Monday, December 29, 2025

Mumbai: Atleast 4 killed, 16 injured as fire breaks out at crystal tower building

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Tehelka Web Desk
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At least four people were killed and sixteen reportedly injured in a fire that broke out in Crystal Tower near Hindmata Cinema in Parel, Mumbai on Wednesday morning.

The deceased includes one woman and three men.

At 8:32am, the fire brigade control room got a message about the fire on twelfth floor of the building.

According to the officials, the smoke from the raging fire spread quickly and residents got trapped on the building’s staircases.

Many residents who were evacuated with the help of crane, were trapped on the top floor of the high-rise building.

The fire has been brought under control.

The injured people were rushed to the hospital and are being treated there.

As per the latest report, the fire that claimed four lives is reportedly due to a short circuit.

Stone pelters mar Eid festivities in Srinagar, wave flags of Pakistan, ISIS

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Tehelka Web Desk
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The celebrations of Eid-Al-Adha on August 22 was marred by violence in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city when stone-pelters became violent and came out on the streets and waved flags of Pakistan and dreaded terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The stone pelters chanted slogans and clashed with police personnel on duty in Srinagar’s Eidgah area, following the Eid prayers.

Demonstrators also pelted stones on security personnel, who were trying to disperse them.

In another incident a policeman was shot dead by terrorists outside an Eidgah in Zazripora, when he was leaving after offering prayers.

Jammu and Kashmir: Terrorists kill SPO in Shopian

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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A Special Police Officer (SPO) was shot dead by terrorists on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district.

As per the sources, Fayaz Ahmad Shah was returning home after offering Eid prayers and was shot dead by terrorist near his home.

He was shifted to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. SPOs are engaged on a fixed monthly emolument by police to fight insurgency. In most cases, the SPOs are not trained in handling firearms.

Fayaz Ahmed Shah, 34 was a resident of Zazripora area. He is survived by two daughters and a wife.

Jammu and Kashmir: BJP worker shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, Shabir Ahmed Bhat, was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwana district on Wednesday morning.

Bhat was killed by terrorists at around 2:30 am in Rakh-e-litter village.

Bhat was BJP constituency president for the Pulwama district.

As per the officials, Bhat was kidnapped on Tuesday evening from between a bus stand and BJP office in the area, after which a massive manhunt was launched to track him. 

Union minister of State for Development of North Eastern Regions, Dr. Jitendra Singh condoled Bhat’s death, “Deeply shocked by the saddening act of extreme cowardice by terrorists, who barged into the house of Bharatiya Janata Party #BJP worker Shabir Ahmed Bhat in Pulwama, J&K, and shot him dead in the wee hours today,” he tweeted.

BJP party president Amit Shah while reacting on the killing of the party worker said, that the sacrifice won’t go in vain, calling it an “act of cowardice.”

Mandsaur gang rape: 2 awarded death sentence, trial done in under 2 months

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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In less than two months, a special Court in Mandsaur on August 21 awarded death penalty to two accused Irfan and Asif in Mandsaur gang rape.

The duo has been awarded death penalty for abducting and raping a seven-year-old girl on June 26. The men raped her, tortured her and then finally slit her throat. The crime had shocked the country and sparked violent protests.

The men were caught within 24 hours of the incident after police examined the photographs and CCTV footage.

“Today I can say that my heart is satisfied,” Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan said while commenting on the death penalty awarded to two culprits of Mandsaur gang rape.

“This is the sixth death in a month is a record. The credit of this sentence goes to prosecution and police,” said Rajendra Kumar, director general of public prosecution.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Chouhan also confirmed that a total of 13 individuals till date have been sentenced to death in connection with the raping of minor girls in the state.

Addressing the media Chouhan said, “As per the provisions to penalise such culprits with the harshest of punishment, 13 people have so far been sentenced to death.”

Madhya Pradesh was the first state to announce a law to award death penalty to individuals accused in rape of minor girls. The law awards the death penalty to rapists of girls below the age of 12. It was unanimously passed in the state assembly in December 2017.

