LIVE news update: Delhi Court directs CBI to hand over docs to accused in Muzaffarpur shelter home case

A Delhi court on Tuesday directed the CBI to provide documents, including a list of survivors, to the accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide the name of victims, CDs containing information of the case and other relevant documents to the counsels of the accused for their examination and cross-examination.

However, the court asked the probe agency not to reveal photographs of the survivors and their present whereabouts to the defence advocates or the accused.

The rupee on Tuesday recovered from the day's low to finally settle at 68.74 against the US dollar with gains of 40 paise amid sustained foreign fund inflows and heavy buying in domestic equities.

Forex dealers said foreign fund inflows in the debt and equity markets helped the rupee recover.

Besides, the local currency gained strength after the RBI announced second dollar-rupee swap, they added.

At least 15 people were injured after lightning struck them in remote Achham district in Nepal, which has been battered by a freak storm that has claimed 31 lives and left a trail of destruction.

The lightning struck far-West Achham district on Monday evening injuring 11 persons in Panchadewal Binayak area and four others in Ramaroshan Rural Municipality a day after the massive storm tore down houses, flipped vehicles and toppled trees and electricity poles in Southern Nepal.

Massive winds accompanied by hail storms and rain struck Bara and the adjoining district of Parsa in the central Tarai region on Sunday evening killing at least 31 people and injuring 600 others.

Pakistan violated ceasefire in Shahpur and Kerni sectors of Poonch district today at about 1700 hours, by resorting to shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along LoC. Indian Army is retaliating.

A high-level committee has suggested the NGT that treated sewage water should be supplied to 'Appu Ghar' in Gurgaon and use of drinking water for commercial purposes should be discouraged.

The committee, which included representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Central Pollution Control Board, Central Ground Water Authority and the Gurgaon district magistrate, told a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel that the amusement park has not been given permission to extract water through tube wells.

"Treated sewage water maybe provided from the existing line in Sector-29 to the International Recreation & Amusement Ltd. Sector-29 Gurgaon and the canal water supply connection from HUDA/HSVP line may be disconnected," the committee told the NGT recently.

Global trade growth is expected to be lower in 2019 than it was last year, the World Trade Organisation forecast on Tuesday, citing widespread "tensions" and economic uncertainty.

The WTO had in its preliminary estimates predicted a 3.7 per cent expansion of trade for this year, but has revised that down to 2.6 per cent, marking a decline on the three-percent growth recorded in 2018.

"The fact that we don't have great news today should surprise no one who has been reading the papers over the last 12 months," WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo told reporters in Geneva.

Three Indian-origin consultants in the US have been charged with substantive visa fraud for submitting sham applications for the popular H-1B visas to gain a competitive advantage over competing firms.

A federal grand jury last month indicted Kishore Dattapuram, of Santa Clara, Kumar Aswapathi, of Austin, Texas, and Santosh Giri, of San Jose, on 10 counts of substantive visa fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Rising for the fourth session in a row, the BSE benchmark Sensex added another 185 points to hit an all-time closing high of 39,056 and the NSE Nifty closed above the key 11,700-level on intense buying mainly in auto, IT and banking stocks amid hopes of RBI rate cut.

Tata Motors drove the Sensex rally for the second session in a row, surging over 8 per cent. Other top gainers were Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India -- rising as much as 5 per cent.

The 30-share Sensex started on a positive note at 38,988.57 and swung between a high of 39,121.69 and a low of 38,846.96. During the course, it also set its new intra-day record by touching 39,121.69. The gauge finally settled the day at 39,056.65, 184.78 points or 0.48 per cent higher.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to entertain two PILs by an NGO which wanted deployment of fire engines at all major public places and providing "anti-terrorist vehicles" and better weapons to the police to ensure safety and security of the city's residents.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambhani dimissed the pleas saying the reliefs sought for are part of the administrative work of the authorities and the court was not going to interfere in that.

"These are administrative matters. We are not interfering. Dismissed," the court said. The order came on two pleas moved by NGO Anti Corruption Council of India through its chairman Hussain Mueen Farooq.

BSF DG Rajni Kant Mishra said on Tuesday that his force is fully prepared to meet any challenge posed by Pakistan which is continuously violating the ceasefire by targeting forward areas along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the Indian forces are giving a befitting response to the unprovoked mortar shelling and firing by the Pakistan Army, while maintaining that there was no ceasefire violation along the International Border (IB) in the state.

