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160 more Telugu students return home from Ukraine

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An additional 160 Telugu students have returned home from the war-torn Ukraine, officials said.

On Friday, the seventh day of evacuation of Indian citizens, 94 students of Telangana and 66 of Andhra Pradesh landed in Delhi and Mumbai.

The officials of the respective state governments in Delhi and Mumbai helped the students in reaching their destinations.

The students hailing from Telangana arrived in the two cities on Friday by 16 flights from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries. The flights had taken off from Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Rzeszow (Poland), Kocise (Slovakia) and Suceava (Romania).

With this, 354 citizens from Telangana have returned home since the evacuation began on February 26.

Gaurav Uppal, Resident Commissioner, Telangana Bhavan and Additional DGP, Intelligence Anil Kumar interacted with Telangana students in Telangana Bhavan.

The government of Telangana has made arrangements to receive all returnees at Delhi and Mumbai airports. The state government also booked air tickets for them from Delhi and Mumbai to Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, with the arrival of 66 students from Andhra Pradesh on Friday, the total number of evacuees belonging to the state reached 270. After their arrival in Delhi and Mumbai, the state government officials booked tickets for them by connecting flights to destinations like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The state government officials also received the students in Tirupati, Vijayawada and other airports and made arrangements for their onward journey to their hometowns.

Meanwhile, Venkat Medapati, Andhra Pradesh government’s advisor on NRI affairs, who is in Budapest, met few local Telugu association volunteers, embassy coordinators and few Telugu students from Ukraine.

He said things have streamlined during the last two days.

“There are only 2 flights per day from tomorrow. Hope the embassy will arrange more flights over the next few days like today based on the surge in numbers at the border,” he said.

Eighty more students from Andhra Pradesh are likely to arrive on Saturday.

Crime

Telangana Minister condemns attack on Allu Arjun’s house

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Hyderabad, Dec 23: Telangana’s Minister for Roads and Buildings and Cinematography Komatireddy Venkata Reddy on Monday condemned the attack on the house of Tollywood actor Allu Arjun.

The minister took to ‘X’ to condemn the attack on Allu Arjun’s house in Hyderabad by a group of persons on Sunday over the Sandhya Theatre stampede issue.

“I strongly condemn the attack on the house of film actor Allu Arjun. There is no room for physical attacks in a democracy. No one should act in a way that disrupts peace and order. The matter related to the Sandhya Theatre incident is in court. The law will take its course,” the Minister posted.

Earlier, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy also condemned the attack on the actor’s house. He directed the Director General of Police and City Police Commissioner to take strict action to maintain law and order. He made it clear that no laxity would be tolerated in this regard.

The Chief Minister also asked senior officials to prevent police personnel who are not connected with the investigations into the Sandhya Theatre incident from speaking on the issue.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Vishnu Murthy, was suspended recently following allegations of corruption, Sunday addressed a press conference about the December 4 incident at Sandhya Theatre. He accused Allu Arjun of lacking a basic understanding of the law and also targeted the film industry for criticizing the police department.

Taking serious note of the suspended police official’s action, top officials initiated disciplinary action against him.

Akshansh Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Zone, said in a statement that Vishnu Murthy conducted the press meeting without obtaining prior permission from higher authorities or intimating any senior officer. “This action is a clear violation of disciplinary norms. We are forwarding a report against Sri Vishnu Murthy to the Director General of Police (DGP) for initiating disciplinary action. The DGP’s office will investigate this matter and take necessary action,” he said.

“We reiterate that such actions will not be tolerated, and necessary disciplinary measures will be taken against those who violate the conduct rules,” the DCP said.

Vishnu Murthy was previously working as the DSP Task Force at Nizamabad, and later attached to the DGP Office on allegations and subsequently suspended in October 2024.

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Maharashtra

Delhi HC to pronounce today verdict on anticipatory bail plea of ex-IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar

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New Delhi, Dec 23: The Delhi High Court is slated to deliver on Monday its judgment on anticipatory bail plea of sacked Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly submitted false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by faking her identity.

