The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested four men, including the kingpin who was inspired by Bollywood flick 'Special-26', for impersonating as CBI official and cheating a jeweller to the tune of Rs 40 lakh in the national capital, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused were identified as Sandeep Bhatnagar (54), Pawan Gupta (47), Yogesh Kumar (58) and Himanshu alias Dinesh (35), all residents of Delhi.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that the complainant Harpreet Singh, who is running his jewellry shop at the ground floor of his residence in Delhi's Farsh Bazaar area, reported on April 17 that six individuals including one woman entered his shop, introducing themselves as CBI officials.

A court here on Wednesday sought from the Delhi Police a status report pertaining to the sexual harassment case against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Since April 23, prominent Indian wrestlers such as Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, who have achieved Olympic and World Championships recognition, have been staging a protest at Jantar Mantar against WFI chief.

Farmers have also extended their support to wrestlers and had arrived from Haryana and Punjab on Monday to join the wrestlers' protest.

During the hearing, the judge issued notice to Police on protesting wrestlers' plea seeking monitoring of the investigation and recording of the statement of the alleged victims before the court.

The court then directed the police to file the report by May 12, also the next date of hearing.

On Tuesday, Delhi Commission for Women also issued summons to Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal for failing to arrest the accused in the matter of sexual harassment with women wrestlers.

A man was stabbed to death by a minor in North Delhi's Timarpur area following past altercation and sudden provocation, an official said on Wednesday.

The deceased was identified as Kunal, a resident of Timarpur.

Voting for by-election to Odisha's Jharsuguda Assembly constituency began on Wednesday morning amid tight security with 20.38 per cent voter turnout recorded till 11 a.m.

The voting will continue till 6 p.m.

Polling commenced at sharp 7 a.m. in all 253 booths in the constituency.

Earlier, during a mock polling, some EVMs and VVPATs were found to be defunct. So, those were immediately changed, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, Nikunja Bihari Dhal.

Later, the VVPATs were replaced in another two booths. Till 11 a.m., 20.38 per cent voter turnout recorded in the bypoll, he said.

Two soldiers were killed and four others injured in an encounter between terrorists and security forces in the Kandi area in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said on Friday.

"On specific information about the presence of terrorists in the Kandi Forest in Rajouri Sector, a joint operation was launched on 03 May 2023. At about 0730 hours on 05 May 2023, a search team established contact with a group of terrorists well entrenched in a cave. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs," the Army said in a statement.

With less than 1 per cent of total students registering for vocational courses in class 10 and class 12 exams of UP Board, officials of the state's Secondary Education Department have now issued orders for efforts to be made to encourage more and more students to take them up.

The board spends lakhs of rupees in getting question papers of these subjects made annually. The officials concede that the situation needs to be redressed as the entire focus of the central and state governments is on skill development and providing employment-oriented education to students.

Mahendra Dev, the director of secondary education, has sent a letter to all district inspectors of schools (DIOSs) instructing them to register the maximum number of students possible for these vocational courses.

Iran and Belgium have exchanged requests for a prisoner swap between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran announced.

Iran has submitted a request for the transfer of its national Assadollah Assadi and Belgium also sent a request for the repatriation of its citizen Olivier Vandecasteele.

In February 2021, a Belgian court sentenced Assadi, an Iranian diplomat, to 20 years in prison after accusing him of "planning an attack" against the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, which Tehran brands as a terrorist organisation.

A six-year-old Palestinian boy was mauled to death by a lion at a private zoo in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run police force in the besieged enclave.

The boy Hamada Iqtiet, from the city of Khan Yunis, climbed the fence and reached an opening in the cage before being hit on the head by a lion.
The police announced a temporary seal-off of the zoo after the incident.

Goa Crime branch police on Tuesday arrested two persons for allegedly possessing 1.5 kg of ganja worth Rs 1,05,000.

Superintendent of police (Crime branch) Nidhin Valsan told reporters here that the police team conducted a raid in Anjuna-North Goa and caught red-handed accused -- Vikram Uppar (21) from Uttar Kannada, Karnataka and Sahil Ujjaniya (26) native Matunga-Mumbai-Maharashtra.

