KOLKATA, (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled multiple metro projects across the country, including India’s first underwater metro line in Kolkata.

The Rs 4,965-crore Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of Kolkata Metro’s East-West Corridor, which has the first transportation tunnel ”under any mighty river in India”, was inaugurated by the PM. The stretch also has the deepest metro station in the country — the Howrah metro station.

After the inauguration programme, Modi took a metro ride from Esplanade to Howrah Maidan along with school children.

The under-river section of the tunnel is 520 metres long, and a train will take around 45 seconds to cross it, officials said.

From the function at the Esplanade metro station, the PM also inaugurated the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section of the New Garia-Aiport line and the Taratala-Majerhat section of the Joka-Esplanade line of the Kolkata Metro, the country’s oldest metro network.

The Majerhat metro station is a unique elevated installation across railway lines, platforms and a canal, an official statement said. Modi also inaugurated the Duhai-Modinagar (North) section of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor, Pune Metro’s Ruby Hall Clinic-Ramwadi stretch, Kochi Metro’s SN Junction to Tripunithura section and Agra Metro’s Taj East Gate-Mankameshwar section.

The PM also laid the foundation stone for the extension of the Pune Metro between Pimpri Chinchwad and Nigdi.

These sections will help decongest road traffic and provide seamless, easy and comfortable connectivity, the statement said.

The section of the Agra Metro that was inaugurated will enhance connectivity to historical tourist places, it said.

The 17-km section of the RRTS will boost economic activity in the NCR, it added. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI0; The Lok Sabha Secretariat has allotted the Shiv Sena office in Parliament House to the Eknath Shinde-led faction after the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the group as the real Shiv Sena.

Responding to a letter written by Shinde faction’s floor leader Rahul Shewalae, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said the designated room for the Sena office in the Parliament building has been allotted to the party.

The poll panel had last week recognised the Shinde faction as the original Shiv Sena, allowing it to use the “bow and arrow” symbol in elections — practically denying Uddhav Thackeray a claim on the party his father, Bal Thackeray, founded in 1966.

Thereafter on February 18, Shewale had written to the Lok Sabha Secretariat seeking allotment of the office for the party.

So far, both factions were using the Shiv Sena office in the Parliament House. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, (ANI): In a sensational revelation in the Nikki Yadav murder case, the Delhi Police sources on Monday said that accused Sahil Gehlot’s father Virender had been arrested in a murder case earlier.

The police, in their attempt to collect evidence, took the arrested accused along with Sahil to the dhaba, where he had stored Nikki’s body in a fridge, to recreate the crime scene, sources said.

The police had produced Sahil’s father Virender, two cousins Ashish and Naveen and two friends Amar and Lokesh at the residence of the Duty Magistrate on February 17.

According to the police, three years back Sahil and Nikki got married in a temple and Nikki had invited her family members to attend the wedding. However, Nikki’s family members did not approve of the marriage due to different castes.

Meanwhile, the police discovered the involvement of Sahil’s father, cousin and two friends as well and when the police arrested them and interrogated them. The answers during their interrogation were different from those in Sahil’s statement, sources said.

“For this reason, the very next day after the arrest, the police took them to the dhaba of Mitrau village, where Sahil had kept Nikki’s dead body in the fridge,” they added.

According to the police, Sahil’s friends had told that Nikki and Sahil had wanted to get married for a long time and they finally did in the year 2020 when they lived in Greater Noida. “This is why the police took the accused Sahil to the house in Noida where they lived. The neighbours were also questioned,” sources said.

The investigation so far has revealed that Nikki’s family members were aware of her marriage, though they have denied it since the beginning. The police have also recorded his statement in this regard. The police are currently examining the phone logs and data of the accused to find out who was involved in the conspiracy and how they planned the murder, sources said.

The Dwarka court on February 15 granted five days’ remand of Sahil Gahlot to Delhi Police Crime Branch to interrogate him and to ascertain the route where he went after the commission of the crime. Nikki was strangled to death allegedly by her partner after she came to know of his impending marriage with another woman, police said. Sahil was arrested on February 14 by the Crime Branch.

The accused was getting engaged on February 9. The accused went to meet Nikki at her flat and left early in the morning, they went to many places in Delhi, during which there was an argument about his marriage. During this, he got angry and strangulated the victim with a mobile cable, said DCP Crime Branch. “After that, he kept the victim’s body in the refrigerator in a dhaba in Mitraon village and then the accused went to his marriage. We are investigating deeply about this case,” he added. (ANI)

NEW DELHI, (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has again summoned Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for questioning, nearly three months after filing a chargesheet in the Delhi excise policy case, officials said on Saturday. Sisodia has been called for questioning on Sunday.

However, Manish Sisodia has not been named as an accused in the charge sheet filed in the case. Arrested businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek are among the seven accused named in the charge sheet.

Alleging that the “full power” of agencies under the BJP-led central government had been unleashed to hound him, Manish Sisodia took to Twitter and said, “CBI has called me again tomorrow. They have unleashed the full power of CBI, ED (Enforcement Directorate) against me, raided my house, searched my bank locker, and yet found nothing against me.” “I have arranged good education for the children of Delhi. They want to stop it. I have always cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so,” he added.

Last year in August, the CBI conducted a search operation at Sisodia’s Punjab National Bank locker in connection with Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 money laundering case, where according to him the CBI had found nothing. Several raids were also conducted at 21 places in Delhi and the National Capital Region including the residence of Sisodia and the premises of four public servants last year, according to a CBI official. The official said that raids were conducted in locations across 7 states.

