A portion of a 36-year-old three-storey building in Bhiwandi near Mumbai collapsed on Monday morning, killing 12 persons and injuring 20. Of the dead, seven were minors. Half of the structure, called Jilani building, came crashing down soon after 3 am and while some residents managed to rush out in time, the others got trapped. The building had 48 flats in all and a power loom on the ground floor; the part with 24 flats collapsed. Several occupants were still believed trapped under the debris while rescue operations continued.
Chimanbhai Patel Institute students bag top ranks
Institute of Journalism and Communication (IJC) students from Chimanbhai Patel Institute, Ahmedabad, bagged the first 10 ranks in the results of BJMC semester II declared by the Gujarat University. The management headed by Siddharth C Patel congratulated the students and the faculty for the excellent result. Even in the semester I of BJMC exams, all the first 10 rankers were from IJC. All the students from IJC passed the semester II exams. The names of the students and their respective SGPA in semester II are: Acharya Akshay Dharmendra (8.62), Bhinde Vaidehi Chandrakant (8.30), Kripalani Khushi Nanak (8.28), Gala Ashish Jayesh (8.21), Pancholi Rudri Premalbhai (8.18), Dahanukar Siddhi Sanjay (8.12), Shaikh Kaif Kaiser Haseeb Ahshan (8.06), Patel Drashti Mukeshbhai (8.05), Patel Aahana Unmesh (8.02), Lalani Ronak Sadruddin (7.90).
NIA arrests 9 of Qaida module
National Investigation Agency (NIA) busted a “Pakistan-sponsored, al-Qaida module” operating out of West Bengal and Kerala, arresting nine persons for planning to carry out terrorist strikes in India “in the near future” with sophisticated weapons “arranged” by an al-Qaida handler, Hamza, based in Peshawar, Pakistan. The module, led by Murshid Hasan alias Sofiq hailing from West Bengal but based in Kerala, was at an advanced stage of procuring arms, including automatic rifles and pistols, ammunition and explosives to attack vital installations and execute targeted killings in multiple places, including Delhi-NCR, said an NIA source. Nine terrorists – Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas & Mosaraf Hossen, all residents of Ernakulam, Kerala; and Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal & Atitur Rehman, all residents from Murshidabad, West Bengal — were arrested early on Saturday from Ernakulam and Murshidabad in simultaneous raids conducted by the NIA. All are “highly radicalised” and were getting instructions from foreign handlers, including Pakistan-based al-Qaida operatives on cyberspace. They were actively raising funds and also contributing money for buying arms and ammunition for jihadi activities.
No decision to halt ₹2000 note printing
The Indian government has not taken any decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes, the Lok Sabha was informed. “Printing of bank notes of particular denomination is decided by the government in consultation with the RBI to maintain desired denomination mix for facilitating transactional demand of the public,” junior finance minister Anurag Singh Thakur said in a written reply. “During the year 2019-20 and 2020-21, no indent has been placed with the presses for printing of Rs 2,000 denomination notes. However, there is no decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes by the government,” Singh said in his reply.
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Unique identity number for captive elephants
To reduce atrocities against captive elephanats in India in the aftermath of the tragic death of elephants in Kerala in June this year, blood and faecal samples of all the captive elephants across the country - estimated to be around 2,700 - are being collected under the aegis of Project Elephant.
This exercise, Noyal Thomas, director of Project Elephant said, will give a unique identity number to the elephants “just like an Aadhaar card which will be generated based on their DNA”. Genetic mapping will ensure that captive elephants are only kept by authorised persons after getting a nod from the state chief wildlife warden. Thus, it will ensure that all the captive elephants are under the scanner of the state forest department and incidents of poaching do not take place, said Thomas. Currently, most captive elephants are in Assam (around 1,000). This is followed by Kerala (500) and Tamil Nadu (300). Incidentally, genetic mapping was first conducted in Kerala in 2018. As per Thomas, mapping enables tracking of elephants in need of treatment or food. “It also helps keep a track on its population.”
5 Gujarat MLAs test positive
A day before the five-day monsoon session of the Gujarat assembly, five MLAs tested positive for Covid-19. These include four MLAs of the Congress and one of the BJP. The MLAs were found Covid positive during compulsory testing of all MLAs for coronavirus. Punabhai Gamit, Nathabhai Patel, Virji Thumar and Jasubhai Patel – all Congress MLAs were found to be Covid-19 positive while BJP MLA Kanubhai Patel also tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. Assembly sources said that over 140 of the total 174 MLAs have been tested so far, while 30 are yet to be tested for Covid-19. They will have to undergo the test before entering the assembly on Monday. The assembly secretariat has made arrangements for MLAs to sit in the public viewing gallery of the assembly. About 25 bills are likely to be tabled by the government during the monsoon session of the assembly, which ends on September 25.
BJP MLA lands in another controversy
Waghodiya BJP MLA Madhu Srivastava found himself in yet another controversy after a video of him dancing in a temple went viral. Srivastava was seen dancing to some religious tunes in a Hanuman temple in Wadi area of Vadodara. The BJP MLA is seen dancing amid the devotees without wearing a face mask or maintaining social distance. Many of the devotees around him too didn't have face masks. Srivastava had tested positive for the Covid-19 on September 2 and recovered too. When asked, Srivastava defended his act and said he wouldn’t wear a mask in the temple. “I have been offering puja and doing bhajan at this temple for the last 50 years. I never wore a mask in this temple that is just next to my home. Rather it is a part of my home,” he said. He added that he won’t wear a face mask and continue visiting the temple. When pointed out that the devotees around him too were not wearing face masks, Srivastava said that only rich people can afford masks.
Surat girl bags UNEP’s green ambassador tag
Surat teenager Khushi Chindaliya has been appointed as Regional Ambassador for India by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Tunza Eco-Generation (TEG) this September. When asked what inspired her to achieve this great role as the green ambassador of the country, the 17-year-old replied promptly: “My sensitivity towards the degradation of nature and understanding of its repercussions.” Elaborating her point, Khushi said, “A few years back when I first came to live in New City Light area as a child, I had befriended a chikoo (sapodilla sapota) tree near my house which was also the resting place of many birds. In fact, the whole area was green. But as I grew up, I kept seeing how concrete jungle replaced my greenery. I was worried that my younger sister will never get to see what I had enjoyed.” This was the cornerstone of her quest which developed towards conservation of environment and helped her bag the ambassadorship. She will now be working on various awareness projects with TEG till February 2021.
Chinese woman held for spying
Delhi Police have arrested a Chinese woman and a Nepalese man, besides freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, and claimed to have busted an espionage ring. All three have been booked under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for allegedly passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence. Police claimed that information on army movements, defence acquisitions, foreign policy and Dalai Lama was conveyed to the Chinese intelligence in lieu of money that was routed to Sharma through shell firms and hawala channels. “The arrested Chinese woman, Qing Shi, and her associate, Sher Singh alias Raj Bohra, were working for two Chinese persons, whom they have identified as Jhang Chang and his wife, Chang-li-lia,” said DCP (special cell) Sanjeev Yadav.
