A Mumbai Police team reached Madhya Pradesh on Sunday on the trail of an accused allegedly involved in the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddique, an official said.
Mumbai Police have so far arrested two persons. They suspect the involvement of more persons in the murder.
“A team of Mumbai Police in collaboration with MP police is looking for the accused (who hails from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh). They suspect he might be hiding in MP and searching him in Ujjain district and Omkareshwar (in Khandwa district) of MP,” a police officer said.
Nobody has been traced till 7:30 p.m., the officer said, adding that the suspect is apparently on the move.
The 66-year-old NCP leader was waylaid by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office and shot at on Saturday night. He was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead, according to Mumbai Police.
Mumbai Police have set up 15 teams which are fanned out of Maharashtra and the investigation is on to identify who provided logistical support to the shooters, a crime branch officer told reporters in Mumbai in the evening.
Two pistols and 28 live rounds were recovered from the two accused arrested so far.
Sonam Wangchuk, 20 others detained for protesting outside Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan
The Delhi Police detained climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and 20 other protestors for protesting outside the Ladakh Bhawan here on Sunday, officials said.
“Around 20 to 25 protesters, who were on fast with Wangchuk, were detained and taken to the Mandir Marg police station,” they said.
Heavy police deployment was arranged to maintain the law and order. Some of the protesters argued that they were not protesting but sitting peacefully.
A senior police officer said the protesters do not have any permission to sit outside the Ladakh Bhawan.
“They have filed an application to hold a protest at the Jantar Mantar. Their application is under consideration. They are not allowed to protest at any other site. We have detained a few people, who will be released soon,” he said.
Wangchuk, along with his supporters, marched to Delhi from Leh demanding Ladakh’s inclusion in the sixth schedule of the Constitution.
They were detained at the capital’s Singhu border earlier on September 30 by the Delhi Police and released on the night of October 2.
The group is demanding a meeting with top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The sixth schedule of the Constitution includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
It establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.
The protesters are also demanding statehood, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
G.N. Saibaba’s body to be donated for medical research; last journey on Monday
The body of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba, as per his wishes, will be donated for medical research and education, family members and his human rights associates said in a release on Sunday.
His mortal remains will be carried in a procession from Moula Ali and handed over to officials at Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad, by 4 p.m.
According to information, the 58-year-old scholar’s body was being preserved at NIMS Hospital and will be taken on Monday.
The remains will be taken to Gun Park Memorial near Public Gardens by 9 a.m. and will be kept there briefly, before shifting to the residence at Jawahar Nagar in Moula Ali for visitors to pay their last respects.
The last procession of Saibaba will begin at 2.30 p.m. at the residence and proceed to Gandhi Medical College.
Kolkata doctor rape and murder: Junior doctors’ hunger strike enters ninth day, others on ‘symbolic fast’
The hunger strike by junior doctors of West Bengal to press for their demands following the R.G. Kar hospital incident entered the ninth day on Sunday, when people are holding a “symbolic fast” at various parts of the state to express solidarity with the agitators.
Three of the junior doctors who were observing ‘fast unto death’ in Kolkata and Siliguri have so far been hospitalised after their condition deteriorated.
“Their conditions are worsening but the state administration remains unmoved,” a leader of the agitating Junior Doctors Forum said.
Meanwhile, a group of former students of R.G. Kar Hospital have reached the medical establishment for a symbolic fast of 12 hours to express solidarity with the students on hunger strike.
However, they faced resistance from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel who were on security duty at the hospital following a court order. The ex-students, most of whom are senior citizens, said they will go ahead with their proposed symbolic fast programme, come what may.
Several people are also observing the “symbolic fast” during the day in Malda and Murshidabad districts.
The doctors have urged people to observe “Arandhan” (no cooking) on Sunday (October 13, 2024) to show solidarity and support for their cause.
A large number of people visited the venue of the hunger strike during the past few days when the Durga Puja festivities were on.
The junior doctors have been demanding justice for the R.G. Kar hospital victim, immediate removal of Health Secretary N.S. Nigam, workplace security and other measures.
Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, the implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces.
Consumer watchdog CCPA orders Ola to offer refund choices, provide auto ride receipts
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed ride-hailing platform Ola to implement consumer-friendly changes, including offering refund options and providing receipts for auto rides, the regulator said on Sunday.
The CCPA, led by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, observed that Ola’s no-questions-asked refund policy only provided coupon codes for future rides, without giving consumers a choice for bank account refunds.
“This (practice) violates consumer rights,” the CCPA said in a statement. “The no-question-asked refund policy cannot mean that the company incentivises people to simply use this facility for taking another ride.”
The regulator also mandated Ola to issue bills or invoices for all auto rides booked through its platform, citing the absence of such documentation as an “unfair trade practice” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Following the CCPA’s intervention, Ola has implemented several changes, including displaying contact details of grievance and nodal officers on its website, clearly mentioning cancellation policies and fees at the time of booking, adding more options for ride cancellation reasons, and publicizing fare component breakdowns.
The other changes implemented were showing address of both pickup and drop locations to drivers and revised payment cycles for drivers for swift payment.
The CCPA reported 2,061 complaints against Ola from January to October 2024, with top issues including overcharging, refund delays and driver-related problems.
“Through its regulatory intervention, the CCPA has been steadfast in ensuring that Ola adheres to the legal framework established to secure the rights of consumers,” the regulator stated.
The move comes as the CCPA increases scrutiny of digital platforms to protect consumer interests in the rapidly growing e-commerce and ride-hailing sectors.
16 killed in latest northwest Pakistan sectarian clash
At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a fresh sectarian clash in Pakistan’s northwest, officials said.
Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes have been engaged in intermittent fighting for several months in the Kurram district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Kurram, formerly a semi-autonomous area, has a history of bloody confrontations between tribes belonging to the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years.
A convoy of Sunnis was travelling under the protection of paramilitary soldiers on Saturday when they came under attack, a senior Kurram administration official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
“As a result, 14 people, including 3 women and 2 children, were killed, and six others were wounded,” he said.
Frontier police responded and killed two of the attackers, who were identified as Shiites, he said.
The official said the latest attack had “sectarian motives” that “have plagued the region for the past two decades”.
“Every conflict tends to take on a sectarian dimension,” he said.
Other recent clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a jirga, or tribal council, called a ceasefire.
Officials are attempting to broker a fresh truce. Tribal and family feuds are common in Pakistan.
However, they can be particularly protracted and violent in remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities abide by traditional tribal honour codes.
The Shiite community in Pakistan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, has long suffered discrimination and violence.
In Brief:
Chennai may get heavy to very heavy rain as onset of northeast monsoon is likely in a few days
The northeast monsoon is likely to begin by October 15 or 16, and Chennai may receive heavy to very heavy rain. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon’s withdrawal has been pretty fast and is likely to end in the next four days and the northeast monsoon rain may begin very soon. The cyclonic circulation over southeast Bay of Bengal and the adjoining equatorial Indian Ocean now lies over southeast Bay of Bengal.
Benjamin Netanyahu condoles Ratan Tata’s death; calls him ‘champion of friendship between Israel and India’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condoled the death of Indian industry titan Ratan Tata, calling him a champion of the friendship between Israel and India. The former Tata Group chairman passed away on Wednesday (October 9, 2024) evening, aged 86. In a post on X addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Netanyahu highlighted Ratan Tata’s contributions to fostering Israel-India ties.
(Evening Wrap will return tomorrow)
Published - October 13, 2024 09:46 pm IST
