Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 1335

Assam elections: Five cops suspended for firing on crowd during voting

By
The Commune
-
Assam elections
Featured Image: Voters in Assam queued outside a polling booth | Credits: DNA

Five police personnel attached to Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar have been suspended after they opened fire on public during the second phase of polling, officials said Tuesday.

At least three persons were injured in the firing by the body guards of Laskar on April 1 after clashes broke out between supporters of BJP and AIUDF inside the polling station at 463 Madhya Dhanehori LP School of Sonai constituency. Sitting MLA Laskar is contesting the polls against Karim Uddin Barbhuiya of the AIUDF in Sonai constituency.

Aminul Haque Laskar was interrogated twice in connection with the incident. Police sources said Laskar was quizzed twice for several hours during the last 48 hours and his statements have been recorded in front of a magistrate.

Cachar Superintendent of Police Bhanwar Lal Meena said that all the nine police personnel attached to the deputy speaker have been removed from duty with immediate effect in view of the ongoing probe.

“Out of them, five police personnel have been suspended in connection with the firing. Among them, three are the body guards of Laskar and two are the security personnel of the escort vehicle,” Meena said.

Those suspended are Pervej Ahmed Laskar, Sajidur Rahman Laskar, Abidur Ahmed Barbhuiya, Altaf Hussain and Akram Hussain Laskar, he added.

Meena said another jawan Lakhikanta Mahato of the Indian Reserve Battalion of Jharkhand had also opened fire on the public during the incident. However, as he is not directly under Cachar Police, action has not been yet taken against him.

The SP said these persons were suspended on the allegation of entering inside the polling station without permission and firing on public without due order. “Laskar can enter the polling station as a contesting candidate, but he cannot enter with the security personnel,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Cachar district Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

Alexei Navalny falls ‘critically ill’ in prison cell

By
The Commune
-
Navalny hunger strike

According to a legal professional who recently visited the prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has fallen critically ill while in prison.

According to the Guardian, the Kremlin critic said in a note published on Monday that he was coughing and had a temperature of 38.1C (100.6F). Several prisoners from his ward had already been treated in hospital for tuberculosis, Navalny wrote. Hours later, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported he had been moved to a sick ward and tested for coronavirus, among other diseases.

“He has lost a lot of weight, plus he has a strong cough and a temperature of 38.1C,” Olga Mikhailova, the lawyer, said on the Echo of Moscow radio station. “This man is seriously ill. It’s a complete outrage that the IK-2 [prison] has driven him to this condition.”

Meanwhile, in a letter that was written by Navalny which was later published, he had said that his inmates had recently been taken to the hospital due to tuberculosis. He went on to say jokingly that if only he got the disease, it would help him to ignore the pain that his body was going through. Navalny is currently in prison on a two-year term on charges for embezzlement.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

Mukhtar Ansari to be put in UP’s most overcrowded jail

By
The Commune
-

BSP leader and gangster Mukhtar Ansari, who was earlier lodged in Punjab’s Ropar jail for all the charges that he had been facing is all set to come back to Uttar Pradesh after a long hiatus. He is to be put in Banda, which is Uttar Pradesh’s most overcrowded jail. He is to be kept in Barrack number 15, which is known for high profile inmates. This jail is also called kaala paani, referring to its deadly nature.

Some famous criminals who were earlier put in this jail are Kunda MLA Raja Bhaiya alias Raghuraj Pratap Singh (Independent legislator), Ateeq Ahmad (don-turned-politician who won Allahabad West assembly seat for five consecutive terms), former MLA Purushottam Dwivedi and Noida’s dreaded gangster Anil Dujana.

Ansari was arrested and tried after the CEO of a real estate firm complained against him and faced charges of extortion of ₹10 crores as well as criminal intimidation. He has been in Ropar jail for the past two years, following which he has now been transferred to UP’s Banda.

The former MLA, who is known in the political circles as a muscleman politician, is currently facing 52 cases in the state and elsewhere, and 15 of them are in the trial stage. He was admitted to the hospital recently and was under a heavily guarded ward. Upon his release from the hospital, he has been transferred to Banda.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

India to cut down on Saudi oil to reduce energy dependency

By
The Commune
-
Saudi Arabia oil India

Indian refiners will buy less oil from Saudi Arabia next month and purchase supplies outside of the Middle East as part of a diversification drive amid weakening domestic fuel demand on the resurgence of COVID-19.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and three other refiners have sought just 65 per cent of the monthly average of about 15 million barrels from Saudi Arabia in May, according to reports. The move comes as tensions rise between India and Saudi Arabia over tngdom’s hawkish stance on boosting oil production to cool prices.

