Four members of a gang have been arrested for kidnapping actor Mushtaq Mohammad Khan from the Delhi airport and holding him hostage in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. The gang was also plotting to abduct veteran actor Shakti Kapoor on the pretext of inviting him to an event. The gang members were involved in abducting film stars by sending advance payments and air tickets under the guise of event invitations. Police recovered Rs 1.04 lakh from their possession and are investigating whether the gang was involved in the kidnapping of other film stars. In a related development, Arjun, one of the kidnappers involved in comedian Sunil Pal's abduction, was shot and injured during an encounter with police in Meerut. Arjun, who was arrested on Saturday, attempted to escape while being escorted for a medical checkup by snatching the pistol of a sub-inspector. The police team retaliated, and Arjun was shot and injured in the exchange of fire.
With normalcy returning to riot-hit areas of the district, curfew was relaxed for seven hours on Thursday.
The Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned an additional amount of Rs 3.28 crore for providing relief to riot victims, district authorities said in Muzaffarnagar on Friday.
"The boy came from a marginalised background, could not pay the admission fees of Rs 17,500. He would have lost his admission had we not granted relief then. This is what has sustained me as a judge all these years," the CJI said.
With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled for 2027, political experts are observing an increasing trend of temple-mosque disputes in the state, leading to heightened polarization. Recent bypolls saw the use of divisive slogans, and analysts believe this trend will intensify as the 2027 elections approach. The recent surge in claims about the existence of Hindu temples at the sites of mosques in various cities has fueled this polarization. The BJP-led government has been accused of promoting communal polarization, while opposition parties like the SP have criticized the ruling party's actions. The RSS chief has called for restraint in raising new temple-related disputes. Experts predict that communal polarization is likely to escalate in the coming days.
Uttar Pradesh government has informed the Supreme Court that over 41,000 persons, out of 50,955 who had taken shelter in 58 relief camps in riots-hit Muzaffarnagar area, have gone back to their native places.
The Supreme Court on Monday came to the rescue of a Dalit youth, who had lost his seat in IIT Dhanbad after missing the deadline to deposit a fee, by asking the institute to admit him to the BTech course.
With tension running high in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, the Centre on Monday offered to provide additional paramilitary forces to Uttar Pradesh to assist the local administration in dealing with the situation.
With the situation showing improvement, curfew was relaxed for five hours on Wednesday in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar while Baghpat witnessed a communal clash leaving a constable injured.
The politician, Rao Nadeem, who is also a property dealer, did not attribute any reason for selling off his property.
Curfew remained in force in riot-hit areas of Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday with the army patrolling troubled places as the death toll in the clashes in the district and adjoining towns rose to 38.
Attempting damage control, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday described the last year's riots in Muzzafarnagar as "unfortunate" and said his government took immediate steps to check them and there was no delay in calling the army.
Alleging that communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and neighbouring areas was a political conspiracy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said it was an attempt to defame and destabilise his government.
A fresh bailable warrant has been issued by a court in Muzaffarnagar against Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan and Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly Suresh Rana in connection with a case of violating prohibitory orders and inciting communal tension during the riots in 2013.
The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday accused police personnel of deterring some people from casting votes in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are underway, while the Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that the faces of some burqa-clad women voters are not matching with their IDs.
With the recovery of more bodies, the death toll in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas touched 47 while the curfew was eased in the city for the fourth consecutive day.
Kumar's parents failed to deposit Rs 17,500 as the acceptance fee by June 24, the deadline for depositing the requisite fees for blocking the seat.
The Samajwadi Party on Sunday backed the withdrawal of case against accused in Muzaffarnagar riots, saying it was "trying to give justice to the victims".
There is a possibility of an outbreak of epidemics in relief camps, where thousands of riot-hit victims have taken shelter following last month's communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, a team of doctors said after a survey of the areas.
A controversy has been sparked with the Bharatiya Janata Party deciding to felicitate its MLAs Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, accused of inciting communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, at Narendra Modi's rally in Agra on Thursday.
Hounded by biting cold and urgings by senior district officials, as many as 483 riot-hit families camping in Loi village on Tuesday left for "safer places".
Amid a raging controversy over Rahul Gandhi's statement that Pakistani intelligence agencies had contacted Muslim youths in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar as part of their sinister designs, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday denied having any such input from intelligence bureau.
A local court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against 16 politicians of the the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, besides senior community leaders for allegedly inciting violence through inflammatory speeches in Muzaffarnagar.
A Muslim man used to work on the tandoor at my restaurant. But due to this issue, I asked him to leave. Because people can make an issue over it. We don't want such trouble here
Agitated over arrest of its MLA for his alleged role in Muzaffarnagar riots, Bahujan Samaj Party on Sunday lashed out at the ruling Samajwadi Party, accusing it of adopting a "pick and choose" approach by targeting political rivals and protecting its own leaders.
Stoking controversy, Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha candidate and one of the members of Legislative Assembly booked in Muzaffarnagar riots cases Hukum Singh said on Thursday he would oppose riot refugees from voting in his constituency Kairana as they were living "illegally" on government land.
The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas claimed 49 lives and displaced over 40,000 people.
The Uttar Pradesh police are busy trying to cover up the gang rape of a helpless seven-year-old girl in a village of Muzaffarnagar district.
After sitting over the warrant against legislators accused of inciting the Muzaffarnagar riots, the Akhilesh Yadav government finally got into the act and arrested Bhartiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Rana in Lucknow on Friday evening.
Taking exception to Uttar Pradesh government's proposed move to withdraw cases against Muslim leaders in Muzaffarnagar riots, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday asked Governor B L Joshi to press the government to withdraw all cases, including those lodged against its leaders, in connection with the violence.
In the couple of hours that you spend in the riot-hit city you find it is not the BJP that is asking for the votes of an excited section of Hindus, but it is the people who are clinging to Narendra Modi. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reports on the sentiment on the ground in Muzaffarnagar, whose Hindu-Muslim fracture is a long way from being mended.
Rongali, who had won a silver in the Asian Para Games last year in China, produced a personal best of 10.63m but that was enough for a fifth-place finish in a top-class field.
A 23-year-old teacher was allegedly raped by a youth at a village in Muzaffarnagar which was videographed by two of his associates and all of them blackmailed her, police said.
Two clerics from Harayana arrested last month for their suspected links to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, and another operative, had allegedly visited the Muzaffarnagar relief camps in Uttar Pradesh and sought to recruit men to their module, a television news channel reported on Tuesday.
While refraining from naming any one of them, he said, "I will disclose their names once the investigation is complete," he said.
"The kind of incident which happened yesterday (Wednesday) can definitely be attributed to lapses on part of the police due to which some people dared to do this (violence). We will take strong action," Devraj Nagar, state Director General of Police told media persons.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and two BJP MPs were on Monday detained by the police after they attempted to enter UP to visit violence-hit Muzaffarnagar district.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Himashu Bhatnagar also imposed a fine of Rs 2,12,000 on each of the seven accused -- Muzammil, Mujassim, Furkan, Nadeem, Janangir, Afzal and Ikbal -- for killing Gaurav and Sachin on August 27, 2013 and rioting.
Thirty three family members of victims of recent riots in the district were given government jobs by the district authorities in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi claimed in a rally in Indore that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was trying to recruit disgruntled riot-affected youngsters to carry out its nefarious plans. Vicky Nanjappa finds out the truth behind his statement
