With assembly elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh round the corner, political leaders and ticket aspirants in both the Telugu states are in a rush to join parties.

While former cricketer Ambati Rayadu once again met Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohn Reddy fuelling speculation that he might join the YSRCP soon, two ex-BRS leaders, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao, are all set to join Congress after the party seemed to have turned the tide in Telangana post Karnataka polls.

Both the ex-BRS MPs from Khammam, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and ex-BRS MLA Jupally Krishna Rao, were about to join the BJP but with the saffron party showing signs of internal turmoil between its original leaders and those who joined later and the ripple effect of the Congress win in Karnataka both will be joining the Congress in mid June, apparently in the presence of AICC leaders from Delhi.

While Krishna Rao was in Congress till 2012, that too, a minister, he joined the BRS and won in 2014 but lost to Congress candidate B Harshavardhan Reddy. When Reddy joined the BRS, Krishna Rao felt he was being sidelined and along with Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy had openly criticised Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the state government prompting the BRS to suspend them in April this year.

Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy was elected from Khammam MP seat in 2014 on YSRCP ticket and joined the BRS. However, the party denied him ticket in 2019 after it won only one seat out of ten in Assembly elections in 2018. Although the BRS ticket went to Nama Nageshwar Rao, who had come from TDP and managed to retain the seat for the BRS, KCR had tried to assuage his ire this year in January but he did not relent and is all set to join the Congress.

Meanwhile, former cricketer Ambati Rayadu met Andhra Pradesh chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the second time in the span of a month. He was accompanied by the Chennai Super Kings’ management including Rupa Gurunath and showed the IPL Cup to him and gifted him a jersey. Rayadu informed Reddy that he was keen to improve sports and amenities in AP and the chief minister assured him that a programme will be drawn up soon. Rayadu is expected to join the ruling party soon.

The BRS, which is keen to spread its footprint in Madhya Pradesh, has inducted Anand Rai, the whistleblower in the Vyapam case in the BRS. Rai joined the party in the presence of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Pragathi Bhavan.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a leading player in the oil and gas industry, has received awards for its achievements at the prestigious FIPI Oil and Gas Awards-2022 ceremony.

The awards were presented by Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in the presence of Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas & Labour and Employment, and Pankaj Jain, Secretary, MoP&NG.

The company’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and fostering an inclusive workplace culture has been recognised through multiple accolades.

The awards won by HPCL were Company of the Year – Excellence in Human Resource Management, Sustainably Growing Corporate of the Year, Innovator of the Year – HP Green R&D Centre and Woman Executive of the Year in the Oil and Gas Industry

The awards were received by HPCL’s Chairman and Managing Director, Pushp Kumar Joshi; Director Marketing, Amit Garg; Director HR, K S Shetty and senior officials of HPCL.

An 11-year-old boy, who was rescued after remaining trapped between a slab and a pillar of a bridge for two days in the Rohtas district of Bihar, died on the way to hospital.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had begun its rescue operation on Wednesday; two days after the boy reportedly went missing.

Upendra Pal, sub divisional magistrate (SDM) of Bikranganj, told a news agency that the operation to free the boy from the bridge went on for around 12 to 14 hours.

Dr Brajesh Kumar from the trauma centre at Sadar Hospital said, “He (the boy) was brought here in an ambulance, but we could not provide any treatment as he was brought dead.”

Earlier, the father of the boy said he was “mentally challenged” and had gone missing two days ago. While they searched for him, a woman informed the family that the boy was stuck between pillar No. 1 of a bridge built over the Son River and a slab.

An NDRF response force team was immediately called and the rescue mission started. Oxygen was supplied to the trapped boy through pipes till he was pulled out, but unfortunately the boy died on the way to the hospital.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said here on Thursday that financial and social security of Para workers is the utmost priority of the state government.

“Undertaking transformative measures, the state government has taken a historic decision to bring all the employees under the Old Pension Scheme,” he said, adding that this move ensures financial security for the hardworking employees who dedicated their lives to public service.

The government’s vision of welfare extends beyond pensions and recognizing the pivotal role played by para workers, the state government has decided to grant them the respect they deserve, he added.

“Daily wagers, who toiled relentlessly to make both ends meet, have been given an increase in their daily wages from Rs. 350 to Rs. 375. This seemingly modest increment provided them with an additional Rs 750 per month, easing their financial burdens,” he said.

