India News

Retired IPS officer moves Supreme Court seeking CBI probe into Atiq Ahmed assassination

A retired IPS officer has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the sensational assassination of gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed.

Published

3 years ago

April 17, 2023

A retired IPS officer has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the sensational assassination of gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by retired IPS officer Amitabh Thakur seeks Apex court directions to the Uttar Pradesh government to transfer the FIR registered against the three assassins of the Ahmed brothers to the CBI as it argued that there’s a possibility that the attackers may be killed while in judicial custody and there’s also a risk of evidence tampering.

Thakur in his plea urged an immediate need to act in the case and said that several facts and figures make the murder of Atiq and Ashraf extremely unique and a matter of larger public interest, which has many important ramifications for public life, governance and the entire edifice of law and justice.

The ex-IPS officer noted that Atiq Ahmed, Mukhtar Ansari and certain other selective gangsters, were repeatedly praying for their lives on social media and hence knew they were being targeted, adding that everything about the killing Atiq Ahmed and his brother seems sketchy, fishy and highly suspicious.

The plea claimed that its quite obvious that the plot to kill Atiq and his brother may very well be a state-sponsored exercise, “where the high and mighty might be involved, for all kinds of nefarious purposes.”

Thakur said the name dropping by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the manner in which he and his regime selectively targeted a few gangsters clearly revealed that a few people were the real targets of the state government under the current rule.

The petition claimed that every action, whether by the police, the revenue department or by any other department, happened only with a select few like Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari, adding that UP CM Yogi Adityanath has created an ‘encounter raj’ regime in the state and openly vouches for and calls for the use of force to take down criminals and gangsters leading to thousands of encounters after BJP came into power.

The plea further said: “The Chief Minister, his ministers and the officials of the state government repeatedly went on releasing data on the number of encounters and the numbers of criminals killed/arrested in this process. It was never officially admitted that these actions were based on any selective or target-based considerations, but it was known to one and all, among the public as also among the officials, that the action had to be extremely targeted and selective, where the prime targets were to be Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed and in the process.”

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf Ahmed were gunned down in front of the Uttar Pradesh police while they were on their way for a medical checkup at a hospital in Prayagraj on Saturday night.

In a mafia-style shooting, three gunmen, posing as journalists, shot and killed the Ahmad brothers on camera and later surrendered before the police.

Following the killing, the Union Home Ministry said it will prepare a list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the safety of journalists.

The shooters, who were whisked away to an undisclosed location, have been identified as Lovlesh Tewari, Sunny Singh and Arun Maurya—all three have a deep criminal background and killed Atiq and his brother to climb the ranks in the criminal underworld, according to the police.

Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, had recently been convicted in the Umesh Pal kidnapping and murder case.

On Thursday, Atiq’s 19-year-old son Asad Ahmad, was shot dead in an encounter by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police in Jhansi.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday announced that a three-member judicial commission will probe the gangster’s brazen killing.

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India News

Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

2 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

BJP has finalised its Assam seat-sharing plan with allies and is gearing up for an intense campaign led by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Published

5 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

Ticket distribution remains a crucial exercise, with internal discussions highlighting its potential impact on local political dynamics. Party leaders have also touched upon the proposed delimitation exercise scheduled for 2027, which is expected to have long-term implications for Assam’s electoral landscape.