LIVE: Sachin Pilot may not attend Legislative Party meeting today

The India Meteorology Department has said that heavy-to-very heavy rainfall is expected in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and East Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, on Sunday

3:56 PM

Vikas Dubey reached Ujjain from Rajasthan by bus: Police probe

With police hot on his heels, slain gangster Vikas Dubey had reached Ujjain from Rajasthan by bus, and took a dip in the Kshipra river before reaching the Mahakaleshwar temple where he was eventually arrested last week, investigations so far have revealed.

 

Various details emerged as police in Madhya Pradesh probed further about his escape from Uttar Pradesh after the Kanpur ambush in which eight policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, were killed on July 3.

 

Dubey, the alleged mastermind of the Kanpur ambush, was killed in an encounter on Friday after he tried to flee following a road accident at Barra area in Kanpur, a day after his arrest.

 

Ujjain's Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said 11 teams were constituted to investigate how Dubey arrived and the circumstances leading to his arrest, that ended the week-long multi-state manhunt for the gangster. These teams examined CCTV footage of various areas and enquired with some hotels, lodges and bus owners/drivers, he told reporters on Saturday evening.

3:53 PM

Uttar Pradesh govt orders judicial probe into Bikru killings, Dubey's encounter

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the July 3 ambush in Bikru village wherein eight policemen were killed and also the July 10 encounter killing of main accused Vikas Dubey near Kanpur, officials sources said on Sunday.

 

The probe will be headed by Justice Shashikant Agarwal (retd) with its headquarters in Kanpur. The probe report will be submitted within two months. The probe will also cover the encounters of criminals done by police during this period.

 

Six criminals, including Dubey, were killed in these encounters between July 3 and July 10. According to an official release, the judicial commission will also investigate the police-criminals nexus to check recurrence of such incidents in future. The commission has been tasked to suggest measures to stop such nexus from developing.

3:41 PM

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot summons meeting of Congress MLAs, independents

3:39 PM

Two aides of Vikas Dubey remanded in judicial custody for 14 days

Two aides of slain Uttar Pradesh gangster Vikas Dubey were remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a court in Thane, an official said on Sunday.

 

The two, identified as Arvind alias Guddan Trivedi (45) and his driver Sushilkumar alias Sonu Tiwari (30) were held on Saturday by Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad from a chawl in Dhokali area of Thane. First Class Judicial Magistrate RH Jha remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days on Saturday.

 

After a precautionary coronavirus test, the duo has been shifted to Taloja jail. Earlier, appearing for the accused, advocate Anil Jadhav told the court Trivedi and Tiwari feared for their lives and should be flown to Kanpur from Maharashtra. Eight policemen were ambushed and killed in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur when they were going to arrest Dubey shortly after midnight on July 3.

3:13 PM

Uttar Pradesh: Four injured in clash between two groups over Vikas Dubey encounter

In a bizarre incident in Uttar Pradesh, four people were injured when two groups clashed with each other amid a debate over the encounter of dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey, police said on Sunday.

 

The incident took place in Derapur area of Kanpur Dehat on Saturday. Police said that members of the two groups were debating over Vikas Dubey's encounter.

 

While, one group was justifying the encounter, the other opposed to it, leading to verbal exchanges which took a violent turn. Separate FIRs have been lodged against people from both the sides, while those injured have been admitted to hospital.

 

"We have lodged separate FIRs in this regard and further investigations are on. Three persons from both the sides were detained and their questioning is underway in this connection," said ASP Anoop Kumar.

3:10 PM

SC judge should monitor Vikas Dubey encounter case investigation: Cong

Days after the Uttar Pradesh government handed over the Vikas Dubey encounter case for a probe to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), senior Congress leader PL Punia has called for the investigation into the case to be monitored by a sitting Supreme Court judge.

 

"The state government has formed an SIT to probe the encounter along with 5-6 other incidents, which will be headed by Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, who has no previous experience of investigating. The state government must issue a clarification on the same. With so many questions arising out of this case, a Supreme Court sitting judge must be asked to monitor the case," the Congress leader said.

 

"Vikas Dubey was on the run after killing eight of our brave policemen. But he was killed during an encounter, which created a lot of questions including his said acquaintances with politicians and senior officials. The probe must be done on who were his political mentors," he said.

 

Kanpur encounter case main accused Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter with the police on Friday.

2:48 PM

Special Investigation Team reaches Bikru village to probe Vikas Dubey case

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Yogi Adityanath government to probe the various aspects related to the murder of eight policemen in Kanpur on July 3, reached the Bikru village on Sunday.

 

District Magistrate Brahma Dev Ram Tiwari and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dinesh Kumar Prabhu also reached the village. The SIT is led by Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, and comprises ADG Hariram Sharma and DIG J. Ravindra Gaur as members, according to an IANS report.