The para workers, including the Anganwari workers, who played an indispensable role during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, have not been forgotten, said Sukhu.

 “The state government has raised their honorarium from Rs 9000 to Rs 9500 per month, acknowledging their dedication and selflessness. The Mini Anganwari Workers have also been provided a raise from Rs 6100 to Rs 6600, while the honorarium of Anganwari Helpers has grown from Rs 4700 to Rs 5200,” said Sukhu.

The pandemic had taught the world the importance of community healthcare workers, wherein the

The state government recognizing the contribution of ASHA workers has increased their honorarium by Rs 500 per month and now they get a monthly honorarium of Rs 5200.

Silai teachers also play a crucial role in providing training to the new learners, hence the state government increased their honorarium by Rs 500 per month.

Acknowledging the tireless efforts of Mid-day meal workers the state government augmented their honorarium from Rs 3500 to Rs 4000 per month, further ensuring that their valuable service did not go unnoticed, he added.

Meanwhile, Jal Rakshaks in the Education department have also given an increase of Rs. 500 in their honorarium from Rs. 3900 to Rs. 4400 per month, he said.

With the state government’s commitment to providing respectable remuneration extended to various categories of para workers the honorarium of Water guards, Multi Purpose workers, Para Fitters, and Pump Operators was increased by Rs. 500 per month, offering them a dignified livelihood, said Sukhu.

Furthermore, the honorarium of Panchayat Chowkidars, Revenue Chowkidars, SMC teachers, and Lambardars has witnessed a considerable enhancement, acknowledging their indispensable roles within their communities, he added.

 “With these significant increases, even the outsourced workers were given minimum wages of Rs 11,250 per month, ensuring fair compensation for their invaluable contributions,” said the Chief Minister.

The recent cabinet meeting announced increasing the monthly honorarium of part-time Panchayat Chowkidars from Rs. 6200 to Rs. 6700, with effective from April 1, 2023, he said, adding that this decision brought smiles to the faces of 3226 Panchayat Chowkidars across the state.

Hosts India will open their Hero Intercontinental Football Cup campaign with a first-ever meeting against Mongolia here at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday as head coach Igor Stimac exuded confidence that his team will win the tournament.

The third edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup will kick off with a clash between Lebanon and Vanuatu earlier in the day at the same venue.

India won the inaugural tournament in 2018 in Mumbai, defeating Kenya 2-0 in the final, while DPR Korea beat Tajikistan in the last edition in Ahmedabad in 2019.

The Blue Tigers are all geared up to lift the trophy once again, and head coach Igor Stimac reiterated that during the pre-tournament press conference on Thursday. “We’re expecting to win the tournament, and that’s why we’re here. We’ll do everything possible to make that happen.”

The big target for India is the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in seven months’ time, and with the Blue Tigers set to play several matches until the end of this year, Stimac believes every minute of every game will count for the team’s preparations.

“Although our opponents (in the Hero Intercontinental Cup) are not as tough as the teams we’ll face in the Asian Cup, they’re still good and competitive. Mongolia are a very aggressive side with a lot of young players in midfield and upfront. They press high press and play counter-attacking football. Even though they may find it difficult to adapt to the warm weather here, their players are arriving in competitive form as the Mongolian league is going on at the moment,” said Stimac, sharing his thoughts on India’s East Asian opponents.

India have been in camp in Bhubaneswar since May 15, giving Stimac plenty of time to make a strong assessment of his squad. The team could potentially play as many as nine matches in less than a month, with the SAFF Championship also beginning on June 21 in Bengaluru.

“Each game will be a challenge for us. We’ve had enough time for preparation. We need to be physically ready for these games and take everything into our hands. Our players are here to prove that they deserve their place in the National Team,” said Stimac.

“Playing at home will be a big advantage for us. I hope to see a large number of supporters cheering for us. We saw in Manipur that when we’re surrounded by passionate fans who shower us with love, they can help us beat better-ranked teams,” the Croatian added.

Blue Tigers captain Sunil Chhetri opined “Me and the boys are very excited. It’s strange that we’ve never played in Bhubaneswar or anywhere in Odisha before in my career, so we’re really happy to be here. Everything from our hospitality to training pitches has been top-notch, and we’ve made good use of the three weeks here. Hopefully, we don’t have just three games here but four (including the final),” said the skipper.

Mongolia, ranked 183 in the FIFA Rankings, head into the Hero Intercontinental Cup without much expectations but with no shortage of motivation. Their Japanese head coach Ichiro Otsuka shared his thoughts on what he and his side look to gain from the tournament.

