QBullet: Soldier Kills Self Over OROP; Akhilesh Begins Rath Yatra

Read The Quint’s compilation of the top headlines from across national dailies.

Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav. (Photo: Reuters) 

1. Need to Probe if Grewal Was Incited to Take His Life: Govt

The government raised doubts on Wednesday over the suicide of ex-serviceman Ram Krishan Grewal and said that an investigation was needed to probe if the veteran was instigated to take his life.

“His letter dated 31 October and his suicide on 1 November raises several questions. It also demands serious investigation about who was with the deceased when he took the extreme step, who provided the poison and if anybody may have taken advantage of his troubled mind to provoke him to take the extreme step,” an official said.

Also Read: Parrikar Seeks Details of Ex-Jawan Who Committed Suicide Over OROP

Government sources said that had Grewal approached the ex-serviceman welfare cell his case could have been resolved amicably.

The government said that it had made sustained efforts to ensure disbursements relating to One Rank One Pension with just one lakh of a total of 20,60,000 yet to receive their dues.

Officials said that the deceased ex-serviceman's OROP had not been held back but the delay in receiving the revised pension was due to problems in calculation at his bank's end.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read:

Before Committing Suicide, Ram Kishan Grewal Called Younger Son

Post Mortem of Ram Kishan Grewal Conducted Late on Wednesday Night

Kejriwal Released From Detention, Says Fight for OROP to Continue

2. Spy Ring Bust: 6 Pak Mission Members Go Back, 8 Indian Officials Could Return

Safety concerns could prompt India to bring back eight officials from its high commission in Islamabad after six members of the Pakistani mission here left for home on Wednesday, taking ties to a fresh low amid heightened tensions.

The safety of the Indian diplomats was compromised as their identities were posted online and their photos flashed by Pakistani news channels.

The Pakistani media described two of the officials as spies and quoted sources as saying that they were involved in espionage and “subversive activities”.

Also Read: Espionage Ring: 4 Indians Now Arrested for ‘Spying’ for Pakistan

The standoff follows unrelenting Pakistani shelling in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir over the past fortnight, resulting in heavy civilian fatalities. At least 20 people, including children, were killed as Pakistani troops pounded border areas with mortar shells.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read:

Is Pak ‘Spy’ Arrest India’s Way of Hitting Back On Kulbhushan?

Tit For Tat? MEA Condemns Pak’s Expulsion of Indian HC Staffer

3. Bhopal Encounter: Most Bullet Wounds on SIMI Men Found Above Waist

The post-mortem report of the eight SIMI activists, who were gunned down by Madhya Pradesh Police in an encounter on the outskirts of Bhopal on Monday, suggests that a majority of the bullet wounds were found above the waist. The report, however, does not specify whether the bullets were fired from a distance or close range.

Police received the preliminary autopsy report on Tuesday amid questions over the official version of the events leading to the encounter, particularly after a series of video clips purportedly showed policemen firing at bodies on the ground at the site of the killing.

Also Read: Slain SIMI Activists’ Lawyer Asks Why Jail CCTV Footage Not Seized

Dr D K Satpathy, former director of Medico Legal Institute, a government body that functions in the Government Medical College, Bhopal, told The Indian Express that recovery or non-recovery of bullets does not necessarily throw light on the distance from which they were fired.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read:

Bhopal Encounter: ATS Chief Says 8 SIMI Men Had No Weapons on Them

SIMI Encounter Dubious, Tweets Mamata; Kejriwal Wants Honest Probe

After Bhopal SIMI Encounter, Chennai Twin Blasts Case Shut

4. All Eyes on Akhilesh Yadav as he Embarks on Rath Yatra Amid Family Feud

All eyes are set on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who would be starting his “Samajwadi Vikas Rath” yatra this Thursday on a red-coloured Rath, having life size picture of his riding a bicycle.

While Akhilesh had undertaken a similar yatra across UP before 2012 assembly elections, but lot has changed since then. In 2012, Akhilesh’s campaign trail termed as “Samajwadi Kranti Rath” yatra then had become noticeable only after first few phases of election had passed.

Akhilesh was travelling with his team, trying to establish himself as young face of Samajwadi Party and there was not much at stake for him then.

Also Read: Yadav Feud: Not Concerned With Family Politics, Says Akhilesh

Amidst the ongoing family feud within Samajwadi Party, he would also talk about his attempts to change the perception about his party in the past i.e. being “anti-English and anti-computers”.

It is clear that within the party as well as outside, he is focusing on youth as he would be starting on the first day from Lucknow addressing about 15 public meetings on his way to neighbouring Unnao district. Schedule for the yatra ahead has not yet been revealed yet.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read:

Shivpal Yadav: The Grassroots Leader Who Took on Akhilesh

Akhilesh Yadav Emerging as the Clear Winner in SP’s Family Feud

5. Encephalitis Kills 74 Kids in Odisha’s Worst Outbreak

Odisha’s worst-ever encephalitis outbreak has killed 74 children in the Maoist-hit Malkangiri district, home to nearly 6.2 lakh people, mostly from the Scheduled Castes and tribes like Bondas, Koyas, Porajas and Didayis.

