Ram Rahim rape verdict on Monday: Rohtak turned into a fortress, schools and colleges to remain shut
Haryana and Punjab ordered schools and colleges shut, suspended mobile services, beefed up security and threw a five-tier cordon around a Rohtak jail, where on Monday a judge will hand out punishment to self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for raping two disciples. The special CBI court will at 2.30pm begin hearing arguments on quantum of punishment, which could range from seven years to life imprisonment, in the district jail at Sunaria where the flamboyant Dera Sacha Sauda chief is lodged. Rohtak deputy commissioner Atul Kumar said miscreants who try to spread violence will be shot dead. Read the story here.
19-party Opposition led by Lalu, Sonia, Mamata and Akhilesh declares ‘war’ on BJP
RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday joined 18 national parties to issue a joint call to all ‘anti-BJP forces’ to close ranks to “save the country” from the “communal and divisive” BJP and its “unholy intention” to gobble up India by breaking alliances and parties by underhand means, as it did in Bihar. Addressing the ‘Desh Bachao, Bhajpa bhagao’ (Save the nation, drive out BJP) rally at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan in the heart of Patna, he said parties proving to be inconvenient to the BJP at the Centre were facing witch hunts and their leaders threatened through misuse of central investigating agencies. Lalu Prasad was joined by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and five ex-chief ministers -- Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Babulal Marandi of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM), Hemant Soren of the JMM, his wife Rabri Devi and Ghulam Nabi Azad of Jammu and Kashmir. Read the story here.
Ram Rahim verdict: Eye on borders, Delhi gears up to avoid repeat of violence
{{/usCountry}}Ram Rahim verdict: Eye on borders, Delhi gears up to avoid repeat of violence
{{/usCountry}}Deployment of undercover policemen to guard sensitive locations across the national capital is among a slew of measures devised at a high-level police meeting to protect the city on Monday, the day quantum of sentence for convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will be pronounced. The sentencing will be done in a special court set up inside a district jail in Haryana’s Sunaira, some 70km from Delhi. The 50-year-old flamboyant godman is lodged at the jail. Miscreants set on fire two train coaches at Anand Vihar railway terminal, torched a few buses in parts of west and east Delhi and pelted stones at least in 12 locations across the city after Singh’s conviction. Read the story here.
Dera spokespersons Aditya Insan, Dhiman Insan booked for sedition
Haryana Police have been booked Dera Sacha Sauda spokespersons Aditya Insan and Dhiman Insaan on sedition charges. Addressing a press conference, Haryana DGP BS Sandhu said the Punjab and Haryana high court had directed the state police to verify the report carried by a Hindi daily regarding alleged instigation of dera supporters by its five leaders. “A first information report (FIR) has been registered at the Sector-5 police station in Panchkula,” he said. The development comes after sedition and attempt to murder charges were slapped against seven persons, including five Haryana police personnel, who were part of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s security paraphernalia when he had arrived at Panchkula to appear in a CBI court on August 25. Read the story here.
Violence in the name of faith won’t be tolerated: PM Modi after Dera protests
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that violence in the name of faith will not be tolerated and “everyone will have to bow before the law”, days after the deadly rioting by followers of a Haryana cult leader who was convicted of rape. “Those who take the law in their hands or take to violence will not be spared, whoever they are,” Modi said in his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat. His comments come after Haryana, a state ruled by his Bharatiya Janata Party, reeled under violence unleashed by the followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of spiritual cult Dera Sacha Sauda, who ran riot after their leader was convicted of rape on Friday. Read the story here.
RJD rally: Sonia Gandhi urges opposition to stand united against ‘betrayer’ BJP
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday urged opposition parties to stand united against the ruling BJP at the Centre, a month after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar broke the opposition ranks. In an audio message that was played at the RJD-sponsored anti-BJP rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, the Congress chief accused the ruling party of destroying the basic tenets of the country-- unity, brotherhood and tolerance. She could not personally attend the ‘Desh bachao, Bhajapa bhagao’ rally due to her poor health and sickness of Priyanka Gandhi, who is suffering from dengue. Read the story here.
AIADMK politics is low comedy turning into farce, says Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday termed the latest political developments in Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK as “low comedy turning into farce”, and asked why was the Governor not taking any action? The Tamil Nadu assembly has 233 members and the governor should not allow time to “artificially alter strength”, he said in an apparent reference to the tug of war between AIADMK factions. “AIADMK politics is low comedy turning into farce. Where is TN Governor?” he tweeted. There have been demands for a trust vote in the Tamil Nadu assembly by the DMK, Congress and the AIADMK faction led by TTV Dhinakaran. Read the story here.
Tropical storm Harvey pummels Texas
Tropical storm Harvey wreaked havoc in many parts of Texas as heavy rain damaged homes and businesses and submerged interstate highways. The city of Houston took the brunt which forced thousands of people to reach for higher ground. Incessant rain covered much of the city in water and turned streets into wide channels navigable only by boat. Helicopters and airboats have been pressed in to service to rescue people. Five people have been killed since the storm hit the Gulf Coast. Harvey is believed to be the strongest hurricane to hit the US in 13, the strongest Texas has faced since 1961.
13 killed, 18 wounded by car bomb in Afghanistan province
As many as 13 people, including both Afghan army soldiers and civilians, were killed and 18 wounded by a car bomb in the southern province of Helmand on Sunday, officials said. Omar Zwak, the Helmand governor’s spokesman who gave the casualty figures, said the attack occurred in a market in Nawa, a district in the centre of the province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks as government forces have battled for control with Taliban insurgents. Afghan forces said they had retaken Nawa district in July but there has been continued fighting in the area since. There was no claim of responsibility and no immediate comment from the Taliban, which has carried out regular suicide attacks in Helmand, where it controls much of the area outside the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. Read the story here.
PV Sindhu loses close final, settles for silver in World Badminton Championships
PV Sindhu’s dream of becoming a world champion was deflated by Japanese Nozomi Okuhara, who went on to clinch the marathon women’s singles final that lasted, and also will be remembered, for ages. The summit clash lasted an unbelievable and incredible one hour and 50 minutes, and at the end, it was Nozomi who was the last woman standing as she overcame the Indian fourth seed Sindhu’s challenge 21-19, 20-22, 22-20 to take gold at the World Badminton Championships in Glasgow on Sunday evening. Read the story here.
India vs Sri Lanka tie marred by crowd trouble; Virat Kohli’s side clinch series
The third One-day International between India and Sri Lanka was marred by crowd trouble on Sunday with the visitors on the verge of clinching victory to seal the five-match series. Sri Lankan fans, who had turned out in large numbers and were on the grass banks, began throwing water bottles with India needing just eight runs to seal victory, after Rohit Sharma struck his 12th ODI century. With the spectators continuing to hurl bottles, play was stopped and the players huddled at the centre of the pitch. Mahendra Singh Dhoni even lay on the pitch for a while. The ground staff rushed to clear the bottles from the field but the crowd continued to boo the Sri Lankan team. Read the story here.
A run for life: Marathon in Nainital turns into sprint as dogs attack athletes
A marathon run in Nainital on Sunday turned into a sprint for several participating athletes who were forced to shift gears and run for their lives as a pack of street dogs attacked them. At least two athletes were bitten and had to take anti-rabies injection. Another athlete was attacked by a monkey and was given first aid. Their dreams of winning a medal during the 8th Nainital Monsoon Mountain Marathon remained just that as they had to give up the run mid-way. Read the story here.