National News
Dissent in poll-bound Himachal against Agnipath scheme, paper leak scam: Congress working chief (IANS Interview)

There is a strong resentment in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for four-year contractual recruitment in the defence recruitment.
The BJP government led by Jai Ram Thakur is riddled with scams, ranging from the recruitment of police personnel to issuance of fake degrees at a price tag of Rs 4 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
The main opposition Congress has been in full ‘battle gear’ to take head-on the ruling government in the assembly polls likely in November.
These were the views of two-time Congress legislator Rajinder Rana, who has learnt political lessons for years from his once-mentor and BJP’s two-time chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, to whom he “taught” lesson by defeating him in the 2017 assembly elections.
He had defeated BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Dhumal in a straight contest by 1,919 votes in Sujanpur, the seat the latter was asked to contest from.
In an interview with IANS here on Wednesday, Rana, who is one of the party’s state working Presidents, said there is strong resent among the youth and people of Himachal Pradesh, who felt proud to serve the nation by donning an army fatigue, against the contractual recruitment in the armed forces.
“In my constituency, every third house has a family member in the armed forces. In some house, there are two-three family members serving the nation,” Rana, a known social worker in the area who was once the election manager of Dhumal and he knows his family well, told IANS.
He said people of the Himalayan state, where there is 16 lakh unemployed, want to serve the nation owing to lack of work opportunities in the state. “They are also sturdy to serve the armed forces.”
“The Agnipath scheme is a fraud with the people of the state. There is a strong dissent even among parents of aspirant soldiers as you are going to employ a soldier at the age of 17-18 years when he has not even completed his education. At the age of 21-22, 75 per cent of them will be sent home without any social security incentive, including pension. We protest this scheme and it will be our main election issue,” realtor-turned-politician Rana, who won Sujanpur seat in Hamirpur district for the first time in the 2012 assembly polls as an Independent candidate by a margin of 14,116 votes, told IANS.
The hill state has around 1.20 lakh serving defence personnel and almost equal number of ex-servicemen largely settled in Una, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Mandi districts.
A large number of protesters tried to reach Dharamsala town in Kangra district where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to hold a roadshow on June 16, but were stopped by police several km before the venue.
The Congress is also eyeing to strengthen its vote bank against the resentment of government employees against the new pension scheme.
Rana said after the re-introduction of old pension scheme in the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Congress in the state, if it returns to helm, will bring the old pension scheme.
The old scheme was done away by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime in December 2003. The national pension scheme took effect from April 1, 2004.
Around one lakh employees staged a protest in Shimla early this year, demanding scrapping of the new pension scheme. They say when it comes to financial benefits of the legislators, the government takes quick decision but when it comes to old pension benefits the employees, the government cites fund crunch.
There are about 2.25 state government employees, including about 30,000 contract, part-time, daily wage and para workers. The highest number of employees are employed in the education, public works, irrigation and public health, police and health departments.
Rana, who vacated the assembly seat and unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Hamirpur as a Congress nominee, said the leaked paper of the constable recruitment examination is one of the biggest scams in the country.
The scam is currently being investigated by the CBI and is likely to put the ruling BJP government in embarrassment in the run-up to the assembly polls.
So was the multi-crore fake degree scams by Manav Bharti University in Solan.
“Police records say 43,000 fake degrees were sold by the university across the country. In reality, the number of fake degrees could be 4 to 10 lakh,” said the Congress legislator, who holds allegiance with party veteran and six-time Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh.
“The fake degree scam could be of over Rs 20,000 crore,” he added.
The fake degree scam was unearthed in February 2019, a year after the University Grants Commission (UGC) received an anonymous complaint about the alleged sale of more than 5 lakh degrees by two private universities in Himachal, Manav Bharti University in Solan and APG in Shimla.
The Congress will soon announce a toll-free telephone number to get feedback from the public about the programmes to be included in its election manifesto.
“The Congress is totally united to take head on the ruling BJP. A strong anti-incumbency wave against the state ruling BJP — evident from the loss of three Assembly and one parliamentary seat in the October 2021 bypolls — will be seen in the assembly polls too.
“Also the state has been seeing a two-party system. A handful rebels from both the Congress and the BJP have been emerging from time to time, but after failing to mark their presence on the larger political landscape,” said Rana, adding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is nowhere in the picture in the state.
Crime
Accused in air hostess sexual assault case was porn addict: Gurugram Police

