Browsing: India

Unnikrishnan Potti gets bail in second case T’PURAM: Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold scam, was granted statutory bail in the case related to the alleged loss of gold from the kattilapadi (door frame) of the hill shrine. The Kollam vigilance court on Thursday granted bail to Potti after the investigation agency failed to file the chargesheet within the stipulated 90-day period. He had earlier, on Jan 21, granted bail in the dwarapalaka idols case. The court imposed strict conditions, including a ban on speaking to the media about the case or the investigation, restrictions on entering…

Kolkata: Governor CV Ananda Bose delivered a truncated four-and-a-half-minute speech ahead of the Bengal budget session, scaling down the pitch that had previously put the Bengal govt and Raj Bhavan at loggerheads over multiple issues.Though Bose may have avoided the controversies surrounding the governors’ address in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, his short speech did not stop fiery exchanges in the assembly between Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari.Bose read out portions of the address highlighting law and order, including references to Kolkata being among the safest cities in the country. In a rare display…

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 final at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, Joint Secretary of BCCI, Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, called the decision “very wrong” and expressed confidence that the International Cricket Council (ICC) would take strict action.“This is against the sportsmanship of any sport. This is a very wrong decision by Pakistan. I am sure the ICC will take very strict action, and we will wait for the ICC’s decision,” Bhatia said.When asked about the possible measures the ICC could take against Pakistan, he added, “We can’t discuss that here, but ICC…

Navi Mumbai: Crime branch central unit team has arrested three men from the nine-member gang of dacoits, who had posed as cops and robbed a Sangli based sugar trader of Rs 13.2 lakhs cash in Kharghar on Jan 12.SI Sunil Shinde said that Vishal Tupe (35) from Ghansoli, Rohit Shelar (26) from Satara and Manoj Bhandari (37) from Kalyan were arrested from Ghansoli and Belapur on Jan 26 and 27. In Sept last year, the complainant, Manish Shinde (56), was approached by the accused for purchasing gold at discounted prices. The deal was initially fixed for 100 grams, and the…

NEW DELHI: As India works towards becoming a $500-billion pharmaceutical powerhouse by 2047, scientists and industry captains are calling for a shift towards cruelty-free, science-driven drug testing methods that can speed up innovation and improve patient safety.A new report, ‘Landscape Analysis on Alternatives to Animal Testing for Drug Development in India’, highlights how non-animal methods, including human cell-based models, organ-on-chip technologies and computer simulations, can strengthen drug research by better predicting how medicines will work in humans.The report has been jointly developed by Humane World for Animals India, DBT-In-STEM, Animal Law and Policy Network and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. Scientists note…

Bengaluru: In yet another incident highlighting the growing threat of attention-diversion thefts in commercial hubs, a 35-year-old gold trader became the victim of a carefully executed theft on Chowdeshwari Temple (CT) Street in Nagarathpet. A gang of four miscreants robbed him of gold, silver and cash — all worth Rs 25 lakh.Manish Suran, a resident of Vasanthnagar, said he has been purchasing gold and silver ornaments from jewellery shops and reselling them to other jewellers on a commission for nearly a decade.On Jan 28, Suran received an 80-gram gold necklace from a jeweller, who asked him to sell it. Suran…

Hyderabad: Ahead of the state budget, a critical assessment of Telangana’s agricultural future has flagged a stark imbalance in the distribution of Rythu Bharosa funds (known as Rythu Bandhu earlier) for farmers, raising questions about equity and long-term sustainability. The analysis reveals that 21% of the funds meant flowed to just 1.2% of the state’s wealthiest farmers, leaving the vast majority of marginal and small farmers with a disproportionately smaller share.The findings are part of ‘Telangana Agriculture Livelihoods: The Strategic Choice–Scenarios Across Three Horizons 2024, 2034 and 2047′, a study conducted by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA).According to the…

CHENNAI: The mysterious deaths of several crows in Chennai last month have been confirmed as caused by the H5N1 avian influenza.Following a TOI report on the unexplained crow fatalities in Adyar, the Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department’s Animal Disease Intelligence Unit collected samples from the city in the fourth week of January and sent them to the ICAR-NIHAS laboratory in Bhopal. Tests confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, known for its zoonotic potential.The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has written to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary confirming the H5N1 outbreak and urging the state…

AHMEDABAD: The Banaskantha child trafficking case is not an isolated crime, as investigations have revealed. What first appeared to be the sale of just one child has unravelled into a far darker truth. At least 20 tribal children were trafficked and sold to buyers in Hyderabad over the past two years. The numbers speak not just to the scale of the racket, but of the exploitation of stigmatized and vulnerable young, unwed mothers and their families.Investigators confirmed that all 20 children hailed from tribal pockets of north Gujarat — Poshina, Kheroj, and Idar in Sabarkantha, and Danta and Deesa in…

Prayagraj: The UP govt has approved the construction of 16 permanent helipads across tehsil and block headquarters in Prayagraj district to strengthen emergency medical response, disaster management, security operations and VVIP movement.The process of land identification has begun, and reports sought from sub-divisional magistrates and tehsildars. Construction work will start immediately after the land is finalised. Expressway Propylene Gas Crisis, New Labour Codes, Delhi’s 807 Gone Missing And MoreThe project will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 4.80 crore. Each helipad will be constructed at a cost of Rs 30 lakh, including Rs 20 lakh for helipad and…