“All the other three teams are ranked higher than us. But we will fight and try to have better games against them. We’re very motivated to showcase our football here,” he said.

In their previous friendly game against 77-ranked Georgia in March, Mongolia put in a good defensive show, holding the hosts at 1-1 until half-time before eventually losing 1-6. Against India, Otsuka expects his side to be put to a rigorous test again.

“Compared to us, the Indian team is very strong. Later this year, we’ll have our first round of the World Cup Qualifiers, where we will face higher-ranked teams. So, we want to concentrate on defending first. But, of course, we also have some ideas going forward,” said the Japanese.

The warm Odisha weather is another big challenge the Mongolia side will be dealing with. “There’s a huge difference between the weather conditions in Mongolia and India. It was snowing back there a few days ago, but it’s so hot and humid here. But we will do our best because it is a good opportunity to test ourselves against higher-ranked opponents,” said Otsuka.

With public comments on wives to marriages, Punjab politics has turned ugly with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Opposition leaders trading personal comments against each other.

While a remark was made by Navjot Singh Sidhu about Mann’s “second marriage” after becoming the Chief Minister, the latter hit back by publicly stating that the former Punjab Congress chief (Sidhu) was the son of his father’s second wife.

It all began after Sidhu during an all-party meeting in Jalandhar on 1 June took a potshot at the Punjab CM stating the only ‘badlaav’ (change) he has brought is his second wife.

Mann tied the knot with Gurpreet Kaur, a doctor, in July 2022, six years after divorce from his first wife.

The Punjab CM hit back at this remark at a gathering after the inauguration of a new hospital on Thursday saying Sidhu is the son of a second wife.

“If your father had not brought about this change at your home, then you would not have been born,” he said.

Going a step further, Mann said Sidhu was like a suit gifted during weddings which nobody wants to unpack and it keeps getting passed on as a gift.

Mann said that because of the dearth of issues against the state government, Opposition leaders “are stooping too low by leveling personal allegations against him.”

Further responding to the comments made by the Leader of Opposition and Congress leader, Partap Singh Bajwa regarding Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators getting married in large numbers after the party came to power in Punjab, Mann said, “What can we do if our MLAs are as young as 25, 26 years ?”

Responding to the CM’s comment about Sidhu’s father, the Congress leader’s wife Dr Navjot Kaur took to Twitter and countered the claim made by Mann about her husband.

“CM, Bhagwant Mann ji, I don’t think Navjot has commented seriously about your personal life because we have absolutely no right to talk about it. But you have got some facts wrong. Navjot Sidhu’s father, (Advocate General Punjab) Mr Bhagwant Singh Sidhu had only one marriage,” she said in a tweet.

On his part, Sidhu too hit back at the CM on Thursday by accusing the CM of diverting attention and running away from key issues concerning Punjab and stooping “to this level with your moral values at their lowest ebb.

Sidhu clarified his father “only married once at the age of 40” to his mother who married twice when she already had two daughters from the first marriage. “IF YOU CANNOT RESPECT THE LIVING, LEARN TO RESPECT THE DEAD,” Sidhu said in the tweet.

Amidst this war of words, some Punjab politicians are advising the against personal attacks.

“It’s high time this personal mudslinging involving families stops and the welfare of Punjab is prioritised … Let’s contribute to elevating the level of politics instead of stooping it down,” Congress’ Lok Sabha member from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu said in a tweet.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said “instead of using bad language towards the opponents, the CM should respond with seriousness to the issues raised by the Opposition parties.”

Underlining the large potential for India-Serbia trade and investment, President Droupadi Murmu has urged to “take advantage” of the economic partnership between the two countries.

President Murmu, who is in Serbia in the last leg of her two-nation visit, was addressing the India-Serbia Business Forum in Belgrade on Thursday. Murmu was also called on by Serbian PM Ana Brnabic.

At the outset of her address, she thanked President Aleksander Vucic for making this event possible.

Murmu said, “India and Serbia have had close and friendly relations since the days of the Non-Aligned Movement. It is now time to build on this, and strengthen our trade and economic partnership.”

She also highlighted the growing Indian economy saying that it continues to perform well and is one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. “It is the fifth-largest economy and is on its way to becoming the third-largest before the end of this decade. We have seen significant success in the auto and auto-components sector, health care, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, renewable energy, textiles & apparel, space, information technology, telecom, fintech, and financial services,” Murmu added.

