Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 28; PTI: The CPI(M) today lodged its strong protest against the police raids on several civil and human rights activists and left intellectuals, and said it constituted a brazen attack on democratic rights and civil liberties.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau demanded withdrawal of the cases against these activists and their immediate release, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation said the move was "reminiscent of the infamous Emergency" of the 1975.

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday the 21st Aug 2018 found itself split on triple talaq, with 3 opposed and 2 towards maintaning status quo.

Bench constituted judges from a varied ethnic background. Chief Justice J S Khehar is a Sikh, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer is a Muslim, Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman are Christians, and Justice U U Lalit a Hindu.

Kolkata, Aug 28 (PTI) Mounting a scathing attack on the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today accused the saffron party of resorting to "politics of killing" in the state and using central agencies against opposition parties.

Referring to the recent panchayat polls in the state, the chief minister alleged that BJP members were working in connivance with goons who had earlier served the CPI(M).

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) refused to provide details of extradition request to Malaysia to extradite Di Zakir Naik, who is now a permanent resident of that country.

The request was made by a PTI correspondent, in accordance with Section 8 (1) (a) (f) and (h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

MEA said the information cannot be provided because it would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) In a major decision, the Defence Ministry today gave its nod to acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore besides approving separate procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore, according to officials.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement, cleared the proposals.

A 24 old man, identified as Prakash, has been arrested in South West Delhi for raping a 9 year old girl, in a portable toilet.

The girl described the man as “a tall, dark-complexioned uncle” to her counsellors.

It has been alleged that Prakash attempted to kidnap another minor girl hours before he raped the nine-year-old.

Karuna Shukla, a former BJP cadre but now a Congress leader, says that BJP is trying to cash in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s death.

Shukla, Vajpayee’s niece,  accused the BJP of trying to capitalise on her uncle’s death for “political gains” in Assembly elections.

“I am stunned and pained to see the way BJP is trying to use the name of Atal-ji after his demise for political gains,” Shukla said in a statement.

NEW DELHI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and India pledged on Tuesday to further strengthen ties between the two countries and their militaries.

When meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries, sharing a friendship dating back to ancient times with broad common interests, should join hands and support each other in striving for win-win cooperation of mutual benefit.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) The CBI's Special Investigation Team (SIT) today told the Supreme Court that it had filed another charge sheet in connection with the alleged fake encounters by the Army, Assam Rifles and police in Manipur.

On July 30, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the apex court that its had filed two charge sheets before the competent court in connection with the cases.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called upon the people to reflect on how to work together and contribute in arresting "disturbing trends" of intolerance, communal polarisation and incidents of violent crimes propelled by hate groups and mobs being witnessed in the country.

Addressing the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award function, he said such "unsavoury" trends can only harm national interests and are an anathema to the promotion of peace and communal harmony.