A man hid himself overnight inside a bank to rob it in Jammu and kashmir's Poonch district.

Officials said Tuesday, "A man was arrested for hiding himself inside a bank in an attempt to rob it overnight in the Mendhar area of Poonch district.

"The man hid himself inside the bank for hours and tried to transfer money from bank's system during late night hours.

A priest of a temple in Ayodhya was found hanging in his room, police said on Tuesday.

The body was found on Monday afternoon. A video later emerged on social media where the priest, identified as Ram Shankar Das of Ayodhya's Narasimha temple, alleged that he was driven to suicide due to harassment by local police.

Das was booked a few days ago by local police in a case related to the disappearance of an elderly mahant of the same temple who went missing a few months ago.

Ayodhya Kotwali SHO Manoj Sharma said, "The priest was addicted to drugs and ended his life under the influence of drugs. The allegations he made against the police are totally false. We are investigating the matter."

The post-mortem report is awaited.

Panic gripped the Narwal area in J&K's Jammu city after people heard a loud sound fearing it to be a blast.

Police said there was no blast, but a short circuit near the petrol pump in the Narwal area which resulted in momentary panic among the bystanders.

Two low-lying bridges in Tamil Nadu's Erode district were washed away due to flash floods caused by heavy rain on Tuesday.

Vehicle movement between Alamarathuvalasu and Ayyampalayam near Kavundapadi has been disrupted as a result.

Actor Sudhanshu Pandey is back with a solo single titled 'Dil Ki Tu Zameen'. Alongside the actor, the music video stars his 'Anupamaa' co-star Madalsa Sharma, who plays the role of Kavya in the show.

"Well thanks to a slightly busy schedule before Covid and during Covid, I am coming with a solo single after a four and a half years gap. The unique thing about my song is going to be the visuals."

A Mumbai Special CBI Court on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi in the sensational Jiah Khan death case, in which he was charged with abetment to suicide.

The verdict came almost 10 years after Jiah, 25 was found dead in her Mumbai flat in Sagar Sangeet apartments, Juhu, around midnight on June 3, 2013.

Days later, Sooraj -- son of veteran actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab -- was arrested and charged with abetment to suicide.

An American citizen, Jiah was stated to be in a relationship with Sooraj who was then trying to make his mark in Bollywood.

She apparently left a note, which pointed the needle of suspicion towards Sooraj, who was later arrested in connection with her death.

In a major shocker for Bollywood, Sooraj was booked under IPC Section 306 for allegedly abetting Jiah's suicide, a week after Jiah ended her life.

Subsequently, the case was handed over to the CBI after repeated pleas by Jiah's mother Rabia Khan and directives of the Bombay High Court on 3 July, 2014.

In her note, Jiah had narrated her ordeal, intimate relationship, physical abuse, mental and physical torture she suffered allegedly at the hands of Sooraj.

A 40-year-old inmate has allegedly died under mysterious circumstances in Mainpuri district jail.

The deceased, Bhura Girhar -- a resident of Agra Road in Gihar colony in the district, was arrested and sent to jail two days ago after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him, said the police.

The family of the deceased has alleged that 'he was tortured in custody'.

In a shocking incident, a Class 8 student was beaten to death near an MCD government school in Delhi's Badarpur area, an official said on Friday.

According to police, the incident occurred late Thursday evening.

"A police control room call was received at 8:20 p.m. in which a woman caller claimed that two boys had beaten up a child, who is also a school student and thrown him in a drain near the school," said a senior police official.

Upon reaching the spot, the police found the body of a boy aged around 12-13 years in the drain in his school uniform.

"The deceased boy was identified as Saurabh (12), a resident of Bilaspur Camp, Molarband village. He was a student of class 8th studying at MCD School, Tajpur Pahari," said the official.

As many as 510 fresh Covid cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday whereas one patient from Jaunpur succumbed to the infection, taking the toll to 23,676 since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, health officials said.

