Rahul Gandhi Says I'm For Love, His Love Mani Shankar Aiyar Is Back: BJP

New Delhi, Jul 23: A Delhi court Thursday allowed 198 Indonesians to walk free on payment of varying fines, after they accepted mild charges under the plea bargain process, related to various violations including visa norms while attending the Tablighi Jamaat event here during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Metropolitan Magistrate Vasundhara Azad allowed 100 Indonesians to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 7,000 each, said advocates Ashima Mandla, Fahim Khan and Ahmed Khan, appearing for them.

Metropolitan Magistrate Swati Sharma allowed 98 Indonesians to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 5,000 each.

The court directed the 98 Indonesians to deposit their fines to PM CARES Fund.

The Sub-divisional magistrate of Defence Colony, who was the complainant in the case, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Lajpat Nagar and Inspector of Nizamuddin said they have no objection to it.

However, one Indonesian did not plead guilty to the charges against them and claimed trial before the court.

Under plea bargaining, the accused plead guilty to the offence praying for a lesser punishment. The Criminal Procedure of Code allows for plea bargaining in cases where the maximum punishment is 7-year imprisonment; offences don''t affect the socio-economic conditions of the society and the offence is not committed against a woman or a child below 14 years.

The foreigners were chargesheeted for attending the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz event in the national capital by allegedly violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines, issued in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

They were granted bail earlier by the court on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each.

Karachi, May 29: Investigators and rescue officials have found around Rs 3 crore in cash in the wreckage of the Pakistan International Airlines' aircraft that crashed wth 99 people on board, killing 97 people, including nine children.

Flight PK-8303 from Lahore to Karachi crashed in a residential area near Karachi International Airport on Friday, with only two passengers miraculously surviving the crash.

Investigators and rescue officials have found currencies of different countries and denominations worth around Rs 30 million from the aircraft's wreckage, an official said on Thursday.

"An investigation has been ordered into how such a huge amount of cash got through airport security and baggage scanners and found its way into the ill-fated flight," the official said.

He said that the amount was recovered from two bags in the wreckage.

"The process of identifying the bodies and their luggage which will be handed over to their families and relatives is going on," he said.

A total of 97 people including the aircraft crew died in the crash, one of the most catastrophic aviation disasters in Pakistan's history.

A government official said on Thursday that the identification of 47 bodies had been completed, while 43 bodies were handed over for burial.

Friday's accident was the first major aircraft crash in Pakistan after December 7, 2016 when a PIA ATR-42 aircraft from Chitral to Islamabad crashed midway. The crash claimed the lives of all 48 passengers and crew, including singer-cum-evangelist Junaid Jamshed.

New Delhi, Jun 13: Veteran Urdu poet Anand Mohan Zutshi 'Gulzar' Dehlvi passed away on Friday afternoon, five days after he recovered from COVID-19.

He died at his Noida home, and was a month shy of turning 94.

"His corona test came negative on June 7 and we brought him home. Today he had lunch and at around 2.30pm he passed away," his son Anoop Zutshi told PTI.

"He was quite old, and the infection had left him very weak. So doctors are thinking it was possible a cardiac arrest," he added.

A freedom fighter and a premier 'inquilabi' poet, Dehlvi was admitted to a private hospital on June 1 after testing positive for coronavirus.

Born in old Delhi's Gali Kashmeerian in 1926, he was also the editor of 'Science ki Duniya', the first Urdu science magazine published by the Government of India in 1975.

Remembering her fond memories of Dehlvi, historian-writer Rana Safvi recalled seeing the poet at most 'mushairas' in Delhi.

"I cannot express how big a loss it is. We used to see him at every 'mushaira' in Delhi. It's a big loss to Delhi and the world of poetry," Safvi said.

She also took to Twitter to express her condolences.

"Sad to hear about Gulzar Dehlvi saheb's demise. He was the quintessential Dilli waala. May he rest in peace," she tweeted.

According to Delhi-based poet and lawyer Saif Mahmood, Dehlvi was "the presiding bard of Delhi", following in the footsteps of iconic poets like Mirza Ghalib, and Mir Taqi Mir.

His death is the "end of an era", he said.

"No one knew the nooks and crannies of Mir and Ghalib's Delhi like him. Gulzar saheb claimed that his father, Allama Pandit Tribhuvan Nath Zutshi 'Zaar Dehlvi', was a disciple of the renowned poet Daagh Dehlvi," he said, while reminiscing his meeting with Dehlvi three years back.

The poet had recited a still unpublished 'sher' (couplet) then, Mahmood said, which seems more relevant now in the aftermath of his demise.

"Mere baad aane waalon, meri baat yaad rakhna/ mere naqsh-e-pa se behtar, koi raasta nahin hai". (Those who come after, remember what I say/ there’s no better way than to follow my footprints).

"He was a true exemplar of not just the Urdu language but also of the Urdu culture. In fact he was a living and breathing form of Urdu tehzeeb," Mahmood said.