Speaking on the steps being taken to put a stop to such incidents in the future, Chouhan said, “On one hand, we are imparting lessons and inculcating the right values, and on the other hand, strict punishments, a culmination of the two will help us prevent such incidents from happening.”

Senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat passes away at 63

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat breathed his last in Primus Hospital in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri on Wednesday. He was 63.

As per the reports, the veteran leader died of heart attack.

Gurudas Kamat also served as the former Mumbai Congress president.

Many Congress members condoled Gurudas Kamat’s death.

Ashok Gehlot tweeted, “Shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the sudden demise of Senior Congress leader Sh. Gurudas Kamat ji. His passing away is an irreparable loss for us. My heartfelt condolences to his family members, may god give them strength to bear this loss. May his soul Rest in peace.”

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter and said, “Shocked and deeply anguished to learn about the sudden demise of Senior Congress Leader Sh Gurudas Kamat ji. No words are enough to describe the sense of loss. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and followers. I pray for the departed soul”.

Satyajeet Tambe Patil, Vice-President, Maharashtra Youth Congress took to Twitter and stated that Kamat’s demise was his personal loss. “Shocked … My leader Gurudas Kamat is no more. It is my personal loss as well as unrepairable loss of Congress party”, Patil tweeted.

Kamat was a commerce graduate and had a law degree, he was an advocate by profession.

Kerala floods: Rehabilitation efforts begin, Rail and Road traffic partially resumed

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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With the rains stopping and the water level receding in Kerala, the state is slowly coming back on its track and started the mammoth process of recovery and rehabilitation.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Even if the water has receded, the houses may not be liveable. The rehabilitation work has already begun.”

CM Vijayan added, “The affected houses need inspection. There is a danger of snakes lurking around. Machinery may not work. There has to be a lot of caution in going back home. It is not advisable for families to go back by themselves.”

He further added that nearly 26 lakh people have lost electricity. The connection would be reestablished soon, with no extra charge.

The state has incurred a loss of Rs 19,512 crore so far and agriculture in 40,000 hectares has been destroyed and 20,000 houses have been destroyed so far.

Updates:

Rebuilding needs a lot of funds. The total amount that has come to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund so far is Rs 210 crore. An additional Rs 160 crore has been promised.

The rebuilding has already begun in 11 municipal corporations. Rs 25000 would be given to the panchayat wards for cleanliness works, and Rs 50,000 to municipal wards.

Some teams, including CII and Labour Contract Society, have come forward to help with the rehabilitation work.

Industry officials revealed that banks are likely to come out with loan restructuring packages.

Rail and road traffic has been partially restored across Kerala, the train services in Kayankulam-Kottayam- Ernakulam, and Palakkad-Shoranur-Kozhikkode sections have been resumed.

Damages in Aluva- Thrissur, Thrissur-Shoranur, Kayamkulam-Kottayam- Ernakulam Shoranur-Tirur, Shoranur- Palakkad routes have been fixed.

Few special trains were started via Trivandrum, Tirunelveli, and Madurai to Chennai, Egmore, Howarah, Gorakhpur, Bhubaneswar routes to evacuate stranded people.

Railway had begun running 159 Express trains and 11 passenger trains connecting Kerala to the rest of the states from August 16-18.

Sacrilege of religious texts punishable with life imprisonment, Punjab Cabinet approves the draft bill

By
Sunny Sharma
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The Punjab Cabinet has approved amendments to CrPC and IPC to make sacrilege of all religious texts punishable with life imprisonment, thus taking a major step towards curbing such incidents and maintaining communal harmony in the state.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, here on Tuesday. The Cabinet also approved a series of other Bills to be tabled before the Assembly in the forthcoming session.

According to an official spokesperson, the Cabinet has approved insertion of Section 295AA to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to provide that “whoever causes injury, damage or sacrilege to Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagwad Geeta, Holy Quran and Holy Bible with the intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people, shall be punished with imprisonment for life.”