 

The SIT is investigating the points from the investigation to the cause of the incident to the encounter. The Special Investigation Team will also probe gangster Vikas Dubey's rise in the world of crime and how he managed to kill eight policemen in an ambush in his native village earlier this month.

 

The role of the local police in the pre and post ambush situation, the connivance of policemen in the incident and the role of police in subsequent investigations will also be under scanner. The SIT will submit its report to the government by July 31.

2:17 PM

BJP will fail to topple Rajasthan govt, says Congress

Amid ongoing political turmoil in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader PL Punia said that while the BJP succeeded in toppling the government in Madhya Pradesh, it would fail to do so in Rajasthan.

 

Speaking to ANI, Punia said, "The BJP is working as a political business in Rajasthan. They are trying to purchase MLAs by offering them 10-15 crore each as suggested by the Rajasthan Chief Minister. The police have arrested two persons, who were charged with trying to buy elected legislatures. It is very unfortunate."

 

"As many as 28 MLAs submitted a privilege motion, urging steps to be taken against the BJP. It is in its (BJP's) DNA to grab power by whatever means. They make use of agencies like CBI and ED to run after their rivals," he added.

 

He alleged that the BJP does not believe in democracy and said, "In Madhya Pradesh, they toppled the Congress government by unfair means and made Shivraj Singh Chouhan the Chief Minister. It is the same story everywhere, including in Rajya sabha elections. While they succeeded in Madhya Pradesh, they will not do so in Rajasthan."

 

Reports have surfaced in the media regarding Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot arriving in Delhi, along with close to two dozen MLAs loyal to him as the crisis in the Congress government in the state.

 

The BJP has, however, denied any involvement in the ongoing feud within the Rajasthan Congress.

2:11 PM

One unidentified terrorist killed so far in encounter at Rebban area of Sopore: Jammu and Kashmir Police

2:01 PM

Special Investigation Team probing police's 'connivance' with Vikas Dubey to visit Bikru village

Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, who is heading the special investigation team probing the local police's alleged connivance with slain gangster Vikas Dubey, will on Sunday visit Bikru village near Kanpur where 8 policemen were killed by the henchmen of the gangster.

 

"We will visit the location where firing took place (Bikru village)," Bhoosreddy told PTI on his way to Kanpur. He refused to elaborate further.

 

The state government had constituted the SIT on Saturday. Bhoosreddy is heading the team, which will have Additional DG Hari Ram Sharma and DIG Ravinder Goud as its members, according to an official statement.

 

The SIT will submit its report by July 31 after looking into all the angles, studying all related documents and spot inspection in Kanpur, it said. The team has been asked to probe into what effective action was taken in all the cases lodged against Dubey, the statement said.

1:41 PM

Latest News LIVE: Eight shortlisted for RBI deputy governor post; interview on July 23

A search panel headed by the cabinet secretary is scheduled to interview eight shortlisted candidates on July 23 for the post of RBI deputy governor, sources said according to a PTI report.

 

The post had fallen vacant after senior-most deputy governor N S Vishwanathan demitted office three months ahead of his extended tenure on March 31 on health grounds after serving the monetary authority for 39 years.

 

The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) has a list of eight names who would be interviewed via video conference on July 23, the sources said.

 

The selected name from the interview will be sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister for final approval, they added. Besides the cabinet secretary, other members of FSRASC include the RBI Governor, financial services secretary and two independent members.

1:28 PM

UK-China ties freeze with debate over Huawei, Hong Kong

Only five years ago, then-British Prime Minister David Cameron was celebrating a golden era in UK-China relations, bonding with President Xi Jinping over a pint of beer at the pub and signing off on trade deals worth billions. Those friendly scenes now seem like a distant memory. Hostile rhetoric has ratcheted up in recent days over Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong. Britain's decision to offer refuge to millions in the former colony was met with a stern telling-off by China. And Chinese officials have threatened consequences if Britain treats it as a hostile country and decides to cut Chinese technology giant Huawei out of its critical telecoms infrastructure amid growing unease over security risks. All that is pointing to a much tougher stance against China, with a growing number in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party taking a long, hard look at Britain's Chinese ties. Many are saying Britain has been far too complacent and naive in thinking it could reap economic benefits from the relationship without political consequences.

1:14 PM

Silence at Sonia Gandhi's residence amid Rajasthan crisis

Even as the opposition Congress grappled with an intra-party crisis to save its government in Rajasthan, silence loomed over party interim President Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath on Sunday as no senior Congress leader had arrived to discuss the matter. According to party sources, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot had arrived in Delhi on Saturday evening to meet the party high command and had sought a meeting with Sonia Gandhi.

1:03 PM

You misled people: JP Nadda to Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi is raising questions about China again & again. People of India know that during the Doklam stand-off, you were meeting the Chinese Ambassador in secrecy. You misled people, country got to know when the Chinese Ambassador put photos online: JP Nadda, BJP President

12:54 PM

Worried for our party: Kapil Sibal