In a highly unfortunate incident, a bomb blast took place in Punjab's Amritsar killing 3 people and severely injuring 20 people. A grenade was thrown on a religious congregation on Sunday night. As per reports, two motorcycle-borne youth, who were in their masks with faces covered, have hurled the grenade onto the Nirankari Bhavan in Amritsar's Rajasansi village. A religious congregation of the Nirankaris was being conducted inside the Bhavan at the time of the incident. The Sant Nirankari Mission is a spiritual organization and the Bhavan here lies close to the international airport. The Director General of Police Suresh Arora, who along with senior police officers rushed to the spot, told media that the incident prima facie appeared to be a terrorist act.

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After the incident, the Bhavan was sealed by the police and security was stepped up at other "Nirankari Bhavans" in Punjab. An NIA team is going to visit the blast site on Monday. At the time of the incident, about 200 devotees including many women were inside at the time of the incident. No CCTV was installed at the premises, preliminary investigations said to have found.

Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani/Kashmiri terror groups could not be ruled out. He said the state won't let the "forces of terror" to destroy the hard-earned peace. In the wake of the explosion, he directed the police to immediately enhance security arrangements at all sensitive places. Forensic teams have been rushed to the spot and all angles were being investigated, said the chief minister, adding that the possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani/Kashmiri terror groups could not be ruled out.

It can be noted that Punjab had gone through dark days of militancy in the 1980s and early 1990s and faced few terror attacks in recent years including the one in Pathankot over two years ago.



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After being stopped by AAP members from being part of the Signature Bridge inauguration by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, a miffed Manoj Tiwari, the Delhi BJP chief who got into a brawl with the police issued a warning to the men in kakhi.

He said he has identified those who misbehaved and also named Additional DCP R P Meena.

The scuffle started as AAP did not want BJP leader to take any credit for the long overdue Signature Bridge.

"I've identified the policemen who got into an altercation with me. I recognize them all and in four days, I'll show them what the police really is. (Police ke jin logon ne mujhse dhakka-mukki ki hai unki shinakht ho gayi hai. Mein in sabko pehchaan chuka hun aur 4 din mein inko bataunga ki police kya hoti hai.)," said Manoj Tiwari, BJP, MP.

Ravindra Yadav, Joint CP Eastern Range said that police staff on duty at the place of the function performed their task with utmost restraint and diligence.

"The main function was held smoothly without any disturbance. Though there was slogan shouting police segregated the groups and did not allow any clash or violence to take place. The situation was handled very professionally by Delhi Police and not allowed to take an ugly turn," he said

On allegations that it was Tiwari and his men who triggered the ruckus he said he was only there to welcome Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but AAP members attacked him.

The BJP Chief had earlier shown resentment over no invitation for the inauguration of the bridge despite it being in his constituency. He had also announced that he would be present at the function and bring a bouquet for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was to inaugurate the bridge.

The iconic bridge was announced in 2004 and since then has missed several deadlines and on Sunday was scheduled to be finally inaugurated by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. This bridge will be India's first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge and will offer a panoramic view of the city. Built over river Yamuna, Signature Bridge will reduce the travel time between north and northeast Delhi.

NAMASTE BRIDGE

India’s first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge, with the gesture ‘namaste’.

575 mt The bridge is long.

The Signature Bridge is an eight-lane carriageway connecting Outer Ring Road and Wazirabad Road which reduces travel time for those going towards Ghaziabad side by more than 30 minutes.

The bridge boasts of 127 strands of back-stay cables, spherical bearings of 17,300-tonne vertical capacity, pendulum bearing to resist uplift of 6,300 tonnes, and transportation and handling of 460-tonne pylon base segment.

The iconic bridge will provide a huge boost to the economy of the area as it will draw tourists from across NCR, India and even abroad. It would have an impact on the socio-cultural fabric of the area.


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Bursting crackers could land you in trouble this Diwali. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed a ban on manufacture, sale, and use of high sound and light emitting crackers including series crackers (laris) across the country.

Those crackers free from the ban need to be burst at designated fields/areas between 8 pm and 10 pm in the capital and adjoining NCR (National Capital Region) area only. Other states have been urged to designate similar community areas.

