Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for unity against divisive forces, saying that new challenges and social distortions had emerged over the past decades and that the responsibility to address them rested with everyone.

Addressing the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan in New Delhi, PM Modi emphasised the need to promote self-reliance and connect every citizen with the vision of a developed India by 2047.

“Times have changed in the past decades. New challenges have arisen for the country. New distortions have emerged in society. Today, the responsibility to resolve them rests with all of us,” the Prime Minister said.

“Today, we have to unite society against the divisive forces. We must awaken our citizens to the need for self-reliance. We must connect every citizen with the resolve for a developed India in 2047. We must become more active towards these objectives,” he added.

PM Modi said he had consistently kept young people at the centre of government policies and expressed happiness over the contributions made by the youth during the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

“In this journey, I have tried to keep youth in focus in all the policies. I am happy that young people have taken up several responsibilities during the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav,” he said.

Highlighting an initiative undertaken by young members of the Chinmaya Mission, the Prime Minister said a group of youngsters had travelled extensively across the country and interacted with thousands of young people.

“My young friends have travelled for 300 days, covering 40,000 kilometres. During this journey, they have met more than one lakh young people. I want to thank the entire team for this,” he said.

Referring to the Upanishadic expression ‘Vayam Amritasya Putrah’, meaning ‘We are the children of immortality’, PM Modi said it did not imply physical immortality but rather the eternal nature of consciousness.

“The meaning of ‘Bharat’ is someone who is engaged in knowledge and research,” he said, highlighting India’s longstanding intellectual and spiritual traditions.

Recalling India’s 75th year of Independence, PM Modi said he had wanted the milestone to inspire the vision of a developed nation while also highlighting the country’s enduring civilisational values.

“When the country marked 75 years of Independence, I thought we should not only make this occasion a platform to inspire the vision of a developed India but also bring to life the spirit of India, which knows how to live by immortal ideas and, drawing on its experience spanning thousands of years, can express concern for humanity across generations,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Swami Chinmayananda had devoted his life to raising awareness about the nation’s cultural heritage and development.

“Those of us who think about the country’s interests should work to make the nation aware and developed. Swami Chinmayananda devoted his entire life to this mantra. With the same devotion with which he spoke about spiritual subjects, he also spoke passionately and extensively about matters concerning the nation, because our nation is the birthplace of our culture and the foundation of our existence,” PM Modi said.

He also recalled Swami Chinmayananda’s birth centenary and the release of a commemorative coin in his honour in 2015. PM Modi described the spiritual leader’s life as a remarkable confluence of knowledge, action and devotion.

Highlighting the government’s efforts to reform education, the Prime Minister said the National Education Policy was introduced to meet the needs of a new India.

He said the policy placed importance on India’s knowledge traditions, education in the mother tongue, modern science and emerging technologies.

Model Shraddha Dubey, the prime accused in the murder of Shiva Sharma, has revealed details of her escape route and admitted that her boyfriend, Amir, had helped her evade the police, according to officials.

During hours of interrogation, Dubey disclosed several details but remained silent on certain aspects of the case. She was subsequently sent to jail. Investigators suspect that she kept her driver, Danish, with her to prevent him from revealing her secrets. She used him as a shield and a means of facilitating her escape.

In her statement to the police, Dubey admitted to travelling to Kanpur and Agra. On October 18, she reportedly visited a hotel in Kanpur to book a room. However, when the hotel staff asked her to produce identification, she left without completing the booking.

Dubey feared that if her photograph went viral following the murder case, the hotel staff might recognise her and inform the police. She subsequently booked a car and left for Nagpur without staying at the hotel.

She managed to evade the police for 11 days. Although she was fond of staying in large, luxurious hotels, she reportedly chose smaller hotels and lounges where identification documents were not required to avoid disclosing her identity.

Dubey also travelled to Rae Bareli but could not reach her home. Fearing that she might flee abroad, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) issued a lookout circular.

During interrogation, Dubey reportedly admitted that Amir had been accompanying her since Lucknow and had helped her enter Nepal through Bahraich. Following her statement, the police are likely to add Amir’s name to the First Information Report (FIR). Preparations are also underway to announce a reward for information leading to his arrest.

According to the DCP (Central), investigators are identifying people who allegedly helped Dubey and the other accused evade the police. Strict action will be taken against those found assisting them.

Investigators have also learnt that Dubey remained in contact with several people at the locations she visited. Police suspect that someone was continuously guiding her and helping her avoid arrest.

The DCP personally interrogated Dubey for hours. During questioning, she reportedly refrained from naming anyone and repeatedly complained of difficulty in breathing and speaking.

Meanwhile, Dubey was arrested in Nagpur by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Lucknow Police, officials said on Tuesday.

She had been on the run since October 9, when Sharma allegedly fell from the balcony of an apartment in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area. His death was initially treated as an accidental fall, but later became a suspected murder case after his family alleged that he had been assaulted and tortured before being thrown from the building.

Delhi Police have arrested a 41-year-old man for cheating a garment manufacturer of approximately Rs 2 lakh on the pretext of supplying ready-made garments and sewing machine materials, officials said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Pawan Kumar Dugar, a resident of Badarpur in Delhi, was apprehended by the Cyber Police Station of Shahdara district following a technical investigation. Police also recovered a mobile phone used to contact the complainant.

According to the police, the case was registered following a complaint by Neeraj Kumar Jain, who is engaged in manufacturing ready-made garments and dealing in garment-related materials.

The complainant said that on July 6, he was contacted by Dugar, who posed as a supplier of ready-made garments and sewing machine materials. The accused persuaded him to place an order by claiming that the required goods were available for delivery.

To gain the complainant’s confidence, the accused shared catalogues, invoices and transport-related documents. He also repeatedly assured the complainant that the ordered goods would be dispatched and delivered on time.

Relying on these representations, Jain transferred approximately Rs 2 lakh through multiple transactions. However, the promised goods were never delivered, and the money was not refunded, leading to the registration of a cyber fraud case.

During the investigation, technical analysis helped the police establish leads regarding the accused’s whereabouts in Badarpur. A dedicated team from Shahdara’s Cyber Police Station subsequently conducted a raid and apprehended him.

The team comprised Sub-Inspector Sunil Dev Sihag, Head Constable Ravi Malik and Head Constable Sandeep. The operation was conducted under the leadership of Inspector Vijay Kumar, Station House Officer of the Cyber Police Station, and the overall supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations), Shahdara.

During the operation, the police recovered a mobile phone associated with a number allegedly used to contact the complainant.

Further financial scrutiny revealed that bank accounts linked to the accused had surfaced in six cybercrime complaints involving multiple victims and suspected fraudulent transactions worth lakhs of rupees.

According to the police, the investigation indicated that the accused allegedly acted as the caller and was directly involved in the fraudulent dealings.

Further investigation is underway to trace the complete money trail, identify additional victims and establish the full extent of the alleged fraud.