Amit Shah had appealed to the protesting farmers to move to the designated site of protest at Delhi’s Nirankari ground. He also assured the farmers that the government will consider their concerns and demands as soon as they shift.

Surjeeth Singh Paul, state president of BKU Krantikari (Punjab) said during a press conference that the condition put forward for talks is an insult to farmers. He also confirmed that the protestors wouldn’t go to Burari, terming the place as an open jail.

Meanwhile the situation remained tensed around Delhi, as thousands of farmers from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajashthan and Punjab continued to join the farmers’protest at the border areas.

The police remain on high altert in view of the thousands gathering at Delhi borders. However the police did not use force to block the commute of the farmers.

Meanwhile the leaders of the protesting farmers will hold a press conference at Singhu border at 4pm on their further course of action.

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A fifth passenger of the car was hospitalised with severe injuries. The road crash took place around 6.45 am.

“The incident took place around one-and-a-half kilometres prior to the Zero Point. The vehicle was on the Agra-Noida lane on the expressway. The Toyota Innova rammed into the roadways bus from behind after which four of its five occupants died on the spot,” a police spokesperson said.

One passenger was left with severe injuries and has been hospitalised,” the official said.

Further proceedings are underway, the police said.

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According to CMO, the samples were collected 11 days after the woman was allegedly raped, while government guidelines strictly say forensic evidence can only be found up to 96 percent hours after the incident. Hence the report could not confirm rape in this incident.

The Dalit woman had been assaulted, allegedly by four upper caste men, on September 14, and was able to provide the details of the alleged sexual assault after she regained consciousness at the AMU hospital on September 22. After her statement was recorded before a magistrate, police had added relevant sections of rape to the FIR.

Following her statement, samples were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, which received them on September 25 – 11 days after the attack. It was based on this FSL report that the UP Police claimed that the woman was not raped.

On October 3, the Department of Forensic Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College wrote to the Circle Officer of Sadabad police station in Hathras with the subject, “Final opinion in response to your letter”. Signed by Assistant Professor Dr Faiz Ahmad and Chairman Dr Saeed, it gave a “final opinion” with reference to the circle officer’s letter “and the FSL report”, stating that “there are no signs suggestive rape” and “there are evidences of physical assault (injuries over the neck and back)”.

Dr Hamza Malik, president of the Resident Doctors’ Association at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, called the FSL report “unreliable”.

The woman’s post mortem from Safdarjung Hospital had also said that she was raped brutally.

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It was alleged that the police were forcibly trying to get her body cremated in the middle of the night. The family had said that they will not cremate the body in a hurry and will wait till they get justice . The family also claimed that they follow Hindu rituals and not cremate the body at night.

HAPPENING NOW — #Hathras rape victim’s body has reached her native village, Boolgarhi in Hathras, where the horrific incident took place. SP, DM, Joint Magistrate all here accompanying the family. My camera person Wakar and I will get you all the updates all through the night pic.twitter.com/VxEWDVVpsU

— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) September 29, 2020

Earlier in the day, the father and brother of the Hathras gangrape victims sat in protest outside the hospital claiming that her body had been taken away without their permission.

They were joined in protest by workers from Congress as well as the Bhim Army. As the crowd at Safdurjung Hospital swelled, security was heightened at the hospital.

Delhi Police later claimed that the family was not sitting on a dharna and said that the issue was “hijacked by different groups”.

“We have talked to the victim’s family members. The last rites of the victim have been performed keeping in view of peace situation here. Four accused have already been arrested. Police and administration will ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice,” Prem Prakash Meena, Hathras Joint Magistrate told a news agency.

The woman was raped in a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. The four accused had tried to strangle her to death as she resisted their rape attempt and in the process, she also ended up biting her tongue and suffering a severe cut on it. The accused have been arrested. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.

As news of her death spread, protests broke out in Delhi as well as in Hathras with all sections of society, including politicians, sports and cine stars and activists, expressing their anguish and demanding justice for her.

Meanwhile Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has formed a 3-member panel to probe the Hathras gangrape and death case and asked the team to submit a report.

