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Nitish’s JD-U too supports Draupadi Murmu for President

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After Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Chirag Paswan’s LJP-Ram Vilas, Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Wednesday announced support to NDA presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu.

“Selecting Draupadi Murmu as a candidate for the President’s post is a pleasing thing for us. She comes from a tribal family and her selection as a candidate for the highest post of the country is a pleasing thing,” Chief Minister and party head Nitish Kumar said.

Earlier JD-U’s national President Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh officially announced support to Murmu.

“Draupadi Murmu, who comes from a poor tribal family, was selected for the President’s post. Our Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is also dedicated to the works for the women empowerment and marginalised people of the society. JD-U has decided to support Draupadi Murmu for the presidential poll. I congratulate her for her selection as a candidate for the presidential post,” he said.

JD-U Parliamentary Board President Upendra Kushwaha also congratulated Murmu, and also appealed to the opposition parties to support tribal leaders of the country.

Paswan and Manjhi had expressed support for Murmu after the BJP announced her name as the NDA candidate for the presidential poll.

After opposition parties announced the name of Yashwant Sinha as their joint candidate, the BJP played the woman and tribal card and selected Murmu.

Leaders like Nitish Kumar, Manjhi and Chirag Paswan cannot afford to go against the decision of the BJP as they may considered as anti-Dalit and anti-tribal.

National

Five Pakistani aircraft destroyed in Operation Sindoor: BJP’s Amit Malviya

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New Delhi, May 24: The Indian Air Force (IAF) and ground forces downed at least five Pakistani aircraft, including a Chinese JF-17 and two F-16 fighter jets, during Operation Sindoor, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information and Technology, Amit Malviya, said on Saturday.

The information related to the setbacks to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), shared by Malviya on his social media handle X, comes in the backdrop of intense politics over Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi seeking information about IAF’s aircraft losses and the BJP questioning him for not caring to inquiring about Pakistani losses during the conflict.

Hailing IAF’s precision strikes and air dominance during Operation Sindoor, Malviya listed the PAF aircraft casualties as: one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.

A Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning system was destroyed as far as 315 kilometres away deep in Pakistan, said Malviya.

The Saab 2000 Erieye AEWC aircraft owned by Pakistan is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system.

Malviya quoted a media report which said that the IAF also has proof of its missiles having downed one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.

The BJP leader also commended the performance of the S-400 air defence system. “India’s S-400 air defence system in Adampur went into action no less than 11 times during Operation Sindoor,” he wrote.

Adampur Air Base is the one which Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited after the ceasefire ‘understanding’ with Pakistan.

Malviya also shared other details of the IAF strikes on May 10, pointing to Rafale-launched SCALP missiles and SU-30 MKI-launched Brahmos missiles taking out the northern air command-control network at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala in the first strike itself.

Talking about the precision missiles that struck Pakistan four times, he wrote on X, “The last strike was carried out at Jacobabad and Bholari air bases, but by that time Pakistan had folded and was seeking US intervention for a ceasefire.”

Malviya’s claims about IAF success against the enemy also demolish claims made in fake news circulated on social media and attributed to a British newspaper. The posts carried an article with the headline “Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies.”

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Crime

Seer arrested for raping minor in Karnataka’s Belagavi

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Belagavi, May 24: A prominent Hindu seer has been arrested on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, police said on Saturday.

The police have filed a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case against the accused.

A case in this regard was registered at the Bagalkot Women’s Police Station and subsequently transferred to the Mudalagi police station.

The accused is the head pontiff of a prominent mutt in a village in the Rayabagh taluk of Belagavi district.

According to police, the seer allegedly raped the girl repeatedly and threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident.

The accused seer had taken the girl to Raichur on May 13 and stayed there for two days.

Later, he took her to Bagalkot on May 15, staying there for another two days.

The accused seer took the girl with him, claiming to drop her back at her residence, and took advantage of the situation to commit the crime.

The seer left the victim at the Mahalingapura bus stop in Bagalkot district on May 17. Later, the girl revealed her ordeal to her parents, and a complaint was lodged against the seer at the Bagalkot Women’s Police Station.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the girl’s parents, who were devotees of the mutt and revered the accused seer, used to leave their daughter at the mutt often for weeks. The seer allegedly took advantage of this.

Police said there are allegations against the mutt and the seer of carrying out illegal activities.

It also came to light during the investigation that in 2021, the accused seer was beaten by villagers.

Local people have appealed to the police to initiate strict legal action against the accused seer.

The police have recorded the statements of the villagers and the victim.

The accused seer has been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.

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Crime

Murder accused shot by TN Police after attacking officers in Salem

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Salem, May 24: A 26-year-old man accused of the brutal murder of a 70-year-old woman in Omalur, Salem, was shot in the leg by police early Saturday after he attacked two officers with a machete while trying to escape from his hideout near Sankari Fort.

The accused, Naresh Kumar of Kattikaranoor village in Omalur block, is a habitual offender with over 20 robbery cases registered against him across various police stations in the district.

The incident traces back to May 20, when the victim, Sarasu alias Saraswathi, a resident of Chinnerikadu in Omalur, was murdered while grazing her cattle. Her body was discovered by locals along a roadside path, bearing injuries to her ear and nose.

Initial investigation suggested that she had been attacked for her gold jewellery, with at least one sovereign of gold reported stolen. A murder and robbery case was registered by the Deevattipatti police. In response, special teams were formed to track down the suspect.

Based on intelligence inputs and surveillance, police identified Naresh Kumar as the prime suspect and located his hideout at the foothills of Sankari Fort.

During the early hours of Saturday, a special police team closed in on his location. However, as officers attempted to apprehend him, Naresh Kumar brandished a machete and violently attacked Sub-Inspector Vijayaraghavan and Constable Selvakumar, injuring both.

In an act of self-defence and to prevent his escape, one of the officers fired a service pistol, hitting the accused in the leg. Naresh Kumar collapsed on the spot and was immediately taken into custody.

He, along with the injured policemen, was admitted to the Government Hospital in Sankari for treatment.

According to police sources, Naresh Kumar has a criminal history of targeting elderly women in rural areas, primarily for jewellery snatching. Previous incidents have been reported from Sankari and Magudanchavadi.

The incident has raised concerns about the safety of senior citizens in the region and the increasing audacity of repeat offenders. Police have intensified surveillance and patrolling in vulnerable rural zones to prevent further attacks.

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