After 32 years, the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which gives sweeping powers to security forces, was partially removed from three of nine districts of Arunachal Pradesh but would remain in force in the areas bordering Myanmar, officials said.

The state, which was formed on February 20, 1987, had inherited the controversial AFSPA enacted by Parliament in 1958 and applied to the entire State of Assam and the Union Territory of Manipur.

Fire broke out in a plastic bag factory in Samaypur Badli in Delhi. Fire tenders present at the spot

Veteran Director J Mahendran passed away at the age of 79, at his residence in Chennai, today; Actors-turned-politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan pay last respects.

A train mishap was averted on Tuesday when bogies of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express uncoupled on Kathjodi river bridge near Cuttack.

No one was hurt when the bogies separated, an official of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said.

Shortly after leaving Bhubaneswar station at around 9.30 am, the train suddenly came to a halt on the bridge triggering panic among the passengers. Senior officers from the Bhubaneswar coach maintenance depot thoroughly checked the bogies at Cuttack railway station, he said.

The affected bogies, B/3 and B/4, were joined and the train resumed its onward journey.

Pakistan violated ceasefire in Nowshera Sector of Rajouri District today at about 11.30 am by resorting to shelling with mortars and firing of small arms. Indian Army is retaliating

WhatsApp on Tuesday unveiled its 'Checkpoint Tipline', where people can check the authenticity of information received as the messaging giant looks to crack down on fake news ahead of the general election in the country.

"Launched by PROTO, an India-based media skilling startup, this tipline will help create a database of rumours to study misinformation during elections for Checkpoint - a research project commissioned and technically assisted by WhatsApp," the Facebook-owned company said in a statement.

Tension prevailed in Muzaffarnagar when a group of Dalits was prevented by the district authorities from installing a statue in memory of a man killed during an agitation in 2018, police said Tuesday.

The incident was reported from Gadla village on Monday, Circle Officer Ram Mohan Sharma said.

According to police, the Dalits wanted to install the statue of Amresh at Sant Ravidas temple here. Ambresh was killed during Dalit agitation here last year. The group, however, was prevented from going ahead with their plans as model code of conduct is in place due to the upcoming general elections, Sharma said. Meanwhile, security has been tightened in the area, he said.

Under pressure to act against officers who divulged the identity of the girl who registered the complaint in the Pollachi sexual abuse-cum-blackmail case, the Tamil Nadu government has transferred three policemen.

On Monday, the government ordered the transfer of Coimbatore district Superintendent of Police R. Pandiarajan, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Pollachi R Jayaram and Inspector A Natesan.

The Pollachi police were faulted not only for divulging the name of the complainant but had also failed to take into custody the main accused.

The children of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have received multimillion-dollar homes and are being paid thousands of dollars per month by the kingdom's authorities, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

Khashoggi — a contributor to the Post and a critic of the Saudi government — was killed and dismembered in October at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul by a team of 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His body has not been recovered.

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended their gains in early trade on Tuesday, tracking positive domestic and global cues.

The BSE gauge Sensex opened at 38,988.57 and briefly crossed the psychological 39,000-level in early deals. It, however, slipped slightly and was last quoted at 38,929.48, 57.61 points or 0.15 per cent higher.

Similarly, the NSE benchmark Nifty started at 11,711.55 and went on to breach the key 11,700-mark before paring some gains. It was last trading at 11,673.15, up 4 points or 0.034 per cent.

The Indian rupee weakened by 22 paise to trade at 69.36 to the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday owing to increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 69.32 and weakened further to 69.37 to the US dollar. However, it recovered partially to quote at 69.36 against the dollar at 0912 hours.

The Indian unit had appreciated by 16 paise on Friday to close at 69.14

An Indian national has been sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for participating in an India-based call centre fraud in which operators impersonated US tax officials to extort money from Americans.

Federal Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington, who sentenced Nishitkumar Patel on Monday in Tampa, Florida, also fined him $200,000 and ordered the forfeiture of cash and his Land Rover.

He and four others - two of them Indians - had earlier admitted their guilt in court.

The NASA on Monday termed as a "terrible thing" India's shooting down of one of its satellites that has created about 400 pieces of orbital debris, endangering the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said about 60 pieces have been tracked so far and out of which 24 are going above the apogee of the ISS.

"That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an event that sends debris and an apogee that goes above the international space station. That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight that we need to see have happen," he said at a NASA townhall. "The ASAT test by India last week has resulted in about 400 pieces of orbital debris," he added.