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Tibetan groups protest against China

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Several Tibetan organisations, including non-governmental organisations, political parties, student groups, etc., held massive protests in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala against China’s repressive policies and illegal occupation in Tibet.

The Tibetan people in the hill state highlighted various incidents of atrocities and oppression by the Chinese government on the people of Tibet through various programmes.

Tibetan Women’s Association (a women’s group based in McLeodGanj, Dharamsala), National Democratic Party of Tibet (a major political party in the Tibetan government in exile), Gu Chu Sum Movement Association of Tibet (non-governmental organisation in Himachal Pradesh) and Students for a Free Tibet (global grassroots network of students and activists working in solidarity with the Tibetan people) held large-scale demonstrations against Chinese atrocities against the people of Tibet at the Main Square in Mcleodganj, Dharamsala on Sunday.

The International Justice Day was also celebrated on Sunday (June 17) by the Tibetan community living in India, inspiring people across the world to unite together for ensuring justice.

International Justice Day celebrates the importance of ensuring accountability concerning some of the most heinous crimes such as genocide, murder, forced detention, unjustified jail imprisonment, punishing the perpetrators of crime and bringing justice to the people.

Tsering Dolma, Vice-President of the Tibetan Women’s Association, said it was important to celebrate the International Justice Day by acknowledging the human rights violations inside Tibet by the dictatorial Chinese Communist Party.

She added that during the 20th century, the Chinese Communist Party began its invasion of Tibet in 1949 by annexing Tibet’s Amdo and Kham provinces.

After China illegally occupied the entire Tibet in 1959, a martial law was imposed to crackdown on the Tibetan resistance movement.

As many as six million people died in Tibet due to the invasion and illegal occupation by China, and many Tibetans were also forced to leave their homeland and live in exile, Dolma said.

The people of Tibet were denied justice and are fighting against atrocities committed against them violating basic human rights and freedom, she added.

The evidence of the human rights situation within Tibet is clear when His Holiness, the Panchen Lama, was forcibly abducted by the Chinese government at the age of six, Dolma said.

She added that due to the torture, cruelty and ill-treatment during his detention by the Chinese government, prominent Tibetan monk Jigme Gyatso had been unrecoverably ill since his release in 2016 after serving a five-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty to “inciting separatism” in Tibet. Facing further health complications, Gyatso was hospitalised in Xiling in May this year and passed away on July 2.

On June 23, 2022, the Chinese police arrested a Tibetan woman Zumkar, for possessing a picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama in her house in Tibet.

She said that many Tibetan people have lost their lives under harsh persecution, torture, imprisonment and extrajudicial killings due to Chinese oppression. China’s dictatorial policies have created a crisis in Tibet and provoked an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by monks, nuns and Tibetan people.

Tsering Dolma added that over the past decade, Chinese authorities have systematically closed local schools in Tibet and replaced them with colonised boarding schools, including those for primary age children.

By deliberately separating Tibetan children from their families and culture and keeping them in government boarding schools, Chinese authorities are using one of the most heinous means of colonialism to attack Tibetan identity.

National News

Maharashtra: Major scam in twin tunnel and elevated road projects, allege Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress

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Mumbai, May 31: The opposition Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress in Maharashtra have claimed that there is a major scam in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects estimated together at Rs 14,000 crore.

“Will Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde be removed from the government and an investigation conducted into this scam?” SS-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said at a press conference while criticising the state government after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) told the Supreme Court during a hearing on a petition filed by the infrastructure major L&T that both the tenders would be scrapped, and a fresh tender process would be initiated only to safeguard larger public interest.

“I congratulate the court… I also congratulate the contractor L&T. No political interference is needed. I had brought this news to the fore last year also,” Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday.

“The cost of the twin projects was expected to be Rs 14,000 crore and, on the other hand, the contract process was to be completed in 20 days. There is a short tender notice for landslides, broken walls. But how can there be a short notice for this big project? When they (L&T) went to court, MMRDA said that they are giving a contract period of 60 days instead of 20 days,” he claimed.

“It all started for a favourite contractor. At that time, I didn’t think it would be such a big scam. There was a settlement against the government for a contract. But today’s (court) case has given me confidence that ‘Satyamev Jayate’ will prevail. It was clear that this was a scam. Just because the contract was canceled later on the orders of the court doesn’t mean it wasn’t a scam.

“The ED and IT-D are being pushed aside. I ask the Chief Minister – are you going to investigate the ‘corrupt Nath’ Shinde? He must have taken bribes, given threats. Fadnavis says we need clean governance. Shinde holds the urban development department… he gives orders to commit scams. Will you investigate him? Are you going to expel him?” Aaditya Thackeray questioned.