Committed to preserve communal harmony in the state, Capt Amarinder Singh tweeted, “The Cabinet today decided on amendments to IPC to make sacrilege of all religious texts punishable with life imprisonment. We will place the Bill in the Vidhan Sabha for approval. I stand firmly committed to preserve communal harmony in the State.”

Imran Khan defends Navjot Singh Sidhu, calls him Ambassador of Peace

By
Aditi Chahar
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After Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh and Shiv Sena bumping into Punjab Minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu for attending the oath-taking ceremony of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his act of huglomacy, its turn of Khan to wade into the row.

In a tweet, Imran Khan today thanked Navjot Singh Sidhu for attending his oath ceremony describing him as an “ambassador or peace”. “Those in India who targeted him are doing a great disservice to peace in the subcontinent – without peace, our people cannot progress,” Imran Khan said in the tweet.

The tweet surfaced shortly after cricketer-turned-minister Navjot Singh Sidhu defended his visit to Pakistan and a hug shared with the Pakistani army chief.

Sidhu, addressing days of criticism from rivals as well as his own party leaders, asserted that his visit was “not about politics”, that he had gone on the invitation of an old friend.

He referred to peace gestures by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made an unscheduled trip to Lahore in 2015 on the prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s birthday.

“No one is questioning PM Modi,” he said. “For peace, prosperity, goodwill messages are necessary.”

On criticism from his own boss, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, he said: “I was criticised by the Captain, by top Congress leaders. It is not necessary that if the Captain has spoken against me, I should too.”

You can’t, he added pointedly, try to please everybody. “He who tried to, pleases nobody.”

Sidhu also defended the embrace he shared with Pakistani army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, saying it was an “emotional” response.

“The Pak Army chief said they were making efforts to open a corridor from India’s Dera Baba Nanak to the historic Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. What followed was an emotional moment,” said the loquacious cricketer-turned-politician.

Amarinder Singh, who has not shared the best of ties with his minister, had earlier ticked off Sidhu publicly saying “I think it was wrong for Sidhu to have shown the affection he did for the Pakistan Army chief, I am not in its favor… The fact is that the man should understand that our soldiers are being killed every day. My own regiment lost one major and two jawans a few months ago,” the Chief Minister had said.

Sidhu was the only Indian to attend the oath-taking ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (the President House) in Islamabad, on the invitation of Imran Khan, his contemporary and friend from their cricket days.

With this it seems, the row over the visit of Navjot Singh Sidhu to Pakistan refuses to die.

Ahmed Patel, Meira Kumar, Falerio get key posts in Congress reshuffle

By
Aditi Chahar
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To set the tone for the 2019 general election, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today made some changes in the party set up. The changes come a month after Rahul Gandhi restructured the party set up and dropped veterans such as Digvijaya Singh, Sushikumar Shinde, Janardhan Dwivedi and CP Joshi from the all-powerful CWC and appointed some new faces in their place.

Senior leader Ahmed Patel has been appointed the new treasurer in place of Motilal Vora.

Vora, the veteran Congress leader who was hitherto the party treasurer has been made AICC general secretary administration. It is a newly-created post to accommodate Motilal Vora. Patel, who turned 69 today, was earlier the political secretary of former party chief Sonia Gandhi. He had earlier served as the AICC treasurer from 1996 to 2000. 

Rahul Gandhi also appointed former Union minister Anand Sharma as the chairperson of the party’s foreign affairs department replacing Karan Singh, AICC general secretary, organization, Ashok Gehlot said in a statement.  Former speaker Meira Kumar was made a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party. 

Luizinho Falerio was appointed as AICC general secretary in-charge of the northeastern states, except Assam. He replaces C P Joshi, who ceases to be the party general secretary.

“The party appreciates the hard work and contribution of Motilal Vora as treasurer of the party,” Gehlot said in the statement.

In another statement, he also appreciated the contribution made by Karan Singh as chairperson of the AICC foreign affairs department and Joshi as general secretary of north-eastern states.

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