Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
An encounter took place between security forces and terrorists in a remote forest in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar early on Sunday, officials said.
In a further setback to deposed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader O Panneerselvam, the Madras high court on Friday dismissed his appeals against the 2022 general council meet of the party, which among others had elected his rival Edappadi K Palaniswami as interim chief, besides expelling OPS and his aides.
Opposition parties on Friday alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party leaders displayed insensitivity in handing over a compensation cheque to the inconsolable mother of Captain Shubham Gupta, who was killed fighting terrorists in J-K, and lashed out at them for using the occasion as a 'photo-op'.
Officials said one more terrorist is believed to be trapped in the operation area at Khandara top and efforts are on to neutralize him.
After making the model work in metro cities, players in the quick commerce sector are rapidly expanding their footprint into smaller tier 2 cities and markets beyond that ahead of the festival season.
Tesla owner billionaire Elon Musk and Indian American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in an op-ed provided an insight into their blueprint for an unprecedented government reform that includes mass federal job cuts and massive expense reduction.
Head constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life and two officers -- a DSP and an assistant sub-inspector -- were injured in the encounter, he said, adding both the officers are stable.
The real intention of the 'Tariff Man' (as Trump calls himself) may not even be to put the 'Tariff King' (as he describes India) on the mat with a knockout punch but to arm-twist the Indian leadership to agree to some multi-billion dollar mega arms deal, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Indian Air Force's Chinook and MI17 helicopters on Friday joined the rescue operations in Uttarakhand to evacuate over 500 pilgrims stranded on the rain-ravaged trek route to Kedarnath, with 10 of them being airlifted in the first round.
Some areas were under 10 to 12 feet of water, said health minister and government spokesperson Rushikesh Patel.
The BJP has fielded former MP Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi seat against Arvind Kejriwal.
'OPS is the first person in history to ransack his own party office.'
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
The stage may be set for a recalibrated US-Iran relationship, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He also said that there is improvement in the law and order situation in the country.
Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.
Officials said around 1,300 pilgrims are stranded in Kedarnath, Bhimbali and Gaurikund, and are safe.
As rescue operations in the landslide-hit areas of this north Kerala district entered fifth day, rescuers unearthed more bodies and body parts, taking the death toll to 215, with around 206 people still reported missing.
Col Singh was a combat veteran and was awarded Sena Medal during his tenure as second-in-command of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles.
The death toll in the devastating landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district rose to 167 on Wednesday, while 191 were missing even as the rescue teams intensified efforts to find survivors trapped under the debris on the second day of the search operations.
Security forces and terrorists exchanged fire twice briefly within a span of four hours in a forest area in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said on Wednesday.
Besides the police and fire force personnel, volunteers of various service and youth outfits, survivors of the landslides and kin of the victims also became part of the search operations.
Due to the success of the operation, the entire Korchi-Tipagad and Chatgaon-Kasansur Dalams of Maoists have been wiped out, they claimed.
Ramachandran, an OPS loyalist who took part in the meeting, said the former chief minister would soon meet VK Sasikala, the confidante of former party supremo J Jayalalithaa.
O Panneerselvam should not be surprised if the current controversy that he has kicked off is used to rid him of the party coordinator's post, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Security forces tightened their cordon around a forest area in the higher reaches of Doda district on Tuesday evening following an encounter with hiding terrorists, officials said.
The power struggle in Tamil Nadu's main opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, appears set to go on for a long time with sidelined leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) approaching the Election Commission and the influential Edappadi K Palaniswami camp refusing to budge.
More than 21 hours after a huge billboard collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area due to gusty winds and unseasonal rains, killing at least 14 persons and injuring 75 others, the search and rescue operation is still on, civic officials said on Tuesday.
Aditi shows off her jewellery... Rakul's joys of life... Aahana enjoys coffee...
Asserting that the dharma yudham is on, Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS said he and his followers would go to the people to seek justice.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has distanced herself from a controversial comment made by her boss President Joe Biden, in which he referred to supporters of her Republican rival Donald Trump as 'garbage'.
'Had these leaders known that Jinnah was dying...'
The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-India), the national agency responsible for analysing suspicious financial transactions, has received requests from four more offshore crypto exchanges to operate in India again, said a senior government official familiar with the matter. In the beginning of 2024, India had banned nine crypto exchanges - Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex, and Bitfenix - for non-compliance with anti-laundering law in the country.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's dominant Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) camp on Monday slammed rival leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) as a symbol of 'betrayal' and said the upcoming general council meet shall decide whether OPS would continue as party treasurer or not.
The operation went on for 66 hours after a giant 120 feet x 120 feet hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump in the Chheda Nagar area during gusty winds on Monday evening, the official said.
The 100-foot-tall illegal billboard fell at a petrol pump in Ghatkopar during dust storms and unseasonal rains that lashed Mumbai on Monday.
Incidentally, Pannerselvam's call for unity also pertained to deposed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran.
Assembly Speaker M Appavu said leaders of the two AIADMK factions submitted him 6 letters, including 4 from Palaniswami, asking for separate seating arrangement in the Assembly for their respective members.
The Unified Pension System (UPS), approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday, is "fiscally prudent" as it will be funded within the Centre's fiscal projections, according to T V Somanathan, the Cabinet Secretary-designate. Speaking to Business Standard immediately after the Cabinet nod, former finance secretary Somanathan, who headed the committee set up in March 2023 to review the National Pension System (NPS), said the UPS will not postpone pension expenditure as it will be contributory and financed each year.