He claimed that Fadnavis does not need Shinde as Ajit Pawar is with him. “So will the probe be conducted by keeping aside Shinde?” he wondered.

On the other hand, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that there was corruption of Rs 3,000 crore in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects. He also accused CM Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde of taking bribes in these projects.

“The matter does not end with the cancellation of the tender by MMRDA as the issue is about corruption. Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have created a corridor of corruption in the state and there is a circle of state undertakings including MMRDA, MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority), CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) for this purpose. This circle of corruption has been quite active since Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister. For this, favourite officers are appointed and through this, the favourite contractor scheme is implemented,” alleged Sapkal.

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National News

Re-tendering of Ghodbunder-Bhayandar projects: Voluntary move despite legal clearance, says MMRDA

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Mumbai, May 31: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Saturday strongly defended its decision to scrap tenders for the Thane-Ghodbunder-Bhayandar twin tunnel and elevated road projects, valued at around Rs 14,000 crore.

The authority emphasized that the move was voluntary and aimed at upholding transparency, despite having received legal vindication from the courts.

In a submission before the Supreme Court on Friday, MMRDA said that it would scrap both tenders and initiate a fresh bidding process in alignment with its institutional commitment to transparency and to safeguard the larger public interest.

“The decision to re-tender the Ghodbunder-Bhayandar infrastructure projects underscores MMRDA’s commitment to public value, ethical governance, and transparency,” the authority said in a statement.

“This voluntary step comes despite the Supreme Court declining to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s rulings, which had upheld the legality and procedural soundness of the tender process for the Gaimukh-Bhayandar project,” it added.

MMRDA also said it was actively considering a downward revision of the project’s base cost by around Rs 3,000 crore, based on price quotations revealed during court proceedings, to ensure optimal utilization of public funds.

Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) had twice challenged the tendering process in the Bombay High Court, which on both occasions upheld MMRDA’s procedures, affirming that all rules, technical criteria, and eligibility norms had been followed.

In its Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court, L&T had sought both interim and final reliefs, including a stay on the High Court’s order, a freeze on the opening of financial bids, a bar on disclosure of submitted bids, and a halt on issuing any Letter of Award.

However, the apex court declined to grant any of these interim requests.

“The Court did not stay the High Court’s order, nor did it restrain MMRDA from opening financial bids, disclosing them, or issuing Letters of Award,” the MMRDA statement said.

“During final hearings, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai expressly refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s rulings, thus reinforcing the legality of MMRDA’s tendering process.”

According to MMRDA, L&T was disqualified for failing to meet a key eligibility condition that required bidders to declare that no bridge or barrage constructed by them had collapsed within two years of completion.

Based on L&T’s own disclosure, the company was rendered ineligible, and its financial bid was never opened.

“MMRDA’s approach in this matter goes beyond a legal win. It reflects leadership — where legal compliance is a baseline, and ethical decision-making in public interest is the standard,” the statement said.

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Crime

Delhi Police bust interstate auto theft syndicate, recover eight high end cars

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New Delhi, May 30: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted an interstate syndicate involved in the theft and resale of high-end vehicles, a statement said on Friday.

The gang used a sophisticated modus operandi to sell stolen cars through online platforms by forging documents, opening bank accounts with fake identities, and tampering with engine and chassis numbers.

In a series of coordinated operations, the police arrested a key member of the gang and recovered eight luxury vehicles.

According to Delhi Police, the breakthrough came with the arrest of Rakesh Patel alias Pappu (38), a core operative of the syndicate, near Sahibabad Railway Station in Ghaziabad on April 21, 2025.

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended him while he was attempting to sell a stolen Maruti Wagon-R via an online platform.

Patel, a resident of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (UP), and originally from Mohiuddin Nagar, Samastipur (Bihar), played a central role in managing theft operations and delivering stolen vehicles across states.

His associates arranged vehicles, counterfeit documents, and fake number plates.

The gang’s method was notably elaborate. After stealing a car, they searched online car-selling portals for vehicles of the same make, model, and colour.

Using open-source information, they identified details of genuine owners and forged documents in the owner’s name — featuring the photograph of one of the accused. They also opened bank accounts using these fake identities.

To avoid detection, the syndicate would tamper with the stolen car’s engine and chassis numbers to match those of the legitimate vehicle. Fake Registration Certificates (RCs) were then prepared, making the stolen car appear genuine. Once the vehicle was thus ‘cloned,’ it was listed for sale on online platforms.

The syndicate targeted high-demand vehicles, often choosing cars parked in low-surveillance or roadside areas. The police noted the gang’s use of advanced technological tools to support their operations.

A team led by Inspector Arun Sindhu of the Crime Branch spearheaded the investigation, which led to the arrest and recovery of the stolen vehicles.

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