Four more airlines lift ban on Gaikwad
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS): A day after Air India lifted its ban on Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, four private airlines followed suit on Saturday. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) announced it was lifting the ban imposed on Gaikwad on March 24, a day after he assaulted an Air India staffer at the Delhi airport. The members of FIA are SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and Jet Airways. Vistara and budget carrier AirAsia India are also expected to lift the ban.
Haryana to install one lakh CCTV cameras along national highways
Sirsa (Haryana), April 8 (IANS): The Haryana government will install one lakh CCTV cameras worth Rs 107 crore for Sirsa and Fatehabad districts along national highways in the state, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said here on Saturday. Work on installation of the CCTV cameras will begin this year, officials said. Some of the busiest national highways, like NH-1 (Delhi-Ambala), NH-8 (Delhi-Jaipur), NH-2 (Delhi-Agra), NH-10 (Delhi-Hisar), and others pass through Haryana.
Situation in Odisha town under control: Government
Bhubaneswar, April 8 (IANS): Even as the Odisha government claimed that the situation was under control, police on Saturday staged a flag march in the communally sensitive Bhadrak town. The town witnessed violence on Friday after derogatory comments on Ram and Sita were posted on a Facebook page. An indefinite curfew has been imposed in view of the volatile situation. Singh appealed to the people to cooperate in maintaining law and order. Appealing to the people to maintain peace, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said he had apprised Home Minister Rajnath Singh of the situation, and assured all possible help to the state from the central government.
President releases Veerappa Moily’s book
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee complimented senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily for re-telling the Mahabharata epic from the perspective of Draupadi. He said that the epics like Mahabharata have tremendous influence on Indian minds and thought process. He said that the readers will not be able to put down the book until it is finished. The book traces the life and journey of Draupadi from her birth from the sacrificial fire -- whereupon she was named ‘Yagnaseni’ -- to her marriage to the five Pandav brothers, to losing her fortune and honour to the Kauravas in a gamble, the deep friendship she forged with Lord Krishna and finally the culmination of the great battle of Kurukshetra.
EPIL manager booked for taking Rs 50 lakh in bribes
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS): The CBI on Saturday said it has registered two separate cases against the manager of public sector enterprise Engineering Projects India Limited (EPIL) for obtaining illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh. Investigators in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that Paritosh Kumar Praveen, who is employed at EPIL’s Delhi-based branch, allegedly demanded Rs 1.5 crore but they have managed to get evidence only about Rs 50 lakh illicit money received by him. “In the second case, the EPIL officer received gratification from the director of a construction company based at Guwahati in Assam for public works at the ONGC Tripura Power Company,” a CBI official said.
: A six-year-old girl has alleged that a guard at her school misbehaved with her in west Delhi’s Vikaspuri area, police said on Suaturday. The parents of the girl alleged that when she came out of the washroom on Friday, a guard misbehaved with her and touched her inappropriately, said a senior police officer. When she shouted, he allegedly threatened her and asked her to not disclose the matter to anybody, he said. Police said that a case has been registered and they are making efforts to identify the accused.
: For the first time in the history of Haryana, the sex ratio in the state has touched the 950 mark. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said yesterday that the sex ratio at birth stood at 950 girls to 1,000 boys in March this year. This was for the first time in the history of the state, he said. It launched a massive campaign in the state by strictly implementing Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 and running sensitisation-cum awareness campaigns promoting girl child.
Sagar Thakkar alias ‘Shaggy’, the alleged mastermind of the Internal Revenue Service call centre scam in which thousands of Americans were defrauded to the tune of USD 300 million, has been arrested by Thane Police. A team of officers from Thane Police Commissionerate picked up Sagar from the airport, the officials said. Over 70 people, mostly directors and key persons linked to these call centres, were arrested and 700 employees were detained. According to police, they had issued a LOC (Look Out Circular) against Sagar on October 7, two days after his escape. The kingpin was suspected to have fled to Dubai.
