In a relief to vintage cars connoisseurs, the National Green Tribunal today agreed to make a one-time exception to its order which had banned all vehicles older than 15 years from plying on Delhi roads.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar granted its nod for the 6th edition of 21 Gun Salute International Vintage car rally in the national capital on February 6 and 7.

The green panel, however, made it clear that this rally was being permitted as a one-time ..
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Four more persons have been arrested and two police officials suspended in connection with the alleged assault and stripping of a Tanzanian student here that has triggered a nationwide outrage.

With this, nine persons have been arrested so far since the incident happened on Sunday night when the 21-year old student went through the ordeal in a vigilante justice by an angry mob in a case of “mistaken identity” after a woman was mowed down by a car driven by a Sudanese here.

Inspector Pravin Babu and Constable Manjunath have been suspended, Bengaluru Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said.

“Babu has been suspended for dereliction of duty and Manjunath for not taking action even though he was present at the spot,” he added.

The four accused were arrested last night, Megharkh said and added that they have been booked for assault, unlawful assembly, arson, rioting and outraging a woman’s modesty.

Megharikh said police have been interrogating the suspects and there are chances of arresting some more people.

Asked whether one of the arrested is a member of BJP, Megharikh said, “He is a panchayat member.”

A team from Delhi comprising the Tanzanian High Commissioner John W H Kijazi and External Affairs Ministry officials will meet the students here and get the assessment of the state government on the incident.

The Tanzanian woman was reportedly dragged out of the car in which she was seated along with her three friends when she reached the accident spot with the miscreants mistaking them to have caused the fatal accident though a Sudanese was involved in it, police said.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has denied that the Tanzanian woman was stripped and paraded naked, claiming that it was not a racial attack.
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India on Wednesday said that countries which support terrorism must be named and shamed, asserting the need for united efforts to combat terror.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar while stating this at a security conference in a veiled reference to Pakistan also said that some countries believe that they can buy peace at home by supporting groups for terror outside, which he said, was “delusional”. He did not name any country.

He said India will continue to be in touch with Pakistan with regard to the probe in the terror attack on an IAF base in Pathankot last month.

“Nations which support terrorism must be named and shamed,” Mr. Jaishankar said at the Counter Terrorism Conference 2016 here.

He called for fostering greater international cooperation to fight terrorism while pointing out that even so-called victims of terror do not cooperate on fighting terror on international stage.

Mr. Jaishankar said that governments must show solidarity through a united message condemning terror attacks.

“Since Pathankot attack happened, we have been in touch with Pakistan. We have been in touch at my level and the NSA level because only by remaining in touch, we can expect them to progress on the basis of information which we have provided to them,” he said.

On terrorism in eastern parts of the country, the Foreign Secretary said the Indian government had discussions with Myanmar on fighting terrorism and there is a greater responsiveness to the concerns of India.

“We had some problems with Myanmar and we have also some discussions with them. Some developments took place in the last few months and possibility of terror attacks occurring in the East from beyond the border would come down,” he said in response to a question related to terror activities in the eastern parts of the country.

Ahead of monsoon, railways will install solar-powered sensors near bridges to monitor the rising water level during the rainy season to prevent any mishap.
Railway tracks often get submerged due to the overflowing of floodwater affecting train operations during monsoon season.

“Submerging of tracks also causes disruption of train services. At times overflowing of river washed away tracks causing derailment,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.
As per the plan, Flood Level Monitoring System comprising micro-devices, radar and an electronic unit, will be placed near the bridge to monitor the water level. The device powered by solar power will measure the water level near bridges regularly and when the level rises, it will send warning signals.
The system is operational in Trichy and it has been found to be very effective in sending messages on water level.
According to the system, the radar will sense water levels at regular intervals and send information to the electronic unit which in turn will send it to the central server here from where it will sent to local servers at stations adjacent to bridge.
If the nearby station authorities get caution messages then preventive steps can be taken before-hand, the official said.
Heavy rains had caused twin train mishaps last year in Madhya Pradesh and the recent flood in Chennai has severely affected train operations in the region. PTI

