1. Chandigarh Stalking Case: Vikas Barala, Friend Arrested
In a fresh development in the Chandigarh stalking case, Haryana BJP chief’s son Vikas Barala, who is the main accused, has been arrested by the Chandigarh Police. Vikas surrendered before the police on Wednesday afternoon after being summoned amid heavy security. He was arrested along with his friend after questioning. The police have slapped attempt to kidnap charge against both the accused.
We called both the accused for interrogation. It was a lengthy interrogation. A number of things have come to fore in today’s interrogation. Thus we have decided to press two charges – attempt to abduction (365/511). We have also decided to arrest both the accused.DGP TS Luthra
“Both shall be produced in the court tomorrow. We shall request the court for their police custody. There are a number of things for which we need the accused to reconstruct the scene of crime to verify many facts. I can’t share many things that are part of investigations. I have shared the conclusion of our investigations done so far,” he said.
Source: The Indian Express
2. Seven Weeks into Standoff: China Steps up Troop Presence at Doklam
Seven weeks into the face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Doklam, there has been increased Chinese presence in the vicinity of the standoff site at the trijunction with Bhutan. At a distance of around one kilometre from Dolam plateau, north of Doka La post, the Chinese have pitched around 80 tents for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers.
The Indian Express has learnt that the number of Chinese troops in the area is estimated to be less than 800, which means that it is not a full PLA infantry battalion.
In addition, around 300 PLA soldiers are deployed at the standoff site, facing around 350 Indian soldiers who are staying in nearly 30 tents pitched in the area.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Sonia Rejects PM's Olive Branch, Warns of ‘Forces of Darkness’
If PM Narendra Modi hoped to extend an olive branch, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi brushed it aside, expressing the apprehension that "forces of darkness" were emerging and posing a threat to social justice and freedom of expression.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday just after the PM suggested that some developmental issues could be considered above party lines, Sonia hit out at the BJP-led government, asking whether attempts are being made to destroy the roots of democracy and a law-based system.
The Congress president did not fail to take a clear jibe at RSS, making a reference to organisations that opposed the Quit India movement and played no role in the freedom movement, as she sought to highlight the contribution of the Indian National Congress during the freedom struggle.
Source: The Times of India
4. JD(U) Vote Might Have Swung Gujarat Rajya Sabha Election For Ahmed Patel
It was former ally Janata Dal (United) that won the bitterly fought Rajya Sabha election for senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, sources said on Thursday.
Patel was declared elected to the Council of States in early hours after a night of drama and a day of claims and counter-claims of support for the Congress leader.
It was the vote of the lone Janata Dal (United) member in Gujarat assembly, Chhotu Vasava, that saw Patel home after the election commission declared invalid the votes of two rebel Congress legislators.
Source: Hindustan Times
5. Learnt Lesson From ’62 War, Forces are Prepared: Jaitley
Amid the border standoff with China in Doklam, defence minister Arun Jaitley said the Indian armed forces are strong enough to meet any challenge to the country's security as he underlined that lessons have been learnt from the 1962 war.
Jaitley also said that the people of the country have a strong desire to retrieve parts of Jammu & Kashmir that have been occupied by Pakistan since 1948
He said India had "learnt a lesson" from the 1962 war with China that "the armed forces will have to be made fully capable on our own because even today the nation faces challenges from our neighbouring countries."
Source: The Times of India
6. Marathas Storm Mumbai in Silence, CM Devendra Fadnavis Blinks
More than two lakh Marathas demanding reservation in jobs and education marched on South Mumbai roads on Wednesday morning, but couldn’t quite make the impact they had promised.
While schools stayed shut and traffic on the roads along the route was affected, it was business as usual for most Mumbaiites. And as the community grandly announced this would be their last and biggest silent rally, the road ahead for the movement is riddled with confusion.
Responding to this show of strength, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a package of incentives – much of which was a repetition of schemes announced last year.
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Sense of Unease Among Muslims: Hamid Ansari
In his last interview before demitting the office of India's vice-president, Hamid Ansari said that Muslims in the country were experiencing “a feeling of unease“. “ A sense of insecurity is creeping in “as a result of the dominant mood created by some and the resultant intolerance and vigilantism, he added.
Ansari also said he shared the view of many that intolerance was rapidly growing in the country.
In hard-hitting remarks during an interview to Rajya Sabha TV , he ascribed the spate of vigilante violence, mob lynchings, beef bans and “Ghar Wapsi” campaigns to a “breakdown of Indian values“ and to the “breakdown of the ability of the authorities“ to enforce the law.
Source: The Times of India
8. In Kerala War, How RSS and CPI(M) Two Sides of the Same Violent Coin
In the increasingly shrill war of words between the BJP-RSS and the CPI(M) over political violence in Kerala, facts have been a casualty, too.While both sides play the victim after each killing, an investigation by The Indian Express of police and court records and interviews with at least 50 leaders, families of victims, and alleged killers on both sides, shows that it goes much beyond a turf war.
Indeed, other than ideology, both sides reflect each other – beginning with the number of the dead.
And nowhere is this most visible than in Ground Zero of the violence, Kannur, a northern district wedged between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. Records show that of the 96 political killings recorded here since January 1995, 42 were victims affiliated to the BJP-RSS and 40 were from the CPI(M).
Kannur accounts for just over half of the political killings linked to the rivalry between CPI(M) and BJP-RSS in Kerala since 2006 – 41 of 80.
Source: The Indian Express
9. Check Terror Activities Along LoC, India Tells Pak
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Even as Pakistan accuses India of carrying out ceasefire violations, the government has conveyed to Islamabad that there has been a spurt in terrorist activities along the LoC and in infiltration attempts.
A ceasefire violation by Pakistan had on Tuesday led to the killing of an Indian soldier in the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistan, however, summoned India’s deputy high commissioner JP Singh and condemned “unprovoked ceasefire violations’” by Indian forces which, it said, had targeted Pakistani civilians.
Source: The Times of India
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