To ensure compliance of its orders, the Court designated Station House Officer (SHO) of each police station as the nodal officer to receive complaints and book those found violating the order.


This is the first time in the two years that the Court has been exploring means to reduce pollution during Diwali, that it has radically cut down on chemicals permitted to used in firecrackers. By further imposing restrictions on time and place, Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan ensured a curb on noisy, noxious celebrations.

But the question is whether this will be implemented on ground.

Curbs were imposed by the top court in the past too. In 2015, three toddlers filed a PIL seeking a total ban on crackers. On November 11, 2016, the Court suspended all licenses permitting a wholesale or retail sale of fireworks within Delhi-NCR after noting PM2.5 levels crossing 700 µg/m3. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was directed to study the harmful effects of chemicals used in fireworks. The order impacted 821 firework manufacturing industries in and around Sivakasi.

On July 31, 2017, the Court prohibited the use of five chemicals and their compounds in the manufacture of fireworks. These were antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead. By September the same year, the Court added strontium chromate to the list after information from CPCB that it caused lung cancer and skin problems.

No crackers could be burst within 100 metres of silence zones and number of temporary firework licenses in Delhi-NCR was capped at 500. On October 9, 2017, Court considered increased air pollution prior to Diwali and banned the sale of crackers in and around Delhi till November 1, 2017.

After Tuesday's order, licences of manufacturers found selling banned crackers, will be suspended by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). The Court will monitor implementation of its order on December 11.

ALL CELEBRATION, NO POLLUTION

Supreme Court bans manufacture, sale of high sound and light emitting firecrackers

SILENCED

• Those with arsenic, lead, lithium, antimony, mercury, strontium chromate  
• Joined or series crackers such as laris  
• Crackers based on barium salt which emit green light  
•  High sound and light emitting crackers   
• Crackers using ash as dessicant or filler material   
• Crackers with charcoal beyond limits specified by PESO

SPARKING ILL-HEALTH

• Highly toxic heavy metals such as copper, cadmium, lead, manganese, zinc, sodium and potassium make up crackers.   
• In air, these can trigger asthma attacks, cause severe headache, respiratory problems, and contribute to chronic cough

BREATHTAKING FESTIVAL

• WHO listed 14 Indian cities, including Delhi, in its list of world’s Top 15 cities with dirtiest air.  
• On Oct 9, 2017: SC suspended licences of all cracker sellers in Delhi for a month. However, many purchased crackers illegally or brought out old stocks.  
• AQI on Tuesday in Delhi measured at 253, more than six times the WHO safe maximum

WHAT SC SAID

• All crackers emitting over 50dB noise, smoke, and white sparkle are banned.   
• Low emission ‘green’ firecrackers permitted   
• Fireworks allowed between 8 pm to 10 pm at designated community spots Delhi-NCR 
• Clamp on e-commerce websites on sale of illegal firecrackers  
• Station House Officers to monitor  celebrations in their area

PAST FIZZLE

In 2005, SC said fireworks must be evaluated on the basis of chemical composition, not just noise.  PESO set guidelines but covered only 4 of 40 notified categories of explosives.   Took three years to come up with guidelines for four categories

GREENSPEAK

One decision to allow sale, use of firecrackers, while half of our country turns into a gas chamber, will kill toddlers, children and elderly — Vimlendu Jha, Environmentalist


This should have come earlier because manufacturers are ready with all kinds of firecrackers and it will be very hard to stop them — Sunil Dahiya, Greenpeace



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A jobless husband and desire to buy property in the capital led Paytm boss Vijay Shekhar Sharma's secretary to mastermind an extortion bid of Rs 10 crore on her own employer, police said. The police said they have raided the house of the accused Sonia Dhawan, secretary of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar and recovered some evidence in regard with the case.

 
Sources in the police also revealed that the accused planned to steal data from Paytm in order to launch their own start up later, similar to Paytm.

Being the secretary of the managing director, Sonia Dhawan had access to all documents and data of the company. Accused Sonia Dhawan, secretary of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar, her husband Rupak Jain and Devendra Kumar, who worked as senior manager in the administration department of the company was arrested on Monday.