With the fresh cases, the test positivity rate in the state stood at 1.5 per cent, as per health department's data.

Delhi reported seven Covid-related fatalities for the second consecutive day on Thursday and registered 865 fresh coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 16.9 per cent, according to data shared by the city government's health department.

On Wednesday too, the city had reported seven fatalities, the highest so far this year.

According to the Delhi government's health bulletin, the overall Covid tally has increased to 20,37,061, while the death toll rose to 26,620.

The body of a BJP leader was found hanging from a tree in Jharkhand on Thursday, an official said.

The deceased has been identified as Pramod Singh, a resident of Manatu block in Palamu district.

Pramod, the president of the BJP's Scheduled Tribe Morcha cell had left home at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and was missing since then.

A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday afternoon sought a report from the West Bengal government on the rape and murder of a minor girl at Kaliyaganj in North Dinajpur district, whose body was detected by the local people there on April 21.

While hearing the petition of the victim's father for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the matter, Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha also directed the state government to furnish a copy of the said report to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

As per the order by Justice Mantha, the video-recording and pictures of the post-mortem process of the victim's body will have to be restored.

The body of an unidentified man was found lying in a garbage centre in Delhi's Pratap Nagar area on Thursday, a police official said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that on Thursday a PCR call was received at the Gulabi Bagh police station about the body at the garbage centre.

"The same was enquired, investigated and even after sincere efforts, the body could not be identified," said Kalsi.

Convicted in the murder of a Dalit IAS officer G. Krishnaiah, 'Bahubali' leader Anand Mohan Singh was released from Bihar's Saharsa jail on Thursday.

Jail superintendent Amit Kumar confirmed his release. He said that Anand Mohan was released from the jail at 4.30 a.m. on Thursday. He had surrendered before the jail on Wednesday evening after his parole period of 15 days was over.

Anand Mohan was released on the basis of an amendment in 481A of the jail manual of 2012 by the Nitish Kumar government. Anand Mohan was serving life imprisonment in the murder of a government servant and there was a provision that the accused has to serve jail term till his/her last breath. The Nitish Kumar government removed this clause from the jail manual 2012 and issued a notification on Monday to release 27 prisoners for their good conduct. Anand Mohan was one of them.

The Nitish Kumar government was facing flak after the family members of G. Krishnaiah objected to Anand Mohan's release. They have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu to intervene in the matter. T. Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of slain DM G. Krishnaiah, also said that she will knock the door of the Supreme Court to get justice.

Bangladesh Army Chief General S.M. Shafiuddin Ahmed, who on Thursday arrived here for a three-day visit, met General Manoj Pande, the Chief of the Army Staff, and discussed anti-terrorism collaboration and overall bilateral cooperation.

Apart from this, the two Army chiefs also discussed various issues pertaining to enhancing and strengthening interoperability, training, and overall bilateral cooperation as part of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.

During General Ahmed's visit, he will also meet India's senior military and civilian leadership where he will discuss avenues for enhancing India-Bangladesh defence relations.

After meeting General Manoj Pande, General Ahmed later called on General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, Air Marshal A.P. Singh, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary.

The Ministry of Defence informed that he was also briefed on the Indian indigenous defence equipment manufacturing eco-system by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) and the Army Design Bureau.

An 'Implementing Arrangement' for UN Peacekeeping Operations and Training Cooperation between Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK), India and Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training (BIPSOT), Bangladesh was signed between both Armies during the visit, the defence ministry official added.

Even as the evacuation process of Indian citizens from violence-hit Sudan is underway through Operation Kaveri, government on Thursday said that is monitoring the situation.

Addressing mediapersons, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said: "We are constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan since the conflict began on April 15. Our estimate is that there are approximately 3,500 Indians and 1,000 PIOs in Sudan."

He further informed that around 600 Indian citizens have already reached India.

"We have received requests for the evacuation of citizens of other countries from Sudan. This is subject to the fulfilment of the procedures," he added.

