New Delhi, Oct 12: BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Monday launched a sharp attack on Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of making “baseless” allegations against constitutional institutions and attempting to “create political instability” amid the ongoing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Thakur alleged that Rahul Gandhi lacked a proper understanding of facts, rules and laws and was instead focused on creating disorder and questioning constitutional authorities.

“Rahul Gandhi may be the Leader of the Opposition, but he is a leader who knows neither the facts nor the arguments, rules, regulations or laws. He only knows how to spread anarchy, create instability, undermine constitutional offices and institutions, and tarnish India’s image across the world,” Thakur said.

The BJP MP also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s repeated allegations of “vote theft”, claiming that the Congress leader was effectively challenging the people’s mandate without presenting sufficient evidence to support his claims.

“Rahul Gandhi keeps talking about ‘vote theft’, but in reality, he is challenging the public’s mandate. He makes baseless claims. He is a leader dealing in empty rhetoric. His entire political agenda is built on hollow statements, baseless accusations, meaningless actions, protests, facts… Ground reality is that there is nothing substantial in his statements. He repeatedly makes allegations and then goes to court and apologises. That is his track record,” Thakur said.

He further accused the Congress leader of making the Election Commission of India (ECI), electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) a “scapegoat to target” whenever the party suffers electoral defeats, instead of accepting the outcome of elections.

“Rahul ji, the country doesn’t need noise, allegations or political statements, but truth, evidence, and clear answers,” he added.

Referring to the INDIA bloc’s efforts to raise its concerns over the SIR exercise before the judiciary, Thakur questioned the opposition’s attempt to seek a discussion with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) while the matter was sub judice.

“How can he seek a discussion with the CJI if this SIR issue is sub judice? The CJI made it clear that he should file a petition,” Thakur said.

“You know that Rahul Gandhi has faced setbacks in court several times in the past and has apologised. Now he thinks that if he goes out on the streets and repeatedly tells lies, people will start believing them to be true. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party have a very clear strategy: if they cannot rule, they will spread anarchy,” he added.

Thakur maintained that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress had the right to raise their concerns and approach the judiciary, but accused them of behaving as though they were above established constitutional procedures and institutions.

“The people of the country have every right to present their case before the court. Rahul Gandhi, you too have every right to present your views. But Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party consider themselves an extra-constitutional body,” he said.

The BJP leader also challenged the Congress to make public the evidence it had claimed to possess in support of its allegations against the Election Commission, insisting that criticism of constitutional institutions must be backed by verifiable facts.

“There might be allegations against the ECI, but where is the evidence? Rahul Gandhi had said that he would present the evidence, but it is still not made public… Disagreement is fine, but if allegations are made against the Constitutional institutions, then there must be evidence,” he added.

“The responsibility lies not only with the government but also with the LoP,” he added.

This comes amid the Congress-led INDIA Bloc’s march towards the Supreme Court, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Opposition leaders have alleged irregularities in the revision exercise and raised concerns over the electoral rolls, while the BJP has defended the process and accused the Congress of politicising the issue.

The INDIA Bloc leaders had also sought an appointment with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to discuss their concerns. However, the CJI declined their request and advised them to approach the court through a petition in accordance with the established legal procedure.

Following this, a bus carrying Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA Bloc leaders departed from the Constitution Club of India towards the Supreme Court.

New Delhi, Oct 12: Delhi Police solved a robbery case in New Usmanpur area by arresting two accused, including a proclaimed bad character (BC) of Bhajanpura police station. The mobile phone robbed from the victim has also been recovered, officials said.

According to police, the incident took place on October 8, when Man Singh, 28, a resident of South Gamri in Delhi who works as a taxi driver, was walking from 4.5 Pusta towards the parking area at 5th Pusta to collect his vehicle at around 5 a.m.

When he reached a garbage dump, three persons allegedly intercepted him. One of them grabbed him from behind and choked him, while another pressed a knife-like object against his stomach.

Meanwhile, the third accused took his mobile phone and wallet containing Rs 1,500 and his driving licence from his trouser pocket. They also snatched an earring from his ear before fleeing towards Khajuri Chowk.

Following the complaint, a case was registered under FIR No. 639/2026 dated October 8 under Sections 309(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was initiated.

A police team under the supervision of Seelampur ACP cracked the case, arresting the key suspect.

The team analysed footage from more than 150 CCTV cameras and developed local intelligence, leading to the identification and arrest of the two accused on October 9.

The accused have been identified as Arif alias Khujli, 25, a resident of Gali No. 4, 5th Pusta, Gamri, Delhi, and Dilshad Sheikh, 24, a resident of Gali No. 24, 5th Pusta, Gamri, Bhajanpura, Delhi.

During verification, Arif was found to be a “bad character” of Bhajanpura police station, with six previous cases related to robbery, theft and offences under the Arms Act. Dilshad was previously involved in two robbery cases, police said.

During interrogation, both accused confessed to their involvement in the crime and disclosed information about a third associate. On October 10, during police custody remand, the victim’s robbed mobile phone was recovered at Arif’s instance.

Hyderabad, Oct 12: Unidentified thieves wearing nighties and masks, who arrived in an ambulance, looted an ATM in Telangana Kamareddy district on Sunday, officials said on Monday.

According to police, the burglars broke into a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM and, after damaging the machine with gas cutters, escaped with the cash. The crime, committed between 1 a.m. and 1.30 a.m. in Gandhari village, was captured on the CCTV camera.

The footage shows the offenders arriving in an ambulance, wearing masks, caps and gloves, cutting open the ATM with gas cutters and fleeing with cash. The suspects appear to be men. However, police have not ruled out the involvement of women as a woman was involved in the recent theft at an ATM in Karimnagar district.

The theft came to light on Monday morning after locals noticed the damaged machine and alerted the police. The police reached the scene, registered a case, and collected evidence with the assistance of a clues team.

Investigators are examining CCTV footage to identify the suspects and reconstruct their movements before and after the robbery. The amount of cash stolen remains unconfirmed, with verification of the ATM’s cash balance required to establish the loss.

Police are also investigating whether the ambulance used in the crime was genuine or it was just to disguise their movements.

Last month, burglars damaged two ATMs and looted cash in Telangana’s Karimnagar town. The offenders targeted two ATMs of the SBI in two different areas, using gas cutters to break open the machines and fled with the cash.

The thefts, committed in Durshed under Karimnagar Rural Police Station limits and Thimmapur under LMD Police Station limits on September 19, were captured on CCTV.

At Durshed, the thieves allegedly sprayed a liquid on the CCTV cameras before stealing the cash from the ATM.

Police identified the involvement of a woman based on the CCTV footage.

Two burglars, including a woman, reached the Durshed ATM in a car. The accused were wearing caps, spectacles, gloves and masks.

After damaging the ATM, they took away Rs 8 lakh stored in the machine.