Author: Indmedia

Chennai: A pawn shop owner in Tiruvallur district was cheated of ₹1.91 crore by two men who sold him fake jewellery by claiming it was gold.In his complaint, Iman alias Poovarasan, 31, who runs a pawn shop at Pullarambakkam near Tiruvallur, said two men came to his shop in a car on July 14 and sold 5 kg of gold jewellery at a discount of 5% to 10%. He bought a portion of the jewellery for ₹1.91 crore.When he took the jewellery to a private room to verify its authenticity, he discovered that the ornaments were fake. By the time…

Ahmedabad: At least nine persons, including three children, were killed and several others sustained severe burn injuries after a powerful explosion ripped through an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in the Ramol area on Saturday afternoon, said fire and police officers. Police have detained the factory owner for questioning and a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder along with relevant provisions of the Explosives Act was registered.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Gujarat Chief…

Prayagraj: With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on the horizon, fisheries minister and Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad on Saturday said political empowerment begins with a strong grassroots organisation.Addressing a booth workers’ convention in Prayagraj, he said communities that build robust booth-level networks secure greater representation in govt jobs, governance and elected offices.Nishad said the community remained politically underrepresented because it failed to organise itself at the grassroots level, unlike several other communities that consolidated their political influence over the years.Alleging that opposition parties treated the Nishad community merely as a vote bank, he urged party workers to ensure…

Bhubaneswar: In a first-of-its-kind initiative to expose govt school students to diverse career opportunities at an early stage, the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) on Saturday launched a year-long career guidance webinar series for students of Classes IX and X.According to a notification issued by OSEPA, all district project coordinators were directed to ensure that students from all govt and govt-aided secondary schools, including PM SHRI schools, participate in the online sessions. These are aimed at helping students identify their interests, strengths and aptitudes before choosing an academic stream and introducing them to emerging careers.Officials said the webinars will…

Aizawl: Aizawl: Mizoram BJP has criticised the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) over its planned statewide ‘black day’ protest on Monday against the proposed amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).BJP state general secretary Delson Notlia, while addressing the party workers at Atal Bhavan, state BJP office in Aizawl, on Friday, said MPCC’s proposed ‘black day’ protest was shameful and contrasted it with BJP’s ‘black day’ observance to commemorate the declaration of Emergency by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.Notlia accused Congress of trying to play with the sentiments of the churches and the civil societies by opposing the proposed…

Kanpur: A 40-year-old man died under suspicious circumstances in Kanpur’s Kalyanpur area, with his sisters accusing his wife of murdering him and demanding an impartial investigation. The wife, however, rejected the allegations, claiming her husband was a chronic alcoholic who had been unwell for the past few days.The incident triggered a commotion at the postmortem house on Friday, where the deceased’s sisters accused their sister-in-law of killing her husband. They alleged that Ramesh had been subjected to physical abuse by his wife and children and demanded a fair investigation into his death.Refuting the allegations, the deceased’s wife described them as…

Poor road surface in the Khadki Cantonment Board limits Pune: Just weeks into the monsoon, several roads under the Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) have developed large potholes, making daily commuting a nightmare for thousands of office-goers, students and motorists.Residents and activists claimed that the damage, which surfaced soon after the first spell of heavy rain in early July, has exposed the poor quality of road works carried out in previous years.Commuters said roads across the cantonment, particularly the busy Mula Road and stretches in the bazaar area, have become difficult to navigate due to deep potholes, uneven surfaces and waterlogging.…

Nadia Mascarenhas, a Class X student Margao: A casual dinner table question to her father — why has India never made it to the FIFA World Cup? — has led 14-year-old Nadia Mascarenhas to pen and release her debut song, ‘Oh My India’, a tribute to the game she loves and a rallying cry for a football dream she hopes India will one day fulfil.The Class X student of Sarvodaya Educational Society’s High School, Curchorem, released the song earlier this week, weaving in references to football-loving cities across the country — Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Goa among them — in…

Rain to break sultry spell soon hot and hummid weather at chandigarh after 2day of rain at chandigarh Photo_ BALISH AHUJA Chandigarh: After a subdued spell of monsoon activity, the city is set to receive widespread rainfall from Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a fresh round of showers across Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh between July 19 and 23, with the peak expected from July 20 to 22.On Saturday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, following two days of sunshine. Minimum temperature settled at 27 degrees Celsius, while humidity remained…

Sham-e-Ghariban in Dublin Lucknow: “A tradition of Sham-e-Ghariban, as it is observed in many parts of the world, has its roots in Lucknow and is truly a gift from the city to the world,” said Siraj Jafri, a resident of Lucknow now settled in Dublin, Ireland, highlighting how migrants from the city carried the practice across continents and helped transform it into a global expression of remembrance during Muharram.He said the observance continues to draw participation from people of different faiths and communities, reflecting the universal message of peace, sacrifice and humanity associated with the tragedy of Karbala.On organising the…