Artist Chintan Upadhyay Convicted For Conspiring To Kill Wife, Her Lawyer

A sessions court here on Thursday held artist Chintan Upadhyay guilty of conspiring to kill his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani, and abetting their murder.

Additional sessions judge S Y Bhosale of the Dindoshi court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on Saturday.

Three other accused, namely, Vijay Rajbhar, Pradeep Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar, were convicted of murder under Indian Penal Code section 302 and other relevant offences.

The prosecution said it will seek the maximum punishment of death for all the convicts.

Upadhyay was held guilty under IPC sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) and 109 (abetment). Following the conviction, Chintan Upadhyay, who was out on bail, was sent in judicial custody till Saturday.

Special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade told the media that he will be seeking capital punishment as one of the victims, Haresh Bhambhani, was a lawyer.

Considering the recent cases of assault on lawyers, the offence falls into the category of 'rarest of rare', and the ramifications of such incidents on the entire legal system have to be considered, he added.

Bhambhani's brothers Ramesh and Gopi Bhambhani said they wanted death sentence for the convicts. "The family members have suffered, his wife, two daughters have suffered. Since his death, we have not celebrated Diwali, Holi till today," they told reporters.

The prosecution examined around 50 witnesses during the trial. Chintan Upadhyay was the "pioneer of the conspiracy" to murder his wife Hema, an installation artist, and her lawyer as Chintan was "driven by hatred towards the duo," prosecutor Bagade had contended.

A complete chain of circumstances was proved against all the accused, the prosecution had claimed.

Hema Upadhyay and advocate Bhambhani were killed on December 11, 2015, and the bodies were stuffed into cardboard boxes and thrown into a ditch in suburban Kandivali.

Vidyadhar Rajbhar, who is accused of executing the murders, has been absconding.

Chintan Upadhyay was arrested soon after the murders for allegedly conspiring to eliminate his wife. He spent nearly six years in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in September 2021.

The police were unable to crack the double murder and hence implicated him in a false case taking advantage of his and Hema's matrimonial dispute, Chintan had claimed in this final statement submitted to the court.

Chintan had no reason to eliminate his wife, and police extracted confession from co-accused Pradeep Rajbhar about the conspiracy through coercion, the defence had claimed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Residents Near Sikkim Glacial Lake Evacuated After Likely Breach Warning

The authorities in Sikkim have started evacuating residents from the banks of Shako Cho lake near Lachen in Mangan district in Sikkim. The lake is on the verge of bursting, prompting the authorities to issue an alert.

The Shako Cho glacial lake is above the village of Thangu. The is 1.3-km-long and the village is only 12 km away.

The entire Golitar area in Singtam in Gangtok district, Dikchu in Mangan district and Rangpo IBM area in Pakyong district has been cleared by the authorities.

Gangtok district magistrate Tushare Nikhare said satellite data showed abnormal increase in glacial temperature over Sako Chu. It won't be an issue if the temperature stabilises, the officer said, adding they will check the condition of the area at 7.30 am again.

"As a precautionary measure, however, an evacuation advisory is in place. Since silt has been deposited, any sudden discharge of water will be at an elevated level over deposited debris and can cause damage," Mr Nikhare.

The central government said it will make a detailed assessment of damage to hydropower projects in Sikkim after the flood water recedes.

The state-owned hydropower giant NHPC is taking all possible measures to get the hydropower projects operational at the earliest, the Power Ministry said.

According to a statement, Power Secretary Pankaj Agrawal held an emergency meeting on Wednesday with NHPC, where senior officers of the ministry and Central Electricity Authority were also present.

Due to flash floods in the Teesta basin, all the bridges downstream to Teesta-V hydropower station up to Tarkhola and Pamphok have been submerged or washed away, thus affecting travel and communication in these areas.

The floodwater overtopped the dam of Teesta V power station (510 MW). All connecting roads to the project sites as well as parts of the residential colony have been severely damaged, it stated.

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"India Is A Powerful Country, Growing Stronger Under PM Modi": Putin

Heaping praise on India, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Indian leadership is "self-directed" and led by the country's national interests, according to Reuters. Speaking at an event, Vladimir Putin alleged that the West is trying to cast everyone "who is not ready to blindly follow these Western elites as the enemy".