With Saudi Arabia ignoring India’s requests to lift output curbs, the Indian government last month asked state refiners to look for sources outside of the Middle East. IOC and other state refiners are looking to buy more oil from the spot or current market, rather than rely on term or fixed quantity contracts with Saudi and other OPEC nations.

In recent weeks, Indian refineries have bought newer crudes from countries like Guyana and Norway. To reduce India’s dependence on the Middle East for oil, the US is also being tapped for increased buying. IOC has floated a spot tender seeking crude from West Africa, the US and Canada.

Crude oil imports from OPEC countries decreased to 74.4 per cent of total imports during April 2020 to February 2021, as compared to 79.6 per cent in the same period of the previous year. India, which imports 85 per cent of its oil needs, in February saw record petrol and diesel prices, putting an extra burden on the pandemic-hit economy.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan repeatedly called for OPEC and its allies, commonly known as OPEC+, to pump more crude to stop prices from rising too high. But Saudi Arabia did not yield to his demands and instead asked New Delhi to use cheaper oil it had bought and stored when oil prices had plummeted a year back.

Oil purchases from Saudi dropped in January and February this year while US imports more than doubled, with the US overtaking Saudi as India’s second-largest supplier in February. Iraq continues to be the top supplier.

India, the world’s third-largest consumer of oil, hopes to use the might of its market to change the terms of engagement with big suppliers. The government has asked state refiners to review contracts they enter into for buying crude oil from the Middle East nation and negotiate more favourable terms.

To begin with, Indian refiners will look to reduce the quantity they buy through term contracts and instead buy more from the spot or current market. Buying from the spot market would ensure that India can take advantage of any fall in prices on any day and book quantities. Indian refiners have raised spot purchases from 20 per cent a decade back to 30-35 per cent of the total oil bought now. Due to its geographical proximity, the Middle East can, however, supply cargoes in less time and at low freight rates.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

EVMs and VVPATs found in TMC leader’s house in West Bengal

By
The Commune
-
TMC West Bengal
Featured Image Credits: ANI

Controversy erupted in West Bengal with Phase 3 polling of the state assembly elections being held on Tuesday (6 April), when EVM and VVPAT machines were found at a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader’s residence in Uluberia Uttar of Howrah district.

The machine was found at TMC leader Gautam Ghosh’s residence in Tulsiberia.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that  it was a reserved EVM that was taken and added that the Sector Officer has been suspended. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested against the TMC and demanded action against Gautam Ghosh. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar responded to the development and demanded a full inquiry.

Chiran Bera, the BJP candidate from Uluberia Uttar, said that the TMC is resorting to electoral interference to disrupt the democratic exercise. When locals learned about the development, they gheraoed the Sector Officer. Security personnel present at the polling booth resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protesting crowd. 

When further probed, the Sector Officer said that he was unaware how the machine was moved out from the polling booth and said, “Assistant sector officer Ranjeet Majumdar was not present at the polling booth when the incident took place. The machine was probably taken out when security personnel were asleep.”

Right now, polling is underway in the third phase, covering 31 seats of the West Bengal legislative assembly.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

NV Ramana appointed as the new Chief Justice of India, to take charge from April 24

By
The Commune
-

NV Ramana has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of India by President Ram Nath Kovind and is all set to take charge from April 24th. He will become the 48th Chief Justice of India. His predecessor, SA Bobde, will be retiring on the 23rd, following which he will take charge. His tenure will span until August 2022.

Ramana “has practised in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, central and Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunals and the Supreme Court of India in civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, service and election matters. He has specialised in constitutional, criminal, service and inter-state river laws,” as per his profile on the official website of the Supreme Court. He has been practising as an advocate for nearly four decades.

Ramana had previously worked as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, and has been on the benches of several landmark cases, and was one of the main forces in cases like the repealing of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Ramana belongs to an agricultural family in the Ponnavaram village of Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district and was born on August 27, 1957. He had worked for a leading Telugu daily as a journalist, before starting his practice as a full-fledged advocate.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

Meet the 105 year old who has voted for every election since 1952

By
The Commune
-

Election officials were pleasantly surprised to find Marappa Counder, a 105-year-old who voted in Coimbatore. It is to be noted that he has voted without fail for every election, from 1952 to the 2021 Assembly elections. He has registered his vote on Tuesday for the 2021 Tamilnadu elections.