“Till Monday, 74 children have died, all from the Koya community. Forty-seven of the deaths have been due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and 27 from Japanese Encephalitis (JE),” Dr Madan Mohan Pradhan, joint director of the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme in Odisha, said.

“It’s the biggest outbreak in the district. We are studying why it is happening.”

Also Read: Blame Pigs and Climate Change for Japanese Encephalitis

While JE is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes, AES can be caused by a range of viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, chemicals and toxins.

Encephalitis is marked by inflammation of the brain’s membrane that causes rapidly rising fever, headache, stiffness of the neck, disorientation, coma, seizures, spastic paralysis and even death.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read:

Despite Vaccine, Why Japanese Encephalitis Still Kills in Odisha

How Incurable Japanese Encephalitis Threatens Emerging India

6. CCTV, Coffee Machine, GPS Info System in New AC-III Tier Coaches of Trains

The Railways’ new AC-III tier compartment will be rolled out middle of November with a slew of changes, including a signature colour scheme, CCTV cameras in the aisles, and a tea and coffee vending machine in each coach.

Also Read: Cabinet Scraps British-Era Practice of a Separate Railway Budget

The new features include:

• A GPS-based passenger information system above each door, a fire-and-smoke detector, and automatic room-freshener dispensers.
• An airline-like light bar with numbers indicating upper, lower and middle berths, which will replace the stencilled numbering on the walls.
• Gel coating in the toilet walls to make them “graffiti proof”.
• Curtains for side berths as well as in the aisles, which are currently available in higher classes only.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read:

End to Waitlist: Confirmed Seat on Demand by 2020, Says Railways

Indian Railways Claim Surge Pricing Results Are ‘Encouraging’

7. Delhi Shrouded in Smog for Third Day in a Row, Air Quality ‘Severe’

Three days after Diwali, the capital’s air quality continued to be in the “severe” category despite experts predicting that it would improve to “very poor” by Wednesday.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), levels of Particulate Matter (PM) 10 levels breached the 500 mark in Delhi. With no wind to disperse pollutants, pollution remained trapped close to the ground.

Also Read: The Health Crisis of Delhi’s Smog Is Much Worse Than You Think

According to officials, air quality is expected to remain ‘severe’, though below the 500 mark, on Thursday. The levels on Friday are expected to see a slight improvement, with PM 10 levels expected to drop closer to 400.

Anumita Roychowdhury from the Centre for Science and Environment attributed this to adverse weather conditions.

“With no wind and calm weather, pollutants remain close to the ground. Pollution levels always increase with winter setting in. This, combined with the Diwali pollution hangover, increased vehicular traffic and burning of trash, leads to a rapid build up of pollutants causing the air quality to drop further,” she said.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read:

Three Days After Diwali, Pollution Levels Remain Severe in Delhi

Diwali Aftermath: India Gasps With High Levels of Air Pollution

8. Sri Sri Offers to Rebuild Burnt-Down Valley Schools

On Tuesday night, a generous offer was posted on the official Twitter account of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the wake of the spate of arson attacks on school in the Valley over the past four months.

Also Read: In 360º: No Job, No School, Kashmiri Family Struggles In Unrest

According to a statement from the organisation, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Art of Living director working in Bihar and Kashmir, has been assigned the responsibility of identifying and rebuilding the schools.

"He will work on an assessment report. On 22 November, a conference has been planned with prominent Kashmiri leaders in New Delhi," it added. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will also meet project leaders that day.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read:

Kashmir Burns: J&K High Court Takes up Issue of Attacks on Schools

Ashes to Dust: Kashmir’s Schools Are Burning, but No One Knows Why

9. ED Summons Employee of Arms Dealer Sudhir Choudhrie

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned an employee of London-based arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie for questioning on 9 November to probe transactions related to at least 20 companies linked to the arms dealer.

The agency, which has served notices to two of Choudhrie’s companies and asked to produce records of at least 18 other firms associated with it, has begun investigating the middleman’s role in various arms purchases made by India during the last decade.

Sudhir Choudhrie is an Indian entrepreneur, philanthropist, former diplomat and alleged arms dealer. (Photo courtesy: Vimeo screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Choudhrie's name appeared in British media reports recently where it was alleged that he had received kickbacks to the tune of 10 million pounds linked to India's deal with British Aerospace in the purchase of Hawk advance jet trainers.

The two ED notices sent to Choudhrie's firms are based on a CBI case of July 2004 against erstwhile Samta Party's national treasurer RK Jain, also the director of Magnum International Trading Co Ltd (MITCO), Choudhrie and unknown officials of the Army and the Ministry of Defence.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: Sudhir Choudhrie: Arms Dealer, Art Collector & Philanthropist

More from The Quint

Citizen Goswami: How Arnab Caught the Nation’s Imagination

Rajnath Plan to Build Wall Between India, Pak Borders an Absurdity

Triple Talaq: What Do Indian Muslim Women Really Think?

Ae Dil Hai Mehenga: Here’s ADHM Ka Sasta Version