The probe was done after taking into account a report forwarded by the Chief Secretary to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI investigation into the matter. The excise policy was passed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet in the middle of the deadly Delta Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

The Delhi government’s version is that the policy was formulated to ensure the generation of optimum revenue, and eradicate the sale of spurious liquor or non-duty paid liquor in Delhi, besides improving user experience. It has been alleged that the Delhi government’s policy of granting licenses to liquor traders is in the interest of some dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly denied by AAP.

Following L-G’s recommendation, the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) issued a notice to Delhi’s Excise Commissioner asking him to provide all documents relating to the award of liquor licenses under the new excise policy. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that there was “no liquor scam” in the city and claimed that the case over his government’s excise policy was created as a result of “political vendetta”.

“First of all, there is no such thing as a liquor scam. We formulated the best and most transparent policy in the country. We implemented this policy in Punjab and the revenue increased by 48 per cent. All this is happening due to political conspiracy in Delhi.” Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Kejriwal said his government will fully cooperate with the CBI’s investigation into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy 2021-22. (ANI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday administered oath of office to five new judges of the Supreme Court.

The five judges — Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, P V Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manoj Misra — were administered the oath during a swearing-in ceremony held in the Supreme Court premises.

With the appointment of five judges, the total number of judges in the apex court has risen to 32, two short of the full strength.

Their names were recommended for elevation as apex court judges by the Supreme Court Collegium on December 13, 2022. (PTI)

DHUBRI, (ANI): The Assam Police have arrested as many as 2278 persons in connection with the cases related to child marriage across the state, the police informed on Sunday.

According to the data shared by Assam police, 139 persons have been arrested in Biswanath, 130 in Barpeta, 126 in Dhubri, 123 in Baksa, 117 in Bongaigaon, 101 in Nagaon, 94 in Kokrajhar, 85 in Kamrup, 84 each in Goalpara and Udalguri district.

Assam police have registered 4074 cases related to child marriage, the police said. Notably, considering a surge in cases of child marriage (below the age of 18 years) of Assam women as reported by the National Report of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led State government is carrying the crackdown against child marriages.

The drive was launched on Thursday night after CM Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired a video-conference meeting with senior officials of the police department directing them to launch a crackdown to rid the state of the evil practice of child marriage. This episode of this slew of crackdowns dates back to May 5, 2022, when the Health Ministry released the fifth report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), carried out in 2019 and 2020.

The report, following a fine and detailed reading by the Assam government, showed serious concerns regarding child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and maternal mortality.

It was found in the report that 31.8 per cent of women in Assam between 20-24 age were married at a minor age or before 18 years. This was even higher than the national average of 23.3 per cent. Of these 31.8 per cent of women, more than half (50.8 per cent) cases were from All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MP Badruddin Ajmal’s parliamentary constituency, Dhubri.

As per the government, child marriage leads to teenage pregnancy in women causing maternal deaths in the state. (ANI)

KOZHIKODE, (PTI): Legendary athlete and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha on Saturday broke down before the media alleging that illegal constructions were being carried out at her academy campus in Kozhikode district and strangers were trespassing into the property posing a security threat to the inmates.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, she said those at the Usha School of Athletics had been facing such harassment and security issues for some time and it has intensified after she became the Rajya Sabha Member.

Usha had been nominated to the Upper House by the BJP in July 2022.

The ”sprint queen” appealed to the Left government in Kerala and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene into the issue and take immediate steps to stop the alleged encroachment and trespassing into the campus and ensure the safety of women athletes there.

”Of the 25 women athletes in the Usha schools, 11 were from north India. It is our responsibility to ensure their safety. I submitted a written complaint to the Chief Minister in this regard,” she said.

A teary-eyed Usha also said waste is being dumped on a large scale in the campus, which is also facing threat from the drug mafia but the local panchayat was not letting the academy management to construct a compound wall.

”An illegal construction was made just in the middle of the campus by someone and when we asked, they said they had the approval of the panchayat authorities for it. The school management also had to suffer rude behaviour when they questioned this encroachment,” she said.

Usha said the 30-acre land, where the Usha School of Athletics is located, was handed over to them by the previous Oommen Chandy led-Congress government in the state for 30 years on lease.

Asked whether those at her academy were facing harassment and ill-treatment after she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP, she said each political party had the habit of considering her as a member of its political rival.

”The Congress would say I am a CPI(M) sympathiser while the Marxist party would say I have an affiliation to the BJP.

”I have no politics and I used to help everyone in all possible ways,” she added. (PTI)

MUMBAI, (PTI): Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, out on bail in alleged corruption cases, on Thursday approached a special court here seeking permission to visit his hometown Nagpur and Delhi.

Deshmukh is one of the accused in alleged money laundering and corruption cases being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), respectively.

One of the conditions imposed on him by the Bombay High Court while granting him bail was that he shall not leave Mumbai without the trial court’s permission. In two separate pleas filed before the trial court through advocate Inderpal Singh, Deshmukh said he is a native of Nagpur and has deep family roots there, apart from being the elected representative of an Assembly constituency in Nagpur district.

He also needed to meet his lawyers in New Delhi, the application said. Special judge R N Rokade sought a response from the CBI and ED and adjourned the matter to February 6.

The Nationalist Congress Party leader was arrested by the ED in November 2021 in an alleged money laundering case. In April 2022, the CBI arrested him in a corruption case. (PTI)