"Since Sonia's husband Roopak Jain was jobless and had suffered major loss in real estate business so they asked Sonia to to steal data from Paytm and give it to Devendra Kumar, from the administration department," said Ajay Pal Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Later Kumar handed out that data which was stored in a hard disk to Rohit Chomal who lives in Kolkata and was threatening to leak the same data. They used a fake WhatsApp account through which they contacted the Paytm owner and demanded the extortion money.

"When they first made the call on September 20, they demanded Rs30 crore but later came down to Rs 20 crore. It was much later with a couple of rounds of negotiations that the accused settled for Rs 10 crore," said Sharma.

 
Sharma further said the woman had around 10 months ago expressed to her boss that she wanted to buy a property for herself in NCR. However, not seeing her interest getting materialised, she opted for the easy way to make quick money.

"They continuously demanded Rs 10 crore and were even successful in getting Rs 2.67 lakhs. However after Chomal's identity came to light the entire nexus was revealed. Following which Shekhar made a complaint against them after which the three were arrested on Monday Morning from their office," said Sharma.

A team of Noida police officials raided her residence in Surajpur on Tuesday and seized the hard-disk and other materials. Police gave also identified the role of another man from Kolkata who is yet to be arrested.

Police have recovered a pen drive which contains information and phone calls used during extortion, a hard disk which contains personal and confidential data of Paytm. The print out of WhatsApp chats and four mobile phone have also been recovered.

Sources said that the accused were also planning to launch their own e-money wallet so they stole the data which would make it easier for them to come up with a their own start up.


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Punjab's Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday pointed out loopholes into the October 19 train accident while accusing the Indian Railways and the central government responsible for the tragedy.

Sidhu told ANI, "Why and how was the driver given a clean chit within six hours? Why has his name not been revealed as yet? The place where the incident took place belongs to the Centre, the tracks, railway engine, police and guards are also under the jurisdiction of the central government and it is the Centre which has lodged the FIR also."

 
His wife, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, was a chief guest at the event where the incident took place. Clarifying his stance on the matter, he said: "Yes, she was the chief guest there. She had many events lined up on that day. This was the fourth one and she had to leave for another event following this. As soon as the effigy was burnt, she left. She was on her way to another event when she came to know about the incident and she wanted to return to the spot but the police commissioner asked her not to as the incident had already taken place. That is why she went to the hospital."

The minister accused the Indian Railways of negligence. He said, "One eyewitness told me that the light of the train was not working, if that is the case then how was the train allowed to go on track? If that is not the case then the light of the train gives a vision of three kilometers. More than 500 people were present there and were taking pictures, obviously there was light from their phones and an LED light was also there. How did no one see that? What was the guard doing?"

Sidhu also claimed that the Ravana effigy burning has been happening at that particular place for the past 50 years and 21 Ravanas were burnt in Punjab along the railway line. Further sharpening his attack, he said: "Ravana effigy is not installed in a few seconds. Why did no one raise an objection then? Out of the 21 places, I can tell you more than 18 would not have had permission. Does the Railways have no responsibility?"

"Loss of life is irreparable. I urge those doing politics over dead bodies to stop. No compensation can bring a lost life," said Sidhu.

The accident took place in Choura Bazar near Jhoda Phatak area of Amritsar after a train ran over the crowd, standing along railway tracks, to watch an effigy of Ravan being burnt. In the incident 59 people dead while 57 sustained injuries in the tragedy.

SIT TO BE FORMED

Amritsar Commissioner of Police SS Srivastava on Monday confirmed that Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate the train accident which took place here on October 19. As many as 59 people were dead and 57 injured in the train tragedy.

 
Speaking to ANI, Srivastava said: "A case has been registered with the Railway Police in connection with the deaths. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) rank officer is monitoring the overall situation. SIT has been constituted to investigate. A separate magisterial inquiry is already underway."

A petition was filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court by a Gurugram-based lawyer seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry or formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the Amritsar train accident.

Petitioner Dinesh Kumar Dakoria has sought directions for court monitored probe, besides seeking a direction to set up a commission under retired or sitting justices of the High Court for assessment and estimation of personal losses for granting adequate compensation.


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Activist Rehana Fathima, who had made an attempt to enter Sabarimala temple, has been expelled from the Muslim community for "hurting the sentiments of lakhs of Hindu devotees", the Kerala Muslim Jama'ath Council said.

