National News
Battle for UP: Electoral fate of 9 ministers at stake in 1st phase
Fate of several BJP heavyweights, including ministers, will be decided in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on Thursday. Polling will be held on 58 seats spread in 11 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh.
Electoral fate of nine ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government will be decided by voters. The ministers are Srikant Sharma from Mathura, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, Suresh Rana from Thana Bhawan, Kapildev Agarwal from Muzaffar Nagar and Sandeep Singh from Atrauli.
Other ministers whose fate will be decided are Laxminarayan Chaudhary from Chhata, Anil Sharma from Shikarpur, G.S. Dharmesh from Agra Cantt. and Dinesh Khatik from Hastinapur.
Other prominent names are former Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya from Agra Rural, Uttar Pradesh BJP vice president Pankaj Singh from Noida and Mriganka Singh from Kairana.
In the last Assembly polls, the BJP had swept seats in the first phase by winning almost all Assembly constituencies. Five years ago, the BJP won 53 of the 58, while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) had two seats each and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won one seat.
The ruling BJP is in direct contest with the SP and RLD alliance, while the BSP has its influence in some constituencies.
The high pitch campaign of Western Uttar Pradesh witnessed political parties discussing ‘Ganna’ (sugarcane), Jinnah, 2013 riots, law and order situation in the state along with other issues. The BJP leadership repeatedly raised the issue of mass exodus from Kairana and the region.
These 58 seats are spread in 11 districts of Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Mathura, Aligarh, Meerut, Shamli, Baghpat, Hapur, Bulandshahr and Agra.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will be held in seven phases in February-March starting from February 10. Counting of votes will be held on March 10. In the first phase, polling is scheduled in 58 of the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
Crime
Delhi Police busts drug supply chain, arrests three traffickers including two foreign nationals

New Delhi, July 4: The East District Anti-Narcotics Squad of Delhi Police has busted an alleged drug supply chain operating in the national Capital and arrested three accused, including two foreign nationals, recovering 21.09 grams of MDMA, 30 grams of ganja, three scooters and two mobile phones, officials said on Saturday.
According to Delhi Police, the operation was carried out as part of its ongoing ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against drugs and the campaign to build a drug-free society.
The three arrested persons have been identified as John, a 35-year-old Senegalese national allegedly working as a drug supplier; Diwakar, 27, a resident of Baba Colony in Burari, Delhi, who was allegedly acting as a local drug peddler; and Solomon, a 37-year-old Nigerian national, who police described as the source of the narcotics.
Police said a dedicated team of the Anti-Narcotics Squad (ANS) of East District was formed under the supervision of Inspector Arun Kumar and the overall guidance of ACP (Operations) Pawan Kumar to crack down on drug suppliers and peddlers. Acting on a tip-off received on June 30, the team laid a trap near Star City Mall on the Delhi-Noida Link Road after receiving information that John would arrive there to deliver MDMA.
According to police, John attempted to flee after noticing the police team by making a U-turn on the wrong side of the road. During the chase, he allegedly rammed his scooter into a road divider before being overpowered by the police. A search led to the recovery of 12.86 grams of MDMA from his possession. Subsequently, an FIR was registered at Mayur Vihar Police Station under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
During interrogation, John allegedly disclosed that he used to supply MDMA to a local peddler, Diwakar, at different locations between the Chilla-Noida border and Akshardham Road. Based on this information, police traced and arrested Diwakar from Akshardham Road. Officers recovered around 3 grams of MDMA and 30 grams of ganja from his possession.
Further questioning of the two accused led investigators to another alleged supplier identified as Solomon, an African national residing in New Ashok Nagar. Police laid another trap near Crown Plaza Hotel Road and Chilla Border Road and arrested Solomon. A search resulted in the recovery of 5.23 grams of MDMA from his possession.
Police said the total seizure included 21.09 grams of MDMA, classified as a commercial quantity, and 30 grams of ganja, with an estimated value of around Rs 4 lakh in the international illicit market. Three scooters allegedly used for transporting narcotics and two mobile phones were also seized.
During the investigation, police found that Diwakar had initially started purchasing MDMA from John for personal consumption before allegedly turning to drug peddling for financial gain. Police further said that both foreign nationals failed to produce valid passports or visas during verification.
Officials said the arrests have helped dismantle an active narcotics supply chain operating in the area. Further investigation is underway to identify both backward and forward linkages of the network and ascertain whether the recovered vehicles were used in other criminal activities.
Crime
Delhi HC asks GAC to decide plea against Dhruv Rathee’s YouTube video in 15 days