Gurugram, April 19: Gurugram Police said on Saturday that the accused in the air hostess sexual assault case was a porn addict, an official said.
Gurugram Police Spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said that the accused used to watch porn videos habitually, which was also confirmed from the mobile phone recovered from him.
He said that during police interrogation, it was found that the accused has a B.Sc. (OT) degree from a private institute from the years 2019-2022, and he was an average student in studies.
“For the last five months, he was working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital. The accused going to the victim at the time of the incident was confirmed from the CCTV cameras installed in the hospital,” he said.
The Spokesperson said that during interrogation of the accused, it was also found that he had watched porn videos before the incident and even after committing the crime.
“Which is also being confirmed from the search history of the accused’s mobile phone. He was produced before the court on Saturday, from where he was sent to judicial custody for further proceedings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the SIT on Friday nabbed the accused, after analysing at least 800 CCTV cameras installed inside and outside of the hospital, who sexually assaulted the woman when she was on a ventilator.
The accused was identified as Deepak (25), a native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The accused had been working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital for the past five months and was arrested in the Sadar police station area on Friday.
An official privy to the investigation said that the accused has confessed to his crime in the matter.
“While investigating the incident, eight police teams checked the footage of 800 CCTV cameras installed in the hospital, and around 50 hospital staff, including doctors, were questioned about the incident. Keeping in mind the seriousness of the incident, the police teams investigated from every angle and collected a lot of information related to the incident, as a result of which the police got great success in identifying the accused who committed the crime,” said Arpit Jain, DCP (Headquarters).
On Thursday, Vikas Kumar Arora, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, had constituted an SIT and ordered the identification and arrest of the accused.
As per the order of the Police Commissioner, an SIT was constituted under the leadership of Arpit Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Headquarters, Gurugram, in which a total of eight different police teams were given special directions and deployed to collect information and evidence related to the incident.
Dr. Sanjay Durani, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said in a statement that: “We have been informed that the police have identified a suspect who has been taken into custody in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning allegations of sexual assault on a patient. On the basis of information provided to us by the police, we have suspended the suspect employee. As we await the final outcome of the investigation, we will continue to provide full support to the police.”
Business
FM Sitharaman to showcase India’s economic dynamism during US, Peru visit

New Delhi, April 19: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to embark on an official visit to the US and Peru, beginning April 20, where she is slated to participate in multilateral dialogues to showcase India’s economic dynamism, as the country prepares a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US, it was announced on Saturday.
During her visit to the US, the Finance Minister will visit San Francisco and Washington, DC, from April 20-25, according to a Ministry of Finance statement.
In San Francisco, FM Sitharaman would deliver a keynote address at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, titled ‘Laying the foundations of Viksit Bharat 2047,’ followed by a fireside chat session.
The Finance Minister will also interact with top CEOs from prominent fund management firms during a roundtable meeting with investors, besides holding bilateral meetings with CEOs from top information technology (IT) firms based in San Francisco.
She will also participate in an event featuring the Indian diaspora in San Francisco and interact with the Indian community settled there, said the ministry.
In Washington, DC, FM Sitharaman will participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meetings, the Development Committee Plenary, IMFC Plenary, and Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting.
On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, she will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from several countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and the US; besides meeting EU Commissioner for Financial Services; President, Asian Development Bank (ADB); President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA); and First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During her maiden visit to Peru from April 26-30, the Finance Minister will lead an Indian delegation of officials from the Ministry of Finance and business leaders, highlighting the strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations between the two nations.
Beginning her visit in Lima, she is expected to call on the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, and Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, besides holding bilateral meetings with the Peruvian Ministers of Finance and Economy, Defence, Energy and Mines, and also holding interaction with local public representatives.
The Finance Minister will chair the India-Peru Business Forum meeting with prominent business representatives in attendance from both India and Peru.
FM Sitharaman will also hold an interaction with the Indian investors and businesses currently operating in Peru, as well as the Indian business delegation visiting Peru. The Finance Minister will also participate in a community event in Lima, where she will interact with the Indian diaspora living in Peru, according to the ministry statement.
National News
We can’t live like this: Women break down before NCW chief in riot-hit Murshidabad

Kolkata, April 19: Women in Dhuliyan, one of the worst-affected areas in West Bengal’s minority-dominated Murshidabad district, have urged the Centre to set up permanent Border Security Force (BSF) camps in violence-hit pockets to ensure their safety following recent communal unrest over protests against the Waqf Act.
On Saturday, a delegation from the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, visited Dhuliyan to meet those affected by last week’s violence, most of whom are Hindus.
Several women broke down during their interaction with the delegation and pleaded for the permanent deployment of central forces.
“We won’t survive without permanent BSF camps here. If needed, we are ready to offer our own land and homes for setting them up,” said a woman, sobbing and touching the feet of a delegation member.
The NCW team assured locals that their concerns would be conveyed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
“We are here to stand with you in this moment of crisis. The whole country is watching and supporting you. We will submit a detailed report to the Centre and include the demand for permanent BSF presence in this region,” a delegation member told the women.
Even before Saturday’s visit, NCW member Archana Majumdar had stressed the need for permanent Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) camps in the region.
“The women victims in Murshidabad have clearly expressed the need for permanent CAPF deployment to ensure their dignity and safety. We will raise the issue with the Union government,” Majumdar said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Murshidabad district administration has prepared a preliminary report on property damage. According to initial estimates, over 250 houses and 100 shops — mostly owned by Hindus — were vandalized during the unrest.
“This is just the initial estimate. The actual figure may rise as we complete the detailed assessment,” said a senior district official.
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