"At a certain point in time, they tried to do the same with India. Now they are flirting, of course. We all understand this very well. We feel and see the situation in Asia. Everything is clear. I want to say that the Indian leadership is self-directed. It is led by the national interests. I think that those attempts make no sense. But, they continue. They are trying to cast Arabs as the enemy. They are trying to be careful, but overall, that's what it all boils down to," Vladimir Putin said.

The Russian President said countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa deserve more representation in the UN Security Council and added that the UN should be reformed but gradually, according to Reuters.

Calling India a "powerful country", Vladimir Putin said that it is growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia-based RT News reported.

"...India, more than 1.5 billion of population, more than 7 per cent of economic growth...that's a powerful country, mighty country. And it's growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi...," Vladimir Putin said, according to a video shared by RT News.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin had called PM Modi a "very wise man", adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, RT reported.

Last month, too, he had praised PM Modi stating he was doing the "right thing" in promoting the Make in India programme.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"I Felt Bad That My First Throw...": Neeraj Opens Up On Asiad Controversy

Neeraj Chopra clinched the gold medal in men's javelin event at Asian Games 2023 with a season-best throw of 88.88m but the win was not without controversies. The very first attempt by the reigning world champion was a massive one and it looked that throw easily breached the 85m-mark. However, the organisers were not able to measure it due to a technical glitch and as a result, Neeraj had to take the throw once again. Following his gold medal win, Neeraj opened up about his feelings regarding the controversial incident and what he felt could have been the reason behind the confusion. (Asian Games Medals Tally)

"I was puzzled and confused, it has never happened in any competition I have competed in till now. I think they lost my landing mark and they kept on looking for it," he was quoted by PTI.

"I did not have any other means, I thought there was no point arguing for long. I also thought it's affecting the competition of other competitors. The other competitors were waiting and I need to respect them also. The wind was blowing and everybody was feeling cold. So, I thought I will take the throw later."

"Rule says only six throws, but for the first time I got seven throws in a competition," he said.

This was not the first time that Indian athletes were in the middle of a controversy during the Asian Games 2023. Jyothi Yarraji was initially disqualified during the 110m hurdles final but later, her bronze medal was upgraded to silver after the organisers found that a Chinese athlete was at fault.

"I felt bad that my first throw in such a big competition went like that. Jyothi ki saath bhi aisa huwa, mere saath garbar huwa hey. Jena ka ek throw mey bhi huwa (It happened with Jyothi, it happened with me as well. Even Jena faced it during a throw). So there were issues, but finally, I would say our results were good. Despite whatever has been done, we have shown that we came prepared."

"Our team should certainly look into why there are so many issues we are facing, I have never seen these kinds of things in big competitions. I or some other athlete could have been mentally down after the first throw. Anything could happen. Jyothi also fought," he concluded.

(With PTI inputs)

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"With Team India At...": Sanju Samson's Post Takes Social Media By Storm

Sanju Samson has been the topic of several discussions among fans and experts alike after the wicket-keeper batter was left out of India's Cricket World Cup 2023 squad. He was a part of the Asia Cup 2023 squad as a back-up but he did not play any matches and had to return before the final against Sri Lanka. Ahead of the Cricket World Cup, India were in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala for their practice match against the Netherlands and there was a huge poster of Samson where the team was practicing. The cricketer posted the picture on his social media accounts along with a heartwarming message for his teammates - "With Team India @ Gods own country !!".

India's superstar cricketers endured a 3,400km (2,170 miles) cross-country journey to play a World Cup warm-up only for the match to be abandoned without a ball being bowled on Tuesday.

India were to face the Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram, on the southern tip of India, but they were left kicking their heels due to torrential rain.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sanju V Samson (@imsanjusamson)

On Saturday, their scheduled game against defending champions England up in the north-eastern city of Guwahati was also washed out.

In total, the wet weather has so far forced three warm-up matches to be abandoned while three others have been rain-affected, leaving teams and players frustrated ahead of the tournament's start on Thursday.

The Netherlands have also had two washouts, including Saturday's match against Australia which ended in a no result when rain ended their chase in 14.2 overs.

That game was also played in Thiruvananthapuram, sparing the Dutch a fruitless trip to another venue.

However, the weather forecast for the rest of the week in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Dharamsala -- venues for first three days of the tournament -- is optimistic with sunshine instead of showers.

