QBullet: 6 Cleared in Alwar Lynching, Gauri Murder Weapon Exposé

Read the top news from across the country on QBullet.

Pehlu Khan’s son, Irshad (left) and Ballabgarh lynching victim Junaid’s father, Alimuddin share their grief at Jantar Mantar.

(Photo: PTI)

1. Six Named by Pehlu Khan Get Clean Chit

Rajasthan Police have closed investigations into six people named by dairy farmer Pehlu Khan before his death in a mob attack in April, Hindustan Times has found, sparking allegations that the authorities are under pressure to protect cow vigilante suspects.

The police have cleared the six men – three of whom are linked to Hindu right-wing organisations – based on the statements by the staff of a cow shelter as well as mobile phone records, according to the investigation report that Hindustan Times has read.

The staff of the cow shelter, Rath Gaushala, has maintained that the six – Om Yadav (45), Hukum Chand Yadav (44), Sudhir Yadav (45), Jagmal Yadav (73), Naveen Sharma (48) and Rahul Saini (24) – were present on their premises, which was about four km from the attack site. Rath Gaushala is patronised by Jagmal Yadav.

Source: Hindustan Times

2. Gun Used to Kill Gauri Lankesh Is the Same One That Killed MM Kalburgi: Forensics

A preliminary forensic analysis of bullets and cartridges found at the site of the 5 September shooting of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh has revealed that the same 7.65-mm country-made pistol was used for the killing of Kannada research scholar MM Kalburgi two years ago.

Also read: Exclusive: Gauri Lankesh & MM Kalburgi’s Killers Were Not the Same

This finding has been communicated to the Special Investigation Team that is probing the murder of the 55-year-old journalist and activist, sources involved with the two separate investigations have told The Indian Express.

On 12 September, The Indian Express had reported that investigations had found clues that suggested a link between the two murders.

Also read: Gauri Lankesh’s Murder Could Have a ‘Personal and Financial Angle’

3. Defence Cooperation, Dual-Use Technology on Table at Abe-Modi Meeting

Defence technology and cooperation, including a possible breakthrough on the US-2 amphibious aircraft and cooperation in developing unmanned ground vehicles and robots for defence purpose, is expected to be one of the key takeaways of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Ahmedabad that started Wednesday.

“Defence and security will be one of the focus areas of the joint statement. The strategic convergences, especially in the Indo-Pacific area, will reflect in the joint document,” a source said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a dinner for Abe and his wife Akie. There is also a possibility of upgrading the two-plus-two mechanism between defence and foreign secretaries to the ministerial level.

Source: The Indian Express

Also read: Shinzo Abe Visit Live: Japan’s PM, Modi Visit Sabarmati Ashram

4. Aadhaar Law Will Clear Constitution Test, Need to Secure Data: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday said the Aadhaar law will “pass the test of constitutionality” and that it is important to build “ironwalls” to protect people’s data. He said the Aadhaar scheme announced by the UPA government was “technologically great” but it did not realise the “full potential” of the unique identification system.

The NDA government, he said, provided legal backing to Aadhaar to realise its full potential, including direct transfer of benefits to bank accounts of beneficiaries.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition challenging making Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits under various social welfare schemes of the government. The next hearing is in the first week of November.

Source: The Indian Express

Also read: But Mr Prasad, I AM Forced to Link Aadhaar to These Facilities

5. DUSU Election 2017: NSUI Wins Top Posts; Congress Says Wake-Up Call for PM Modi

It is two-two for Delhi University’s campus rivals in the student union elections, but the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) wrested the advantage winning the posts of president and vice president on Wednesday.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won the posts of secretary and joint secretary in the hotly contested polls. The RSS-affiliated association had three posts in the outgoing panel.

The results signalled a comeback for the NSUI, which held the president’s position in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) five years ago.

NSUI in the mood for celebration. Its contestants were greeted by chants of solidarity, firecrackers and the beats of the dhol as they exited the premises of the community centre. (Photo: Kabir Upmanyu/The Quint)

The Congress’s student wing had bagged three in 2012 and swept all four posts in 2007.

Source: Hindustan Times

Also read: In Photos: Witness the Different Shades of DUSU Elections

6. Home Ministry Cancels Foreign Funding Licence of JNU, DU, IIT-Delhi and ICMR

MANY prominent higher education institutions, including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU), IIT-Delhi and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), are among several hundred organisations which have been barred by the Centre from receiving foreign funds. The Union Home Ministry has cancelled their registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) as they have reportedly failed to file their annual returns for the last five years.

No organisation or institution is allowed to receive funds from abroad unless it is registered under FCRA. It is mandatory for such organisations to submit their annual income and expenditure statements to the government. An educational institution, for instance, needs its FCRA registration number to receive donations from its alumni based abroad.

7. After Dhaka SOS on Rohingyas, Delhi to Send Relief Flight

With the Indian government being briefed by its envoy in Dhaka on the crisis in Bangladesh over the unending flow of Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar Wednesday sanctioned supply of humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The first flight carrying a consignment of relief material could be despatched as early as Thursday. It will be sent to Chittagong where Indian diplomats will hand it over to the Bangladesh government for further distribution.

Source: The Indian Express

Also read: #GoodNews: Sikh Volunteers Provide Langar to Rohingya Muslims

8. Indian Offshore Wealth in Asia’s Tax Havens

Offshore wealth held by Indians in tax havens has surged nearly 90 percent since 2007 to $62.9 billion (about Rs 4 lakh crore) in 2015. That's about 3.1 percent of the country's GDP in 2015, the latest year for which data is available.

Also, contrary to popular belief, Switzerland is no longer the preferred destination. Over 53 percent of this Indian wealth is now held closer home in Asian tax havens like Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Bahrain and Malaysia. Swiss banks hold 31 percent of Indian wealth, down from around 58 percent in 2007.

This trend has emerged from analysis of data released for the first time by the Basel-based Bank of International Settlements (BIS) on bilateral foreign holdings. Till last year, BIS, which is the nodal data clearing house for all international financial transactions, did not disclose the country of origin of the data.

Source: The Indian Express

9. SC Tells Jaypee to Pay 10 Homebuyers Rs 5 Lakh Each Over Project Delay in Noida

The Supreme Court asked Jaypee Associates on Wednesday to pay Rs 5 lakh each to 10 homebuyers who did not get their flats on time, expressing concern “about the tears of the homebuyers who cannot be taken for a ride by builders”.

The ruling adds to the woes of the real estate developer which is in the middle of insolvency proceedings. Jaypee is one of several prominent builders that have delayed the delivery of flats in the National Capital Region, locking lakhs of money paid by mostly middle-class homebuyers.

The bench headed by chief justice Dipak Misra ordered the penalty as interim relief to 10 homebuyers who got their flats at the Kalypso Court, Noida project five years later than promised.

Source: Hindustan Times

Also read: Jaypee Insolvency Case: SC Bars Directors From Leaving India