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Digvijaya accuses BJP government and NIA chief of protecting Lt Col Purohit in Malegaon blasts probe, kicks up row

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9 years ago

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Infamous for his controversial remarks, the Congress general secretary alleges that the NIA chief was being given extensions by the Modi government to ensure that all RSS-affiliated men accused in terror attacks are acquitted

Being increasingly sidelined by his own party, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh is back to doing what he is best at – stirring up controversies with his comments on micro-blogging website Twitter.

On Monday, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister who has often embarrassed his party with his unsubstantiated allegations against the BJP or even public officials and their role in either spreading or shielding ‘Hindu terror’, trained his guns at National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief SK Sinha.

Soon after the Supreme Court announced bail for Malegaon blasts accused Lieutenant Colonal Shrikant Purohit on Monday morning, Singh alleged that while the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre was “protecting all the accused connected with RSS in all bomb blast cases (sic)”, the NIA chief was now set to win a suitable post-retirement position.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Singh comments against the NIA chief came in light of the Supreme Court accepting Purohit’s application for bail after his lawyer, Harish Salve, argued before a two-judge Bench of Justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre that: “Lieutenant Colonel Purohit was caught in a political crossfire and was falsely implicated in the case”. Senior advocate Salve had told the Bench that his client – who had been in jail for the past nine years for his alleged role in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case – “did not want to be discharged from the case at present, but for the interest of justice, wanted an interim bail”.

The NIA, Salve claimed, had filed a new chargesheet in the case which contradicts the agency’s claims made in its earlier chargesheets. The critical issue, according to Salve, was that the NIA, after it filed the supplementary chargesheet, had noticed the discrepancies in chargesheet filed by the Anti-terrorism Squad on two key issues – first , people who had given statements in the case had retracted their statements saying they were forced to give them, and thereafter, there was a serious question on recovery of RDX from the premises of Purohit.

Salve had also argued that even if charges were framed against Purohit, the maximum penalty that he was liable for is seven years. However, Purohit had already been in jail for the past nine years.

Digvijaya Singh’s allegation that the BJP and NIA were working in tandem to ensure acquittal of all RSS-affiliated people who have been accused in various bomb blast cases was also a reference to the Bombay High Court’s order earlier this year under which key Malegaon blasts accused, Sadhvi Pragya, was granted relief after the NIA claimed that it did not have sufficient evidence to prove her involvement in 2008 blast that had killed 4 people and left 79 injured. However, the NIA had then claimed that it had enough evidence to prove the involvement of Lt Col Purohit, who then challenged the Bombay High Court’s order of not granting him relief in the Supreme Court.

The Congress, which often has been forced to distance itself from Singh’s remarks related to Hindu terror, however, seemed to back him on his latest salvo. The party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala insisted that the bail granted to Purohit “is not a reflection of whether or not Purohit was guilty in the blast case”.

Surjewala seemed to concur with Singh’s remarks about the NIA chief getting two extensions in office, saying it is “strange” that the Modi government could not find any competent police officer in India to head the NIA and had to give two extensions to the current chief.

The BJP, expectedly, has slammed Singh’s comments with several party leaders claimed that Purohit was granted bail by the Supreme Court and the Congress leader “has no right to question the judgement of the country’s highest court”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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LPU students protest over reported rape allegation, police call it rumour

Students at Lovely Professional University protested over a reported rape allegation involving a worker, with police describing the claim as a rumour.

Published

14 hours ago

on

September 27, 2026

By

Students of Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab staged a protest after an allegation involving the reported rape of a student by a worker at the university surfaced.

The protest led to disruption around the university, with students taking to the streets and blocking the Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway, according to the report.

The allegation triggered anger among students, who demanded action over the reported incident.

Police describe rape claim as rumour

Police, however, described the rape claim as a rumour, indicating that the allegation had not been established as a confirmed incident.

The distinction is important because the reported sexual assault allegation should not be treated as a confirmed rape unless investigators or other authoritative sources establish that fact.

The protests nevertheless continued as students sought clarity and action over the issue.

