Chennai, May 5: With the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerging as the single-largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, party President C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday formally staked claim to form the government in the state.

He has written to Governor Rajendra Arlekar seeking an appointment and requesting an opportunity to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

In his communication sent to the Lok Bhavan (earlier Raj Bhavan), Vijay stated that the party, which has secured 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, has received a clear mandate as the single-largest formation. He asserted that this position entitles TVK to be invited to form the next government in the state.

“We are the single largest party with 108 legislators and have the right to form the government. We request an opportunity to demonstrate our majority,” Vijay said in his message.

He also sought additional time to mobilise support and indicated that he would be able to prove his majority within 15 days.

The majority mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly stands at 118, leaving TVK 10 seats short of a clear majority. This has triggered intense political activity, with the party expected to seek support from smaller parties and Independents in the coming days.

Sources in the Raj Bhavan indicated that the Governor is likely to invite Vijay to form the government shortly. Officials suggested that he may be granted a window ranging between seven and 15 days to prove his majority on the Assembly floor, a standard constitutional practice in cases where no party has secured an outright mandate.

Meanwhile, internal preparations within the party are underway. Vijay is set to be formally elected as the Legislature Party leader at a meeting of newly-elected TVK MLAs scheduled to be held at the party headquarters in Panaiyur later in the day.

This step is expected to complete the procedural requirements before government formation. The developments mark a significant moment in Tamil Nadu politics, with TVK’s rapid rise disrupting the state’s traditional political landscape and setting the stage for high-stakes negotiations in the days ahead.

Tehran, May 5: Five civilians were killed in US attacks on cargo boats, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

Following the claim by the US military that it had targeted six Iranian speedboats, and given that none of Iran’s combat vessels was hit, local sources were consulted to verify the nature of the incident, according to Xinhua, which quoted the report.

It was determined that US forces had attacked two small civilian cargo boats, which were travelling from Khasab along the Omani coast toward Iran, killing five civilian passengers onboard, it said.

Brad Cooper, chief of US Central Command, said on Monday that the US military had sunk six Iranian small boats in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian boats were struck by US Apache and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters, Cooper told a news conference.

Meanwhile, two US Navy destroyers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Gulf after navigating an Iranian barrage, US media outlet CBS News reported.

The USS Truxtun and USS Mason, supported by Apache helicopters and other aircraft, faced a series of coordinated threats during the passage, said the report, citing Pentagon officials, who spoke under condition of anonymity, on Monday night (local time).

No US warship was struck, though Iran launched small boats, missiles and drones against them as a sustained barrage, the officials were quoted as saying.

None of the projectiles launched by Iran reached the US vessels, they said, adding that the US military’s assisting efforts, bolstered by air support, successfully intercepted or deterred each incoming threat, reports Xinhua news agency.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday that the Iranians are “more malleable” than they were before.

In a phone interview with Fox News, the president threatened that if Iran targets US ships in the Strait of Hormuz as the Pentagon begins operations to restore commercial shipping transit through the strait, they would be “blown off the face of the Earth.”

However, in another phone interview with ABC News on Monday, Trump stopped short of saying Iran’s Monday attacks had violated the US-Iran ceasefire.

“[It was] not heavy firing,” Trump said, downplaying the attacks.

Brad Cooper, chief of the US Central Command, told reporters earlier on Monday that Iranian forces had launched “multiple cruise missiles, drones, and small boats at ships we are protecting.”

US forces have sunk six Iranian small boats targeting civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and intercepted several Iranian missiles and drones, said Cooper.

Iran later rejected the US claims, saying that “no commercial vessels or oil tankers” have transited the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel and US targets across the region and restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz for vessels linked to Israel and the United States.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8, followed by talks between Iranian and US delegations in Islamabad that ended without a deal.

Mumbai: The investigation into offences involving the procurement of incorrect birth registration certificates in Mumbai on the basis of forged documents is being carried out by the Crime Branch, Mumbai.

Raj Tilak Raushan, deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch, stated, “During the course of investigation, as well as from other complaints received, it has come to light that a large number of such birth registration certificates have been obtained through similar fraudulent means.”

Considering the wide scope and seriousness of the matter, the Hon’ble Commissioner of Police, Brihanmumbai, has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into these offences and the complaints received, Raushan added.

The said Special Investigation Team is headed by the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) and comprises the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mumbai, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Branch), Mumbai, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection), Crime Branch, Mumbai, along with other officers.

In the wake of a BMC probe uncovering irregularities in over 87,000 birth and death records, Mumbai BJP president MLA Ameet Satam has demanded the immediate suspension of the officials involved and the registration of FIRs against them.

Last week, a shocking probe by the BMC Health Department exposed a massive racket in Mumbai’s civic system, with 87,347 bogus birth certificates allegedly issued to Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya residents, pointing to deep-rooted manipulation of official records.