New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.

“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.

He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”

India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.

Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.

Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.

“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.

Mumbai, April 16: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) plans to support the exiled female cricketers from Afghanistan will be bankrolled via contributions by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Australia (CA), a report claimed on Wednesday.

The initiative to assist Afghanistan’s displaced women cricketers, which will include coaching and mentorship, “will be constituted through a dedicated fund,” and it will be fully funded by the ICC and the three boards.

An ICC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the fund will not include any contribution from the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ACB will continue to receive its full amount from the ICC.

The ICC has recently announced that it will put in place a plan to support women cricketers exiled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country and banned the participation of females in sports and disbanded the teams.

“Last year, the prospect of ring-fencing an amount for women’s cricket from the ACB’s portion of the ICC’s revenue distributions was discussed but that plan did not come to fruition. The ACB is the only Full Member board that does not field a women’s team, and is not able to because of the severe restrictions on women’s rights after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021,” the report claimed.

The report also said, the ICC’s latest plan to engage with Afghanistan’s female cricketers neither amounts to official recognition nor does it clear the path for Afghanistan to field a women’s team, as such a team can only be ratified by the ACB. Instead, the ICC hopes to work with Afghanistan’s female cricketers to provide them with both access to the game and funding for further education.

“The ICC does not select a team for Afghanistan. Rather, we are committed to addressing the complexities of the issue and finding a solution that fits within the ICC’s legal and constitutional framework,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

The report also confirmed that the ICC’s initiative will not be limited to the 19 Afghan cricketers resident in Australia but, “the plan is to include all displaced Afghan women cricketers regardless of their location.”

The ICC has so far not clarified on what will the Afghanistan women cricketers in exile do after getting coaching and mentorship from this fund.

Mumbai, April 15: The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved the amendment to the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Municipal Panchayats and Industrial Towns Act, 1965, empowering the members to remove the presidents of Municipal Councils, Municipal Panchayats and Industrial Towns.

As the state legislature is not in session, the state government will issue an ordinance.

Earlier, for the removal of the president from office, a proposal with the signatures of fifty percent of the elected members needed to be sent to the District Collector. After that, action was taken at the government level to remove the president from office. Instead, now the elected members will be given the power to remove the president from office.

Accordingly, a proposal with the signatures of two-thirds of the elected members will be sent and based on which the District Collector will have to hold a special meeting within ten days and take a decision through voting.

In a related development, the Cabinet also approved to harmonise the rules for leasing real estate of municipal corporations and properties in municipal councils, municipal panchayats and industrial towns. It was also decided to issue a notification regarding new rates, Rules were framed on November 6, 2023, regarding the lease, renewal and transfer of immovable property of Municipal Corporations in the state.

Accordingly, uniformity will be brought in the transfer of properties in all urban local bodies in the state. For this, Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Towns (Transfer of Immovable Property) (Amendment) Rules 2025 will be framed on the lines of the Municipal Property Transfer Rules. The properties of the Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, and Industrial Town have been classified as residential, educational, charitable, and public, commercial, and industrial.

According to the revised rules, the lease rate of properties for residential, educational, charitable, and public use will not be less than 0.5 percent of the current market value (ready reckoner).

The Cabinet also approved the provision for the lease rate for properties for commercial and industrial use, which will be less than 0.7 per cent of the market value. The valuation, lease rate and security deposit of these properties will be determined by a five-member committee headed by the District Collector of the respective districts. Objections and suggestions will be invited regarding these rules, and then a final notification will be published.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also cleared the Abhay Yojana for property tax dues in Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, Industrial Township areas by waiving penalties. The government release said that there is a provision to impose a penalty of 2 per cent per month on the arrears of property taxes in the municipal council, municipal panchayat and industrial town areas.

Due to this, the total arrears of the property holders increase, and the amount of the penalty often exceeds the original tax amount. Since the penalty amount is more than the original tax amount, property holders are reluctant to pay the tax.

As a solution to this, the Abhay Yojana will be implemented by waiving the penalty on the arrears of property tax. There is no provision for such a penalty waiver in the previous Act. The Cabinet approved the inclusion of such a provision in the Act.