Netas can't block action against oil mafia: Babus

Bureaucrats in Maharashtra decided on Friday that they would not give in to any pressure from politicians to stop inquiries or action against the oil mafia.
On a day the Centre said it would consider a CBI probe into the killing of Nashik district collector Yashwant Sonawane ,state chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad called a meeting of senior officials from the home, revenue, food and civil supplies departments at the state secretariat.
Sources said that after most officials complained of how political interference hampered action against the fuel adulteration mafia, it was decided that all additional district collectors across the state would be told not to entertain 'unofficial stay orders' on action against illegal hoarding of fuel.
The chief secretary will soon issue an unofficial communiqué to this effect to additional collectors. He is also likely to take up the issue with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and request him to issue an official order in this regard.
Additional collectors head the food and civil supplies department at the district level and are responsible for issuing orders for raids, investigating cases and filing charge sheets with the help of the police.
But cases often get thwarted at the level of investigation, largely owing to political pressure.
"We are initiating several time-bound plans to tackle the issue of adulteration of petrol, kerosene, oil and milk and taking steps to make sure that action is taken against the culprits," Gaikwad told this paper after the meeting.
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Bihar: College asks students to use phone torch to write exam amid power crisis
Students of a prominent college in Bihar's Munger city were allegedly allowed to write exams using their mobile phone torchlight. The incident was reported from RD & DJ College, Munger on Wednesday when the power had tripped due to inclement weather and the college generator was not functioning either. Another examinee without disclosing his identity said, “The college and university here are playing a cruel joke with students.”
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Bengaluru in top APAC cities for sustainable commercial real estate: Report
Bengaluru has been ranked 14 of 20 cities in the Asia Pacific region for sustainable development of commercial real estate by global consultants Knight Frank, news agency PTI said. The top five cities are Singapore, Sydney, Wellington, Perth, and Melbourne. Apart from Bengaluru, three other Indian cities - Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai - also made it to the list but were ranked in three of the bottom four places - 17, 18 and 20, respectively.
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IMD declares onset of monsoon over Delhi; ‘orange’ alert in place for Friday too
The India Meteorological Department on Thursday announced the onset of the southwest monsoon over Delhi following light spells of rainfall since early hours of the day. “The southwest monsoon has further advanced into entire Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir; some parts of Rajasthan, entire Delhi and some parts of Punjab and Haryana today, June 30, 2022,” the IMD said in a statement.
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Bengaluru daily Covid cases cross 1,000-mark; two deaths reported from Karnataka
Daily Covid cases in Bengaluru city crossed the 1,000-mark Wednesday, with 1,019 cases reported in 24 hours against the 887 on Tuesday. Daily cases in Karnataka were 1,249, which includes 696 backlog cases, according to data from the health department. Two Covid-related deaths were also reported - one from Bengaluru and the other from Chikkamangaluru. There are now 5,707 active cases in Karnataka, of which Bengaluru has a staggering 5,393.
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Roorkee: Five arrested for alleged gang rape of woman and her minor daughter
The Haridwar police on Friday arrested five persons in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 35-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter in a moving car in Roorkee. Circle officer (Roorkee) Vivek Kumar said they have arrested five people, including the main perpetrator of the crime. The opposition Congress also questioned the police and administration for their failure to nab them.