Film and TV actor Gautam Gulati talked about being a gang leader along with Prince Narula and Rhea Chakraborty on the show 'Roadies season 19'. Gulati called it a big responsibility and said he is ready to take it on with full force.

Gautam started his acting career in 2008 with the TV show 'Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki', later acted in 'Kasamh Se', 'Tujh Sang Preet Lagai Sajna', 'Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani', 'Diya Aur Baati Hum', and participated in the reality show 'Bigg Boss 8'. He was also seen playing a negative role in the Salman Khan-starrer 'Radhe'.

Seven former Uttar Pradesh legislators have figured prominently in the UP Police list of 'most wanted'.

The state police's 'most wanted' list includes names of criminals involved in serious offences such as murder and extortion and those who are accused in cases of usurping land and property.

Those in the list also include don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, former MLA Vijay Mishra, former BSP MLA Haji Yakoob Qureshi, former BSP MLC Haji Iqbal, former MLC Brijesh Singh from Varanasi, former SP MP Rizwan Zaheer, former BSP MLC Sanjeev Dwivedi, former block pramukh Sudhir Singh in Gorakhpur and block pramukh Dilip Mishra.

Delhi Police have lodged an FIR after two men allegedly opened fire outside the rented apartment of a hypnotherapist in Delhi's Sunlight Colony, an official said on Monday.

A video of the incident which occurred on Sunday, has gone viral on social media.

"An information about the firing outside the house of Sohail Siddiqui was received at 7.30 a.m. on Sunday following which a police team was dispatched for the spot," said the senior police official.

A police team that reached the office of slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad in Chakia on Monday morning for a routine investigation, was shocked to find a blood-stained knife and clothes in one of the rooms.

Marks of blood were also found on the staircase. A 'dupatta' with blood stains and bangles also lay strewn in one of the rooms. A portion of the office has already been demolished.

The Indian corporate sector is a mix of large and small players and it is factually incorrect to conjecture that industrial concentration power dictates their pricing capacity, said a top economist of the State Bank of India (SBI).

The report authored by SBI's Group Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh, rejects the views of Professor Viral Acharya in his Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2023.

According to the SBI report, Acharya in his paper had said that "reason why the persistence in the core inflation is rising is that consumers do not seem to be fully benefiting from input price declines, which may be due to greater pricing power in increasingly concentrated industrial organisation structures".

At least three workers were killed in a major fire that broke out in a factory in the Hingna MIDC in Sonegaon-Nipani area of the district, officials said here on Monday.

The incident occurred around noon at the Katari Agro Pvt. Ltd. plant and teams of fire-fighters rushed to battle the conflagration.

Plumes of dark smoke were seen billowing out of the factory complex that was visible from long distances, said eyewitnesses.

In a sign that the election temperatures are on the rise in the poll-bound state of Karnataka, the ruling BJP on Sunday shared a video of a Congress leader slapping a youngster.

The video that is gaining traction on social media purportedly shows Congress leader and MLA, M.B. Patil "in action" while on the campaign trail.

A man was allegedly killed in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut after seeking passage for his tractor to pass.

Aamir, along with two other people, were carrying chaff on his tractor and passing through Solana village when he encountered a few men who were standing blocking the road.

After Aamir asked them to make way, a verbal spat erupted between him and the other group.

The massive search operation continued on Monday to trace the terrorists responsible for attack on the army vehicle in which 5 soldiers were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Defence sources said that so far, 30 people have been detained for questioning in connection with the Bhata Dhurian attack in Poonch district in which 5 soldiers were killed and one was critically injured.

Terrorists also decamped with weapons of the slain soldiers.

A portion of Jammu-Poonch highway, which was closed following the search operation, was opened for traffic yesterday.

Delhi Police have registered a case after a disturbing video showing a group of people beating a dog to death with sticks in Karol Bagh surfaced online.

A video of the incident circulating on social media platforms, showed a group of 8-10 individuals carrying sticks, with two to three people seen beating the dog mercilessly until it eventually died.

Expressing her anguish, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal demanded strict action against the perpetrators.