Good morning,
Today we are covering the "complicity" of Delhi Police during the riots in February, the impact of the FinCEN investigation and how Ram Vilas Paswan made political waves in his very first election.
The Big Story
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passed away at a Delhi hospital, following cardiac ailments and a kidney shutdown, leaving behind a legacy that spanned two of the biggest churning points of post-Independent politics — Mandal and Dalit.
And while Paswan liked being in the limelight at the Centre, he ensured his hold in the state, remaining the third angle of Bihar politics after Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. His LJP continues to command at least 5-7% of the vote share, with Paswan virtually its only bankable name.
From The Front Page
“Freedom of speech and expression may be the most abused freedom in recent times,’’ the Supreme Court observed as it took exception to what it called an ‘‘evasive’’ affidavit filed by the Centre in response to a petition alleging discriminatory news coverage of the Tablighi Jamaat issue.
The prime accused in the Hathras assault and gangrape case claimed that he and the 19-year-old Dalit woman were “friends” who often spoke over the phone. In a letter to the police, he and three other accused claimed she was beaten up by her brother and mother, an allegation they deny.
Mumbai Police claimed to have busted a “racket” of “fraudulent” manipulation of Television Rating Points (TRPs) involving three channels, including Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV. They made four arrests in the case and said they were in the process of issuing summons to some senior employees of Republic, including their promoters.
At the Air Force Day ceremony at Hindan air base on Thursday.
Must Read
"You will get justice at all costs": Jammu & Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha walked over half-a-kilometre across mountainous terrain to meet the family members of the three Rajouri labourers who were killed in a fake encounter by the Army in Shopian on July 18 this year.
The Delhi government has flagged a set of seven videoclips to the Delhi Police that include two of policemen purportedly throwing bricks alongside rioters and egging them on during the Northeast Delhi riots.
THE FinCEN Files investigation by The Indian Express has set off a major exercise within the government to find out if Indian banks whose transactions were red-flagged as “suspicious” — by the US regulator — brought these to the attention of the Indian financial watchdog.
While no evidence has been available as of yet, the security establishment is keeping an eagle eye on China and Pakistan because there’s increasing intelligence on the Chinese helping the latter improve its military infrastructure, especially in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pitched battles were fought in parts of Kolkata and neighbouring Howrah on Thursday afternoon as BJP workers clashed with police after they were stopped from marching to the state secretariat.
Police use water cannons to stop BJP workers from toppling barricades on Howrah Bridge on Thursday.
ICYMI
- India’s GDP is estimated to contract by 9.6 per cent in 2020-21, a sharp cut from the June forecast of 3.2 per cent contraction due to the impact of the lockdown, The World Bank said.
- The NIA on Thursday took into custody 83-year-old Jharkhand-based activist Stan Swamy from his Ranchi home in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case.
- The Rajasthan government has instructed its officials that they should stand up to welcome MPs and MLAs during their visits, and also when they leave, as a gesture of respect.
- Former Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey, who opted for VRS four months before he was to retire and joined the JD(U), did not get a ticket to contest the Bihar Assembly polls.
- Amid speculation about Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP joining the NDA, the CBI has booked the party’s rebel MP Kanumuru Raghu Ramakrishna Raju and his wife in an alleged bank loan fraud case.
And Finally...
Till Wednesday, 80-year-old Kanta Prasad would have to take home most of what he cooked for customers at his small blue kiosk in Malviya Nagar. On Thursday, he had to shut shop before noon as he ran out of food.
Delhi Confidential: Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s latest blog is a paean to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Until tomorrow,
Leela Prasad and Liu Chuen Chen
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