CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has approached the Delhi High Court seeking an early hearing in her plea for directions to police to make public the list of people arrested in connection with communal violence in northeast Delhi in February this year. The application for preponing the date of hearing of the petition is likely to be listed on May 12. The main petition, which has sought that a list of those arrested be put up outside police control room and police stations in the district, should be updated on a case-by-case basis. It is listed for hearing on June 16. The application for early hearing said the country is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared nationwide lockdown due to which people are not allowed to go out except for essential services. However, Delhi Police has continued its probe in connection with certain FIRs related to the Delhi violence and as per media reports, the MHA has directed police to ensure that the probe does

Three members of a family in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, taking the total number of cases receiving treatment in the district to 15. The three identified are two women, aged 70 and 60, and a 30-year-old man from Kasba village of Bantwal taluk They are relatives of a 69-year-old man of the same family who tested positive for the virus on May 1. The family is related to the 50-year-old woman who died of the disease on April 19. Eight members of the family have been quarantined after the 69-year-old man tested positive. Three of them have now been confirmed with the infection. The source of the infection has been traced to the First Neuro hospital at Padil. A total of 16 coronavirus cases reported in the district has been linked with the hospital so far. An expert medical team has already been formed to find the origin of the infection from the hospital. With three more persons testing positive, the number of COVID-19 ...

The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government for exempting industries in the state from some labour laws, saying it comes at a time when the condition of labourers is the "worst" during coronavirus pandemic. In a series of Hindi tweets, BSP chief Mayawati said, "Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the condition of labourers is perhaps the worst, and even then a mechanism has been implemented where instead of 8 hours of work, they are made to work for 12 hours. This is very sad and unfortunate. Change in labour laws should be in the interest of the labourers." "Babasaheb BR Ambedkar had brought the concept of overtime, if the labourers had worked for more than 8 hours in a day, when exploitation of labour was at its peak. Is it correct to push the country to that era," she asked in another tweet. The BSP chief also said, "Keeping the current situation prevailing in the country, the labour laws should be changed in a way, so that labourers working in a factory .

Four more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttarakhand on Saturday taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 67. The cases were reported from Udham Singh Nagar district, a health department bulletin here said. With this, COVID-19 cases in Uttarakhand have risen to 67 out of which 46 patients have been discharged after recovery and one has died. The number of active cases in Uttarakhand currently stands at 20, it said.

A special committee has been formed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for containing the spread of COVID-19 in different parts of the city, a member of the panel said. Chairperson, caretaker board of administrators of the civic body and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim, former deputy mayor Atin Ghosh, four community medicine experts and KMC health officials are members of the newly formed committee. The panel was formed after Hakim assumed charge as chairperson of the caretaker board of administrators (BOA) of the KMC on Friday. The state government appointed the board since elections could not be held to the KMC owing to the coronavirus outbreak. The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed the BOA to act as the KMC's caretaker board for a month. Ghosh told PTI on Saturday, "We will sit every afternoon to take stock of the situation and decide accordingly. "Apart from containment zones, we will review the situation in other areas of the city as well. There ...

In times of crisis, journalists should be more responsible and work for welfare of people and strengthening unity in society, RSS joint general secretary Manmohan Vaidya said on Saturday as the country battled against the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on the occasion of Narad Muni Jayanti via video-conferencing, Vaidya said journalists while doing reporting should always keep welfare of society in their mind. And many journalists in the country do so. According to Hindu mythology, Narad Muni is a travelling storyteller and primary source of information among Gods. Expressing concern that a specific type of India's image is being painted in a section of the international media which is far away from ground reality, Vaidya said it was being done by some Indian journalists and they should keep the country's interests in mind while reporting. He further said that at the time when the country was facing the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists should be more responsible, working for welfare of .

Two men were arrested in Shamli district for allegedly posting an objectionable WhatsApp message against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, police said. The WhatApp group admin Vikas Upadhyay and Vikki Jatav, who sent the message, were arrested in Shamli on Friday, according to Circle Officer Jitender Singh. A case was registered against the two men under Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code Sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace). According to the complaint lodged by a local resident, it is alleged that Vikki Jatav posted the message against the political leaders on a WhatsApp group.