(With AFP inputs)

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"NewsClick Founder Pushed Disputed Territory Narrative For Kashmir": Cops

NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, who was arrested in a case filed under the anti-terror law following allegations that the portal received money for pro-China propaganda, allegedly conspired to peddle a narrative that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories, the Delhi Police has claimed.

Mr Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

In the remand application, the police said, "Secret inputs revealed that Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham and some other Chinese employees of Singham-owned Shanghai-based company have exchanged mails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India."

"Such attempts by these persons reveal their conspiracy to peddle a narrative, both globally and domestically, that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories. Their attempts to tinker with the northern borders of India and to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not parts of India in maps amount to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India," the application stated.

It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, remained involved in anti-Indian and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistan's ISI, it stated.

It has also been learnt that foreign funds have been siphoned off by Mr Purkayastha and his associates, the police said.

According to the application, "The accused persons have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers' protest through such illegal foreign funding."

A false narrative was propagated to discredit the efforts of the Indian government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the police said in its application.

It was learnt that Mr Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 general elections. It was also learnt that People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by NewsClick, has been used for intentionally peddling these false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy, it stated.

An analysis of e-mails shows that Singham, Purkayastha and Chakraborty were in direct contact with each other and were found to be discussing how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area, the application stated.

To achieve the objective, the accused persons, in the guise of foreign funds, received more than Rs 115 crore, according to the application.

A raid was conducted on Tuesday at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on the suspects named in the FIR and surfaced in the analysis of data, the police said.

The police applied for 15 days' police remand for both the accused and got their custody for seven days.

The police sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi, officials said, adding that 46 suspects were questioned and digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, and documents taken away for examination.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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BJP Leader's Big Charge On Bihar Caste Survey. Tejashwi Yadav Reacts

Two days after the first instalment of data from the Bihar caste survey was released, the BJP kept up its insistence that there were errors, with party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad claiming that no one met him or his family to collect their information despite him being a resident of Patna.

The state public relations department countered, saying his and his family's data was collected as per norms. This prompted Mr Prasad to post that the form states that the head of the family's signature is a must, and his wasn't taken. 

The BJP leader's comments invited a strong reaction from Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who said all those who have a problem with the survey data should ask the Prime Minister to get it conducted for the entire country. He also claimed that the BJP was trying to have its cake and eat it too, by both welcoming and criticising the survey 

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Prasad said that while his party had supported the caste survey in Bihar, no enumerator had met him or his family to gather their information despite him being the Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib. He said someone had asked a person outside their house for the details and alleged that similar complaints had been received from many parts of the state.

He also repeated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the ruling coalition in Bihar, which consists of the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and three Left parties, had got the survey done to create a divide in the country. He also demanded that the data be made public to ensure transparency. 

The state public relations department issued a rebuttal and said that the information from the MP was collected as per the laid-down norms and that the data could not be released as that would lead to privacy issues.

Escalation

Later in the day, Mr Prasad posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the signature of the house owner is a must as per the caste survey form, and his was not taken. He alleged that lakhs of people have similar concerns.

"How much importance should be given to the response of the Public Relations Department? My direct question is that, according to the caste survey form, the signature of the house owner is necessary but my signature has not been taken nor have I been contacted even though I am the head of the family. Lakhs of people in Bihar have similar concerns that they were not contacted by the surveyors and their signatures were not taken. Misrepresentation should stop," Mr Prasad posted in Hindi.

Asked about Mr Prasad's comments, Tejashwi Yadav, pointed out that all parties in Bihar, including the BJP, had supported the caste survey. He also slammed the party for both welcoming the survey and criticising it.

"The caste survey has been done and now some people are raising objections. They are welcoming the survey and objecting at the same time. If they have so many objections, why don't they ask PM Modi to get the Centre to do it? How long have we been making that demand? If they don't trust our survey, they should ask Modiji to get it done in the whole country, and, if not, at least in Bihar," Mr Yadav said in Hindi.

"All they have to do is add a column. Forget the caste census, they have not been able to conduct the normal Census since 2021. These people raise objections when someone gets the work done and praise the people who don't," the RJD leader mocked.

The data from the Bihar caste survey revealed that nearly 63.1% of the state's 13.1 crore population belongs to a backward class and roughly 85% are members of a backward or extremely backward class, or a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

The general category makes up just 15.5 per cent of the population. Among the Other Backward Classes, the biggest group is the Yadav community, which accounts for 14.27% of all OBCs.

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