Politics
Gyanvapi row: Delhi University professor arrested for derogatory post
Delhi Police has arrested Delhi University professor Ratan Lal for posting derogatory content on social media after the ‘discovery’ of ‘Shivling’ inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi during a video survey.
Lal was placed under arrest on Friday night by the Civil Lines Police. Later on Saturday, he will be presented at the Tis Hazari court.
On May 18, the police registered an FIR against Lal, for posting a provocative content.
“A complaint was received against one Ratan Lal, Prof of History at Hindu College, DU, regarding a deliberate and malicious post on FB intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting a religion or religious beliefs,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Sagar Singh Kalsi said.
He said that a legal action has been initiated in this regard and the police have registered a case under sections 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code at the Cyber Police station north district.
The DU professor had allegedly posted derogatory content along with the latest picture of Shivling that was found at the Gyanvapi mosque.
The complainant, a Delhi-based advocate, Vineet Jindal, had written to the Delhi Police over the “instigating and provoking statement”.
“Our Constitution provides every citizen with the freedom of speech and expression but the misuse of this right is inexplicable when it threatens the honour and harmony of the country and provokes its citizens based on community and religion and threatens the security of the nation then it is considered as a grave offence,” Jindal told IANS.
Demanding punitive legal action against the professor, Jindal further said that Ratan Lal’s remarks show his intent of activating enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion which is against the ideology of a secular democratic country like India and also a criminal offence as per the law.
Gyanvapi mosque, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, is currently facing a legal battle. A court in Varanasi had directed the Archaeological Survey of India to probe the structure of the Gyanvapi Masjid.
National News
One year of e-office: Delhi govt processes 75 pc of file work online

New Delhi, June 28: More than 75 per cent of Delhi government work is now done through the e-Office system, said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday as the electronic file system approaches its first anniversary on July 1.
The Chief Minister said the reach of the e-Office system has expanded since April 13, with 120 of the 132 government departments, about 91 per cent, using it regularly.
Similarly, 36 of the 55 public sector undertakings, boards, corporations, commissions, committees, autonomous and local bodies, or about 65.5 per cent, are using the system, she said in a statement.
Among universities, colleges and other educational institutions, 21 out of 48 institutions, or about 43.8 per cent, have adopted e-Office. Overall, 177 of the 235 departments and offices, about 75.3 per cent, are now regularly carrying out official work through the e-Office system, said Chief Minister Gupta.
She said, earlier, most official work was carried out through paper files. Today, file movement, correspondence and approvals are handled online.
This has accelerated file disposal, improved transparency and accountability in government functioning, and helped ensure the timely delivery of public services, she said.
The Chief Minister said the e-Office system now makes it easy to identify which official is handling a particular file and what action has been taken on it. The system has also made record-keeping more secure, reduced unnecessary delays and enabled smoother coordination among departments.
This is why the Delhi government is steadily expanding the system to cover more departments and institutions.
She said by June 27, a total of 15,748 officers and employees across 235 departments and offices were using e-Office for online file processing and official work.
Chief Minister Gupta said that since the functioning of all departments and institutions is not the same, the Delhi government has developed the e-Office system under three separate categories.
The first is meant exclusively for government departments; the second for public sector undertakings, boards, corporations, commissions, committees, autonomous bodies and local bodies; and the third for universities, colleges and other educational institutions.
This has enabled each category to function more effectively according to its specific requirements. Accordingly, the use of e-Office was made mandatory across all Delhi government departments from July 1, 2025.
Crime
Police raid premises of all eight accused in Ram Temple embezzlement case

Ayodhya, June 28: Police on Sunday conducted searches at the residences of all the eight accused, arrested in connection with alleged misappropriation of donations and offerings at the Ram Mandir.
This comes after the eight individuals were sent to three-day judicial custody on Friday. They will stay in jail till June 29 and will be produced before the city court again on Monday.
Krishna Nand Tiwari, a neighbour of accused Anukalp Mishra, said: “Action is being taken, brother (Mishra) or whoever is involved in this, whoever has committed theft or wrongdoing, they should be given the strictest punishment. They should be ashamed of their act, especially since it is related to God. They have betrayed the faith of crores of devotees.”
About the accused, he said: “Though he (Mishra) didn’t come across as such a kind of person, but one can never gauge anybody’s intentions.”
Another neighbour, Anurag, said he had known Mishra for around a year. “He was a person of good nature; we used to greet each other whenever we met. But I don’t know if he had any malicious intention,” he told media.
Accused Tinnu Yadav’s neighbour Tara Devi said: “Tinnu is like a brother. Searches at his home will only take place when all the neighbours are around.”
Asserting that Yadav was a good person, she claimed: “He is being framed.”
A total of eight accused have been booked for alleged theft at the temple, and all were subsequently arrested. The FIR was registered at Ayodhya Kotwali police station on Thursday, based on a complaint filed by Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Those named in the case include Ramshankar Yadav (alias Tinnu), who is associated with temple management; Trust employees Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, and Avinash Shukla; and retired bank employee Subhash Srivastava.
The filing of the case came soon after a three-member SIT flagged several irregularities at multiple levels in its preliminary report.
The police state that the entire episode of alleged theft will be uncovered based on interrogation of the accused and CCTV-based evidence. If more names are revealed in the investigation, action will be taken against them as well.
The preliminary probe has highlighted key roles played by each accused at various levels. The role of Ramshankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, is particularly under increased scrutiny.
Crime
‘Not Siya, Chetan pushed Ketan Agarwal’; police recreate crime scene at Lohagad Fort

Pune, June 28: As the investigation into the alleged murder of Ketan Agarwal proceeds, police on Sunday morning took the accused, the victim’s fiancee Siya Goyal, to the Lohagad Fort near Pune, Maharashtra, to recreate the exact sequence of events that took place on the day of the purported crime.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) (Lonavala division) Gajanan Tompe said, “Today, according to Siya’s description, we recreated the crime scene at the Lohagad fort. Superintendent of Police (SP) and other senior officials were also present (during the recreation).”
“Siya is currently an accused in this case, and the investigation is ongoing accordingly,” he told media.
The police reportedly carried a fibre-made dummy to reconstruct the crime scene.
Officials said that during the reconstruction process, Siya revealed the entire conspiracy to the police.
According to information shared by a senior police officer, the victim’s fiancée admitted during questioning and the reconstruction that she, along with her associate Chetan, had planned to eliminate Ketan.
As per the plan, Siya was supposed to walk to a higher point at Lohagad Fort and pretend to tie her shoelaces. As soon as she bent down under the pretext of tying them, Chetan was to approach Ketan from behind and attack him.
According to police sources, the reconstruction of events revealed that Chetan allegedly came from behind and suddenly pushed Ketan, causing him to lose his balance and fall approximately 300 feet into a deep gorge. The victim reportedly died on the spot.
The police have video-recorded Siya’s alleged confession during the crime scene reconstruction as well as the entire reenactment. Further investigation will proceed accordingly.
Meanwhile, the probe has revealed that both the accused, Siya and Chetan, had googled ways to kill Ketan Agarwal.
According to reports, Siya and Chetan went to the fort alone before committing the crime to “rehearse” the murder. The two had also prepared and practised their answers, in case they were caught by the police.
Investigation further revealed that the two murder accused had planned to disguise themselves during the murder to avoid suspicion.
Earlier, it was reported that Siya and Chetan had systematically wiped their entire phone chat history and recycle bins before and after the crime. Their mobile phones have been sent to a forensic laboratory to retrieve the logs of deleted chats, officials said.
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