7 Congress MLAs Cross-Voted In Key Maharashtra Polls: Sources

In a worrying sign for the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, which was riding high after winning 30 of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted for candidates from the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the Legislative Council polls on Friday, sources said. 

The polls, which are generally a straightforward affair, were seen as the semi-finals ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections - expected to be held around November - because 12 candidates were vying for 11 seats. 

The opposition alliance had forced the election by fielding one more candidate than it had the numbers to elect, possibly hoping to benefit from cross-voting by MLAs from the ruling coalition, but seems to have ended up losing votes instead.

The Maharashtra Assembly has a strength of 288 MLAs but currently has 274 sitting legislators. This meant that each MLC candidate needed 23 first-preference votes to win.

The Mahayuti - part of the larger NDA alliance - which consists of the BJP, the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar wing of the NCP, fielded nine candidates and had 201 MLAs, including Independents and smaller parties, backing it. 

The Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is under the INDIA umbrella, has the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) as its key constituents and had put up three candidates despite having the support of only 67 MLAs. 

Six MLAs, including an independent, were neutral. 

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was hoping that it would get some votes from the Mahayuti, especially amid the buzz of some leaders from the Ajit Pawar NCP group being in touch with the Sharad Pawar faction.

The candidate backed by the Sharad Pawar faction, Jayant Patil of the Peasants and Workers Party, however, lost because he did not get enough votes. The Congress candidate and the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate sailed through, as did five from the BJP and two each from the Shinde Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP.

Sources said the Congress, which has 37 MLAs, had fixed a quota of 30 first-preference votes for its candidate Pradyna Satav, and seven remaining votes were to go to Milind Narvekar of the Shiv Sena UBT. 

Mr Satav got 25 first preference votes and Mr Narvekar got 22, which means at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted, they added.

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Delhi Lt Governor Directs Agencies To Urgently Carry Out Desilting Of Drains

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on Thursday chaired a meeting of the DDMA and directed agencies to urgently carry out the work of desilting of drains and removal of encroachment along the drains, Raj Niwas officials said.

Mr Saxena directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is coordinating with various construction agencies for the removal of debris and construction material from the Yamuna floodplains, to ensure that there is no obstruction in the flow of the Yamuna due to the construction of bridges and other activities in the floodplains.

The LG also directed that permanent and temporary pumps should be installed at the vulnerable spots and monitored round the clock from the control room. He said silt deposit in all 22 major drains should be assessed on urgent basis and all road culverts be cleaned urgently.

He chaired a meeting of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to review the flood control preparedness of all concerned agencies in the National Capital in the wake of incidents of heavy waterlogging across Delhi in recent days. Delhi Water Minister Atishi was present in the meeting.

The LG directed the concerned agencies -- Irrigation & Flood Control Department (I&FCD), PWD, MCD, NDMC -- to carry out extensive desilting of the drains, which should have been completed by June 15, and clear all choked drains on an urgent basis, an official said.

Noting that disposal of garbage and construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the drains and heavy encroachment along the drains were primarily responsible for choking of drains that cause waterlogging in the city, he particularly directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to step up the monitoring of drains and impose penalty for disposing garbage in the drains.

"The recent flooding in South Delhi, West Delhi, Mundka, etc. were on account of this as was evident at the Taimur Nagar drain," he added.

The vice-chairman of DDA informed the LG that all agencies have almost removed all their machinery and construction material from the Yamuna and huge quantity of debris and construction waste have been cleared from the river.

The DDA will conduct a thorough inspection of river Yamuna in the Delhi region on July 13 to assess and ensure that the flow of the Yamuna does not get obstructed at all during the monsoon.

The LG directed all agencies particularly the PWD, Railways and NCRTC to expedite and remove all their equipment and waste from the Yamuna at the earliest.

He particularly pointed out the heavy deposit of C&D waste in the Yamuna near Signature Bridge in North Delhi, which is a highly vulnerable point during the flood. He directed the PWD, I&FCD and Tourism Department to immediately take up the cleaning of the stretch.