Initiating action against Rehana, Kerala Muslim Jama'ath Council president A Poonkunju said in a press statement Saturday that she had been expelled from the community.

He said the Council has also directed the Ernakulam Central Muslim Jama'ath to expel her and her family from the membership of Mahallu.

 
"Her act hurt lakhs of Hindu devotees," the statement said.

Her act was also against the rituals of Hindu community, it said.

Pookunju said Rehana, who had participated in 'Kiss of Love' agitation and acted nude in a film, "has no right to use a Muslim name".

The activist's house was allegedly vandalised by unidentified persons while she was away trying to climb the holy hills on Friday.

She made a failed attempt to reach the temple with heavy police protection.

The attackers reached Rehana's house in Panambilly Nagar here while she was climbing the hills.

Rehana, a model and activist who was part of the 'Kiss of Love' movement in Kochi in 2014 against alleged moral policing, was among the two women who had reached the hilltop, but had to return before reaching the sanctum sanctorum following massive protests by Ayyappa devotees.

Rehana and Hyderabad-based journalist Kavitha were taken to the hills with heavy police protection.

A mother of two and employee of the BSNL, the activist had kicked up a row last year by posing for topless photos with watermelons in protest against a Kozhikode-based college professor's statement comparing women's breasts to watermelons.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered by police in Pathanamthitta against the activist for hurting religious sentiments.The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by one Radhakrishna Menon.

 
On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by then chief justice Dipak Misra had lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine, but a section of devotees is protesting the decision.


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Questioned over the delay in reaching Amritsar after a train accident that killed 59 people, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that the state government is doing the best it can and the entire state cabinet is in the city.

Mr. Singh said he was in Delhi and was to leave for Tel Aviv, Israel when he heard of the accident. He added that did not reach Amritsar on Friday as the administration was involved with relief and rescue and a VIP visit would have affected the operation.

"I was on my way to Tel Aviv. Governor came here yesterday. Many ministers came. When a tragedy occurs the entire administration gets involved. They cannot come and welcome VIPs. We have come here as soon as we could come. Today, the entire cabinet of Punjab is here," Singh said during his visit to Amritsar.

At least 59 people were killed and 72 injured Friday evening after a crowd of Dussehra revelers that had spilled onto railway tracks while watching the burning of Ravana effigy was run over by a train in Amritsar.

Singh said he has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the tragic accident and facts will come out in four weeks.

When asked to divulge details about the tragedy, he said he did not want to pre-judge and would wait for the inquiry to complete.

"We are ordering a magisterial inquiry into the incident under the police commissioner who will submit a report in 4 weeks," he said.

He also met the injured and kin of those killed in the tragic accident in the hospital.

While the administration had earlier said 61 people were killed, the chief minister put the death toll at 59.

59 people were killed and 57 injured in the accident, he said, adding except nine, most of the bodies have been identified. Earlier, Sub Divisional Magistrate Rajesh Sharma had said that 61 people, including women and children, have died and at least 72 injured have been admitted to hospitals.

Singh said compensation of Rs five lakh each for the families of the deceased had already been announced by the state government.

Besides, the government would bear the cost of medical treatments of the injured admitted to different hospitals, he told reporters.

After landing at the Amritsar airport, Singh reached the accident site. He met senior officials and members of the crisis management group and took stock of the relief work.

He was accompanied by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Education Minister O P Soni, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, among others.

The incident took place on Friday evening when at least 300 people were watching the 'Ravana Dahan' at a ground adjacent to the tracks. As the effigy was lit and fireworks went off, a section of the crowd started retreating towards the tracks where a large number of people were already standing to watch the event, officials had said.

The train was coming from Jalandhar when the accident occurred at Joda Phatak near Amritsar.

A video of the tragic incident showed that several people were run over by a train when they were watching the burning of an effigy of demon king Ravana, as part of the Dussehra celebrations.

All offices and educational institutions will remain closed on Saturday in view of the tragedy.


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In a most unfortunate incident, Rayalaseema Student Union leaders who criticized Trivikram for showing Rayalaseema in a bad light, met with an accident while traveling back from Hyderabad. One Jalam Srinivas lost his life and others are in critical condition.

