New Delhi, Dec 26: The Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha staged a peaceful protest outside AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Thursday against recently announced ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’ demanding strict action against him for allegedly deceiving women with ‘fraudulent promises.’

The scheme, which promised Rs 2,100 per month to women if AAP comes back to power, has been labelled as “fraudulent” by the BJP, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of misleading and exploiting women for electoral gains ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections.

BJP workers who were protesting alleged that the scheme was designed to collect personal data from women under the guise of financial aid. They cited similar promises made by the AAP in Punjab, where the party had pledged Rs 1,000 per month to women but failed to deliver after coming to power.

Addressing the protest, Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha president, Richa Pandey said, “We are here to question Arvind Kejriwal about his promise. He had made similar commitments in Punjab but failed to fulfill them. This is a fraudulent scheme aimed at collecting data and misleading women ahead of elections. He thinks women are fools and is insulting their intelligence. We will also file a police complaint against this deceitful act.”

Expressing similar views, BJP councillor Yogita Singh said, “This is not the first time Arvind Kejriwal has deceived people. He promised Rs 1,000 to women in Punjab, which was never delivered. Now, a similar fraudulent scheme has been introduced in Delhi. Women have reported unauthorized deductions from their accounts, which is outright fraud. Kejriwal and Delhi CM Atishi must apologise for misleading and insulting women.”

The protesters accused the AAP of exploiting the scheme to gain votes as their hold on power weakens. “If Kejriwal was sincere, why didn’t he introduce such schemes during his decade-long tenure? These fake promises are mere election stunts,” Pandey added.

The BJP has vowed to take legal action against the alleged fraud and demanded accountability from the AAP, accusing the party of using deceptive tactics to secure votes.

Kolkata, Dec 26: Kolkata Police have denied permission to a doctors’ association seeking an extension of their protest in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case.

The protest has been going on to condemn the failure of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to present a charge sheet against Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mondal, who are accused of tampering with the evidence in the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of state-run R.G. Medical College and Hospital.

The sit-in protest at Doreena Crossing organised by the West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors, an umbrella association of doctors practising in the state, is supposed to end in the evening.

A member of the doctor’s body said they forwarded a communique on Wednesday night to the city police for permission to extend the sit-in protest.

However, on Thursday, the city police replied to the doctors’ email communique claiming the inability to give permission on certain grounds.

“We are weighing legal options available to ensure the extension of the demonstration. Initially, the city police even denied granting permission for the ongoing sit-in demonstration which is scheduled to end this afternoon. However, later we got permission for the same from the Calcutta High Court,” said a representative of the umbrella doctors’ body.

On Wednesday, another doctors’ body namely West Bengal Doctors Forum had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking the change the name of “Doreena Crossing”, a popular protest point in the city, to “Abhaya Crossing”.

The victim junior doctor of the R.G Kar is referred to as “Abhaya” since the legal system of the country bars revealing the identity of any rape or rape-and-murder victim.

Recently, a special court in Kolkata granted “default bail” to the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal as CBI failed to file the supplementary charge sheet against them within 90 days from the date of their arrests.

Both Ghosh and Mondal were accused of misleading the investigation and tampering with the evidence when the initial investigation was being carried out by Kolkata Police.

This week, a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) surfaced, which has created doubts about the “scene of crime” in the rape and murder case.

On the morning of August 9, 2024, the body of the victim was spotted at the seminar hall within the hospital premises of R.G. Kar and Hospital, accordingly, first the Kolkata Police and then CBI carried out the investigation considering the seminar hall as the “scene of crime”.

However, a report that CFSL has submitted to the CBI agency clearly stated that there is no evident sign of scuffle within the seminar room, sources said.

In fact, the CFSL report strengthens the apprehension raised by the section of the medical fraternity in the state since the beginning that the actual “scene of crime” was someplace else and after the rape and murder, the body was shifted to the seminar hall to mislead the investigation.

Jaipur, Dec 26: One more person who suffered critical burn injuries in the December 20 tanker fire incident in Jaipur succumbed during treatment at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, taking the death toll to 19.

Dr Rakesh Jain, a doctor at SMS Hospital, reported that 28-year-old Lalaram, who had sustained 60 per cent burns, was on a ventilator after sustaining injuries in the accident; however, he passed away at around 9.20 a.m.

“Currently, 20 severely injured patients are being treated in the hospital’s burn ward, with three of them on ventilators. Lalaram’s body has been placed in the hospital mortuary and will be handed over to his family following a post-mortem examination by a medical board,” said Dr Jain.

The fatalities from the Jaipur-Ajmer highway accident have been rising. On Wednesday, three patients succumbed to their injuries, following two deaths on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, five patients were discharged — three on December 23 and two on December 24.

On December 25, 22-year-old Vijeta, a resident of Pratapgarh, passed away at 4 a.m., followed by 36-year-old Vijendra from Bhuribaraj, Jaipur, who died at 9.30 a.m. Later, at around 1 p.m., 35-year-old Banshilal succumbed to his injuries. Vijeta and Vijendra had each suffered 70 per cent burns.

On December 24, two other victims lost their lives. They were identified as Naresh Babu from Etah, Uttar Pradesh, and Yusuf from Nuh, Haryana.

The tragic accident occurred near DPS Bhankrota on Ajmer Road in Jaipur on December 20 resulting in devastating loss of life. Four people were burned alive at the scene, while eight others succumbed to their injuries the same day during treatment at Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

Another person passed away later at Jaipuria Hospital. The accident happened when a truck collided with an LPG tanker, and the leaking gas caught fire which spread across the highway.

Jaiveer Singh, the tanker driver, informed the police that he was alone in the vehicle at the time of the incident. “Without wasting time, I started running,” he said. “The gas from the tanker spread on the road like a ball of fire. By the time I reached the ring road, I called the truck owner, Anil Kumar, and informed him about the incident. After that, I switched off my mobile.”

Further investigations are under progress in the incident.