BJP National President Nitin Nabin arrived in Patna on Saturday for a two-day visit, during which he will participate in party organisational meetings and Durga Puja celebrations. His visit comes amid preparations for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council elections.

Party leaders and workers welcomed him at the Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna.

Discussions during his stay are expected to focus on electoral preparations, organisational coordination and the BJP’s upcoming programmes.

During his visit, Nabin is expected to meet senior BJP leaders and office-bearers to discuss the party’s organisational activities and MLC election strategy.

He may also meet Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi.

However, a detailed official schedule for the proposed meetings has not been released.

Alongside his political engagements, Nitin Nabin is scheduled to visit Durga Puja pandals across Patna and offer prayers to Goddess Durga.

According to the programme schedule, he will visit the Durga Puja pandal at Dak Bungalow Chauraha on Saturday.

His visit has generated interest among local puja organisers and BJP workers.

With Durga Puja celebrations underway across the capital, several committees are organising religious and cultural programmes, making pandal visits a key part of the itinerary.

Nabin’s two-day stay is expected to include discussions on strengthening the party organisation and coordinating preparations for the Legislative Council elections.

The outcomes of the meetings, however, will become clearer once the party shares details of any decisions or announcements.

His visit combines organisational engagements with participation in the ongoing Durga Puja festivities in Patna.

Preparations for the upcoming Legislative Council (MLC) elections are among the key priorities of his visit.

The BJP is contesting four of the eight MLC seats. Polling for the elections will be held on October 23, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the counting of votes and announcement of results are scheduled for October 27.

One person was killed and another seriously injured after a luxury SUV and a motorcycle collided head-on at Anandapur Crossing on the southern outskirts of Kolkata early on Saturday, officials said.

The motorcycle rider died in the accident, while the pillion rider was admitted to a private hospital in a critical condition.

According to the police, the accident occurred around 4.30 a.m. at the intersection of Chaubaga Road and Anandapur Road, one of the busiest junctions in the city.

Additional Commissioner of Kolkata Police (Detective Department) Kunal Agarwal confirmed that an investigation had been launched into the incident.

Preliminary investigations revealed that two youths riding a motorcycle were travelling from south to north along Chaubaga Road. As they approached the crossing, they attempted to turn towards Anandapur Road.

At the same time, a black luxury SUV was approaching from the opposite direction. The motorcycle and the SUV collided head-on as the two-wheeler was negotiating the turn.

The impact was so severe that both occupants of the motorcycle were thrown onto the road, suffering serious injuries.

The motorcycle rider, identified as Pratyush Panai, 30, was rushed to NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Doctors declared him dead on arrival.

The pillion rider, Prasun Kumar, 27, sustained critical injuries and has been admitted to a private hospital near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. Prasun, a resident of Gandhinagar in Jharkhand’s Godda district, is the son of Sushil Pandit. He is reportedly a student of the local Meghnad Saha Institute.

The police said preliminary findings suggested that neither of the two motorcycle occupants was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Investigators suspect that the injured pillion rider or the motorcycle rider sustained a severe head injury in the collision.

The initial investigation also indicated that both motorcycle occupants may have been intoxicated when the accident occurred. The police are examining the circumstances surrounding the crash to establish the sequence of events and determine responsibility.

The SUV driver allegedly abandoned the vehicle at the accident site and fled under the cover of darkness immediately after the accident.

The police seized both the SUV and the damaged motorcycle. Investigators are attempting to identify the absconding driver using the vehicle’s registration number and ownership records.

CCTV footage from cameras installed around Anandapur Crossing is also being collected and examined to reconstruct the accident and establish how the collision occurred. Further investigation is underway.

A Delhi court has issued a bailable warrant against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in an eight-year-old criminal defamation case filed by Vikas Pandey, after being informed that a fresh summons issued could not be served as the premises of his residence was found locked.

The Saket Courts passed the order on Saturday after being apprised that the service of summons on Rathee remained incomplete.

The court has now listed the matter for further hearing on October 31. In an order passed earlier this month, the court had permitted fresh summons to be served on Rathee through dasti service, allowing the complainant to accompany the process server to facilitate service.

Despite the steps taken, the court was informed that the notice could not be served as the premises of Rathee’s house was locked, leading to the issuance of the bailable warrant.

The case pertains to a video titled ‘BJP IT Cell Part 2’, which allegedly defamed Pandey.

The video was also retweeted by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal in 2018, who later acknowledged before the Supreme Court that he had made a mistake by retweeting it.

Pandey, the founder of the social media page ‘I Support Narendra Modi’, had claimed that the retweet had tarnished his reputation.

The proceedings against Rathee had remained pending amid repeated difficulties in serving summons on him since 2019, with the complainant claiming that his continued absence from India had delayed the case.

Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria.

The matter had also reached the Supreme Court in connection with Kejriwal’s challenge to the criminal defamation proceedings arising from the retweet.

In February 2024, Kejriwal told the apex court that he had made a mistake by sharing the video. A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, who later became Chief Justice of India (CJI) and has since retired, and Dipankar Datta had stayed the trial court proceedings against Kejriwal while hearing his plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s refusal to quash the summons issued against him.

The Delhi High Court had earlier upheld the summoning order, observing that retweeting allegedly defamatory content could attract prosecution under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).