New Delhi, July 3: The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Union government’s Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to decide, within 15 days, an appeal seeking removal of a YouTube video uploaded by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, which has been alleged to contain defamatory content and hurt religious sentiments.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the direction while disposing of a plea filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva, who had sought a direction to the GAC to decide her appeal against the video titled “Can Hindus eat BEEF? | Kerala Story 2 EXPOSED”, uploaded on March 21.
“The appellate authority shall decide the petitioner’s appeal expeditiously, within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order. In case of any further grievance, the petitioner can file a fresh petition,” the Delhi High Court ordered.
It further clarified that any disregard of its directions would be viewed seriously. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Union government, submitted that the intermediary ought to have exercised due diligence by taking down the content.
ASG Sharma argued that the video contained disparaging material against Hindu deities and was harmful and divisive. Referring to a previous Delhi High Court judgment, he submitted that intermediaries were required to assess whether content was harmful to society and remove such material by exercising due diligence.
The Centre’s law officer further submitted that either Google should voluntarily remove the video or an order could be passed in terms of the law laid down earlier by the Delhi High Court.
Counsel appearing for Google LLC informed Justice Sharma that a response had already been furnished to the petitioner and that an appeal was pending before the GAC. The counsel also submitted that the intermediary would comply with any judicial order passed in the matter.
Recording the submission, the Delhi High Court disposed of the petition and directed the GAC to decide the appeal within 15 days.
According to the plea, the impugned video falsely claimed that revered Hindu figures, including Lord Ram, Sita and Lord Krishna, consumed meat and alcohol, thereby hurting the religious sentiments of devotees.
The petition alleged that the video was “highly derogatory, inflammatory and communally sensitive” and sought its removal.
Petitioner Sachdeva has also initiated criminal proceedings in relation to the video before a metropolitan magistrate, where an action taken report has reportedly been sought from the police.
Business
Adani Group emerges as investor magnet after Rs 38,000 crore demand for AEL QIP offering

Ahmedabad, July 3: Global institutions and India’s largest mutual funds have backed multiple Adani Group companies, marking a sharp turnaround in investor sentiment.
Adani Group has emerged as one of the biggest draws for institutional investors over the past year, attracting around Rs 40,000 crore of fresh equity into its flagship company alone while also seeing marquee global and domestic investors increase their exposure across several listed entities.
Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) this week upsized its qualified institutional placement (QIP) to Rs 15,000 crore after receiving bids worth about Rs 38,000 crore, or 3.8 times the base issue size. The fundraising comes less than a year after the company’s Rs 25,000 crore rights issue, taking its total equity capital raised over the past year to about Rs 40,000 crore.
The latest offering attracted some of the world’s largest institutional investors, including Capital Group, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Blackstone, and Nomura. Domestic participation was equally broad-based, with HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund and Tata Mutual Fund among the investors.
People familiar with the transaction said the order book was fully covered before the issue formally opened, with bankers describing investors as “clamouring for allocations.” The company launched the QIP with a base size of Rs 10,000 crore before increasing it to Rs 15,000 crore on the back of strong demand.
The fundraising is the latest sign of a sharp shift in investor sentiment toward the Adani Group. After a period when Adani stocks were among the least preferred by several institutional investors, they have become some of the most sought-after names among both global funds and domestic asset managers.
Over the past year, leading institutional investors have participated in fundraisings and secondary transactions across companies including Adani Power, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy, alongside Adani Enterprises. The lineup of investors has consistently featured some of the world’s largest asset managers and nearly every major domestic mutual fund, reflecting growing conviction in the group’s long-term investment pipeline.
The latest demand also comes despite a US federal judge pausing the formal dismissal of criminal charges against the Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and directing the Department of Justice to justify its decision to withdraw the case. The strong institutional participation suggests investors have remained focused on the group’s operating businesses, capital allocation, and growth prospects.
Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship incubator, is expanding businesses spanning airports, AI and data centres, solar and wind equipment manufacturing, roads, PVC, metals and mining. A day before the QIP, the company announced an $11.5 billion investment with IHC to establish India’s largest aluminium manufacturing project, marking the biggest foreign direct investment announced in India’s metals and mining sector.
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