Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said 42,000 people lost their lives to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir over the years but the security situation has improved now to such an extent that no one dares to call a hartal or indulge in stone-pelting.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of three convicts serving life term in the 2002 Godhra train burning case, which plunged Gujarat into one of the worst communal riots, terming it a "very serious incident".
The Union home ministry said the Muslim Conference Jammu and Kashmir - Sumji faction, chaired by Ghulam Nabi Sumji, is known for its anti-India and pro-Pakistan propaganda and its members have been involved in supporting terrorist activities and providing logistical support to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
The home minister, however, said the government will make an exception in case someone from a family comes forward and informs the authorities that his or her close relative has joined a terror outfit.
An 18-year-old youth was killed on Saturday after being hit by a tear gas shell fired by security forces to disperse a mob which indulged in stone-pelting in Zainakote area of the city.
Sitharaman told the chief minister that she would seek a detailed report in connection with the incident.
Samir Ahmad Wani alias Jaan Sahib was killed in a gunbattle with security forces at Nagri Hatmulla in Kupwara district, a police official said.
In the last assembly elections in 2018, the state recorded a voter turnout of 74.06 per cent. The Election Commission has set a target of at least 75 per cent turnout in each constituency this time.
Police said they received information that migrant labourers in the Jouria area of Yamunanagar had come out in large numbers violating social distancing and lockdown norms. When police reached there, a few migrants started throwing stones at them. Many factories where the migrants worked are located in the area near which the workers have been putting up during the lockdown.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday claimed that the protest at Badlapur in Thane district over the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls was politically motivated and aimed at maligning the state government.
Kapadvanj Deputy Superintendent of Police V N Solanki has been asked to conduct the inquiry and submit a report, sources in the state home department said on Friday.
Maharashtra Cyber, a nodal agency for cyber security and investigation for the state, has asked different social media platforms to delete at least 36 "offensive" posts found circulating in the wake of alleged communal incidents in Tripura, an official said on Wednesday.
A day earlier, the properties of two people accused of rioting were demolished in Saharanpur where stone-pelting had taken place as well.
A brief clash erupted on the India-Bangladesh border near a BSF border outpost on Saturday morning after an altercation between farmers from both countries escalated. The situation was swiftly brought under control following the intervention of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). The incident occurred near the Sukdevpur border outpost area where fencing work was recently paused after the BGB claimed it was being conducted on Bangladeshi territory. The clash began when Indian farmers accused Bangladeshi farmers of stealing crops, which quickly escalated into a verbal argument and then a physical confrontation with both sides throwing stones at each other. The BSF and BGB worked to de-escalate the situation and disperse the farmers, and there have been no reports of injuries. The BSF has requested Indian farmers to avoid getting involved in border disputes and to report any farming-related issues directly to BSF personnel. The BGB has also taken steps to manage the situation on their side of the border. The situation on the border is now under control.
Independent MLA candidate Naresh Meena was arrested on Thursday following high drama and escalating violence in which a mob assaulted a PTI reporter and video cameraperson and burnt their camera.
Children have to go to schools, study and come out as doctors, dental surgeons, engineers, teachers, Muft said.
Malik allegedly built an "illegal" madrasa in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani. Its demolition led to the violence in Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani on February 8.
According to the police, the organisers had sought permission for the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the Jahangirpuri area and the route has been regularised.
Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.
This is the first time after Nitish Kumar dumped the BJP in August 2022 that violence has broken out across the state, reports M I Khan.
According to Bhagwat, a narrative is being spread in neighbouring Bangladesh, which recently witnessed a massive political upheaval, that India is a threat and they should join Pakistan as a defence against Bharat. Who is spreading such a narrative, he asked.
A Hyderabad court granted bail to six people who were arrested for vandalizing the residence of Telugu actor Allu Arjun. The incident sparked a political slugfest with the BJP and the BRS criticizing the Congress government. Meanwhile, Allu Arjun has been issued a notice to appear before police on Tuesday as part of the ongoing probe into a stampede during the screening of 'Pushpa-2'. The incident occurred on Sunday evening, when the six people, claiming to be members of the Osmania University - Joint Action Committee (OU-JAC), damaged flower pots and threw tomatoes at Arjun's residence. They were arrested by police and produced before a local court, which granted them bail on Monday. The incident has been condemned by politicians from various parties, with some alleging a Congress conspiracy.
'Violence is the only answer to violence.'
Congress workers ransacked a car transporting an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to a strong room in Nagpur after polling concluded for the Maharashtra assembly elections, police said.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of the convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case who were awarded the death penalty by the trial court but it was commuted to life sentence by the Gujarat high court.
Two incidents of violence over firecracker bursting on Diwali were reported from Haryana's Faridabad on Friday.
Curfew was clamped in the entire Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh and 77 people were arrested after stones hurled at a Ram Navami procession triggered arson, officials said on Monday.
The Amravati Police had clamped the curfew on Saturday for four days after stones were hurled at shops during the bandh called by Bharatiya Janata Party, a day after incidents of stone-pelting took place during a rally called by a Muslim organisation in protest against the purported communal violence in Tripura.
How can a detenu already in jail and facing trial participate in rioting and stone pelting during that intervening period, the judge asked.
Scores of people, some armed with sticks, walked in the funeral cortege of a youth killed during a Durga idol immersion procession in Bahraich amid cries for justice from the family and others on Monday, as tension escalated with shops being burnt down and angry crowds out in the streets.
Junagadh Municipal Corporation served a notice to the dargah asking for presenting its documents within five days.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in the town.
Intense clashes between stone-pelting youth and security forces also rocked Jamia Masjid and adjoining areas in Srinagar shortly after Friday prayers.
The members of the two communities pelted each other with stones after an argument broke out between them over some issue when the Ganesh procession was passing through Panigate Darwaza in the communally sensitive Mandvi locality at around 11.15 pm, a city police official said.
Convenor of the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Mujahid Nafees issued contempt notices to the officers after some policemen were seen publicly flogging the accused in Undhela village in Kheda on Tuesday.
As unrest continues in Kashmir, the central government on Sunday outlined its priorities, asserting that there will be no compromise with those indulging in violence even efforts will be made for development of the state which was "denied" for the last 60 years.
"There should be a complete shutdown on April 2 to protest the proposed visit of Modi. All rhetoric about development or construction of tunnels and roads are futile and will not succeed in luring us," chairmen of the rival factions of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said in a joint statement.
The Centre has estimated that nearly 14,000 people have gathered along the Punjab-Haryana border with 1,200 tractor-trolleys, 300 cars, 10 mini-buses as well as small vehicles and conveyed its strong objections to the Punjab government for it, sources said on Tuesday.
Families of the four men killed in the Sunday violence in Sambhal are now forced to contend with the double tragedy of death and poverty, reliant as they were on the frugal income the four once brought.
Can ordinary citizens counter this backward march? Can peace activists ensure that the two communities retain their bonds? Do they have a choice, asks Jyoti Punwani.