Daily briefing: Latest on the killing of Atiq Ahmed; Parliament Museum upgrade caught in row; and more

🔴 Arun Maurya, another accused in the case, was supposed to appear in a Panipat court, in connection with a case registered against him last year, on the day he shot dead Atiq and Ashraf, The Indian Express has learnt. He, however, skipped the hearing. The case Maurya was facing was registered on February 4 last year under provisions of Arms Act. On February 19, he was released on bail.

🔴 Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has said that “mafia in UP who were a threat earlier are now themselves facing threats”, three days after the murder of Atiq Ahmed. “Before 2017, UP was known for two things. The law and order situation was bad. It was also known for riots. There is no need to be scared of any district anymore,” he said.

🔴 Pointing out that the structures were constructed without their plans being approved by the authority concerned, the Prayagraj Development Authority has demolished six buildings that belonged to Atiq, including his house and office, since September 2020, The Indian Express learnt.

⚡ Only in the Express

While the officials have only four months to the August 15 deadline when the upgraded Parliament Museum has to be thrown open, records reviewed by The Indian Express show an acrimonious back-and-forth between the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the “content creator,” National Museum Institute. Read Shyamlal Yadav’s story to find out how the ambitious project has run into rough weather.

📰 From the Front Page

The Supreme Court bench hearing petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages has said it will steer clear of the area of personal laws but will only examine if the right can be conferred under The Special Marriage Act. Crucially, in response to an argument that the “legislative intent” of marriage is a “relationship between a biological man and a biological female”, the SC said that “there is no absolute concept” of a man or woman.

In a fresh and major development in the Bilkis Bano case, the Supreme Court has questioned the Gujarat government over its decision to prematurely release 11 men convicted in the case. “The question is whether the government applied its mind and what material formed the basis of its decision to grant remission,” said Justice K M Joseph while hearing the case.

Months after Maharashtra witnessed major drama with the Shiv Sena split, the political circle in the state is abuzz again with talk of NCP leader Ajit Pawar cosying up to the BJP. With speculation that he may join the BJP-Shiv Sena government, Ajit Pawar as well as NCP chief Sharad Pawar separately came out in public to deny what they called “rumours”.

👩🏽‍💻 Must Read

In our opinion section today, Milind Sohoni and Rijyuta Kaabaadee write on the need for the IITs to make science empathetic and inclusive: “Students need a science which is free, and explores all nooks and crannies of knowledge and society.”

Colombian journalist Rafael Moreno defied his detractors and predicted his own demise in a 37-minute Facebook live on July 21, 2022: “If you have to kill me, kill me. But I am telling you to your face: you won’t silence me.” It was after his murder on October 16, 2022, that his story exposing corruption came to life. Here’s how 

Several previous generations of Indians had grown up hearing that Jagadish Chandra Bose had shown that plants experienced sensations and were able to feel pleasure and pain. And late last month, a group of researchers from Israel’s Tel Aviv University reported that they had been able to pick up distress noises made by plants. Though the breakthrough made headlines,  it seemed just a logical extension of J C Bose’s work. Here’s looking back at Bose’s study of science and plants.

⏱️ And Finally…

Delhi Confidential: The BJP leadership’s decision to deny a ticket to former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar, who has switched to the Congress since, has triggered nervousness among some leaders. Apparently, Shettar was asked to step out of the electoral fray to avoid confusion among voters about the probable CM faces in the state. But it has raised questions in the party circles if the same formula will be applied in other states awaiting elections later this year.

In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we look at the killings of Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed on live TV and the UP government’s response

Until tomorrow,

Anandu Suresh and Anamni Gupta