Truckers’ protests called off
The countrywide truckers’ agitation was called off on Tuesday, after the Central government assured it would consult stakeholders before implementing a contentious law concerning hit-and-run incidents.
“The new rule has not been implemented yet. Before implementing it, we will have a discussion with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives,” said Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.
A change in the colonial-era criminal laws increasing jail terms in hit-and-run cases triggered the truckers’ protests earlier in the week.
Under the new law, drivers could be jailed for up to 10 years for fleeing and not reporting a fatal accident. Currently, the accused could be jailed for up to just two years.
Dispute over drug money behind incident that killed 5 in Manipur
The situation in Lilong Chingjao area in Manipur’s Thoubal district, where five people were killed by the banned insurgent group People’s Liberation Army (PLA), remained calm on Tuesday after the government deployed more security forces, officials said.
Two critically injured people are being treated at a hospital in the state capital Imphal.
Officials said PLA men were at the house of a suspected drug dealer when locals attacked them and chased them away. In retaliation, the insurgents opened fire, killing four people and injuring others. One person later died in hospital.
The Revolutionary People’s Front, the PLA’s political wing, said it is holding an inquiry into the incident.
India to scrap free movement on Myanmar border
The Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16km into each other’s territory without a visa, will end soon, a senior Indian government officer said on Tuesday.
“We are going to put fencing along the entire border. The fencing will be completed in the next four-and-a-half years. Anyone coming through will have to get a visa,” the officer said.
The idea is to not only stop the misuse of FMR, which is used by insurgent groups to carry out attacks on the Indian side and flee to Myanmar, but also to put a halt to the influx of illegal immigrants and paralyse drug- and gold-smuggling networks.
ISRO’s New Year’s Day launch aims to unravel universe’s big mystery
India began the new year with the successful launch of a mission to solve the mystery of black holes.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) XPoSAT, or X-ray polarimeter satellite, lifted off on Monday with an advanced astronomy observatory meant to study black holes and neutron stars.
Black holes are remnants of stellar deaths, and India has been trying to study the cosmic activities using its AstroSat telescope launched eight years ago.
8 arrested for offering $20,000 to men to impregnate women
Eight people have been arrested in Bihar for allegedly offering Rs1.3 million ($20,700) to men for impregnating women who could not conceive.
They ran the racket under the name “All India Pregnant Job Service”, the police said. The arrests were made in Nawada city.
PM Modi begins BJP’s southern push with multiple projects
Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Kerala on Tuesday and Wednesday, his first trip of 2024, to kick-start the Bharatiya Janata Party’s mission to woo voters in the southern states in the run-up to this year’s parliamentary elections.
His inauguration of 15 projects, including a new terminal building at the Tiruchirappalli International Airport, came packaged with a big political message: “Tamil culture and tradition is the talk everywhere. India will progress with the progress of Tamil Nadu.”
Bollywood actress duped in cyber scam
Bollywood actress Anjali Patil was duped of Rs579,000 ($9,200) by a fraudster posing as a police officer.
The incident took place last week when she received a call from a person claiming to be a FedEx employee. He told her that a parcel registered in her name and bound for Taiwan had been seized by customs, who found drugs inside.
Later, another man posing as a Mr Banerjee from the Mumbai cyber police, informed her that she was involved in money laundering. To close the case, he told her to pay him Rs579,000, which she transferred to a bank account.
Anjali reported the incident to the police days later.
Punjab police officer found dead in canal
On New Year’s Day, a senior police officer who was also a top weightlifter was found dead – with multiple injuries, including a bullet wound on the head – near a canal in Jalandhar.
The body of Deputy Superintendent of Police Dalbir Singh Deol, an Asian Championships silver medallist in 1999, was found near Basti Bawa Khel.
Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said the 54-year-old was apparently hit by a vehicle after getting dropped off in the area by his acquaintances the previous night, but is not ruling out a case of murder.
Kerala High Court rejects 12-year-old’s abortion petition
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined a plea to terminate the pregnancy of a 12-year-old girl, allegedly in an incestual relationship with her younger brother.
The court noted that the foetus, now at 34 weeks, is fully developed and preparing for life outside the womb.
It stated that termination at this stage is not tenable, and the child must be allowed to be born through either a caesarean section or normal delivery, a decision left to medical experts.
The parents argued that childbirth would have severe consequences on the girl’s physical and mental well-being.
Rape victim thrown from moving car after signing settlement
A woman who was allegedly gang-raped at a homestay in Uttar Pradesh said she was thrown out of a moving car after being forced to sign a letter to settle the case, the police said on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old was found unconscious on Inner Ring Road in Agra on Dec 30.
The woman, who was an employee at the homestay, was allegedly gang-raped on Nov 11. Five people, including a woman, have been arrested.
‘Dead’ man returns home after two months
A 59-year-old man from Goa, who was declared dead and whose “funeral” was conducted by family members, returned home on Tuesday, leaving relatives shocked and joyous.
Mr Marcos Milagres, a resident of Agassaim village near Panaji, went missing in October last year. The body of a man was found in Panaji on Oct 7, and was identified as that of Milagres by his family members, who proceeded to do the last rites.
On Tuesday, Goa police received a call from their Mumbai counterparts that Mr Milagres was found in Mumbai. He was then reunited with his family.
