Key updates: Principal of RG Kar Hospital removed from her post on agitating students' demand

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New principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital removed from her post on agitating students' demand.

Police lathi charged protesters in Bihar’s Patna amid a nationwide strike called by Dalit and Adivasi groups against the Supreme Court’s decision to permit the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). As many as twenty one organisations have called for Bharat Bandh against the SC order. Left parties, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Bahujan Samajwadi Party have extended support to the nationwide bandh.

The Delhi High Court today extended the interim protection from arrest for suspended trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar. The extension remains in effect till August 29.  Khedkar has been accused of misrepresenting facts in her application to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

A local court on Wednesday extended till August 26 the police custody of the man arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra's Thane district. The accused was employed as an attendant at the school where the incident took place last week and was produced before a magistrate at Kalyan in the district this morning amid tight police security. As per the complaint, he abused two kindergarten girls in the toilet of the school, the police have said. Following the protest, the Maharashtra government announced formation of a special investigation team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on receiving top rating in a global ranking of central bankers, hailing it as a recognition of his leadership. PM Modi stated on X, "Congratulations to RBI Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das for this feat, and that too for the second time. This is a recognition of his leadership at the RBI and his work towards ensuring economic growth and stability."

Internet access was restored in Badlapur in Maharashtra's Thane district, after it had been suspended due to tensions arising from the sexual assault of two young girls, aged 3 and 4, at a local school by a janitor. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) stated that it would send a team to Badlapur to investigate the case. Local train services on the Ambernath-Karjat section resumed after a 10-hour disruption, as protesters had staged a rail roko (rail blockade) demonstration at the Badlapur railway.

After the central government withdrew the lateral entry advertisement on Tuesday, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal dubbed it as a "harsh lesson" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-RSS regime. In a post on X, Venugopal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the lateral entry system as a means to undermine reservation policies. He highlighted that for six years, numerous voices have raised concerns about how the lateral entry system threatens to dismantle reservation provisions in the bureaucracy. "Let this lateral entry incident serve as a harsh lesson for PM Modi and the BJP-RSS regime to never tamper with the Constitution. The lateral entry system was introduced in 2018. For 6 years, countless voices exposed how lateral entry in the bureaucracy is a ploy to destroy reservations," the Congress leader said.

While addressing a press briefing, MEA, Secretary East, Jaideep Mazumdar said that Malaysia has announced its support for India's claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had extensive discussions on trade and commerce, on defence and security, on cultural exchanges, people to people ties, on emerging areas like digital technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy, and sustainable development.