The accident happened while one of them was going live on Facebook and started showing it to the person in driving. The video has gone viral now.

Jalam Srinivas, VV Naidu, Ravi Kumar, and Krishna Naik were among the student union members at the press meet in Hyderabad press club, where they criticized director Trivikram Srinivas for showing the violence and faction of Rayalaseema in Aravinda Sametha film.

They demanded an apology from Trivikram for his acts started provoking the youth of Rayalaseema again when the faction has completely gone down to one percent in the last few years. They raised an objection on few dialogues like Rao Ramesh's 'Faction mee DNA lo ne undi', 'Nuvvu Kathi Pattinavante Adi Lakshanam' and few scenes like NTR wiping the blood on the knife to his trousers, as these scenes and dialogues are getting huge response among the audience. 

On the other side, few journalists and social activists belonging to Rayalaseema expressed their dissent and angst when they heard about some fans of NTR started celebrating this unfortunate incident. It is the most hideous and inhumane thing ever if it is true that few are attributing this accident as a curse for criticizing Aravinda Sametha.


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HEAVY RAIN LASHES OUT IN SEVERAL PARTS OF HYDERABAD LIKE BORABANDA, GACHHIBOWLI,M|YAPUR : Due to the heavy rains in Borabanda and Moosapet 1 person fallen and washout in Drain near Saibaba Temple, Borabanda after information reached Dy.mayor Shri.Baba Fasiuddin Visited and Coordinated with DRF and GHMC Mansooon team for speedy action for trace out the diseased with in span of time 25 mins his name Mr.Rajaiah residence of Rama Rao Nagar, Moosapet .




NEWS REPORTER ARBAAZ TELANGANA WATCH NEWS HYDERABAD


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At least 832 people have lost their lives after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake resulted in a devastating Tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi a couple of days ago. But the Vice President says over a thousand bodies could be recovered from the concrete and lumber that blanketed the entire island.

According to the Indonesian disaster Management Agency, 2.4 million people were impacted by the earthquake that rocked the country on Friday. More than 17,000 people are left homeless and several thousands are estimated to be badly injured in the disaster.

Official figures reveal that the earthquake-tsunami has claimed 821 lives in Palu and another 11 people have been confirmed dead in Donggala. Nearly 540 people were hospitalized with serious injuries. This is said to be one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded in the picturesque island nation. Relief operations are being carried out slowly due to power shortage and challenging conditions for transport.


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A day ahead of the Bharat Bandh called for by the Congress Party, fuel prices have been hiked yet again on Sunday.

In New Delhi, the price of petrol has been hiked to Rs. 80.50 per litre, and diesel to Rs.72. 61 per litre, following an increase of 12 paise and 10 paise, respectively.

The surge in fuel prices has affected people in Mumbai the most, with petrol retailing at Rs. 87.89 per litre and diesel at 77.09 per litre, after a 12 paise and 11 paise hike, respectively.

The constant rise in fuel prices is strengthening citizens' demand for government intervention in the matter.

"There is an increase in the fuel price with each passing day, and the common man is suffering the most. The government should do something about it, a citizen from New Delhi to ANI.

A local from Mumbai, while narrating the plight of commoners, said rising fuel prices have triggered a surge in the prices of other commodities as well.

"We are tired of this government. Instead of the 'Achhe Din' promised by the government, the days are becoming worse. It has become difficult for us to run our house. The fuel prices are increasing with each passing day. It is affecting everything, everything is becoming expensive due to it," he added.

As a mark of protest against the exorbitant fuel prices, the Shiv Sena put up hoardings on Saturday night across Mumbai, displaying figures of petrol, diesel, and gas from 2015 and 2018 to highlight the surge in prices.

While the government has maintained that depreciation of the Indian Rupee against the US dollar and a hike in global crude oil prices is causing a surge in domestic oil prices, citizens and the Opposition alike feel the Narendra Modi government is not doing enough to curb rising oil prices.

A nationwide shutdown will be observed on September 10 (Monday) by the Congress, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), while left parties have given a separate call for bandh on the same day over the hike in fuel prices, the problem of farmers and unemployment issues.