Final arguments begin in two murder cases naming Dera chief

Agencies
September 16, 2017

Panchkula, Sept 16: Final arguments in the two murder cases naming jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh began in a special CBI court today with his former driver filing an application to record a fresh statement against him.

The disgraced cult leader, who is lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail on charges of rape, appeared via video- conferencing. He has been named as the main conspirator in the cases.

His driver, Khatta Singh, approached the court seeking to record a fresh statement against the sect head, his counsel Navkiran Singh said.

Khatta, a witness in the murder cases, had retracted his statement in 2012. He had turned hostile as he was under pressure from Ram Rahim and his "goons", Navkiran alleged.

The court of Judge Jagdeep Singh posted the next date of hearing on his application for September 22.

The CBI court is hearing the cases of killings of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.

Chhatrapati was shot at in October 2002 after a newspaper owned by him, 'Poora Sach', published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters.

Ranjit was allegedly shot dead in July 2002. According to the prosecution, he was murdered for his suspected role in circulating the anonymous letter which made the allegations of sexual exploitation.

In February 2011, Khatta had told the court that Ram Rahim had not ordered to kill anyone and had no role to play in Ranjit's murder.

The CBI judge granted permission for video-conferencing yesterday after Panchkula DCP Manbir Singh moved an application, contending that they cannot bring the Dera chief in person due to law and order problem.

Contingents of paramilitary troops and the Haryana Police have been deployed in Panchkula as security arrangements were tightened ahead of the hearing.

On August 25, after the CBI court convicted Ram Rahim for raping two of his female disciples, violence erupted in Panchkula and Sirsa in which 41 people died. The court sentenced him to 20 years in prison on August 28.

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News Network
July 13,2020

New Delhi, July 13: The number of active Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 3 lakh mark on Sunday even as fresh infections during the day surged to another new peak, crossing 29,000 for the first time. After staying over 500 for the past two days, the daily death toll came down slightly to 492.

While the focus has been on recoveries, the number of active Covid-19 cases in the country has been steadily rising. It hit the 1 lakh mark on June 4 and went past 2 lakh 23 days later. It has taken just 15 days more to reach 3 lakh.

India reported 29,271 new cases on Sunday, the fifth straight day of record rise in daily infections. With this, the country’s coronavirus caseload has risen to 8,79,060, two days after hitting the 8 lakh mark, as per data collated from state governments. Active cases stood at 3,02,466 while more than 5.53 lakh people were declared cured of the infection.

Covid-19 deaths in the country rose to 23,175 after 492 fatalities were added on Sunday, translating to a case fatality rate of 2.6%. The CFR has been steadily dropping with the surge in cases.
 

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News Network
January 15,2020

Jammu, Jan 15: Fresh landslides kept the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway shut for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, leaving over 5000 vehicles stranded.

"There were four fresh landslides in Digdol and Panthiyal belts on the highway in Ramban district. The traffic on the highway remained closed for the third day today", a police officer told PTI.

On Monday, heavy rains triggered shooting of stones in Moumpassi, Digdole and Panthiyal areas, forcing a suspension of the traffic, the official said.

Snowfall in Kashmir side of the highway, including Jawahar Tunnel, since Sunday has resulted in blockade of the highway.

"No fresh traffic was allowed from Nagrota in Jammu for Kashmir", he said.

As a result of the blockade of the highway, over 5000 vehicles remained stranded at various places en route from Lakhanpur in Kathua district to Banihal belt of Ramban district and also on the Kashmir side.

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: With the highest single-day spike of 17,296 COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 4,90,401 on Friday, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The country also saw 407 deaths in the last 24 hours, which pushed the death toll to 15,301.

The total number of cases includes 1,89,463 active cases, 2,85,637cured/discharged/migrated cases, as per the MoHFW.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to June 25 is 77,76,228; the number of samples tested on 25 June is 2,15,446.

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country with 1,47,741 cases. The active cases in the state are 63,357. The number of people cured or discharged stands at 77,453 while the death toll is at 6,931.

Delhi has so far reported 73,780 cases. The active cases in the national capital stood at 26,586. While the cured and discharged numbers stood at 44,765. The death toll in the city is 2,429.

Tamil Nadu has so far reported 70,977. With active cases at 30,067 and the number of cured or discharged at 39,999, while the death toll stood at 911.

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