As per the causelist published on the website of the Delhi HC, a bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh will pronounce its verdict on December 23.

Earlier on November 28, Justice Singh-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing both sides. It was then clarified that till the judgment is delivered, the interim relief granted earlier to Puja Khedkar shielding her from arrest will continue.

Asking Khedkar to cooperate with the investigation, the Delhi High Court, in an interim order passed on August 12, granted her protection from arrest.

Earlier, a court here had turned down her anticipatory bail plea and asked the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had helped Khedkar.

Widening the scope of the probe, Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had asked Delhi Police to investigate if other people recommended by the UPSC have availed quota benefits without entitlement.

The Centre, on September 7, sacked Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection in government service. Khedkar has been found guilty of faking and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits.

After cancelling her selection, the UPSC also barred her for life from taking the entrance exam after finding her guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times.

In a status report submitted to the Delhi High Court, Delhi Police had contended that former Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Khedkar had submitted two separate disability certificates for her UPSC exam. The disability certificates dated 2018 and 2021 citing ‘multiple disabilities’ were purportedly issued by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital for her UPSC attempts made in 2022 and 2023.

However, as per Delhi Police’s status report, the hospital authorities had denied that the certificates claiming ‘multiple disabilities’ were issued to her by them. It was found that Khedkar availed relaxed criteria for OBC candidates and persons with disabilities.

It then came to light that her father, a former Maharashtra government officer, had property to the tune of Rs 40 crore and that she did not qualify for the non-creamy layer OBC quota.

The UPSC had said that its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) “could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents’ names”.

The Delhi High Court also issued notice to Khedkar on an application filed by the UPSC alleging that she committed perjury by swearing a false affidavit and making a false statement in relation to her anticipatory bail plea.

In its application, the UPSC disputed that it did not collect any biometrics (eyes and fingerprints) during Khedkar’s personality test and she made a “false statement” regarding the collection of her biometrics for obtaining favourable orders.

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National News

‘Stubborn, anti-farmer’, Kharge attacks Centre while paying tribute to Chaudhary Charan Singh

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New Delhi, Dec 23: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday accused the Centre of being stubborn and anti-farmer, hoping that the government would not do injustice to the farmers and implement its promises.

He said this while paying tribute to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, whose birth anniversary is marked as the Farmers’ Day.

In a post on X, Kharge wrote, “Farmer is India, the pride of the country. Warm wishes to all farmer sisters and brothers, and farm labourers on Farmer’s Day. Respectful tributes to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh ji on his birth anniversary, who fought for the farmers of the country.”

Attacking the Modi-led Centre, the Congress chief accused the government of being stubborn and anti-farmer. “It is hoped that the Modi government will not do further injustice to our farmers through its stubbornness and anti-farmer policies and will implement its old promises,” he further wrote.

Even as Kharge attacked the government on the farmers’ issues, the Centre on Sunday said it has been recognising the vital role of farmers and has introduced a suite of initiatives designed to support their socio-economic upliftment and ensure sustainable agricultural growth.

“These programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana (PM-KMY), are aimed at providing financial security, risk mitigation, and long-term social security for farmers,” said a government statement.

It said that by addressing both immediate challenges and long-term needs, these schemes underscore the government’s commitment to nurturing the backbone of the nation and fostering a sustainable agricultural future.

Earlier in the day, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and others paid rich tributes to the former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar paid tribute to Chaudhary Charan Singh at Kisan Ghat, Delhi. Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary — RLD chief and grandson of Chaudhary Charan Singh — was also present with the Vice President.

After paying tributes, the Vice President said, “On the occasion of Kisan Diwas, I salute all the farmers of India. In 2001, the right decision was taken and Kisan Diwas was started in the name of such a great man who dedicated his life to the nation’s development along with the farmers and rural development. His thinking and philosophy are exemplary for all of us.”

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