Category: India

Ranya Rao, a Kannada film actress, was arrested for smuggling gold after being watched for months by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Her father, K Ramachandra Rao, a senior police officer, said he is not involved in her actions.

The DRI suspected Ranya because she traveled a lot to Dubai with her husband, Jatin Hukkeri, who is an architect. They noticed a strange pattern: she made four trips to Dubai in just 15 days! In total, she traveled to Dubai 30 times last year, which made officials think she might be involved in smuggling.

On Monday, when she returned to Bengaluru, she tried to avoid security checks with help from a police constable named Basavaraju. DRI stopped her and found gold in her bag. Ranya was arrested and taken for questioning. When they investigated her home, they found gold jewelry worth ₹2.06 crore (around $250,000) and ₹2.67 crore (around $330,000) in cash.

The DRI confirmed that the total value of everything they found is around ₹17.29 crore (over $2 million), which includes 14.2 kg of gold. Ranya has been accused under the Customs Act and is now in jail for 14 days. During questioning, she claimed someone forced her to smuggle.

Meanwhile, the police arrested the constable Basavaraju for helping her challenge security at the airport. Ranya’s stepfather, DGP K Ramachandra Rao, stated he has no connection to her smuggling activities, saying she got married only a few months ago and hasn’t talked to him since.

The Karnataka Home Minister, G. Parameshwara, has asked for a detailed report from the police following Ranya’s arrest. He mentioned that investigations are ongoing, but he cannot comment more until they get more information.

A special team investigating the tragic stampede during a religious gathering in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, has said that a call to gather “Charan Raj” (holy dust from the feet) of spiritual leader Bhole Baba caused the chaos. This stampede occurred on July 2, leading to 121 deaths.

The team, led by former judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, dismissed claims from organizers that a harmful spray was used to start the stampede. They believe that rumors about the spray were made up by Bhole Baba’s followers to distract from the real cause of the stampede.

The investigation report, which is 1,680 pages long, was shared with the Uttar Pradesh government and discussed in the state assembly. According to the report, many eyewitnesses said that Bhole Baba promised that gathering the Charan Raj would solve all their problems. When people rushed to collect it, they lost control, leading to the stampede.

The commission also noted that there were too many people at the event, far exceeding the number of attendees allowed. No announcements were made to help manage the crowd. Eyewitnesses reported that the crowd was three times bigger than expected, making it hard for Bhole Baba to leave the venue.

The report criticized the event’s management, saying that the organizers kept police and officials away and did not let the media cover the event. People responsible for managing the crowd were not known to the authorities, making the situation more dangerous.

The commission suggests that there may have been a plan behind the stampede to divert attention. They recommend a deeper investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, Bhole Baba’s lawyer, AP Singh, continues to claim that unknown individuals sprayed a harmful substance.

The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given the green light for two ropeway projects at the important religious sites of Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand. These new ropeways will make it easier for pilgrims to reach these places, which are visited by millions every year.

The Kedarnath ropeway will stretch 12.9 km and connect different stops, making the journey faster and more comfortable. Instead of taking about 8 to 9 hours to travel around 16 km by foot or pony, it will now take just 36 minutes! This is great news for elderly people and those with disabilities. The ropeway can carry 1,800 passengers every hour, which means it can move 18,000 people in one day. The project will cost ₹4,081.28 crore and will be built as a partnership between the government and private companies.

Kedarnath, located high in the mountains at 3,583 m (11,968 ft), is an important place for Hindu pilgrims. The temple here is open for about six to seven months each year and attracts around two million visitors during that time.

The Hemkund Sahib project is another exciting development. This ropeway will be 12.4 km long and will help visitors reach the holy site for Sikhs and the stunning Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts between 150,000 to 200,000 visitors each year. The project will cost about ₹2,730.13 crore and will use a different type of gondola system to carry passengers.

Additionally, the government has rolled out a new disease control program for livestock that focuses on important issues like foot and mouth disease and brucellosis. The total budget for this program is ₹3,880 crore over the next two years and will also include initiatives to provide better access to veterinary medicines.