Filmmaker Satyanshu Singh has launched a unique initiative to raise relief money for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The director has started online classes for budding cinema students and has roped artistes from different fields of filmmaking for the initiative. Actor Vinay Pathak, screenwriters Anjum Rajabali and Sudip Sharma, cinematographer Siddharth Diwan and director Shoojit Sircar have come aboard the initiative. Since April 1, more than a dozen lectures have been conducted with students from cities like Bokaro, Kota, Bhilai, Almora, and Coimbatore taking part in them. Overseas students have also showed interest in the lectures. Through the initiative, Satyanshu has so far raised Rs 15 lakhs which has been donated to non-for-profit organisations like Milaap, Goonj, Sarvahitey, and Sneha, providing food and support to out-of-work labourers, women and children in slums, and the homeless. The daily wage workers from the film industry are also benefitting from this ...

The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Saturday announced an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh for its employees in the forefront of the coronavirus fight in case of death due to the disease. As the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the DSGMC has been providing free food to the lockdown-hit homeless people and shelter to health workers in its gurudwaras. It will now provide an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh each to its 2,500 frontline workers who are providing free community meals, and sanitation and transport-related services across the national capital, its president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said. Staff members of the DSGMC-managed gurudwaras have been distributing food and relief material in JJ colonies, labour camps, shelter homes, etc., as a result of which there is a risk of them contracting the novel coronavirus, Sirsa said. The life insurance scheme will include sanitation staff, cooks preparing langar, religious preachers, security staff and other frontline ...

A man has been arrested for allegedly obstructing a public servant and damaging property in east Delhi''s Kalyanpuri area, police said on Saturday. The incident, which took place on Friday, was captured in a video and circulated on social media, they said. In the video, a shirtless man can be seen in inebriated state and obstructing a police gypsy. He repeatedly bangs on its windscreen and makes a crack on it. People are trying to take him out of the way, but he refuses and stands in front of the gypsy. "The incident took place on Friday around 4.30 pm in Trilokpuri area. The accused, identified as Harkesh, has been arrested. He was drunk at the time of the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Jasmeet Singh said. "A case under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and damage to ...

The "government" was responsible for the death of 16 migrant labourers who were mown down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district, Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said in its editorial on Saturday. The newspaper, however, did not make it clear whether it blamed the BJP-led Centre or the Sena-led Maharashtra government for the tragedy. "The government did not think of allowing them to go back to their native place, nor did it make arrangements for their food," the editorial said, adding that the authorities should have taken into consideration the problems of the poor before enforcing lockdown on account of coronavirus. The sight of 'rotis' strewn on the railway track where the migrants -- who had fallen asleep due to exhaustion while on their way to Madhya Pradesh -- were crushed to death showed a heart-wrenching and harsh reality, Samanaa said. "The labourers were in fine health and had no symptoms of coronavirus and still they died. The responsibility of ...

An NGO from Indore in Madhya Pradesh has sent a letter petition to the Chief Justice of India seeking direction to government authorities to ensure people with disabilities, or Divyangjan, reach their homes safely amid the lockdown for the novel coronavirus outbreak. The letter was sent to the CJI on Friday, Anand Service Society's directors Gyanendra and Monica Purohit told PTI. "More than 150 Divyang persons are stuck in different parts of the country and waiting endlessly to go back to their homes. We have sent a letter petition to the Chief Justice of India requesting him to issue necessary directions to the concern authorities," Purohit said. "After our successful mission to rescue 23 speech and hearing impaired persons, a large number of people with disabilities have approached us to make arrangements for their safe return to their homes. "We need government support for it and, therefore, requested the Chief Justice of India to give necessary directions to National

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Saturday expressed gratitude to policemen in the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak by keeping the state police logo as the display picture or DP of his social media accounts. He asked people to do so in large numbers to encourage the men in khakhi who have been working round the clock, with several of them having got infected, and six losing their lives. In a Facebook post, Deshmukh said, "There is a need to highlight that the brothers in my police family are not alone. The people care for the police as much I do as home minister." "I will keep the logo of Maharashtra Police as the DP of all my social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the honour of our brave police. You too should use the logo (as the DP) to participate in big numbers to honour the police brothers," he added.