The President then spoke on the growing digital capability of India with IT parks and electronic cities mushrooming across the country.

Murmu said, “This rapid growth in digital infrastructure has put India at the forefront in terms of technological innovation. Be it the availability of day-to-day services through mobile and online platforms or cashless transactions, India continues to achieve digital transformation in every field.”

She added that India has the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world, with over 100 unicorns. In 2022, the total FDI inflow into India was around USD 77 billion.

Murmu also expressed happiness about the Serbian economy recovering from the Covid pandemic and its external trade of goods rising by 17 per cent in 2002.

“I am told that Serbia has also attracted more than half of the FDI received by the Western Balkans region since 2018. Road and rail investments are also taking place at a healthy pace, to integrate Serbia into wider European networks. Yours is a country of intelligent, hard-working people driven by innovation and ideas. Serbia can become an effective gateway for Indian companies to access broader markets in Europe and Eurasia,” she further said.
The President said that she was also aware that Serbia is looking for hard-working and skilled workers and professionals from overseas, to help meet its workforce requirements.

Earlier in the day, Murmu met her Serbian counterpart. In the meeting, the two agreed to deepen the India-Serbia partnership in all spheres, including economic and business ties. “The entrepreneurs present in this room today can become the driving force of dynamism between our two countries,” Murmu said.

She concluded her address by expressing confidence in India-Serbia trade growing by at least USD 1 billion even though bilateral trade between India and Serbia is at present modest at around 320 million.

A special MP-MLA court on Thursday listed the matter related to the supplementary charge sheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for a hearing on June 30.

The CBI filed the charge sheet on May 20 in Rouse Avenue Court. This case is connected with the killing of three Sikhs in the Pul Bangash area on November 1, 1984. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vidhi Anand Gupta took up the matter after receiving the case file.

ACMM Gupta said, “The file is received shortly and needs time to go through it. Thereafter an appropriate order will be passed.”

On the last date of the hearing, the CMM transferred the case to the special MP-MLA court since it is a case involving a former MP.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 20 filed a chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a case related to Anti-Sikh riots in 1984 following the assassination of the then Prime Minister of India, on 31 October 1984.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, then Member of Parliament has been named as accused in the chargesheet.

In a statement, CBI mentioned that the agency had registered the instant case in November 2005 on an incident wherein Gurudwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market, Bara Hindu Rao, Delhi was set on fire by a mob and three persons namely Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh were burnt to death on November 1, 1984, near Gurudwara Pul Bangash.

Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry was set up in the year 2000 by the Government of India to enquire into the incidents of Anti-Sikh riots of the year 1984 in Delhi.

After consideration of the Commission’s report, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) issued directions to CBI to investigate the case against the then Member of Parliament and others.

During the CBI investigation, evidence came on record that on November 1, 1984, the said accused allegedly instigated, incited and provoked the mob assembled at Gurudwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market, Delhi which resulted in the burning of Gurudwara Pul Bangash and killing of three Sikh persons by the mob, apart from burning and looting of shops

The two-and-half-year-old girl, who was rescued from a 300 ft deep borewell in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district earlier today, has died, officials said on Thursday.

According to the doctors, the reason behind the death of the girl is suffocation. Sehore District Collector Ashish Tiwari said, “Despite all our attempts, we could not save the girl. Postmortem by a team of two doctors reveals that the body is in a decomposed state. Further details are awaited.”

Reacting to the incident, Sehore Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayank Awasthi said, “It is an unfortunate incident and action is being taken as per statutory rules. We have registered an FIR against the farm owner and the borer. We have registered a case under sections 188, 308 and 304.”
The minor identified as Shrishti Kushwaha was rescued two days after she had fallen into the 300 feet deep borewell located inside a farm while playing in the Mungavali village under Mandi police station limits.
She had fallen into the borewell on Tuesday around 2 pm.
Earlier today, an emergency borewell rescue team, from Gujarat, reached the site with a robot and assisted in the operation.
Moreover, the team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) began the rescue operation and later the army also joined the rescue operation on Wednesday after the Chief Minister called them.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday morning said, “Earlier, the girl was stuck at 40 feet but now she has slid to around 100 feet in the borewell due to the vibration in digging another parallel tunnel for the rescue operation. We have called the Army to join the rescue operation.”

