Month: April 2025

[ad_1] VIJAYAWADA: The SIT remand report of Andhra Pradesh liquor scam suspect Booneti Chanakya, alias Prakash, names ex-CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy as "final recipient" of kickbacks from distilleries across the southern state.The alleged racket started in 2019 and was meticulously operated through a network that the SIT report says was controlled by Jagan's aide and prime accused K Rajasekhar Reddy, alias Raj Kasireddy. Chanakya played the "central role" in the syndicate.The SIT describes the alleged scam as a case of "state capture", with political clout being employed to "loot" the state's liquor industry.The remand report states that distilleries were allegedly coerced into paying up to 20% commission on payments released by Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Ltd. Failure to comply would result in their supply orders being withheld, it alleges.A meeting in a Hyderabad hotel allegedly involving YSRCP […]

[ad_1] Small arms fray LoC ceasefire NEW DELHI: The ceasefire with Pakistan along the Line of Control has begun to fray with firing of small arms being reported from multiple locations since Thursday night, though big guns like howitzers and large mortars are yet to open up from either side to blow it to smithereens.The escalation in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre came as Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi was in J&K to review the overall operational situation along the 778-km LoC as well as the counter-terror operations, with Udhampur-based Northern Command chief Lt-Gen M V Suchindra Kumar and his successor Lt-Gen Pratik Sharma, among other top officers."Gen Dwivedi directed all formations to remain on highest alert," an officer said, in the backdrop of PM Modi and other top ministers promising deadly retribution as all military options for limited […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Delhi HC issued an interim order Friday directing Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman and a production house to deposit Rs 2 crore after it found that a song in a Tamil movie was "not just inspired but is identical" to Shiva Stuti - a landmark rendition composed by renowned classical singers, Junior Dagar brothers.Justice Prathiba M Singh directed Rahman and Madras Talkies to add credits for the late Dagar brothers in song Veera Raja Veera in movie Ponniyin Selvan 2 on online platforms and pay his kin Rs 2 lakh as costs.The order came on a suit by Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, whose father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, and uncle N Zahiruddin Dagar were the song's original composers. Faiyaz alleged copyright infringement by Rahman and the production house."This court holds that the impugned song is not merely based […]

[ad_1] Trousers of 20 victims pulled down, unzipped Trousers of 20 men were pulled down to find out faith before they were killed, find officialsNEW DELHI: The trousers of around 20 victims of the dastardly Pahalgam attack - all males - were found unzipped or pulled down by the team of officials that carried out the first examination of the 26 lifeless, bullet-riddled bodies, in what is being seen as a confirmation that terrorists had established the faith of the tourists before killing them.A team comprising officers of the Army, J&K police and J&K administration found to their horror that clothing from the lower body of 20 of the 26 victims had been forcibly dislodged, with their pant zippers undone, pants pulled down, exposing their underwear or private parts. The victims' kin were possibly too much in shock to have […]

[ad_1] In a move to challenge the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in public schools, 19 states filed a federal lawsuit on Friday. The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts by Democratic attorneys general, seeks to block the Department of Education’s directive, issued on April 3, which threatened to cut federal funding if states did not comply with civil rights laws and reject what the federal government deemed "illegal DEI practices."The directive required states to certify their compliance by April 24, including gathering signatures from local school systems confirming their adherence. However, the plaintiffs, attorneys general from 19 states, argue that they will not abandon policies designed to ensure equal access to education and that their prior certifications of compliance with the law stand.“Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legal efforts that help students feel safe, […]

[ad_1] The attack in Pahalgam left 26 dead and several injured. (AP photo) TOI corresponded from Washington: The United States on Friday urged India to hunt down the Islamist terrorists who murdered 26 Hindus in Pahalgam amid continued American support for New Delhi despite Islamabad raising alarm about an all-out war if India acted to eliminate terrorists in Pakistan. "We are with you and support you as you hunt down those responsible for this heinous attack," US Intelligence czar Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement that minced no words, calling it an "Islamist terrorist attack, targeting and killing 26 Hindus." Gabbard, who is a Hindu-American, was following up President Trump phone call to Prime Minister Modi in which he pledged "full support" to India to bring the perpetrators to justice.Trump has previously said, in the aftermath of the Pulwama terrorist […]

[ad_1] SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir police said on Friday they have detained a person after a video widely circulated on social media showed a woman tourist complaining that he had asked her about her religion. This tourist also claims she had seen the terrorists while on a mule ride two days before the attack and that an overheard phone conversation had frightened her.Police identified the detainee as Aiyaz Ahmad Jungal of Gohipora Raizan Ganderbal district, north Kashmir and said he was a pony service provider at Thajwas Glacier, Sonamarg. The suspect was subjected to sustained interrogation, police said, adding they were trying to ascertain whether this suspect had any connection to the Pahalgam terror attack.A tourist from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, posted a video on social media claiming she had met the suspected terrorists while on a mule ride in Pahalgam […]