Woman power came to the fore as the massive exercise to evacuate Indian citizens stranded abroad in various countries continued on Saturday with two flights to Malaysia and Oman being helmed by women. Two women-Captain Kavitha Rajkumar and Captain Bindhu Sebastian- commanded the Air India Express flights operated today from Tiruchirapalli and Kochi to Kuala Lumpur and Muscat respectively to bring back Indians stuck there due to the lockdown in place to contain the COVID-19 spread. Today was the third day of the repatriation exercise -'Vande Bharat Mission'. WhileCaptain Kavitha Rajkumar is commanding IX 682/681 on Tiruchirappalli-Kuala Lumpur, Captain Bindhu Sebastian is the commander of IX 443/442 on Kochi-Muscat- Kochi flight. While the Tiruchirapalli-Kuala Lumpur flight took off at 01.11 pm, the Kochi-Muscat flight took off at 01.17 pm. "I am extremely proud of being part of this evacuation mission," Captain Bindu Sebastian said in a video shared by an Air India ...

Four persons were detained by Ahmedabad police on Saturday for allegedly spreading misinformation about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's health by creating a fake Twitter account in his name. Earlier in the day, Shah had issued a statement saying that rumours about his health were being spread through social media, and he was in good health and not suffering from any disease. The local crime branch detained four persons for spreading misinformation about Shah's health, special commissioner of police (crime) Ajay Tomar said. A screenshot of a fake Twitter account in Shah's name with his photo, claiming that he was suffering from a serious ailment, had gone viral on social media platforms, Tomar said. The suspects were detained from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and they were being questioned, he said. A case has been registered in this regard under sections 66(c) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information ...

Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh on Saturday informed that India cricket skipper Virat Kohli and his wife actor Anushka Sharma have contributed Rs 5 lakh each for police welfare amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. "Thank you, @imVkohli and @AnushkaSharma for contributing Rs. 5 lacs each towards the welfare of Mumbai Police personnel. Your contribution will safeguard those at the frontline in the fight against Coronavirus. #MumbaiPoliceFoundation," Singh tweeted from his official handle. Earlier, Kohli and Sharma had given undisclosed amounts to the PM CARES fund and Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to support the fight against COVID-19. Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus positive cases in the country.

Healthcare firm HLL Lifecare on Saturday said its arm HLL Infra Tech Services has floated a tender seeking supply of over 1 lakh units of medical supplies towards COVID-19 testing on behalf of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). "The tender is seeking quotations for 40,000 units of viral transport media, 33,000 RNA extraction kits and 29,000 Combo RT-PCR COVID-19 tests," HLL Lifecare Ltd said in a statement. The tender is closing by May 10, the state-owned company added. "The viral transport media is used for transport of swabs collected for testing, RNA extraction kits are used to draw out RNA, which are single strand genetic materials of viruses, from samples which are then converted into reverse-transcribed into DNA while Combo RT-PCR tests has proven to be the 'gold standard' of COVID-19 diagnosis,"it said. HLL Lifecare is the procurement agency for hospitals and healthcare organisations under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Arunachal Pradesh government has made institutional quarantine for a period of 14 days mandatory for people returning to Arunachal Pradesh from across the country, a senior minister said on Saturday. Among the returnees, students will also have to go into institutional quarantine for the same duration, he said. Earlier a group of six students, lodged in a quarantine centre, was allowed to go home after five days when their swab samples had tested negative. People are coming back after the Centre allowed those stranded across the country in view of the lockdown to return to their respective states. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu at a meeting also decided to make RT-PCR test for detection of COVID-19 compulsory for the returnees, including the asymptomatic ones, state Home minister Bamang Felix told reporters here on Saturday. "We have decided to segregate returnees on the basis of green, orange and red zones and make arrangements ...

NCP chief Sharad Pawar has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to chief ministers of those states who are not allowing migrant workers to come back home. Pawar spoke over phone to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of repatriation of migrant workers to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lokdown period. "I humbly request our @PMOIndia Shri. Narendra Modi ji to intervene in this matter by talking to the CMs of the respective states who are not allowing these people to come back home," the NCP chief tweeted. Though he did not name any specific state, the NCP had recently accused the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka of not wanting to take back labourers hailing from the two states. "Had a telephonic conversation with Shri @OfficeofUT - Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @PiyushGoyal - the Union Railway Minister regarding the issue of migrant workers," Pawar twitted. He said Thackeray has

The number of COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 836 on Saturday as 13 more people, including two nurses, tested positive for the disease, officials said. While 12 of the fresh cases are from the Kashmir Valley, one is from Jammu, they said. "Thirteen new COVID-19 cases were detected in the union territory on Saturday," the officials said. The total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir has now reached 836, they said. "Of these, 767 are in Kashmir, while 69 are in the Jammu region," they added. Among the fresh cases detected on Saturday, three are from Super Speciality Hospital, Shireen Bagh here -- including two staff nurses and an attendant of a patient from Shopian, said Dr Salim Khan, COVID-19 nodal officer at Government Medical College, Srinagar. According to the officials, there are 459 active cases in the union territory -- 446 in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu -- and 368 patients have recovered. A total of nine COVID-19 patients have died in Jammu and Kashmir.

