3 officials arrested for demanding Rs 12 lakh bribery
Jaipur, April 19 (PTI): The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Rajasthan Police on Wednesday arrested three persons while accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh each from the officials of an Ayurvedic college in Churu district. Nitin Marwah of Bhopal, Puneet Mishra and Rishi of Lucknow, all representing Central Council of Indian Medicine, had demanded bribe of Rs 12 lakh from the college administration for submitting inspection report in favour of the college owned by Gandhi Vidhyamandir organisation, Churu Additional SP (ACB) Ganesh Nath told PTI.
No liquor shops near religious places, Adityanath tells officials
Lucknow, April 19 (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has warned state officials of action if the ban on liquor shops in important religious places like Ayodhya, Vrindavan, Chitrakoot and Deva Sharif was not strictly implemented. There should be total prohibition in the one kilometre area around Kanshi Vishvanath Temple in Varanasi, Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura and Sangam in Allahabad, he said. Adityanath also told the Excise Department officials to chalk out on priority, a new excise policy with a view to increasing revenue.
Amarinder orders crackdown on sex determination centres
Chandigarh, April 19 (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ordered a crackdown on all sex determination centres alleged to be running in the state. Reacting swiftly on Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s appeal to deal firmly with illegal sex determination centres, Amarinder directed the state Health Department to take immediate and stern action against all such activity, according to an official spokesperson. Amarinder has also directed the police to extend full cooperation to the Health Department in conducting surprise raids to identify health centres flouting the law to undertake sex determination tests, which usually lead to abortion of the female foetus, resulting in a skewed sex ratio.
44 killed in Himachal bus accident
Shimla, April 19 (IANS): At least 44 passengers were killed when a private bus fell into a river in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district on Wednesday, police said. Two people, including the bus conductor, managed to escape by jumping off the bus even as it skidded off the road. The bus, with 46 people on board, was on its way to Tuini from Vikas Nagar town (both in Uttarakhand), via the state, when the bus skidded off the mountain road and fell into Tons river, more than 250 metres below the road.
Another soldier dies in ‘accidental fire’ in J&K
Jammu, April 19 (IANS): The Army said on Wednesday a soldier was killed in accidental fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district late on Tuesday night. One soldier had died on Monday in ‘accidental fire’ on the LoC in Mendhar sector of the same district. The spokesman had on Tuesday denied the media reports that said the soldier’s death in Mendhar had resulted from a sniper shot from across the LoC.
SC ban on liquor sale along highways not applicable to marriage palaces: Pb AG
Chandigarh, April 19 (PTI): In a move likely to bring relief to managements of marriage palaces, Punjab Excise and Taxation department is set to allow marriage palaces located within 500 meters of highways to serve liquor. The bustling marriage palace industry of the state was on the tenterhooks after they were stopped from serving liquor in marriage or other social functions. In Punjab, marriages are often celebrated with a liberal flow of booze, especially in rural areas.
HC “dissatisfied” over shifting of wine shops
Madurai, April 19 (PTI): The Madras High Court on Wednesday expressed “dissatisfaction” over shifting of state-run liquor shops to new places beyond 500 metres of highways instead of closing them permanently as per the Supreme Court order. The bench also rejected the government counsel’s plea that if local people did not allow them to open outlets in new localities, they will have to be opened only in jungles. The judges ordered “status quo” on opening new shops.
Shots fired outside AAP’s Okhla office
New Delhi, April 19 (IANS): Several shots were fired outside the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Okhla office on late Tuesday night. Party MLA Amanatullah Khan has alleged that he was the target, police said. Khan said the shooting was “a desperate act by the Congress supporters”. The incident happened post Tuesday midnight outside the AAP office when three rounds were allegedly fired, police said. The supporters of the AAP and the Congress clashed outside the party office minutes before the firing. Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said a call was received at 12.10 a.m. regarding the clash between the workers of the two parties at Batla House Chowk after which the police rushed to the spot.
Hindu Yuva Vahini’s activist shot, injured in Bihar
Patna, April 19 (IANS): A Hindu Yuva Vahini activist was shot and seriously injured in Bihar’s Siwan district, the police said on Wednesday. Vishal Singh, 22, an active member of Hindu Yuva Vahini, was shot by unidentifiied assailants on late Tuesday night near Station Tola under the jurisdiction of Jiradei police station in Siwan. Angry over the shooting, local residents have blocked the road in the area and demanded arrest of criminals involved in it. It is the first case reported in Bihar of an attack on a Hindu Yuva Vahini activist.
Sunday off for petrol pumps could invoke ECA: Government
New Delhi, April 19 (IANS): The threat by petroleum dealers to shut down pumps on Sundays will be dealt with according to measures necessary to maintain supplies of essential commodities, the Centre said on Wednesday. The decision will cover Haryana, Maharashtra and the entire southern region — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala as well as Puducherry. Dealers’ body representatives told the media on Tuesday that their decision was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call to save petrol and diesel.