The probe panel will be monitored by UP home secretary Bhagwan Swarup. The panel will also comprise members from the Dalit community along with women members. CM has also ordered fasttracking of the Hathras rape case.

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The special CBI court is expected to deliver the much-awaited judgment in the Babri Masjid demolition case on September 30 in which senior leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stand as the accused.

Former BJP presdients L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and former Union Minister Uma Bharti are amongst the prime accused in the case. The special judge Surendra Kumar Yadav has directed all the accused persons to remain present in the court on the day of the judgment.

It may be recalled that the criminal case aganist BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajranj Dal leaders and Karsevakas involved in the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992 was pending before the Special CBI court even as the Supreme Court settled the title dispute of the land at Ayodhya.

The Supreme Court on August 19 directed the CBI Special Judge to conclude the proceedings and deliver the judgment latest by September 30.
The BJP leaders facing trial for the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh have been charged for various offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which included promoting enmity between religious groups (section 153A), making statements affecting national integration (section 153B) or which are likely to cause public mischief (section 505).

The Supreme Court on April 19, 2017 had directed the sessions court to complete the trial and deliver its judgment within a period of two years. However, the trial could not be extended. The top court, thus, granted the last extension till September 30. The court had transferred the trial pending in the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate at Rae Bareilly to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow to be heard together.

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The number of people who have died of the disease now stands at 82,066 with a case fatality rate of 1.63 per cent.

More than 39 lakh people stand cured with a recovery rate of 78.52 per cent. Almost 83,000 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries closer to the number of new cases. Only 20 per cent, or 9,95,933 cases, are active.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected State by the pandemic with a tally of 10.7 lakh cases as it continued to report more than 17,000 cases a day.

Close to half (48.8 per cent) of the active cases are concentrated in three states — Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala and Telangana contribute close to a quarter (24.4 per cent) of the active cases, the ministry said.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Karnataka reported more than 8,200 new cases, most of them from its capital. Bengaluru now has more Covid cases than Mumbai, surpassed only by Delhi and Pune.

Delhi’s COVID-19 tally crossed to over 2.25 lakh after 4,263 fresh cases were reported on September 15. Thirty-six fatalities pushed the death count to 4,806, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

According to a study (Johns Hopkins University data), India is the second worst-hit nation in terms of COVID-19 cases after the United States. It is in the third spot in fatalities after the US and Brazil.

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The total coronavirus cases mounted to 41,13,811, while the death toll climbed to 70,626 with the novel coronavirus virus claiming 1,065 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection has further declined to 1.72 per cent. There are 8,62,320 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 20.96 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and it went past 40 lakh on September 5.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 4,88,31,145 samples have been tested up to September 5 with 10,92,654 samples being tested on Saturday.

Of the 1,065 fresh deaths, 312 are from Maharashtra, 128 from Karnataka, 81 from Uttar Pradesh, 71 from Andhra Pradesh, 69 from Punjab, 61 from Tamil Nadu, 58 from West Bengal, 34 from Bihar, 30 from Madhya Pradesh, 25 from Delhi, 22 from Haryana, 19 from Chhattisgarh, 18 each from Puducherry and Uttarakhand, 15 each from Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

Fourteen fatalities have been reported from Rajasthan, 11 from Kerala, nine each from Goa and Telangana, eight from Tripura, seven each from Assam and Odisha, four from Himachal Pradesh while Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Manipur and Meghalaya have registered one fatality each.

Of the total 70,626 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 26,276 followed by 7,748 in Tamil Nadu, 6,298 in Karnataka, 4,538 in Delhi, 4,347 in Andhra Pradesh, 3,843 in Uttar Pradesh, 3,510 in West Bengal, 3,091 in Gujarat and 1,808 in Punjab.

So far, 1,543 people have died of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,122 in Rajasthan, 886 in Telangana, 781 in Haryana, 770 in Jammu and Kashmir, 735 in Bihar, 538 in Odisha, 462 in Jharkhand, 356 in Chhattisgarh, 352 in Assam, 337 in Kerala and 330 in Uttarakhand.

