The CBI in its report had alleged that Thakur is an influential person and a mobile phone was recovered from him inside the jail where he is currently lodged under judicial custody.
'These children are wards of the State. They were exploited because the state government and its officials didn't do their jobs.'
The leadership needs to put all other government business aside, control the pandemic and save human lives. Searchlights are going to be held by the world community in the weeks and months ahead as the fatality rates start shooting up and Indians die like flies, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Hailing the role of self-help groups in advancement of marginalised section of society, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said they provide the poor with "self-confidence to overcome poverty".
Not to say that India couldn't have handled the situation better, but on average, it didn't do anywhere near as badly as the naysayers make it out argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
Bathinda is the only district in Punjab to start a movement to find out what the actual drug situation on the ground is and aims to address it.
A total of 37 deaths were reported since Thursday evening of which 14 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, nine from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh,Tamil Nadu and Telengana and one from Karnataka, ministry data stated.
Cardiologist Dr BK Goyal's greatest gift was that he gave his patients a calming reassurance their doctor truly cared for them, says family friend Gitanjali Gurbaxani.
'Essentially there are three things the government should be doing: Identify who you are going to get your vaccine from, figure out how you are going to pay for it, and figure out how you're going to deliver it and to whom.'
When BJP leaders, including Mr Modi's number two, Amit Shah, use the pandemic to launch an assault on state governments run by opposition parties, or to topple them, they are exploiting a grave crisis in cynical political self-interest, notes Shekhar Gupta.
His remarks that some people suffer from diseases such as cancer because of sins committed in the past and that it is "divine justice" have sparked sharp reactions.
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
Kota, Rajasthan, is both a beacon for the educationally deprived and a cynical place in which 16-year-olds live in Dickensian boarding houses, while teachers drive Audis.
'The COVID-19 virus has the power to quietly enter your body, without causing pain via symptoms, because it craftily manipulates your pain response.'
'As a child, I believed that my world record would be a national pride. But I feel cheated now.'
NSA Menon's wisdom says that the idea to be superpower is not really desirable, it is better to be different. Sheela Bhatt reports.
For Duflo and Banerjee, an important part of their work has been ensuring that the agency of the "beneficiaries" -- usually, in developing countries like India, poorer individuals -- is put at the centre of any policy design. This is a crucial way in which experimental results are often better than large scale data-based inference, says Mihir S Sharma.
Indian Americans are not just shining in the fields of technology, education and management. You can now spot them every where... in politics, in research, in the movies and even on YouTube, says Ignatius Chithelen.Indian Americans are not just shining in the fields of technology, education and management. You can now spot them every where... in politics, in research, in the movies and even on YouTube, says Ignatius Chithelen.
The Hindutva brigade's silence on the rape may possibly be explained that this incident is an intra-Hindu affair for them. What is even more intriguing is that vocal gender activists have preferred to almost ignore the incident. Why? Is it because homosexual rape does not involve the woman either as victim or as aggressor, asks Mohammad Sajjad.
Eman Ahmed, who weighs around 500 kg and is the world's heaviest woman, has been under observation at the Saifee Hospital since her arrival in Mumbai on Saturday and has now been put on high-protein liquid diet, doctors said.
'Don't panic. Believe in yourself.' 'This is a preventable illness. Only you can prevent it.'
The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has "no problem" with commutation of death sentence of Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar to life term and the petition in this regard has to be allowed in view of the court's verdict that delay in deciding mercy pleas can be a ground for such relief.
'While the poor have little say in shaping India's intellectual or public discourse, they do have a significant role in deciding political outcomes,' points out Roshan Kishore.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.
An entirely preventable disease claimed the life of 173 children -- thanks to state apathy.
'Poor home work, and a subsequent loss of nerve.' 'This sums up the Modi government's current travails, the stall in key sectors, fading momentum, irritability,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
Students who have received admission to foreign universities are struggling with unexpected delays, additional living costs and scarcity of vaccine supplies.
'If Indira Gandhi's Emergency proved anything at all, it established that India would be governed, to the extent it can be governed, democratically or not at all,' says Inder Malhotra.
Judge Jagdale halted Dr Gupta's testimony several times because he felt it had neither order nor direction. Tightly controlling his irritation, his lips compressed, the judge explained as patiently as he could: "What he has done in this case should come (out in his testimony) in a lucid manner. You eat chapati and then rice. You cannot eat half a chapati and then have rice and then eat half a chapati..." "He is not a witness of facts. He is an expert witness. Either he is not prepared. Or you are not prepared."
The bill seeks to ensure health-care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness "in a manner that does not intrude on their rights and dignity."
Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal claimed that India has been doing better than many other countries on the outcome ratio, which is the number of recoveries from coronavirus infection versus the number of deaths.
'This year, we know the virus. Last year we didn't know anything about it.' 'The best part is that for the Indian population there has been some amount of cross protection.'
Top Lashkar-e-Tayiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda was on Wednesday remanded in seven days' police custody by a Delhi court after the investigators said those who had allegedly helped him in illegal infiltration of Pakistani nationals are yet to be identified.
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Ayurvedic expert Dr G G Gangadharan on how the ancient Indian medical practice needs to be propagated in the country of its origin
'I can tell you, Mr Chairman, from personal experience that there is nothing sadder than witnessing a close one, a loved one with mental illness at close quarters.' 'I have lived with a victim of mental illness. Like many in that condition, very often such people are in a state of denial.'
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
'When the virus, in a way, tires itself out, because it is not finding any more people to attack or keep itself viable, that is when the peak actually has been reached and you are on the downward limb (of the curve).'
At a time when the BJP is facing a perception battle, is Sambit Patra, its national spokesperson, helping the party's image?
Former Watson Fellow and social entrepreneur Srikar Gullapalli talks about the issues affecting India's growth and tells us why he wants more people to actively participate in building a bright future and put India on the global map.