With these projects, the government aims to improve travel to these spiritual sites while also supporting local communities.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath shared an amazing story about a boatman during the recent Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. The boatman and his family made a whopping ₹30 crore in just 45 days! He owned 130 boats, and each one earned about ₹23 lakh during the big religious event. That’s around ₹50,000-₹52,000 every day!

While speaking in the state assembly about the budget for 2025-26, Adityanath highlighted how the Maha Kumbh brought people together from over 100 countries. He emphasized that the event did not care about caste, religion, or borders; it was a mix of tradition and progress.

The Chief Minister responded to claims of unfair treatment during the Kumbh, saying the event was open to everyone and showed off Uttar Pradesh’s strengths to the world. Despite some disagreements from opponents, he said that the faith of the devotees remained strong. More than 66 crore people took a sacred dip at the Sangam during the Kumbh.

He pointed out that while the opposition sees the visitors as a chance to get votes, his government views them as part of their heritage and faith, which is why they have the people’s trust.

Yogi Adityanath estimated that the Maha Kumbh helped the economy of Uttar Pradesh a lot, contributing about ₹3.5 lakh crore. Here’s how the money broke down:
– ₹40,000 crore from hotels
– ₹33,000 crore from food and daily needs
– ₹1.5 lakh crore from transport
– ₹20,000 crore from religious donations
– ₹660 crore from donations
– ₹300 crore from toll fees
– ₹66,000 crore from other activities

Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), went to Punjab for a 10-day meditation retreat, which caused quite a stir in politics. After losing the Delhi assembly elections to the BJP, many people criticized him for arriving in a huge security convoy. AAP’s MP Swati Maliwal compared his security to that of former US President Donald Trump.

Kejriwal is known for criticizing VIP culture, yet he was seen traveling in a large group of bulletproof cars, surrounded by over 100 police officers. BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Kejriwal now acts like a “maharaja” instead of being a common man, which he used to pretend to be. Congress also joined in the criticism; Sandeep Dikshit pointed out that Kejriwal, who used to promote simplicity, now leads an extravagant lifestyle with an enormous convoy to attend a meditation retreat.

Kejriwal and his wife, Sunita, arrived late Tuesday at a rest house and will attend the meditation course at the Dhamma Dhaja Vipassana Centre, near Hoshiarpur.

Members of Parliament (MPs) are getting a big boost in their renovation budget for their official homes. Recently, a committee in the House raised the spending limit for repairs from ₹1.5 lakh (150,000 rupees) to ₹5 lakh (500,000 rupees), which is more than a 230% increase. This change is great for MPs because they often need to make changes or updates to their homes, such as their workspaces and guest rooms.

The Lok Sabha secretariat announced this new budget limit, stating that the House committee is in charge of everything related to MPs’ housing in New Delhi. Many MPs have asked the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for help to make these changes. The CPWD is the only group allowed to do construction work on government properties in this area.

The circular from the Lok Sabha said that the CPWD must check the cost estimates submitted to them and follow all the necessary rules while making these changes. The new renovations cannot cost more than ₹5 lakh and will need the committee’s approval. There are also certain guidelines that say no changes can be made without the approval of an architect and the ministry.

In the past, the government spent ₹193 crore (1.93 billion rupees) over five years to fix and update the MPs’ homes in the famous Lutyens’ area. The then housing minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, shared that there is no limit on how much the government can spend on repairs. While these Lutyens’ homes are considered old and important, the Narendra Modi government has also built new duplex homes for MPs in North Avenue by tearing down some of the older buildings.

In December, Santosh Deshmukh, the village head (also known as a sarpanch) from Beed district in Maharashtra, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed. The people who did this recorded 15 videos, took 8 photos, and made 2 video calls during the incident. They abducted him because he tried to stop them from extorting money from an energy company.

The terrible details of Deshmukh’s murder made a lot of people upset. Dhananjay Munde, a leader in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a government minister, stepped down from his position on Tuesday because many people were demanding it after one of his aides, Walmiki Karad, was arrested for being involved in the case.

