News Updates: PM Modi participates in Ganpati Puja at CJI Chandrachud's residence

Latest news updates: Catch all the news developments from around the world here

4:40 PM

CPI(M) leader Yechury remains in ICU, condition 'critical but stable'

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury continues to be in the ICU at AIIMS here with his condition being "critical but stable", sources said on Wednesday.

He requires oxygen support and his condition is being monitored by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, they said. The CPI(M) on Tuesday had said in a statement that the 72-year-old leader is being treated for acute respiratory tract infection at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

4:28 PM

Gujarat govt deploys specialist doctors, 50 medical teams in Kutch as 'undiagnosed fever' kills 11

The Gujarat government has deployed specialist doctors and 50 medical teams in and around seven villages of two talukas in Kutch district after an undiagnosed fever has claimed the lives of 11 persons in a week, a state minister said on Wednesday. Health Minister Rushikesh Patel held a review meeting in Bhuj town of Kutch over the steps being taken in the region.

4:15 PM

IIT Guwahati dean of academic affairs resigns following student's death

IIT Guwahati's (IITG) Dean of Academic Affairs K V Krishna has resigned from his post following protests by students demanding justice for a third-year student who died allegedly by suicide on Monday. A third-year Computer Science student, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was found dead in his hostel room leading to protests by students who also demanded proper mental health support for all. In a statement on Wednesday, the IIT authorities said they received the resignation letter of the dean. 'We are discussing this internally. A decision will be taken soon,' the statement said.

4:07 PM

DRI officers also empowered to seek recovery of duty on imported goods, customs dept tells SC

Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are also empowered under the Customs Act to seek recovery of duties on goods already cleared for import, the customs department told the Supreme Court on Wednesday as it sought a review of a 2021 verdict of the apex court.

The customs department is seeking a review of the March 9, 2021 judgement in which a three-judge bench headed by the then Chief Justice, S A Bobde, had held that a DRI officer is not “the proper officer” under the Customs Act, 1962 and lacked the authority to seek recovery of duties on the goods already cleared for import by the customs department. The top court had quashed DRI's show cause notices to private firms including M/S Canon India Private Limited seeking payment of duty and the consequential confiscation of goods, demand of interest, and imposition of penalty under the Customs Act.

 

3:46 PM

Agitating doctors write to Mamata, seek appointment to resolve RG Kar impasse

Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal on Wednesday sent an email to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking an appointment to discuss the ongoing impasse arising out of the alleged rape and murder of an on-duty medic at a state-run hospital here last month.

3:44 PM

US envoy offers prayers at Mumbai's first Ganesh pandal

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Wednesday visited Mumbai's Shree Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Sanstha, from where Ganesh festival was transformed into a public event by Lokmanya Tilak, and offered prayers to the elephant-headed God. In his message, Garcetti said as "mayor of Los Angeles and as ambassador to India, I have always had Ganesha in my office and home as inspiration." The deity has a place of honour in so many communities in the United States where many Amercians celebrate his power to clear obstacles and bring prosperity, he said.

3:25 PM

Delhi court to pass order on LS MP Engineer Rashid's regular bail plea on Oct 5

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on October 5 its order on the regular bail plea of Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid in a terror funding case. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh, who on Tuesday granted interim bail to Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, on Wednesday to enable him to campaign in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, deferred the order on his regular bail application.

3:06 PM

2013 Patna serial blasts: HC commutes 4 convicts'' death sentence to 30 years in jail

The Patna High Court on Wednesday commuted the capital punishment awarded to four convicts in the 2013 serial blasts case to 30 years of imprisonment.

The explosions took place at the Gandhi Maidan during an election rally addressed by Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

2:50 PM

Gunfight erupts in J-K's Udhampur, 4 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists trapped

A shootout broke out between security forces and terrorists on Wednesday in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. Four heavily armed terrorists from the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group have been trapped in the area, Hindustan Times reported today.

2:48 PM

Shimla mosque dispute: Protestors break barricades, clash with police

Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration. Raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hindu Ekta Zindabad", hundreds of protestors gathered at the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli and marched towards Sanjauli, defying prohibitory orders and ignoring warnings by the administration to lodge their protest and broke barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel.

2:37 PM

BJP leader Agnimitra Paul faces "go back" slogans by agitating doctors

Senior BJP leader Agnimitra Paul was greeted with "go back" slogans by agitating junior doctors on Wednesday when she was seen near the site where they were holding a sit-in near 'Swasthya Bhavan', headquarters of the health department headquarters. Paul, however, claimed that she did not go there to join the protests, but was merely passing through the area on her way to the nearby BJP office.

2:18 PM

5.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Pakistan, tremors felt in Delhi NCR

An earthquake of 5.8 on the Richter Scale jolted Pakistan on Wednesday afternoon. The tremors were also felt in parts of North India, including the Delhi-NCR region, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. According to National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reports, the quake struck Pakistan at 12.08 pm at a depth of 33 km. 

1:49 PM

Maharashtra CM Shinde takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi, says his views reflect petty mentality

"Rahul Gandhi's views reflect his petty mentality. Whenever Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, he spews venom against the country. The country can never agree with Rahul Gandhi's petty views. It has been Congress' habit to do politics in the name of religion and caste. Spreading confusion about the Constitution and reservation has become their fashion. Rahul Gandhi's anti-reservation face has now come before the world. The Mahayuti government fully supports reservation and as long as he is a true soldier of Shiv Sena, he will never let reservation end...", Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi

1:44 PM

Three cops injured while rescuing 3 from mob attack in Bihar

At least three policemen were injured when they tried to rescue three persons held by residents of a village for allegedly practising black magic in Bihar's Katihar district, a senior officer said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on Tuesday when a police team reached Khairiya village under the Kodha Police Station limits to rescue the three men, he said.

1:26 PM

Parliamentary panel summons Minority Affairs Ministry officials over delay in framing rules of 2013 Waqf law

A parliamentary committee has summoned officials of the Minority Affairs Ministry to explain reasons for the delay in completing the process for framing subordinate legislation under the 2013 Waqf law. The decision of the Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation to call the secretary and representatives of the ministry next week comes at a time when a Joint Committee of Parliament is scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which seeks to amend the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2013.