India overwhelmed Chinese Taipei 11-0 to storm into the semi-finals of Women’s Junior Hockey Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan on Thursday.

India topped the Pool A unbeaten with ten points, having won three games and drawn one.

Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke (1’), Deepika (3’), Annu (10’, 52’), Rutuja Dadaso Pisal (12’), Neelam (19’), Manju Chorsiya (33’), Sunelita Toppo (43’, 57’), Deepika Soreng (46’), and Mumtaz Khan (55’)  were the goal getters.

India dictated the proceedings from the start , launching consistent attacks against   their rivals.Chinese Taipei. Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke opened the scoring with a super goal , followed by Deepika who converted a penalty corner to double the team’s lead.  Annu and Rutuja Pisal scored a goal each before the end of the first quarter, giving India a comfortable 4-0 advantage.

Though the second quarter continued in a similar fashion, with India maintaining control of the game through ball possession and relentless attacks, Chinese Taipei rs managed to defend their citadel well letting in only one goal when   Neelam found the back of the net  (5-0)

India continued their dominance as Manju Chorsiya  and Sunelita Toppo netted  goals to make sure that the third quarter ended with their side leading 7-0.

The Indian team showed no signs of slowing down in the final quarter, as Deepika Soreng (46′), Annu (52′), Mumtaz Khan (55′), and Sunelita Toppo (57′) each scored a goal to help India win the match 11-0.

In a series of efforts being made by the Haryana government towards conserving water resources, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is scheduled to launch integrated Water Resources Action Plan-2023-25 on Friday.

An official spokesperson said that a programme will be organised at Chandigarh on 9 June to launch the action plan which will be a bold step towards conservation of water resources.

“On the initiative of the chief minister, a two-day water conservation seminar was organised in Panchkula on 26 and 27 April 2023, under Amrit Jal Kranti, in which many departments of Haryana, including experts from India and abroad doing research on water conservation participated in the seminar. Based on the various suggestions received in the seminar, an action plan has been prepared by all the departments for water conservation,” the spokesperson said.

He said in the past, the CM has taken several initiatives towards water conservation which have drawn significant results. Under his guidance, the concept of Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojana was effectively implemented which is being highly acknowledged by the other states, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, in an interaction with the eminent people of the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency and officials of various departments, the CM said the state government’s goal is to make people’s lives happier by resolving their grievances.

He also directed that the mapping of schools and sports stadiums should be done on the same lines as mapping was done to open a college in a 20 kilometer radius.

Khattar said education and sports are a vital part of the overall development of any child. The government aims to open a primary school within a radius of one kilometre, a middle school within a three-kilometre area and a senior secondary school within five kilometres. He said an initiative has been taken to open libraries in villages with a population size of 5000.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Srishti Kushwaha was declared dead by doctors at a hospital where she was rushed to in an unresponsive condition after rescuers, on Thursday evening, managed to pull her out of a borewell in which she had been stuck for the past three days, said sources.

Immediately after being brought out of the borewell, the baby girl was rushed to the district hospital in an ambulance. However, she was unresponsive when brought out of the borewell and the doctors at the hospital confirmed that she had died, sources said.

Police officials subsequently sent her body for a postmortem.

The rescuers managed to bring her out of the borewell at around 5.30 pm today, after an almost 52-hour-long rescue operation.

Earlier in the day, rescue experts from Delhi using a robot had joined the frantic rescue operation underway to safely bring out Srishti from a 300-feet deep borewell in which she fell at around 1.30 pm on 6 June.

According to information, a three-member team of robotic rescue experts reached the Mungawali village in Sehore district, where the incident occurred. They lowered a robot into the borewell to monitor the baby’s movements and her physical condition.

The team members said the next course of action to be taken to rescue the child would be decided based on the data received from the robotic examination.

Teams of the army, NDRF, SDERF, police and district administration authorities have been working round the clock for more than 48 hours to rescue the girl.

Srishti Kushwaha had fallen into the open borewell situated in an agricultural field while playing. The police have booked the person in whose agricultural field the open borewell is located.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Thursday said the state government will provide free legal assistance to about 700 students facing deportation from Canada.

Presiding over a high-level meeting with civil and police officers associated with the NRI (non-resident Indian) Department at Punjab Bhawan, the minister said most of these students belong to Punjab. They will be provided lawyers who are experts in immigration laws in Canada.

Dhaliwal has also written a letter to all the Members of Parliament (MPs) of Punjab origin in Canada to resolve the issue of these students so that the future of the children can be secured.