Puducherry has registered 298 fatalities, Goa 229, Tripura 144, Chandigarh 69, Himachal Pradesh 54, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 50, Manipur 36, Ladakh 35, Meghalaya 15, Nagaland 10, Arunachal Pradesh eight, Sikkim five and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that State-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

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The arrested persons were Uttar Pradesh natives Shahid 24,of Hanupura, Farhad Khan, 29, Nangar in Rampur city and Haneefa, 28, of Nangar.

Three others are absconding and suspected to have left the state. Police have intensified search for others, also natives of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, the girl was abused several times during the lockdown period, from April. The culprits assaulted the girl at her home during day time when her parents were away. Besides, the accused had exploited her at their rented premises. She was then threatened and taken to various other places.

The Eloor police registered a case after the girl’s family filed a complaint. The probe was led by the assistant police commissioner.

The incident was exposed during a counselling session the girl had undergone at her school, where teachers noticed changes in her behaviour.

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The accused named Abu Yusuf was arrested at around 11.30 PM on August 21 from Delhi’s Dhala Kuan area. According to police officials, two pressure cookers turned into IEDs, with about 15 kilograms explosives were recovered from the alleged terrorist. Officers also seized a pistol from Yusuf.

Police revealed that Abu Yusuf had visited several places in Delhi to execute an attack in the coming days. Security in the city has now been beefed up, and investigation officers are now trying to determine whether Abu Yusuf has any other accomplices in India.

Police officials revealed that Abu Yusuf hails from Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh. During the time of his arrest, Yusuf was apparently riding a motorcycle with UP number plates.

The new arrest in Delhi comes just a few days after a doctor was arrested in Bengaluru for alleged terrorist links. Abdur Rahman, an ophthalmologist in Bengaluru was arrested after getting information from a couple who was nabbed by the police last March.

After the arrest, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out raids in properties and buildings belonging to Abdur Rahman and seized digital devices and a laptop containing crucial evidence that substantiates his link to ISIS and other extreme Islamic outfits.

#WATCH Delhi: National Security Guard (NSG) commandos carry out search operation near Buddha Jayanti Park in Ridge Road area.

One ISIS operative was arrested from the site with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), earlier today by Delhi Police Special Cell. pic.twitter.com/q1uodH5cYJ

— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2020

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The online forms have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs and Governments of various States and union territories, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttrakhand and Madhya Pradesh among others. According to the MoCA guidelines, this facility will be available for all international arriving passengers from August 8, 2020.

This will help in making passengers’ journey more convenient and comfortable in a contactless way as they won’t have to fill the physical copies of the forms on arrival. Delhi Airport continues to be a hub for international travel. With India establishing air bubble with several countries, the number of international arrivals is likely to go up. Then, this new online self-declaration and quarantine exemption portal will prove to be beneficial for the government officials in taking a swift and informed decision on granting exemption or know the latest health condition of the international arriving passenger.

Passengers seeking exemption under the five specific categories will need to fill the e-form available on the website of Delhi Airport “www.newdelhiairport.in”. They will have to submit it along with supporting documents, including copy of their passports, at least 72 hours before boarding their flights. However, there is no such time capping for passengers filling for the Self-Declaration form.

This process will help passengers avoid the hassle of providing the same set of information and documents to different authorities multiple times as online portal has the smart option to autofill the second application using the previous application’s request number. All applications will get auto-routed to the respective state government depending upon the first port of arrival. Similarly, all self-declaration applications will be routed to Airport Health Organisation (APHO), under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

A copy of approval or rejection of exemption requests on specific grounds will be emailed to the passengers. Those who would be given exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine can show the same at the transfer area after landing at Delhi Airport, and walk out of the airport hassle-free. This process would not only help the flyers, who can seek exemptions, but also the authorities in completing the requisite formalities faster, and reduce congestions at the arrival hall of the Airports.

Passengers would be considered for exemption only if they fall under any one of the five exempted categories – Pregnant women, People whose kin died recently, people from serious illness (Description to be provided), parents accompanied by children below 10 years and COVID-19 negative in recent RT-PCR test.  Airlines may also notify passengers at the time of reservation that the receiving Indian State Government(s) may authorise exemptions from institutional quarantine for five specific categories on a case-to-case basis.

