INDIA: News in brief

Bank staff to protest outside Parliament against mergers

Chennai, September 11 (IANS): The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body of nine banking sector trade unions, will hold demonstration before the Parliament next week to protest against the mega bank merger plan announced by the government, a top banking union leader said. All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS that the UFBU has decided to a national dharna before Parliament on Sep 20 at 10.30 a.m. The UFBU has also decided to give a memorandum to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

 

CBI to adopt new approach to probe crimes

New Delhi, September 11 (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is going to adopt a new approach to deal with the cases it gets to probe as there have been a lot of changes in the crime manual since 2005, officials said on Wednesday. "There is a crime manual and it was last revised in 2005. Since then there have been amendments in the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Supreme Court has made a large number judgments. Also, in 2005, cyber crime was not as prevalent as it is now, said a CBI spokesperson. The official also pointed out that the agency is working to increase coordination with the states' police and investigation agencies of foreign countries. "There is work going on to increase coordination between various state police forces regarding modus operandi of how interstate crimes are connected," said another person familiar with the development. He said, earlier very few people who had committed crimes were wanted outside and vice versa. That has changed. "Now the CBI gets requests from other countries also. So this is the roadmap for long term changes," he said.  

 

English to be medium of instruction in Andhra govt schools

Amaravati, September  11 (IANS): All government-run schools in Andhra Pradesh will have English as the medium of instruction from class 1 to 8, Chief Minister Y S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced on Wednesday. The government will impart the necessary training to teachers to meet the changing needs, and as part of this exercise, nearly 70,000 teachers would be trained in District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). Introducing English as medium of instruction is part of the sweeping reforms the state government is planning to introduce in the education sector. During a review meeting on education, Reddy said vacant posts of teachers will be filled in January every year and the teacher-student ratio would be maintained at all times. Environment, climate change and road safety would also be included in the curriculum. The state government has also decided to refurbish 44,512 schools under 'Then and now' programme and the first phase will cover 15, 410 schools.

 

India's 2nd Scorpene-class sub to be commissioned on Sep 28

New Delhi, September  11 (IANS): India's second Scorpene-class attack submarine INS Khanderi will be commissioned into the Navy by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai on September 28, defence officials said on Wednesday. The conventional diesel-electric submarine has been manufactured by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd in Mumbai. "The Naval chief is also scheduled to attend the function along with the defence minister. September 28 has been finalised as the commissioning date," said a Navy official. The first Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari had been commissioned into the Indian Navy in December 2017.

 

SC to hear plea on live streaming Ayodhya case on September 16

New Delhi, September 11 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that on September 16 it will examine a plea seeking live streaming and recording of the daily hearings in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case. A bench head by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it will hear next week the plea filed by former BJP leader and RSS ideologue K.N. Govindacharya seeking live streaming and audio recording of the proceedings in court. As per the plea, if none of these facilities can be arranged, the apex court should at least prepare the transcripts of the proceedings for record. The transcripts can be released online later. The Ayodhya land dispute case is currently being heard by a five-judge constitution bench headed by the Chief Justice.

 

Indian police kill LET militant behind attack on Kashmir trader's family

NEW DELHI, September 11 (Reuters):  Security forces in Kashmir shot dead on Wednesday a suspected member of a Pakistan-based militant group who was accused of attacking the family of a fruit trader, the state police chief said. Tension is running high in Jammu and Kashmir since India withdrew the disputed Muslim-majority region's special rights in order to integrate it into the country, prompting protests. Last week, militants attacked the home of a fruit trader in Sopore, the region's main fruit-growing area, for carrying on with his business despite widespread protest boycotts, wounding his son, granddaughter and another family member, Indian authorities said. On Wednesday, police killed a militant identified as Asif, who police said was a member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, in Sopore, state police chief Dilbagh Singh told Reuters from Srinagar, the state capital. Hundreds of apple trucks have been moving out Sopore, 45 km from Srinagar, to deliver their produce to the rest of the country in what authorities hail as a sign of normalcy. Singh said Asif was responsible for the assault on the fruit merchant's home and an earlier attack on a labourer. Pakistan, which also claims Kashmir, has vowed what it calls the fullest possible response to the Indian decision to revoke the region's special status.

 

3 held with 10 kg heroin worth Rs 30 cr

New Delhi, September 11 (IANS): Delhi Police have arrested three men with 10 kilograms of heroin and have claimed that it was peddled through the Maoist heartland in Jharkhand. The estimated value of the seized contraband is Rs 30 crore, the police said. The trio were identified as Jai Chand Saxena (31) a resident of Bareilly, Sonu Goswami (26) and Shyam (25) both residents of Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Manishi Chandra, DCP (Special Cell), said: "The market value of the seized heroin has been estimated at Rs 30 crore. The contraband was being smuggled in a luxury car with Jharkhand's registration number". The trio were arrested from Sector 11 of Rohini. The main supplier is suspected to be operating from Maoist affected areas of Jharkhand, the DCP said.