Despite the limitations that are posed by his age, he walked the whole distance from his house to where the polling booth was and stood in line to vote. Marappa Counder was born on June 1, 1916, in the Karupparayan Palayam in Coimbatore. His date of birth was inscribed by his parents in Tamil in the olden day palm manuscript. Marappa Counder, who is a farmer, has 4 children, which include a son and 3 daughters, from whom he has 4 grandchildren and 4 granddaughters. He told the press that he had seen the contributions of many political leaders, including Kamaraj and Gandhiji, and has been voting since then.

He urged everyone to vote to elect those politicians who will do good to the people. Even at his age, he walked nearly 2 kilometres from his home and registered his vote after performing the safety measures against coronavirus. When the polling officials realised that the 105-year-old was going to vote, they fell at his feet and sought his blessings.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

Delhi follows Maharashtra’s footsteps, imposes night curfew between 10 PM and 5 AM

By
The Commune
-

Following the footsteps of Maharashtra, the Delhi government has imposed a night curfew that will be effective between 10 PM and 5 AM, until the 30th of April. This is in lieu of the rising cases of COVID-19, which has recently crossed 1 lakh in India.

Those going for vaccinations or travelling interstate will be required to carry an e-pass, but there will be no stopping of traffic. Vehicles carrying essential services and retailers will be provided with special passes to travel in curfew hours. This will include grocery stocks, vegetables, milk and medicines. Media and journalists will be granted separate passes.

“As per the current situation, we are not considering imposing a lockdown. We are closely monitoring the situation and such a decision will only be taken after due public consultation,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.

The night curfew proposal had been under consideration for quite some time now since the national capital had been witness to a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases over the last few days. 3548 new cases were reported on Monday, which took the overall cases to 6,79,962 in the NCR. Delhi reported over 3500 cases for the fourth consecutive day.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

Nandi idol missing from 500-year old Shiva temple in Andhra Pradesh

By
The Commune
-
Shiva temple nandi
Featured Image: Representational picture

An idol of Nandi reportedly went missing at a 500-year-old Shiva temple at Devalampeta village of Palamaner mandal, 50 km from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, about a week ago.

The episode came to light on Sunday, creating tensions in several forested villages nearby.

The ancient Shiva temple nestled deep inside the forests of Jagamarla near Moghili ghat section, attracts a large number of devotees from the surrounding villages during the Maha Shivaratri celebrations.

A few villagers had approached the Palamaner police on Saturday, saying that the idol was not to be found since March 26. A team of police officials then visited the village to conduct inquiries into the incident.

“It is a stone idol of Nandi situated in front of the main temple. A police officer said that it was not yet clear when the idol went missing. A complaint was taken from the villagers and further investigation is on,” a police officer said.

In the past, incidents of breaking Nandi idols was reported from a couple of temples in Chittoor district. After the infamous Ramatheertham episode, the Chittoor police had swung into action and installed digital surveillance at hundreds of Hindu temples across the district.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

Islamists attack businessman, feed him raw meat as punishment for selling non-halal meat

By
The Commune
-
halal kerala

On the eve of the Kerala assembly polls, a group of Islamists attacked a Christian trader named Shaji M Varghese for selling non-halal meat in Meenangadi, in Kerala’s Wayanad district.

In this shocking incident, Shaji was forcefully fed raw meat by the Islamists. The lorry of a man named Manoj, who had distributed the meat, was also burnt down by the group.

It must be noted that Muslims in Kerala have a near-monopoly on the sale of meat, but Hindus and Christians do not consume halal meat as it is against their religious belief.

However, the problem started when ‘Kisan Mitra’ – a group of farmers – decided to sell fresh non-halal meat on Easter day. This initiative was seen as a direct attack on the Muslim butchers and the Islamic fundamentalists took matters into their own hands.

For a long time, it has been an open secret that the meat distributed in Kerala is of low quality and since Muslims dominate this industry, it is also ‘halal’.

Now, the Muslims in Kerala are facing the heat because the sale of non-halal meat has been received positively by the general public, leading to fears among Muslim butchers that it would impact their business.

When meat is ‘halal’ certified, a percentage of the profit has to be given to the ‘halal’-certification authorities, which are of course Muslim bodies. This transaction is always done in cash, which then becomes a massive source of income that can be used to fund various operations.

As more and more people in Kerala have started to prefer meat that isn’t ‘halal’, Muslims have unleashed a physical attack on the traders to generate fear.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.

1...1,3341,3351,336...1,711Page 1,335 of 1,711
TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
Contact us: thecommune.news@gmail.com
Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube

NATIONAL NEWS

© The Commune 2025. All Rights Reserved.