The evaluation for class 10, 12 board exams will be done by teachers at their homes and 3,000 schools have been identified as exam centres to deliver the answer sheets to them, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said on Saturday. He said 1.5 crore answer sheets of already conducted class 10, 12 exams will be delivered to teachers. "From the 3,000 schools, these copies will go the evaluators and evaluation will begin tomorrow. Teachers will evaluate from home and we will be able to complete the process in 50 days," he added. The evaluation of the answer sheets has been delayed due to a nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The pending board exams will be held from July 1 to 15.

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on grounds of violations of COVID-19 guidelines, arguing that it would lead to "grave losses" in revenue and complete halt in commercial activities. The Madras High Court had on Friday ordered closure of liquor outlets noting that there were huge crowds and no social distancing was being maintained by tipplers. It, however, allowed doorstep delivery of booze through online mode. The state government, in its appeal, termed the HC order a case of "judicial overreach" and said online sale and home delivery of alcohol were not possible in the entire state. "It is pertinent that online modes of effective liquor sales are not even available in the vast majority of state at present and can only be implemented after following the due procedures under law," said the appeal filed by government firm Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) which sells

Police have arrested a couple for allegedly snatching mobile phones from people in central Delhi, officials said on Saturday. Following reports about a couple on white scooter snatching mobile phones, Arjun (22) and Vaishali Kaushal (20) were arrested near Railway Colony, Kishanganj, they said. The woman riding pillion on the scooter used to snatch the mobile phones from people, a senior police officer said. Arjun had been involved in 31 cases. Three months ago, he married Vaishali, a tattoo artist, and both are addicted to drugs, police said. Vaishali had also allegedly snatched the mobile phone of a jewellery showroom security guard in Karol Bagh, they added.

The testing capacity for COVID-19 has been scaled up to around 95,000 tests per day and a total of 15,25,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday. The minister, who reviewed the status of COVID-19 in the northeastern states along with the measures taken for its containment and management, also stressed on the need to take concrete action to check the use of non-smoking tobacco and prohibiting spitting in public places which shall help in preventing the spread of the infection, according to a statement. During the high-level meeting with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, Vardhan appreciated the dedication of all the states in combating COVID-19. "It is a huge relief and very encouraging to see green zones in most northeastern states. As of date, only Assam and Tripura have active COVID-19 cases. Other states are all in the green zone. ..

ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 6.91 per cent growth in March quarter net at Rs 1,251 crore on a consolidated basis, after setting aside over Rs 2,000 crore in provisions for potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. On a standalone basis, the second largest private sector bank's profit grew 26 per cent to Rs 1,221 crore as against Rs 969 crore in the year-ago period. For fiscal year 2019-20, it reported a 135 per cent jump in standalone profit to Rs 7,930.81 crore. From an asset quality perspective, the bank reported an improvement in gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio to 5.53 per cent as against 6.70 per cent in the year-ago period and 5.95 per cent as of December 2019, despite over Rs 5,300 crore in fresh slippages during the reporting quarter. ICICI Bank President Sandeep Batra said it had slippages of Rs 4,300 crore in the preceding December quarter, and the additions on this front can be attributed to two accounts -- a West Asian healthcare company and a Singaporean oil

The Gujarat government on Saturday announced exemption from certain labour laws for 1,200 days to firms that want to set up new units in the state in order to "boost economic activities" post-lockdown. Earlier, governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had offered concessions from labour regulations in their states to attract investment. The government also announced relief amid coronavirus pandemic for industries which use natural gas supplied by Gujarat Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, by giving more time to pay gas bills. "Companies in Gujarat, India and abroad willing to bring new projects and set up new units in the state will be freed from labour laws for 1,200 days, except those related to the minimum wages and industrial safety," said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Local MSME owners willing to set up new units will also get this exemption, he said. In a tweet, Chief Minister's Office said that ...

