev Saroha.
The survivor alleged in her complaint to the police that the four men raped and assaulted her. (PTI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah while discussing the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Lok Sabha said that the Delhi government has a ‘step-mother’ attitude towards MCDs. He also said that since Delhi is the national capital and the President's house, PMO, secretariats and other important places are located here, it is important that three civic bodies are able to do their work properly. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 act, which aims to merge the three municipal corporations of the national capital into a single entity, will be taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the BJP's anger due to the defeat in the Punjab election is visible in the attack on Delhi CM's residence. Condemning the attack, he said BJP is afraid of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal.
The Delhi Police ordered a probe after a video of a speeding Thar hitting a pedestrian surfaced on Twitter. The accident took place at Janpath on Wednesday morning in which a man, Girdhari, sustained injuries. He was taken to the RML Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Delhi Police said they detained the national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Tejasvi Surya for protesting outside Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence. The police had earlier said they had detained 70 persons from the spot.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal should apologise for insulting Hindus, said Tejasvi Surya, the National President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha condemned the attack by BJP workers on Delhi CM's house during their protest against his speech on the movie The Kashmir Files in the Delhi Assembly last week. He said the protestors also broke barricades and CCTV cameras in Kejriwal's residence.
Almost two weeks after the Delhi government picked Vikas Kumar as the Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) today approved the selection. The appointment order will come to effect from April 1 for a period of five years
DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said, "Today at around 11.30 onwards a dharna was started by around 150-200 protestors of BJP Yuva Morcha outside CM residence at Link road near IP College, against the remarks of Delhi Chief minister in Delhi Vidhan Sabha regarding the movie The Kashmir Files. At around 1 pm, some of the protestors breached two barricades and reached outside CM's house where they created ruckus, shouted slogans."
"They were carrying a small box of paint from which they threw paint outside the door. In the imbroglio, a boom barrier arm is also found vandalised as also a CCTV camera. Police team immediately removed them from the spot and detained around 70 persons. Legal action is being initiated," said Kalsi.
The four people who fell into a sewer in Outer Delhi’s Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar on Tuesday afternoon were confirmed dead on Wednesday morning and their bodies were recovered after nearly nine hours of rescue efforts, said the police.
The deceased were identified as linemen Bacchu Singh, Pintu and Suraj Sahni, who accidentally fell into the sewer while working to fix wires for a telecom company, and an autorickshaw driver Satish Singh (38), who tried to get inside the sewer to save them, said the police. Read more
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday that he regrets not being allowed to implement the doorstep delivery of ration scheme in Delhi.
Kejriwal, whose government in Delhi has been at near-constant loggerheads with the Centre, said its government in Punjab will implement the schemes that were not being allowed in Delhi. Read more
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Tuesday inaugurated the city’s first ‘halt station’ at Punjabi Bagh West Metro station to provide an interchange facility between the Green and Pink lines. The station was inaugurated by DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh.
According to officials, the DMRC has built a station that connects two operational corridors for the first time. Read more
A Delhi court has said that no stigma can be attached to former TERI chief R K Pachauri in the alleged sexual harassment case lodged against him by a former colleague as the prosecution could not prove its case before his death.
Additional Sessions Judge Mohinder Virat passed the order in an application filed by Pachauri’s son seeking leave to continue the revision petition against an order to put him on trial in the case. The revision petition was filed by Pachauri. Read more
Leaders of the BJP will stage a protest Wednesday against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s speech in the Delhi assembly on the Bollywood movie The Kashmir Files. The protest march will start at IP College and conclude at CM Kejriwal’s residence.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga said that the national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Tejasvi Surya will lead the protest. Bagga said the protest is mainly against Kejriwal’s statement calling the movie “a lie and making fun in the assembly.” Read more
Dismissing a petition challenging the 100 per cent physical reopening of schools in Delhi, the High Court Tuesday said children are losing much more by not attending schools.
“There is no empirical data to say that children are at a very high risk of contracting Covid. There are so many studies coming up which show the psychological impact that absence from school has had on the children,” said the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla. Read more