India

Kolkata, Nov 20 (PTI) There was a startling shower of crisp currency notes from the sixth floor of a building in the city's central business district on Wednesday afternoon when DRI officials were conducting a search in a private office on that floor.

Bystanders made hay as bundles of currency notes of denominations of Rs 2000, Rs 500 and Rs 100 were seen being pushed out of a window in the sixth floor with the help of a broom.

Jaipur, Nov 20 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said his government has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and anyone found involved in such acts will not be spared.

During a review meeting of the Anti-corruption Bureau here, the CM said the vigilance wing of ACB should remain active and assured that it will get the resources needed, an official statement said.

In order to provide accountable, sensitive and transparent governance, we have a zero tolerance policy towards corruption," the statement quoted Gehlot as saying.

Lucknow, Nov 20 (PTI) Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday attacked the BJP government over its claimed efforts to make the state's roads pothole-free, saying the saffron party's "corruption" is the biggest hurdle to this.

"When we say there are potholes, the BJP government doesn't believe it. That's why the government should issue a helpline on which people can send photographs and inform about potholes. Will the government believe the people?," Akhilesh said in a tweet in Hindi.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) The Cabinet on Wednesday approved sale of government's stake in five blue-chip PSUs, including Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corp of India (SCI) and Container Corp of India along with transfer of management control, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The government will sell its 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL after taking out Numaligarh refinery from its portfolio, she told reporters here.

Kota, Nov 20 (PTI) A 27-year-old childless woman hanged self to death allegedly due to "taunts" of her husband and in-laws at Jhalawar's Kala Bhatla village, police said on Wednesday.

On the complaint of the woman's father, police have booked her husband and in-law for the abetment to suicide.

The body was handed over to family members after a post-mortem by a medical board on Wednesday morning.

Muzaffarnagar, Nov 21 (PTI) An Uttar Pradesh court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping his 17-year-old step-daughter after her mother died.

The Baghpat additional district and sessions judge Shailendra Pandey also slapped a fine of Rs 53,000 on Wednesday on Mahendra Kumar for the crime.

Kumar was arrested for raping his step-daughter in Baghpat in 2018 and he has been in jail since then, according to the prosecution.

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) The opposition Congress on Thursday protested in Lok Sabha against privatisation of a few PSUs, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and issuance of electoral bonds, terming the move as "big scams".

However, Congress members returned to their seats after the protests and sloganeering in the Well of the House for about 15 minutes when Speaker Om Birla assured them that they will be allowed to raise issues during Zero Hour.

New Delhi, 20 Nov 2019, GANASHAKTI: Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur on Tuesday warned that unless new Chief Justice of India SA Bobde restores the top court’s credibility and stature urgently, it could lead to the death knell of the independence of the judiciary.

Critical of some of the recent verdicts and administrative decisions of the top court, Lokur in an article for the Hindustan Times said “our judges need to show some backbone and spine, particularly in dealing with issues of personal liberty”.

Chandigarh, November 20, GANASHAKTI: “ It is more than 100 days for the lockdown of Kashmir. The economy of the state has been totally shattered. The apple crop has been worst affected. Apple growers have suffered a loss of more than 10 thousand crores of rupees. Tourism industry is shut up. In absence of internet there can be no tourism business. The daily wagers are the worst affected.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday hit out at the government over Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reported remarks that Air India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation could be sold by March, alleging the BJP is making India's best organisations hollow and then selling them.

Her attack comes days after Sitharaman reportedly said the government was looking to wrap up the sale of state-run Air India and oil refiner and marketer BPCL by March 2020.