A group of 20 migrant workers returning to Jharkhand from West Bengal's Birbhum district by walking along railway tracks had a narrow escape when an inspection van stopped in front of them on a river bridge, officials said on Saturday. The labourers had managed to reach the temple town of Tarapith from Purba Bardhaman district during the lockdown and started on foot from there towards neighbouring Jharkhand on Friday night. When they were on a bridge over the river Brambhani around 9.30 PM, an inspection van came from the opposite direction, from Pakur in Jharkhand, officials said. The driver of the inspection van applied emergency brake after he noticed the people, who included women and children, on the track. After the driver informed the control room, a GRP team reached there and brought them to Nalhati in Birbhum district, officials said. Efforts are on to send the 20 people, who are now sheltered in the Nalhati I BDO's office, to Jharkhand. The incident occurred ...

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday set up a high-level committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan to examine fiscal challenges facing the state owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest the way forward to improve its fiscal position. The committee, which will also consist of Finance Secretary S Krishnan as coordinator, will submit its report to the government within three months, according to a Government Order. The committee, with 21 members, would assess the overall immediate and medium term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different sectors of the state's economy including the impact of lockdown, additional costs and implications due to social distancing and their precautionary measures. Also, it would assess the opportunities and threats in the short and medium term, suggest measures required to help the important sectors of the economy to overcome the impact of the virus pandemic. Apart from identifying specific reform measures to ..

The National School of Drama (NSD) is planning to take theatrical knowledge and experience to "every nook and corner" of the country" through an online series of lectures, demonstrations, master classes and hands-on training sessions. The webinar series, starting from Sunday, will offer one of a kind experience to those "who are not in physical contact with the regular theatre practice" given to the nation-wide lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, Suresh Sharma, Director In charge, NSD announced on Saturday. "Due to this ongoing pandemic we feel that the artists are feeling very abandoned as they are not getting the chance to perform. Since we all know the act of theatre is all about a working together in a group, but due the ongoing situation this has become impossible. "National School of Drama has initiated an online platform where the people who are sitting at home can connect with us and utilize their time to grab the knowledge. This not only will help to enhance their skills ...

After announcing on Friday that it was reinstating pay cuts of up to 25 per cent for its senior employees, IndiGo airlines said it would take a decision on restoring original salary "closer to the end of this financial year". The country's largest domestic airlines had on Friday announced pay cut ranging between 5 and 25 per cent, in addition to its leave-without-pay programme for May, June and July, for senior employees. The announcement, made through internal emails, came after a series of flip-flops on the matter as India's largest domestic airline struggled to stay afloat amid grounding of all commercial passenger flights due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. In the emails accessed by PTI, the airline said the salary cut will be effected from May till the end of the 2020-21 financial year. It has already paid full salary of April to its employees. The airline had first announced its decision to cut salaries on March 19 when the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic was ...

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl on multiple occasions, recording the act and using it to blackmail her in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said. The incident took place in a village under the Khanpur Police Station limits and the arrest was made on Friday, they said. The 17-year-old girl and her father had approached the Jhawalar SP with their complaint on Thursday, following which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, DSP and Circle Officer Bhanwar Singh Hada, who is investigating the case, said. The accused, identified as Saddam Hussain Pinjara, was on Saturday produced before a Jhalawar court which sent him to two days' police remand. In her complaint, the minor alleged that the accused, who is her neighbour, took her to an isolated place around three months ago and raped her at knifepoint and also clicked her pictures and recorded the

Hockey India employees will have to review their health status on 'Aarogyasetu' App before starting for office and they can travel only if their status is 'safe' or 'low risk', according to an advisory issued by the sports body. The Hockey India advisory outlined the preventive measures which all its employees need to be follow at office to contain the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. The highly-contagious disease has so far claimed nearly 2000 lives and infected over 59,000 in the country, forcing the government to enforce a lockdown till May 17. "With reference to the directive issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India ... All the staff members should download 'Aarogyasetu' App on their mobile phones immediately," the advisory said. "Before starting for office, they must review their status on 'Aarogyasetu' and commute only when the app shows 'safe' or 'low risk' status. "The staff members

A Nagpur municipal corporation (NMC) health official was attacked on Saturday by two men after he clicked photos of a woman who was roaming on a road with two children without wearing face masks, police said. The injured official is identified as Sanjay Karihar (47), a police official said. He said the woman called up two men, who came to the spot in Seminary Hills area and attacked Karihar. The accused are identified as Vinod Shahi (42) and Rajesh Shahi (37), the official said. A case was registered against them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). No arrest is made yet.