"If the concerned agencies failed to clear the same, DDA will carry out the removal exercise at the cost of these agencies," the official said.

While the LG was informed that the management and operation of all 22 major drains falling into the Yamuna has been assigned to the I&FCD, Saxena also directed for handing over the responsibility of operating regulators on these drains to I&FCD only.

"For this, he also directed the department to hire additional manpower from other departments or agencies on diverted capacity to meet any contingency during the eventuality of flood in the capital.

"All regulators and barrage gates should be manned by operators, engineers and technicians on 24x7 basis," the official said.

Mr Saxena was informed that 29 teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), equipped with over 100 boats, are deployed in and around the Delhi region to carry out the relief and rescue works in case of flood.

He directed the I&FCD to remain in constant touch with their counterparts in Haryana and upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh to monitor the rainfall levels and water discharge from Hathnikund Barrage regularly, the official said.

"I&FCD will be responsible for augmentation of equipment and machinery like dewatering pumps, and resources for their repair and maintenance, etc. during flood situation. He also directed that adequate arrangements shall be put in place by the Revenue Department and concerned DMs for evacuation of nearly 25,000 persons living in the low lying area, when the Yamuna crosses the danger mark," he added.

The Health Department has been directed to make adequate arrangements in hospitals to deal with situation arising out of the flood and the subsequent outburst of vector-borne diseases.

The agencies have been directed to constantly monitor the waterlogging hot-spots across the capital in case of heavy rains. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the concerned DMs will ensure round the clock drinking water supply and food for the evacuees.

Critically vulnerable areas like Monastery Market, Nigam Bodh Ghat, Vijay Ghat, Chilla Regulator, Yamuna Bazar and Boat Club are being monitored round the clock from the Central Control Room, the official said. 

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NEET-UG पेपर लीक : IIT मद्रास के डेटा एनालिसिस में नहीं मिली कोई सामूहिक गड़बड़ी - केंद्र का SC में हलफनामा

केंद्र ने नीट यूजी मामले में सुप्रीम कोर्ट में हलफनामा दाखिल किया. कहा कि आईआईटी मद्रास द्वारा किए गए डेटा विश्लेषण में कोई असामान्यता या कोई सामूहिक गड़बड़ी नहीं दिखाई गई केंद्र ने उठाए गए मुद्दों पर विचार करने के लिए 7 सदस्यीय विशेषज्ञ पैनल का प्रस्ताव रखा है ताकि भविष्य में इस तरह की कोई लीक न हो.

काउंसलिंग प्रक्रिया जुलाई के तीसरे सप्ताह से शुरू होकर चार राउंड में आयोजित की जाएगी यदि किसी उम्मीदवार के बारे में यह पाया जाता है कि वह किसी गड़बड़ी से लाभ उठाया है तो ऐसे व्यक्ति की काउंसलिंग प्रक्रिया के दौरान या उसके बाद भी किसी भी स्तर पर रद्द कर दी जाएगी.

सरकार ने कहा कि गड़बड़ी में शामिल लोगों की पड़ताल डाटा एनालिसिस के जरिए करने के लिए मद्रास आईआईटी से गुजारिश की गई है.  जिनको ज्यादा नंबर आए हैं उनका डाटा विश्लेषण बताता है कि बड़ी अनियमितता नहीं हुई है. क्योंकि ग्राफ ऊपर उठने के साथ ही जल्दी ही नीचे गिर जाता है. यानी घंटी के आकार का ग्राफ है.

केंद्र सरकार ने कहा है कि जांच के साथ ही एहतियातन नीट काउंसिलिंग भी जुलाई के तीसरे हफ्ते में कराने का निर्णय लिया गया है. काउंसलिंग चार चरणों में होगी. ताकि किसी भी किस्म की गड़बड़ी का फायदा उठाकर आने वाले छात्र की पहचान और पड़ताल इन चार चरणों में हो ही जाए. जहां पता चला वहीं उसे बाहर कर दिया जाएगा.

