Apache attack helicopters cleared for Army
New Delhi, August 17 (IANS): The Defence Acquisition Council on Thursday cleared a proposal to buy six Apache attack helicopters for the Indian Army at a cost of around Rs 4,168 crore. The AH-64E Apache helicopters will come with associated equipment including spares, training and ammunition. The DAC also cleared a proposal to buy two sets of gas turbines from Ukraine for two Grigorovich class ships being built in Russia for India. The gas turbines will be bought by India from Ukraine due to the ongoing tension between the two nations -- Russia and Ukraine. Their cost is Rs 490 crore.
Next ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to air on Aug 27
New Delhi, August 17 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged people to share ideas for his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme scheduled to air on August 27. “This month’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ will take place on 27th August. Share your ideas for it on the NM (Narendra Modi) mobile app,” the Prime Minister tweeted. This would be the 35th episode of Mann Ki Baat, a monthly radio programme on which the Prime Minister addresses the nation.
Bomb hoax at Delhi High Court
New Delhi, August 17 (IANS): Police searched the Delhi High Court complex on Thursday after an anonymous caller warned a bomb will explode in the premises. It turned out to be a hoax, police said. The Police Control Room received the call just before 11 a.m. A bomb squad and fire tenders reached the spot. After three hours, the call was declared a hoax. The telephone call was traced to a phone number registered in western Uttar Pradesh, a police officer said.
Man arrested for stealing tomatoes worth Rs 57,000
Mumbai, August 16 (PTI): A man has been arrested for stealing tomatoes worth over Rs 57,000 from a vegetable market in suburban Dahisar last month. Radheshyam Gupta (54) allegedly stole 900 kg of the vegetable from a shop on the night of July 18, transporting away the loot in a tempo, police said. Police examined CCTV footage of the area, questioned several vegetables suppliers and zeroed in on Gupta, who was arrested from his house in Kurla yesterday evening.
Pregnant woman asked to leave hospital, delivers child in e-rick
Saharanpur, August 16 (PTI): A pregnant woman in Saharanpur was allegedly asked to leave from a hospital here in the middle of the night by the staff, following which she gave birth to a boy in an e-rickshaw, the police said today. While Munawar’s husband was taking her in an e-rickshaw to another hospital, she gave birth to the boy in the vehicle. She was admitted to a private hospital later. Her husband lodged a complaint with the police and demanded action against the hospital, Mishra said.
Pay Rs 10L compensation to destitute rape victim: SC to Bihar
New Delhi, August 17 (PTI): The Supreme Court today directed the Bihar government to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation to a destitute woman who was allegedly raped and not allowed to abort her 26-week pregnancy after a medical board’s opinion. The victim’s counsel had earlier told the apex court that the woman deserved compensation from the Bihar Government as she had gone to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) to get her pregnancy terminated when she was in the 17th week of pregnancy. The court was dealing with the case of a 35-year-old HIV-positive destitute woman, who was allegedly raped on the streets of Patna and is now 26 weeks pregnant. According to the plea, the hospital refused to admit the woman owing to lack of identity proof.
An inquiry by the Gorakhpur district administration has held a Lucknow-based firm responsible for disrupting oxygen supply to the BRD Medical College. The inquiry, into the supply of oxygen to the hospital on August 10 when 23 children died, also alleged that there was “financial anomaly” and overwriting in the log books. However, chief medical officer Dr Ravindra Kumar, part of the panel, told PTI that the deaths were not due to lack of oxygen. It also recommended an audit and a high level probe by the medical education department. CMO Dr Kumar said the five-member committee was constituted to find out whether the deaths on August 10 were actually caused by lack of oxygen. Though the report confines itself to the events on August 10, the hospital has been in the spotlight for the deaths of 30 children in a span of 48 hours. Since August 1, 71 persons have died of encephalitis in the state-run Gorakhpur facility.
The CBI has booked two North Central Railway officials, an assistant divisional finance manager and a cashier, for allegedly allowing a private company to deposit Rs 32 lakh in old demonetised notes. According to the CBI FIR, Vishakha Facilities Management Pvt Ltd was awarded a contract amounting Rs 6.42 crore on October 19 last for mechanised cleaning of train coaches en route to Kanpur Station for three years. According to the CBI, Ansari and Yadav abused their official position as public servant and in connivance with the company cheated the central government by depositing the performance guarantee in old invalidated currency notes thus allowing undue pecuniary gains to the company.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav was today detained by the police here when he was on his way to Auraiya to attend a protest rally. Yadav, who was later released and allowed to go to Lucknow, attacked the Yogi Adityanath government in the state alleging that it was misusing state machinery. This dictatorial attitude with the help of police will not be tolerated, Yadav said. “The BJP is only doing politics over cow,” he claimed. Yesterday, the police had detained some senior SP leaders after workers allegedly turned violent at not being allowed to accompany their candidate for the zila panchayat chairperson’s post to the nomination room in the Auraiya collectorate.