A man was arrested in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl, police said. Indar Singh Tanwar (23) lured the girl by offering her Rs 100 when she was on her way to the fields and allegedly raped her behind a tree on Friday, said a police officer. Kotwali police station in-charge D P Lohia said the girl told her family members about the incident after returning home, and a complaint was filed. Tanwar was arrested under IPC section 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act and further probe was on, he said.

A 44-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly selling e-cigarettes to minors in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area, police said on Saturday. The accused was identified as Pooja Sawhney, a resident of Rajouri Garden area of the city. She is from an affluent family, they said. "Police received a complainant that a woman was supplying e-cigarettes and other psychotropic substances to minors. We learnt that the accused would come to deliver the same in the Mukherjee Nagar area," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said. A trap was laid and the woman was caught red-handed while delivering the banned product on Friday, the police said. During investigation, it was found that the woman operated a cartel and used to target minors from well-off families as they can easily bear the high cost of the products, they said. She had formed groups on social media and accepted orders from there. The whole process of placing orders and payment was carried out online, a ...

The Karnataka government has clarified that migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons can hire and use buses provided by state-run road transport corporations on payment basis for travel to other states with relevant permissions. Inter-State travel of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourist, students and other persons stranded in different states due to lockdown were recently permitted to travel through notified entry and exit points of Karnataka by the government. The Shramik special train services too have been ferrying migrant labourers stranded in the state to destinations like Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh among others. In a circular, Revenue (Disaster Management) Principal Secretary T K Anil Kumar said similar facility on payment basis be made available by state run road transport corporations- KSRTC/NWKRTC/NEKRTC/ BMTC to transport workers to industries permitted under the issued guidelines.

Key to successful investing is to identify your risk profile and invest accordingly.

Gig workers are playing a bigger role in the American economy during the global pandemic. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explores whether their eligibility for unemployment insurance will continue after the virus passes. Photo: Justin Heiman/Getty Images

A growing number of hospitals are investigating antibody testing and blood plasma therapy as a way to combat the new coronavirus in sick patients. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains. Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann

April’s jobs report shows record-high job losses and unemployment, low-risk businesses in California reopen for curbside pickup today, and testing will increase at the White House. WSJ’s Jason Bellini has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: John Locher/Associated Press

A wave of new technologies is giving people like Max Plansky, who are unable to speak due to a debilitating condition, a more personal synthetic voice. Photo/Video: Denise Blostein/The Wall Street Journal

U.S. and Mexico have agreed to limit border crossings, restricting most nonessential traffic but allowing trade and workers to continue crossing amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Evan Vucci/Associated Press

With the government making hollow promises that don't actually deliver local government, should citizens turn to demanding it as a right, asks Videh Upadhyay.

Tackling the globalization of waste requires new partnerships that span national boundaries and different sectors of society, says Ravi Agrawal.

Rashida Bee and Champa Devi are the winners of the prestigious Goldman Prize this year. Tarun Jain reports on a definite filip for the campaign to hold Dow Chemicals accountable for the 1984 Union Carbide gas tragedy in Bhopal.

Videh Upadhyay reviews the predicament of the Interlinking Rivers project.

Governments in India have been using key provisions in environmental regulations to create and protect 'Ecologically Sensitive Areas'. Recently, the Supreme Court also pressed a state government on an ESA commitment. Kanchi Kohli reports on the practice and challenges.

The boom in construction has not been accompanied by a higher level of environmental awareness among builders, architects, developers and planners. But green buildings can be profitable and also demand less from the natural world, notes Ramesh Menon.

Unmindful of evidence that Nalwa Sponge Iron Limited had started civil works for its expansion without environmental clearance, officials rush through a public hearing to review the new project. An operation that is already violating regulations is given the merit of due process for its expansion under the same law, notes Kanchi Kohli.

By every rule in the book, this ship, carrying asbestos waste and radioactive elements, should not be in Indian waters, let alone be beached. And yet, despite well-premised objections, the central government persuaded the Supreme Court to rule that Blue Lady be dismantled at Alang. Gopal Krishna was a petitioner in the litigation.