केन्द्र सरकार दोबारा परीक्षा के समर्थन में नहीं

केंद्र ने कहा है कि वह यह सुनिश्चित कर रहा है कि 23 लाख अभ्यर्थियों पर ‘अप्रमाणित आशंकाओं' के आधार पर दोबारा परीक्षा का बोझ न डाला जाए. केन्द्र सरकार ने कहा है कि वो ये सुनिश्चित कर रहा है कि गलत तरीके से फायदा उठाने के दोषी किसी भी अभ्यर्थी को कोई लाभ न मिले.

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Video: President Murmu And Saina Nehwal Face Off On Badminton Court

President Droupadi Murmu made her love for sports evident as she played a friendly match of badminton with star player Saina Nehwal. In a video released by the President's office, Ms Murmu can be seen clad in lilac-coloured traditional salwar-kameez with her sports shoes on, playing badminton with Saina Nehwal at the badminton court in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. As Ms Murmu scores a point, the audience bursts into applause and cheers.

Mr Murmu has made public her interest and passion in sports as India emerges like a champion in badminton across the world. 

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In the video shared by Ms Murmu's office, the caption reads, "President Droupadi Murmu's natural love for sports and games was seen when she played badminton with the much-celebrated player Ms. Saina Nehwal at the Badminton Court in Rashtrapati Bhavan. The President's inspiring step is in keeping with India's emergence as a badminton-power house, with women-players making a great impact on the world stage."

Saina Nehwal, who is not just a star badminton player but also a Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, will deliver a talk as a part of 'Her Story - My Story' lecture series initiative at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre tomorrow. The series features women Padma Awardees and aims to inspire millions across the country. 
 

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Gladiator 2 Trailer Hindi: ग्लेडिएटर 2 का ट्रेलर हुआ रिलीज, 24 साल बाद आया सीक्वल, ट्रेलर ऐसा बार-बार करेंगे प्ले

Gladiator 2 Trailer: रिडले स्कॉट की अगली फिल्म ग्लेडिएटर 2 का ट्रेलर रिलीज हो गया है. ये फिल्म उनकी 2000 की हिट फिल्म ग्लेडिएटर का सीक्वल है. ग्लेडिएटर 2 में पॉल मेस्कल ने लूसियस की भूमिका निभाई है. कहानी लूसियस की है जो उत्तरी अफ्रीकी क्षेत्र न्यूमिडिया में रहता है जहां उसे पहले उसकी मां ल्यूसिला ने दूर रहने के लिए भेजा था. ताकि वह रोमन साम्राज्य की पहुंच से दूर रह सके. हालाकि, चल रही घटनाओं ने उसे एक ग्लैडीएटर के रूप में रोम लौटने पर मजबूर कर दिया. इस तरह एक शानदार ट्रेलर देखने को मिला है जिसमें एक्शन है, रिवेंज है और हर वह मसाला मौजूद है जो फिल्म से बांधने का काम करता है. गलेडिएटर 2 की कहानी रसेल क्रो की ग्लेडिएटर की घटनाओं के दो दशक बाद की है. निर्देशक, रिडले स्कॉट के नेतृत्व में, ग्लेडिएटर फिल्म में अब तक के सबसे बड़े एक्शन दृश्यों को पेश किया गया है.

ग्लेडिएटर 2 ट्रेलर हिंदी

ग्लेडिएटर की रिलीज के 24 साल बाद यह सीक्वल आया है, जिसमें रसेल क्रो, योक्विन फीनिक्स, कोनी नीलसन, स्पेंसर ट्रीट क्लार्क और ओलिवर रीड मुख्य भूमिका में थे. ग्लेडिएटर को रिडले स्कॉट ने ही निर्देशित किया था और ये फिल्म 1 सितंबर 2000 को रिलीज हुई थी.

