PREZ MURMU IN PUNJAB, PAYS OBEISANCE AT GOLDEN TEMPLE

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and SGPC chief Harjinder Dhami accompany President

Amritsar (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here on Thursday. Tight security arrangements were made in for the president’s day-long visit.

Accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Shiromani Gurdwara

Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Harjinder Singh Dhami, the president paid obeisance at sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple and listened to “kirtan”. She also took “karah prasad”.

This was her first visit to the city after becoming president.

After paying obeisance, she went to the “langar hall” (community kitchen) and visited the area where utensils are washed.

Afterwards, she went to the Information Cen- tre of the Golden Temple where she was presented a robe of honour, a set of Sikh religious books, a replica of the Golden Temple, and a set of woolen shawls.

The president is also scheduled to visit Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana Temple and Bhagwan Valmiki Ram Tirath Sthal.

During her visit to the Golden Temple, the also seen. president was given two memorandums by the SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs, including one pertaining to the release of Sikh political prisoners, its general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said. The SGPC has been seeking the release of Sikh prisoners who, it claims, continue to be in jails despite comple-

PRESIDENT MURMU APPROVES

THESE PUNJAB, TELANGANA BILLS tion of their sentences.

On the “Bandi Singhs”, the SGPC has been demanding the release of Sikh prisoners through democratic means for a long time, Harjinder Singh Dhami said in the memorandum.

“...we feel that by not releasing the Sikh prisoners, they are being discriminated against and their hu - man rights are being violated grossly in the world’s largest democracy,” he said.

“We demand from you to take cognizance of this important issue of release of Sikh prisoners and give necessary directions to the Government of India and concerned State Governments for their release,” Dhami wrote to the president.

New Delhi: The Indian Army said they did not fire any mortar at Deuri Dumri range in Bihar’s Gaya district, a day after three people died in an explosion near the firing range. On Wednesday, the men likely took the shell that fell at the firing range on an earlier date and took it away to remove scrap metal for sale.

The army said it will support any investigation into the cause of the tragedy and gave condolences to the families of those who died in the explosion.

“The incident has been misreported by certain sections of the media that the deaths occurred due to army mortar firing. It is clarified that on March 8, no firing of mortars were carried out at the Deuri Dumri Field Firing Ranges,” the army said.

It said the army takes clearances from the police and the civil administration before mortarfiring practice. “No such clearance was asked for mortar-firing on March 8,” the army said, adding visuals on social media of a circular hole on the ground indicating it as the impact point of the mortar shell is not true.

“Mortar shell detonation on impact do not leave such signatures. Ostensibly, this could be a case of unauthorised collection of a mortar blind shell which fell in the designated impact area on an earlier date, and efforts to dismantle it to extract scrap metal for sale,” the army said.

Srinagar (PTI): The ED Thursday carried out raids at three places, including at the houses of Hurriyat leaders, in a case linked to “selling” of MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students, officials said here.

The raids were conducted at the houses of Qazi Yasir in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement chairman Zaffar Bhat in Bagh-e-Mehtab area here, and Mohammad Iqbal Khwaja in

Kolkata: Tollywood actor Bonny Sengupta aka Anupriyo Sengupta, who appeared before the ED on Thursday for questioning in the multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal, has admitted to accepting cash to the tune of around Rs 40 lakh from youth TMC leader Kuntal Ghosh, who has been arrested in the scam.

After receiving ED summon on Thursday, Sengupta reached the ED

BIG CATS’ DAY OUT

Afghanistan territory shouldn’t be used

United Nations (PTI):

India has said it expects that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training or financing of terror acts, specifically terrorist individuals and entities proscribed by the UN Security Council.

“As a contiguous neighbour and longstanding partner of Afghanistan, and given our strong historical and civilisational linkages to the Afghan people, India has direct stakes in ensuring the return of peace and stability to the country,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said on Wednesday (local time).

Speaking at the Security Council briefing on United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Kamboj said the collective approach of the international community has been articulated in the Security Council Resolution 2593 of August 2021, which was adopted under India’s Presidency of the UNSC.

“In accordance with the Resolution, we expect that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training, planning, or financing terrorist acts, specifically terrorist individuals and entities proscribed by the UN Security Council,” she said, adding that it also means acting against drug trafficking.

Mattan area of Anantnag, they said. The ED personnel along with the J&K Police conducted simultaneous raids at the three locations.

The raids are being carried out in connection with the case related to “selling” of MBBS seas in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money to support and fund terrorism.

Itanagar (PTI):

Arunachal Pradesh CM

Pema Khandu Thursday said the appointment of Chairman and members of Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) have been cancelled.

Responding to a question raised by Congress MLA Nabam Tuki on the present status of the APPSC paper leak issue, Khandu informed that the chairman and the members of the Commission were appointed but due to agitation launched by the ag- grieved candidates, they could not be sworn in. office at around 1 p.m. After being interrogated for over two hours, he was given a half-an-hour break during which he admitted accepting cash from Ghosh before the waiting mediapersons .

“Keeping in view the public demands and memorandum submitted by the aggrieved candidates, the state government decided to cancel the appointments,” he said.

Bengaluru: A groom escaped from his car while he was stuck in a traffic jam, a day after returning to his house from his wedding in the Mahadevapura police station area in Karnataka’s Bengaluru district, police said. According to police, the incident had taken place on February 16.

Bengaluru: A student of Malleshwaram Pre University College, who was insisting to be allowed to write examination wearing burqa, was counselled by principal after which she agreed to remove it and appeared for the exam, here on Thursday.

The board exams for the Class 12 students have commenced across the state. Students appeared for their exams.

The student was insisting till the last min-