The videos showed Deshmukh being beaten with a pipe and stick, and he was forced to chant a phrase about one of his attackers. In another video, one of his attackers even urinated on him while he was hurt.

As the torture went on, one of the accused, Krishna Andhale, who is still on the run, made two video calls on WhatsApp. The police report doesn’t say who he called. They found broken pieces of the pipe that was used to hurt Deshmukh, and it turns out that Sudarshan Ghule, one of the main suspects, runs a crime gang in Beed. This gang has been involved in many illegal activities across various areas.

Munde initially wanted to explain his side of the story in front of the state assembly before he resigned. However, the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his colleague Ajit Pawar rejected his request after the brutal details of the murder became public and the videos spread on social media.

Karad, who helped Munde during his election campaign, is one of the seven people arrested. Munde’s cousin, Pankaja Munde, a leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), mentioned that Dhananjay Munde couldn’t do his job without Karad.

The videos and photos recorded by Deshmukh’s attackers are included in the police report, which many people have seen. This situation caused a protest, or bandh, in Beed on Tuesday. Sandeep Kshirsagar, a lawmaker from the NCP, said that things got tense when the videos were shared online. He added that it was good for the community that Munde has stepped down. The Beed Police also released a statement asking people to remain calm and not to take the law into their own hands.

Police in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, arrested a tattoo shop owner and his helper on Monday. They created a tattoo of Lord Jagannath on a foreign woman’s thigh, which upset many Hindu believers. The incident happened on Sunday when the woman came to the shop and asked for the tattoo. The shop owner, named Rocky, shared a video of the tattooing process on social media, sparking anger among devotees.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Biswaranjan Senapati explained that the video hurt the feelings of many people who admire Lord Jagannath. The police arrested Rocky and his assistant because of this. Interestingly, no action was taken against the foreign woman who got the tattoo. After the video spread on WhatsApp, the police charged Rocky and his assistant with breaking laws that protect the reputation of Lord Jagannath.

This incident has caused a lot of discussions, especially since the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, is very important to many people and is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, who is a beloved figure in Hindu faith.

A 36-year-old woman from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, was very sad after her cat, Titu, passed away. She loved Titu like a child. For three days, she kept Titu’s body close, hoping that it would come back to life. Sadly, on Saturday night, she hung herself. Her family said she had struggled with mental health problems and had received treatment before.

The woman’s mother explained that Titu died quickly one night and that her daughter believed the cat could be revived. Even after many hours, she did not want to bury the cat. Neighbors recalled how close the woman and Titu were, suggesting her past marriage may have left her feeling lonely. After her tragic death, the police helped bury Titu.

Experts believe that for people with mental health issues, pets can become a very important support. A psychologist pointed out that her emotional connection to her cat might have overwhelmed her after it died, leading to her sad decision.

If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless, please remember that there are people who can help. In India, you can contact helplines like 011-23389090 (Sumaitri) or 044-24640050 (Sneha Foundation) for support.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Azmi caused a big stir when he called Mughal emperor Aurangzeb a “good administrator.” This upset many, including Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who called Azmi’s comments “treason” and insisted that legal action should be taken against him.

Azmi, known for making controversial remarks, said that Aurangzeb was not a cruel ruler. He stated that during Aurangzeb’s 52-year reign, if he had been forcing Hindus to convert to Islam, there would have been many more converts. Azmi claimed that while Aurangzeb did destroy temples, he also destroyed mosques, implying he wasn’t strictly anti-Hindu. “The country should not be divided by religion; we must all follow the Constitution,” he added.

In response, Eknath Shinde criticized Azmi, reminding him that Aurangzeb tortured the Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for 40 days. Shinde called Azmi’s remarks wrong and said he should apologize. He suggested that such statements disrespected India’s history.

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC also condemned Azmi’s comments, saying he needs to study history. She emphasized that Aurangzeb only destroyed temples and never built any. BJP leader Ram Kadam joined in the criticism, pointing out that Aurangzeb brutally killed Sambhaji Raja.

The anger over Aurangzeb has grown recently, especially after the release of the movie “Chhava,” making Azmi’s comments even more controversial.