ग्लेडिएटर जबरदस्त सफल रही थी और इसने 11 नामांकन में से पांच ऑस्कर जीते. ग्लेडिएटर ने कई बाफ्टा पुरस्कार और दो गोल्डन ग्लोब जीते. ट्रेलर रिलीज से पहले पैरामाउंट पिक्चर्स ने सोमवार को फिल्म का पहला पोस्टर शेयर किया था. ग्लेडिएटर 2, 15 नवंबर को अंग्रेजी, हिंदी, तमिल और तेलुगु भाषाओं में रिलीज होगी. ग्लेडिएटर 2 में पॉल मेस्कल के साथ पेड्रो पास्कल और जोसेफ क्विन, फ्रेड हेचिंगर, लियोर रेज, डेरेक जैकोबी, नीलसन और डेन्जेल वाशिंगटन भी हैं.

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Probe Agency Can't Peep Into Private Life Of Accused On Bail: Top Court

The Supreme Court on Monday held that bail conditions allowing an investigating agency to continuously track the movements of an accused violate the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, which deleted a bail condition imposed on Nigerian national Frank Vitus in a drugs case that mandated him to drop a PIN on the Google map to ensure that his location is available to the investigation officer of the case, said this court has held that bail conditions cannot be "fanciful, arbitrary or freakish".

The bench said, "The investigating agency cannot be permitted to continuously peep into the private life of the accused enlarged on bail, by imposing arbitrary conditions since that will violate the right of privacy of the accused, as guaranteed by Article 21." It said if a constant vigil is kept on every movement of the accused released on bail by the use of technology or otherwise, it will infringe the rights of the accused guaranteed under Article 21, including the right to privacy.

"The reason is that the effect of keeping such constant vigil on the accused by imposing drastic bail conditions will amount to keeping the accused in some kind of confinement even after he is released on bail. Such a condition cannot be a condition of bail," it said.

The bench said imposing any bail condition which enables the police/investigation agency to track every movement of the accused released on bail by using any technology or otherwise would undoubtedly violate the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21.

"In this case, the condition of dropping a PIN on Google Maps has been incorporated without even considering the technical effect of dropping a PIN and the relevance of the said condition as a condition of bail. This cannot be a condition of bail. The condition deserves to be deleted and ordered accordingly," it said.

The court said in the case at hand, it is dealing with a case of the accused whose guilt is yet to be established and so long as he is not held guilty, the presumption of innocence is applicable.

"He cannot be deprived of all his rights guaranteed under Article 21. The courts must show restraint while imposing bail conditions. Therefore, while granting bail, the courts can curtail the freedom of the accused only to the extent required for imposing the bail conditions warranted by law," the bench said in its order, which was reserved on April 29.

Underscoring that bail conditions cannot be so onerous as to frustrate the order of bail itself, the bench said the court may impose a condition of periodically reporting to the police station/court or not travelling abroad without prior permission.

"Where circumstances require, the court may impose a condition restraining an accused from entering a particular area to protect the prosecution witnesses or the victims. But the court cannot impose a condition on the accused to keep the police constantly informed about his movement from one place to another. The object of the bail condition cannot be to keep a constant vigil on the movements of the accused enlarged on bail," it said.

The top court said the accused is bound by the conditions imposed while granting bail and if he, after being enlarged on bail, commits a breach of bail conditions or commits any offence, the courts always have the power to cancel the bail.

"A condition cannot be imposed while granting bail which is impossible for the accused to comply with. If such a condition is imposed, it will deprive an accused of bail, though he is otherwise entitled to it," it said.

It added that the object of imposing conditions of bail is to ensure that the accused does not interfere or obstruct the investigation in any manner, remains available for the investigation, does not tamper with or destroy evidence, does not commit any offence, remains regularly present before the trial court, and does not create obstacles in the expeditious conclusion of the trial.

"The courts have imposed a condition that the accused should cooperate with the investigation when bail is granted before filing the final report or charge sheet. Cooperating with the investigation does not mean that the accused must confess," it said, adding that the bail conditions must be consistent with the object of imposing conditions.

While imposing bail conditions, the constitutional rights of an accused, who is ordered to be released on bail, can be curtailed only to the minimum extent required, it said.

"Even an accused convicted by a competent Court and undergoing a sentence in prison is not deprived of all his rights guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution," the bench pointed out.