Commenting on this development,. Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL, said “COVID-19 has certainly changed the way Delhi Airport operates. The focus of our activities remains on the safety and convenience of our passengers. Keeping in view the inconvenience faced by arriving international passengers during this pandemic situation, Delhi Airport has associated with the Government of India to take an initiative that is crucial for the well-being of all international arriving passengers, who are waiting to come back to India. Having an approved exemption form will not only ease the quarantine process, but also mitigate the problem of inordinate delay while queuing up for quarantine process. Further, passengers can also avoid the hassle of the filling physical copies of the self-declaration twice.”

Ms Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, appreciated the Delhi Airport’s initiative and said, “It’s been a while since international repatriation service resumed in India. Passengers are planning to travel for various reasons on limited international flights during the pandemic. MoCA appreciates Delhi Airport’s contribution in helping digitise and streamline this process of health self-declaration and exempting passengers. E-platform prepared by DIAL would be used by all airports in the country and help the States/ health authorities to fast track the process of clearances for international arrivals. This will further facilitate to scale up the number of flights handled at Indian airports.”

According to the current government mandate, all passengers arriving by international flights in India must undergo seven days institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by seven days of home quarantine. It is mandatory for international arriving passengers to undergo health screening by APHO. This includes thermal temperature screening by discreetly mounted, highly accurate, mass screening cameras.

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A Malayali, KKK Nair alias Kishnakumar Karunakaran Nair, of Kainikari in Alappuzha district, was responsible for the appearance of the Ram idol at Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

Born on September 11, 1907, KKK Nair was an officer of the Imperial Civil Service during the British rule, equivalent to the Indian Administrative Service. Nair, a 1930 batch ICS officer, married Shakuntala, a native of Dehradun, in 1946. Thus Shakuntala became Shakuntala Nair.

A staunch Hindu, Nair had personal connections with Hindu leaders like Pateshwari Prasad Singh, Mahad Digvijay Nath and Abhiram Das. The idea of seizing temples destroyed or taken over by foreigners and Mughal emperors at the behest of V.D. Savarkar was being widely discussed at the time. Nair assured all possible help and support in this endeavour. In 1945, KKK Nair met Guru Dutt Singh. Both were great devotees of Ram. Strong ties with Hindu leaders led to the decision to capture the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

When Pateshwari Pratap Singh founded the Ram Rajya Parishad in 1948, he made a special invitation to his friend Nair. In 1948, Guru Dutt Singh, a close friend of Nair, was appointed Faizabad City Magistrate. Making use of his personal influence, on June 1, 1949, Nair was appointed Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Faizabad, including Ayodhya.

The duo reached an agreement to instal an idol of Lord Rama inside the Masjid. The Babri Masjid was guarded at night by a Hindu and a Muslim. Singh was able to entice the Hindu guard. Abdul Barkat, a Muslim hawaldar, was forced to cooperate on being threatened with death.

At 11 pm on December 22, 1949, a small Ram Lal (idol of Lord Rama), seven inches high, was erected inside the Babri Masjid by Pandit and wrestler Abhiram Das along with a few Hindu sannyasins. The two guards cooperated. News was widely spread that an idol of Lord Ram has appeared inside the Babri Masjid. Faizabad District Magistrate KKK Nair and Faizabad City Magistrate Guru Dutt Singh were with Das and others on that night. News spread that the idol of Lord Rama had appeared by itself. The next day, there was a huge crowd of Hindu devotees at the masjid. Crowds flocked to see the idol of Lord Rama inside the mosque. Nair’s wife Shakuntala Nair led the Shri Rama Bhajan in the mosque.

The Faizabad District Magistrate and the Faizabad City Magistrate delayed reporting the incident in Ayodhya to the authorities on time. The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, through Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant, ordered the removal of the idol of Lord Rama from Babri Masjid and the handing over of the mosque to Muslims to avoid clashes in the area.

Ignoring the order of the then Prime Minister and the then Chief Minister, Nair closed the Babri Masjid using his power as the District Magistrate and brought it under receiver rule. Nair was suspended from service for disobeying the Prime Minister’s directive.

