UPA faced trust vote in July 2008 after Left withdrew support over Indo-US nuclear deal. Records show that Atiq Ahmed, then an SP MP, defied his party whip to vote against govt.
Atiq Ahmed was allegedly killed last week by 3 men posing as journalists. However, 4 others accused in Umesh Pal murder have been killed in alleged police encounters.
Special Investigation Team had sought 7 days' custody, it is learnt. While a ‘western UP gang connection’ is being probed, more details expected when accused are interrogated in custody.
Exceptions that might be justified in the small wars of Punjab, Kashmir have become part of the normal fabric of policing. The emergency has become the everyday.
National Crime Records Bureau data shows number of cases under Arms Act in UP about 16 per lakh, 3 times over national average (5.4), while kidnapping cases & violent crimes have gone down.
The ‘high-end’ Turkish weapons used in killing of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf are rarely available in India and are used only by few ganglords of Delhi, Punjab and western UP.
From SP's Akhilesh to AIMIM chief Owaisi & TMC's Mahua Moitra, several oppn leaders have spoken out against the killings. They have called for SC intervention & Adityanath's resignation.
Opposition politicians and the Left and liberal intelligentsia have raised concerns about the killing of Atiq Ahmed, but it's unlikely that Yogi will be losing sleep over it.
Public support for mafia slaying is not surprising, as it is considered a cathartic response. No police officer would be expected to mourn mafia deaths either.
The brothers were buried at Prayagraj's Kasari Masari graveyard in accordance with Muslim rites amid high security with huge crowds jostling to gain entry to the grounds.
For an industry globally classified as hazardous, protections such as health insurance and a provident fund for workers are necessities. In Sivakasi, they remain elusive.
The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.
Indigenisation level will progressively increase up to 60 percent with key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts being manufactured locally.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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