The top court also deleted another condition imposed on Victus by the Delhi High Court that he will have to obtain a certificate from the Embassy/High Commission of Nigeria that he shall not leave the country and shall appear before the court as and when required in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act case.

Victus was arrested on May 21, 2014 in the case and was released on bail on May 31, 2022 subject to various terms and conditions incorporated in the said order.

He moved the Supreme Court challenging the twin conditions imposed by the high court – sharing of Google PIN location with the investigating officer and obtaining a certificate from the embassy. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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'Catch Me If You Can': How UP Gang Swindled Crores By Forging Cheques

In the 2002 hit Hollywood film "Catch Me If You Can", Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of a conman in the late 1960s who makes millions of dollars by forging cheques.

Cut to now and a 10-member gang in Uttar Pradesh used the same modus operandi to swindle people of crores of rupees, only its techniques being a bit more sophisticated than those used in the film by Frank Abagnale Jr, the character played by DiCaprio.

The gang's members were arrested on Saturday by the Bulandshahr district police for scamming people across the country of crores of rupees by "cloning cheques", Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar told PTI.

"Of those arrested, was a bank's generator operator who leaked data, a customer agent of a leading telecom company who transferred SIM cards (using fraudulent means) and a person whose accounts were used to deposit funds," Mr Kumar said.

Explaining their modus operandi, he said they used to steal chequebooks ordered by customers before it reached them from banks. When a customer lodged a complaint, the bank cancelled the previous chequebook and issued a new one, Mr Kumar said.

The gang's members used to get the details of the new chequebook from their accomplices before it was delivered to a customer, the SSP said.

After removing the details from the cheques of the cancelled chequebook using a chemical, the gang's members printed the details of the one delivered and received by the customer. They then put a forged signature of the customer on the cheques and withdrew money, the official said.

In the movie, Frank Abagnale, to make a counterfeit, used glue to stick symbols and stencils to get the lettering correct on a paper that had the dimensions similar to that of a genuine cheque.

SSP Kumar said an investigation was launched after a local lodged a complaint that Rs 15 lakh had been withdrawn from his account through a cheque not issued by him.

"The complainant said he did not receive any message from the bank. The man got to know that Rs 15 lakh had been withdrawn when he updated his passbook," the official said.

It was a well organised gang and its members worked in teams, each having a name like in a company or an office, the SSP said.

To swindle people, its members first acquired the know your customer details of a person from banks and then "for getting the SIM cards, they would produce forged documents of the person on whose name a number is allotted and show him or her as dead", Mr Kumar said.

"After that, this number would be purchased in the name of a new person so that any call or message from the bank would be attended by the accused and while posing as the bank account holder, verify fund transfers illegally started by them," he added.

Giving details of the units the gang was divided into, Mr Kumar said a "layering group" was involved in transferring the money received fraudulently into different bank accounts so that it became difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace and recover it.

"Then there was the 'asset creation group'. It was tasked with cleverly investing the ill-gotten money into making assets like purchasing land or property or other asset somewhere," he added.

Nitin Kashyap, Prem Shankar Vishwakarma, Awadhesh Kumar, Shah Alam, Uruj Alam, Bhupendra Kumar, Kalicharan, Alok Kumar, Brijesh Kumar and Chatar Singh have been arrested, police said.

Forty-two mobile-phones, 33 SIM cards, 12 chequebooks of various banks, 20 passbooks, 14 loose cheques have been seized from them, according to police.

The police have also impounded a car and recovered a "Delhi Police cap" which was kept on its dashboard. This gave an impression that they were police personnel and helped them skip security checks, they said.

"They used different phones to keep their identification concealed and evade police surveillance. They also carried walkie-talkies sets to communicate with each other," Mr Kumar said.

He said the gang was active in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, among other places in the country.

This has been corroborated by the chequebooks and material seized, the SSP said.

Two of the 10 accused arrested are from Muzaffarnagar, where the police had declared a Rs 15,000 reward on their arrest after a similar fraud was committed by them in 2021, he said.

The accused have been sent into judicial custody by a local court, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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