Amid outrage over a video that shows police thrashing students, including women, during a protest, Delhi top cop B S Bassi today appeared to defend his force suggesting that the protesters may have provoked them.
“Right to protest coexists with what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr said – The right to swing my fist ends where the other mans nose begins,” the police commissioner posted on microblogging website Twitter.
Although, Bassi attributed the quote to American Jurist Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, its origin is disputed as the adage is attributed to various legal luminaries. The quote is also recorded in a 1919 Harvard Law Review essay by legal philosopher Zechariah Chafee which contained a version spoken by an anonymous judge.
Referring to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals tweet that Delhi Police was being used as RSS and BJPs “private army”, Bassi said that he will try to clear the CMs “misgivings” when they meet next.
“DP handled 11,156 L&O events in 2015, most peaceful. Whenever I meet HonbleCM, I shall try to clear his misgivings. DP is bound to protect freedom of free speech and peaceful assembly. Help DP and democracy by agitating at JantarMantar,” he said in a series of tweets.
The video of police thrashing a group of students with sticks and fists and dragging women by their hair during a protest over Dalit student Rohith Vemulas suicide has triggered widespread outrage with Congress and AAP seeking action against the erring cops.
Yesterday, Bassi ordered an inquiry into the incident, that took place near the RSS headquarters on January 30, which, he said will be probed from all aspects, including examining whether there was any “indiscretion”.
A Delhi School of Social Work (DSW) student, who was at the receiving end of the police assault, alleged police took turns in “brutally” thrashing him and did not even let him sip water. PTI

Nitish Kumar cabinet today relaxed the norm for mandatory toilets at the homes for candidates contesting the coming elections to panchayat and urban local bodies.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet presided over by Kumar, Principal Secretary Cabinet Coordination Department Brajesh Mahrotra told reporters.
The Bihar State Panchayati Raj Act, 2006 had made it compulsory for a candidate in the local bodies poll to have a toilet at home as an eligibility criteria.

The election to local bodies in Bihar is scheduled for next month.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who had made a request to the state government for waiver of the clause, expressed happiness over the cabinet decision.
Sushil Modi told reporters that the fault lies with the state government for not building toilets for about 1.5 crore households in the state. The mandatory clause of the toilet would have stopped many genuine candidates from fighting the poll.
In another important decision, the state cabinet gave its nod to a proposal of finance department to increase VAT on petrol and diesel from existing 20 per cent to 30 per cent, Mahrotra said.
An additional Rs 330 crore would be mobilised annually by increasing the surcharge, he said.
The Nitish Kumar cabinet also okayed a proposal to increase dearness allowance by 11 per cent to employees and pension holders with effect from July 1, 2015, he said.
Now they will get 234 per cent DA in place of 223 per cent at present, Mahrotra added.
The Bihar cabinet also gave green signal to creation of 46 posts of different levels of Bihar Vikash Mission headed by Advisor to the CM Prashant Kishor for implementation of CMs “seven resolves”. PTI

Over 67 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir have been issued Aadhaar cards while over 84 lakh have been enrolled for the unique identity cards in the state.
The J&K government, on the direction of Governor N N Vohra, has set a deadline of March 31 to ensure that all the employees as well as daily wagers, casual and seasonal labourers working in various departments under the state government enroll themselves under Aadhaar, said Hirdesh Kumar, Commissioner, Information Technology.
The direction was given so that the salaries from April 1 are paid to them on the basis of Aadhaar enrolment.
“As many as 84,00,233 people have been enrolled and Aadhaar cards have already been issued to 67,69,272 people in J&K so far,” he said.
“Out of the total population of 1,25,41,302, records have already been digitized in respect of 1,09,43,114 persons,” he said.
To expedite the process for enrolment, 133 additional permanent Enrolment Centres have been sanctioned in the state, with over 193 centres already established in J&K, Kumar said.
The Chief Secretary will have a video-conference with the Deputy Commissioners on February 4 to undertake district-wise review