National News
President Murmu feeds customary ‘dahi-cheeni’ to FM Sitharaman

New Delhi, Feb 1: Ahead of presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu in the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Saturday.
The President fed her ‘dahi-cheeni’, a ritual performed by elders in Indian families to bestow good luck before undertaking important tasks.
This year’s Budget is the eight consecutive Budget for Finance Minister Sitharaman and the Modi government’s 14th straight Budget.
Earlier in the day, FM Sitharaman and her team posed for a traditional picture outside the Finance Ministry. She wore an off-white coloured handloom silk saree with fish-themed embroidery and a golden border – a tribute to Madhubani Art. She wore a red blouse with the saree and displayed the red ‘bahi-khata’ tablet with the national emblem.
In 2019, FM Sitharaman broke the long-standing tradition of a Budget briefcase with a ‘bahi khata,’ a red-coloured Indian accounting ledger. In 2021, the Finance Minister presented the Budget in a paperless format, using a ‘Made in India’ tablet.
Nirmala Sitharaman, who surpassed the record of former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Morarji Desai last year, is set to present the Union Budget for 2025-26 in Parliament on Saturday.
Finance Minister Sitharaman will deliver the Budget speech in the Lok Sabha from 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Budget Session of Parliament which commenced on Friday, will be conducted in two phases – the first started on January 31 and will conclude on February 13, while the second phase will begin on March 10 and end on April 4.
This year’s Union Budget is expected to maintain the government’s focus on promoting economic growth while ensuring equity.
The government is expected to prioritise improving the quality of life in rural areas to ensure equitable and inclusive development.
According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, financial inclusion is a key focus, with rural households and small businesses getting easier access to credit through microfinance institutions, self-help groups and other intermediaries.
National
Five Pakistani aircraft destroyed in Operation Sindoor: BJP’s Amit Malviya

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.”
Crime
Seer arrested for raping minor in Karnataka’s Belagavi

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.
Crime
Murder accused shot by TN Police after attacking officers in Salem

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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