Protest disrupts traffic

The student demonstration also affected traffic on the Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway. The protest brought attention to the allegations and the concerns being raised by students at the university.

With police calling the claim a rumour, further verification and investigation would be necessary to establish what actually happened.

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India News

INDIA bloc likely to meet on September 30 over Gyanesh Kumar row

INDIA bloc parties are likely to meet in New Delhi on September 30 amid growing opposition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 26, 2026

By

Rahul-Gandhi

Opposition parties belonging to the INDIA bloc are set to meet in New Delhi on September 30 to discuss concerns surrounding the Election Commission, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a proposed removal motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The proposed meeting comes amid growing coordination among opposition parties over the functioning of the poll panel and demands for action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The parties are also discussing a possible joint response to the developments.

Why is the INDIA bloc meeting being planned?

The INDIA bloc meeting on September 30 comes amid reports of objections within the Election Commission over certain decisions and orders related to the SIR exercise. 

According to the report, Opposition leaders have been discussing a coordinated response to their concerns over the Election Commission and the electoral-roll revision process. 

The issue is also expected to be discussed at the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for September 29, a day before the proposed INDIA bloc meeting.

Gyanesh Kumar removal demand in focus

The demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has become a major point of contention between the Opposition and the Election Commission.

The CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation have demanded Kumar’s removal and an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. Congress has also intensified its criticism of the CEC.

Opposition parties are also working on a fresh removal motion against Gyanesh Kumar. The September 30 meeting is expected to finalise the strategy for the motion, including the collection of signatures. According to the report, this would be the Opposition’s third such attempt. 

What is the SIR controversy?

The political dispute is linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, or SIR.

The controversy intensified following a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on several occasions concerning decisions and orders related to the SIR process.

The Election Commission has said that differing views and observations are part of normal deliberations in a multi-member constitutional body. The poll panel has also maintained that its orders have legal sanction and follow statutory procedures, while stating that the final decisions on the SIR were taken unanimously. 

TMC and Left parties coordinate over the issue

The developments have also brought the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) together on the Election Commission issue, despite their political differences in West Bengal.

CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby proposed an immediate meeting to discuss a joint strategy. According to the report, Mamata Banerjee spoke with M A Baby and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, after which the leaders settled on September 30 for the meeting. 

What could be discussed at the September 30 meeting?

The proposed meeting is expected to focus on:

  • Concerns surrounding the Election Commission
  • The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
  • Opposition demands concerning CEC Gyanesh Kumar
  • A possible fresh removal notice against the CEC
  • A coordinated response by INDIA bloc parties

The exact agenda and participation will depend on the discussions among the opposition parties before the proposed meeting.

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“Will die but won’t give up”: Sahil Wakode’s parents urge IIT students to continue fight 

Sahil Wakode’s parents have appealed to IIT Bombay students to continue their fight for justice amid the ongoing investigation into their son’s death.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 26, 2026

By

Sahil Wakode

The parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode have appealed to students to continue raising their voices and fighting for justice following their son’s death.

Sahil Wakode, a second-year student at IIT Bombay, died in his hostel room on September 18. His death has led to student protests and an ongoing investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.

What Sahil Wakode’s parents have alleged

Sahil’s parents have alleged that their son faced caste-based discrimination and harassment at IIT Bombay before his death. They have sought action against those they hold responsible and have demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

The family has also called for a CBI inquiry and has sought the arrest of officials named in the case. These remain allegations and are part of the ongoing investigation.

The Mumbai Crime Branch took over the probe after an FIR was registered following the complaint by Sahil’s parents.

IIT Bombay’s position

IIT Bombay has said that Sahil was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination and had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers.

The institute has maintained that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him. It said the matter had been discussed with him by the instructor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.

The circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death are being investigated by the appropriate authorities.

Investigation continues

The case remains under investigation, with the Mumbai Crime Branch examining the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death and the allegations made by his family.

His parents have continued to demand justice and action against those they believe were responsible, while the investigation is expected to establish the facts surrounding the case.

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