Dhaliwal issued instructions to all deputy commissioners and district police chiefs to scrutinise the documents of travel agents and immigration agencies and send a report by 10 July. He expressed concern that many travel agents are running immigration agencies illegally.

The minister said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already given clear instructions to improve the system. He said if the system would be transparent and clean, then there will be less scope for human trafficking by illegal travel agencies.

He said a special campaign against fake travel agents and immigration agencies would soon be launched in Punjab so that no one could be involved in human trafficking.

Dhaliwal also said that in the last 10 years, if any Punjabi immigrant has been deliberately implicated in a wrong case, then it should be brought to their attention. Such cases will be investigated and justice will be given to the victim.

Taking an exclusive initiative, this time NRI meetings will be held for the first time in those villages of Punjab whose immigrants have done good work in their villages or earned  the name at the national or international level. Dhaliwal informed that NRI meetings will be held at the district level from 15 July to 30 August. Dhaliwal said there is a plan to bring a new NRI policy by 30 September to resolve all kinds of problems and complaints of non-resident Punjabis.

Dr Suneetha Narreddy has approached the Supreme Court challenging May 31, 2023, Telangana High Court order granting anticipatory bail to YSR Congress Party’s Lok Sabha member YS Avinash Reddy, one of the accused in the 2019 murder of her father YS Vivekananda Reddy.

Vivekanand Reddy was the uncle of present Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and brother of late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

Challenging the High Court order on various counts, the petitioner Suneetha Narreddy in her interim prayers has sought an “ex-parte ad interim” stay of May 31 judgment and the order granting anticipatory bail to Avinash Reddy.

She has also sought extension of time to the CBI for completing the investigation. into the larger conspiracy in the alleged murder of Vivekanand Reddy. The top court by its April 24, 2023, order had directed the CBI to conclude the investigation by June 30, 2023.

Assailing the High Court order, the petition has said that the High Court after holding a “mini trial and giving findings/making comments on the merits of the prosecution case” virtually accepted the entire case of Avinash Reddy, while disregarding the evidence collected by the CBI which is investigating the case.

Alleging non-cooperation by Avinash Reddy in the investigation of the case, the petition says that he did not appear before the investigating agency on the last three occasions despite notices by the CBI asking him to appear before it.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra mentioned the matter for an early listing before a vacation bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal, but since it was not a part of the list of the mentioning matters for today, the bench asked him to mention it on Friday (June 9).

The petitioner Suneetha Narreddy has alleged that Avinash Reddy along with other accused has “successfully” tampered with evidence by “destroying the scene of offence in the presence of the state police
and had propagated the story that the deceased had died due to a heart attack.”

The petition says that Avinash Reddy had in fact “pressurised the police not to register an FIR as a result of which only an inquest under S. 174 Cr.PC was started, in a case of cold blooded murder as is evidenced from photographs of the deceased …”

CBI took over the investigation in July 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court. The case was earlier registered at police station Pulivendula in Kadapa district (Andhra Pradesh). Late Vivekanand Reddy had represented Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency.

A month before the general elections in 2019, Vivekananda Reddy, a former MP, was found murdered at his residence at Pulivendula on March 15, 2019.

Rajya Sabha member of Congress Digvijaya Singh said here on Thursday that he had never imagined that Jyotiraditya Scindia would betray the Congress and join the BJP along with his supporters.

Interacting with media persons at Indore, Singh said he was disappointed by Scindia. Nonetheless, he averred that now he would never let Scindia or any of his supporters return to the grand old party even if they wanted to.

The former Congress chief minister accused the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in the state of massive corruption at all levels which did not spare even the abode of Lord Shiva at the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain. He alleged that the BJP government was being run like a business enterprise with no sensitivity towards the welfare of people.

He said he never uses the slogan ‘Jai Shree Ram’. “Instead we say ‘Jai Siya Ram’, because we respect Lord Ram and Mata Sita equally,” Singh pointed out.

Continuing his attack on the Bajrang Dal, Digvijaya Singh said the outfit is a group of people who sell contraband drugs and indulge in antinational activities like espionage for Pakistan and ISI.

In 2020, Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress party and joined BJP along with 22 of his supporter ministers and MLAs in Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the fall of the 15-month-old Congress government of Kamal Nath in the state.

Scindia’s move had paved the way for the BJP to come to power again and Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath for the fourth time as CM of MP.