In the ensuing 1952 parliamentary elections, the All India Hindu Mahasabha won four seats. NC Chatterjee, father of late Communist leader and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, was elected from Hooghly in West Bengal and Shakuntala Nair, wife of KKK Nair, was elected from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh. In 1962, Shakuntala was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Faizabad City Magistrate Guru Dutt Singh had to resign after the Ayodhya mosque was closed due to the idol dispute. Singh resigned after KK Nair’s suspension and when he saw that action against him was imminent.

Nair, who returned to ICS service after a long legal battle, faced many challenges. Nair finally resigned from the service in 1952. Later, Nair served as an advocate in the Allahabad High Court. Guru Dutt Singh joined the Hindu Nationalist Party and became its leader. Later, he was the district chief of Jana Sangh in Faizabad.

Nair’s wife Shakuntala Nair was elected to the Lok Sabha for the second time in 1967 and the third time in 1971 from Kisharganj. In the Fourth Lok Sabha in 1967, KKK Nair was elected to Parliament from the Bahraich Lok Sabha constituency as a representative of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Thus the husband and wife have a history of becoming members of the fourth parliament together. KKK Nair passed away on September 7, 1977.

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Pradeep Das, the assistant to the chief priest said he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The 16 policemen who tested positive were engaged in security duties at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex.
Last week, Yogi Adiyanath had visited the place to see the preparations and the priest infected with coronavirus were present with him.

Following the event, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has decided to get the entire Ram Janmabhoomi campus sanitised on a daily basis. The trust said that the programme will be however held as planned, maintaining all the covid safety protocols.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony along with 50VIPs. Diwali-like preparations were in full swing for the ceremony, including a helipad for the PM, three kilometers from the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

Around 200 people will be present for the ceremony at the complex which interestingly is a stark contrast to the covid safety protocols which strictly allow only 50 people in a public ceremony.

Giant CCTV screens have been erected across Ayodhya so the devotees can watch the programme.

The Trust- set up on the directions of the Supreme Court to facilitate the construction of the temple- finalised a date of opening earlier this month. Due to the pandemic lockdown, the opening was delayed.

Currently Ayodhya has 375 active cases of coronavirus, Uttar Pradesh has 29,997 cases.

Meanwhile images of Lord Ram and 3D portraits of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be beamed across the giant billboards in the iconic Times Square in New York on August 5, to celebrate the ground breaking ceremony.

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The order, issued by State Chief Secretary R K Tiwari to the district and police administration on Friday, said the restrictions are being imposed to control the spread of covid-19 and communicable diseases like malaria, encephalitis, dengue.

Government and private offices, shops for non-essential items, malls and restaurants will be shut. Buses and other transport will be off the roads. The lockdown will be lifted at 5am on Monday.

The other exceptions will be factories in rural areas and work on roads-highways and expressways.

The government will allow incoming trains and the passengers will be able to use special buses to get home.

This is the first time the state government is going for a blanket lockdown since the Centre started lifting the restrictions in May. Earlier, the state had enforced extra restrictions in pockets and containment areas and sealed borders with Delhi at Ghaziabad and Noida.

Uttar Pradesh so far had more than 30,000 cases of coronavirus, of which more than 20,000 patients have recovered, 845 patients have died. Uttar Pradesh has one of the lowest rates of testing.

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Dr Anita, the dog’s owner, developed a kidney ailment and was unwell for the past few months. She was undergoing treatment at a city hospital, where she breathed her last on July 1. According to reports, when the body was brought to the home, the dog started howling loudly. Looking at its condition, the son of the doctor locked the dog inside the room.

However, the dog somehow managed to reach the fourth floor of the house and started barking. When the family members were leaving to cremate the body, the dog jumped from the fourth floor. The family rushed her to a veterinary hospital, but she was declared dead since her backbone had fractured.

The family said the dog was depressed ever since Dr Anita was admitted to hospital and ate nothing.

Dr. Rajkumar, Anita’s husband, revealed that his wife had rescued and adopted the dog 13 years ago. She nursed and treated the dog and it had been a part of the family since then.

It’s rightly said that dogs are epitome of trust, loyalty, love.

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