Live: Strict action will be taken against obscenity, abuse on OTT, says union minister Anurag Thakur

Maharashtra’s Worli police on Sunday arrested the accused Sumer Merchant (aged 23) who killed a tech firm CEO, Rajlaxmi Krishnan with a speeding car. A case under Section 304 of IPC has been registered, and police will present him in court tomorrow. 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth Rs.5.21 crore in an illegal mining case in which the ED launched an investigation in 2002 based on a FIR registered by the SIT, Karnataka Lokayukta, Bengaluru against Mineral Enterprises Ltd, unknown government employees, and other unidentified persons.

Information and Broadcast minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday said that government is serious about increasing complaints about obscene content on OTT and that strict action will be taken to stop. “Abuse and rudeness in the name of creativity cannot be tolerated,” the union minister stated. 

He further said if the government has to change rules regarding this, I&B ministry will not back out. 

The ‘Like-minded’ Opposition parties will convene tomorrow morning in Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s office in Parliament to strategize for the upcoming floor of the house, ANI reported.

Rahul Gandhi submitted a preliminary reply to Delhi police on Sunday hours after he was questioned over his remarks made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on women being sexually assaulted, ANI reported. In the reply he said that this police action had nothing to do with the stand he took in Parliament and outside on various issues including the Adani case.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that the police reached Rahul Gandhi’s house despite him telling that he will reply to the notice. “When such things happened during Indira Gandhi’s tenure, everyone knows what were the results,” Gehlot said.

Sagar Preet Hooda, Special CP Law and Order, Delhi stated that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said he needs some time to share the required information, ANI reported. In connection with the notice served by the police to seek information about the alleged sexual harassment victims, special CP met Rahul Gandhi today.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said that police have right to know the information about those woman whom Rahul Gandhi mentioned, ANI reported. “Today, police went to his home to deliver a notice and requested him to tell about those women. Now, Cong says democracy is in danger,” Sambit Patra said. 

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he should apologise in the Parliament for defaming India on foreign soil, ANI reported. “Why is he (Rahul Gandhi) speaking about it (Hindenburg report)? Let SC decide about this,” Himanta asked. He went on to say that Rahul Gandhi should provide the names of the victim women of alleged sexual harassment so that they can seek justice.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Sunday that the BJP is trying to divert attention away from the Adani issue and has sent police to question Rahul Gandhi. Kharge further said, “Rahul Gandhi & Congress will not get scared. No matter how much they try to save Adani, we will continue to question them.”

“Congress is finished as it misused central agencies, BJP will meet similar fate,” said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in Kolkata.

A person was arrested with heroin worth ₹2.2 crore in Aizawl, an Assam Rifles official said on Sunday.

We held a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. He said he needs some time and will give us the information which we’ve asked for. Today we’ve served a notice which has been accepted by his office and if questioning needs to be done then we will do it. We will begin our proceedings as soon as we receive the information: Delhi Police to ANI

“We are going to hold talks,” ANI quotes Special CP(L&O) Sagar Preet Hooda at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s residence.

Special CP(L&O) Sagar Preet Hooda has been present at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s residence for close to two hours now but he and his team have not been met by Rahul Gandhi yet, reports ANI

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter Scale hit Tajikistan today at around 11:31am IST: National Center for Seismology

He was chased by police for about 20-25 kms but he managed to escape. We’ve recovered a no. of weapons & 2 cars also seized. Search underway & we’ll arrest him soon. Law & order will be maintained, ANI quoted Jalandhar CP KS Chahal in a statement on ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh

At least 12 passengers were injured after a private bus fell off a small bridge in Pune city of Maharashtra,  PTI reported on Sunday citing officials. The accident took place in Bavdhan area around 11.30 pm on Saturday, they said.

North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, ramping up testing activities in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.

All mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking & mobile recharge) & all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab suspended till March 20 (12:00 hours) in the interest of public safety: Dept of Home Affairs & Justice, Govt of Punjab

Maharashtra | A woman died after she was hit by a speeding car in Mumbai’s Worli. The driver of the car also got injured and has been detained. Further investigation into the matter is underway: Worli police

We’ve come here to talk to him. Rahul Gandhi gave a statement in Srinagar on Jan 30 that during Yatra he met several women & they told him that they had been raped…We’re trying to get details from him so that justice can be given to victims: Special CP (L&O) SP Hooda. Read more

Tamil Nadu | Six people including one child and a woman killed whereas three injured after a van collided with a lorry on Trichy-Salem NH near Tiruvasi in the early hours. All the injured shifted to Trichy govt hospital and dead bodies sent for autopsy, reports ANI citing police officials. 

Jharkhand reported its first case of H3N2 influenza, besides five fresh cases of COVID-19, PTI reported citing a health department official on Sunday.

Security has been enhanced across the state of Punjab as searches continue to nab pro-Khalistan outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh, who has been declared a “fugitive”, hours after a massive operation by the police.

Police personnel have also been deployed outside Amritpal Singh’s residence in Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar, as the police efforts are underway to nab him, reported ANI. 

Kazakhstan votes in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday widely expected to cement President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s grip on power and complete the reshuffle of the ruling elite which began after he fully assumed leadership last year.

A stronger mandate will help Tokayev navigate through regional turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent damage to trade, investment and supply chains throughout the former Soviet Union, reported Reuters. 

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai on Sunday predicted light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning in the city within the next three hours.

“Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places over Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Thiruvannamalai, Ranipettai, Vellore, Thirupattur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamilnadu during the next three hours,” said IMD in a statement, reported ANI. 

A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 14 people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered just off the Pacific Coast, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city. One of the victims died in Peru, while 13 others died in Ecuador, where authorities also reported that at least 126 people were injured, reported AP. 

Several parents and students in Afghanistan urged the Taliban to reopen the secondary schools for girls, which have been closed for the last 544 days, Khaama Press reported.

On Saturday, the parents of students expressed concern for their children’s future and urged the authorities to allow their daughters to return to school, reported ANI.