LIVE News Updates: Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur named chairman of Film and Television Institute of India

Maharashtra reports 14,976 new COVID-19 cases, 430 deaths and 19,212 discharges today. Total cases in the state rise to 13,66,129, including 36,181 deaths and 10,69,159 discharges. Active cases stand at 2,60,363: Public Health Department, Maharashtra

48 new COVID-19 deaths in Delhi take toll to 5,320; tally rises to 2.76 lakh with 3,227 fresh cases: Authorities

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur named chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) governing council: Official

A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the bail application filed by freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, who was arrested for allegedly working for Chinese intelligence.

Denying him bail, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat noted that if a journalist, who is an important brick in the fourth pillar of democracy, decides to act with the intention to destabilise and negatively impact the sustainability and survival of democracy, it would be darkest day in the free press movement.

"The preliminary electronic evidence collected by the investigating agency points towards involvement of the accused in commission of offence under the Officials Secrets Act. I am satisfied that if accused Rajeev Sharma is released on bail at this stage, he may attempt to hamper the investigation. Accordingly, bail application stands dismissed," the court order said.

Delhi Capitals win the toss, choose to field first against Sun Risers Hyderabad in the 11th IPL 2020 clash which will take place at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Tamil Nadu government extends COVID-19 lockdown till October 31, with some more relaxations

Congress questions 'silence' of PM Narendra Modi, BJP women leaders; alleges that Uttar Pradesh has become 'crime capital' of country under Adityanath govt

The Uttar Pradesh Congress workers held a demonstration demanding justice for Hathras gang-rape victim. UP police resorted to lathicharge and many workers were detained

Everyone observing festivities to abide by all guidelines issued in view of COVID19. Idols at home cannot be higher than 2 feet & those at pandals have to be under 4 feet. Garbha & dandiya events will not be held: Maharashtra Home Department's guidelines for Navratri festivities

This new alliance aims to free the people of Bihar from the problems of unemployment, poverty and floods. I appeal to the people of Bihar to give a chance to this alliance. The poor, downtrodden, farmers & youths of the state have been ignored by previous govts: BSP chief Mayawati

Election Commission today announced by-elections for Lok Sabha & Assembly seats in some states. BSP will contest all the Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh on its own. The party will not forge any alliance for these bypolls: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

We have decided to fight elections in Bihar in alliance with Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party & other parties. Upendra Kushwaha will be the CM if this alliance gets blessing of people of Bihar in the polls: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati

Of 29,082 people surveyed from Aug 17 to Sep 22, 6.6 per cent showed evidence of past exposure to SARS-COV2: ICMR sero survey

The 'class-specific' Jungleraj of UP killed another young woman.

The government said that this is fake news and left the victim to die.

Neither this unfortunate incident was a lie, nor the death of the victim nor the brutality of the government, tweeted Rahu Gandhi

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has tested negative for COVID-19 and has been discharged from hospital, reports NDTV

The BSF personnel seized 6.5 kg of heroin along the International Border in Punjab's Ferozepur sector, officials said.

The seizure was made near a Border Out Post (BOP), they said.

According to BSF sources, the border guarding troops on Monday night observed some suspicious movement ahead of the barbed wire fencing near BOP 'Shamas' area following which they sounded an alert.

A truck carrying LPG cylinders caught fire in early hours on Tuesday while crossing a bridge near Babai town in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, triggering multiple explosions, police said.

No casualty is reported so far, said Babai police station in-charge Ashish Pawar.

Vehicular traffic on both sides of the bridge on the Tawa river was immediately stopped and the blaze was brought under control by three fire tenders with the help of local residents, he said.

The cause of the fire cannot be known immediately.

Earthquake of magnitude 3.2 on the Richter scale occurred near Alchi (Leh) at 1438 hours today: National Centre for Seismology

Barring emergency cases, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of Delhi government's Maharishi Valmiki Hospital on Tuesday announced all essential and non-essential services provided by its members had been withdrawn to protest against an assault on a doctor.

The RDA said it protested the hospital administration's action not to lodge an institutional FIR against a patient and her attendant for assaulting an on-duty doctor on Saturday.

A massive landslide has closed the Srinagar-Leh highway as scores of vehicles are stranded on the two sides of the Zojila Pass.

Traffic officials said a massive landslide hit the India Gate area in the Zojila Pass on Monday evening after which traffic on the over 340-Kms long Srinagar-Leh highway was halted.

"Efforts are going on to clear the landslide and restore traffic on the highway", traffic officials said.

Meanwhile, scores of vehicles including trucks and light vehicles are stranded on the two sides of the Zojila Pass that connects the cold desert Ladakh region with the rest of the country.

Bypolls to be held on November 3 and 7 to 56 assembly seats across 11 states, one Lok Sabha seat, reports NDTV

Forty-nine more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh, taking the number of confirmed cases in the union territory to 4,152, while 32 such patients were discharged after successful treatment, officials said on Tuesday.

There was no report of any COVID-related death during the past 24 hours, the officials added.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the region stands at 1,030 -- 621 in Leh district and 409 in Kargil district, they said.

Exteranal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Tokyo, Japan from 6-7 October 2020 for bilateral consultations with the Japanese Foreign Minister. The two Ministers are expected to discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest: Ministry of External Affair

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh meets representatives of various farmers' organisations in Chandigarh

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to respond to Iltija Mufti's amended plea challenging the detention of her mother and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti under the J-K Public Safety Act, saying detention cannot be forever and "some via media" should be explored.

Purna Chandra Thapa, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) of the Nepali Army (NA), has gone into self-quarantine after a staff member at his official residence tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

According to the NA's public relations directorate, the CoAS went into quarantine on Sunday as per the Health Ministry protocols, The Himalayan Times reported on Monday.

The staff member has tested positive the previous day.

Thapa and Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel had self-quarantined earlier after a staff at the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre had contracted the virus.

A 19-year-old Dalit woman died at a Delhi hospital on Tuesday morning, days after being raped by four men here, a senior police officer said.

The family of the girl informed that she died around 3 am, Superintendent of Police, Hathras, Vikrant Vir, said.

The woman was shifted to a hospital in Delhi from Aligarh on Monday after her condition showed no signs of improvement.

The Palghar administration on Tuesday asked authorities to remain alert against a possible spread of the Congo fever in the Maharashtra district.

The Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), commonly known as the Congo fever, spreads in humans through ticks.

The district administration said in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19, this is a matter of concern for cattle- breeders, meat-sellers and animal husbandry officials, and it is necessary to take timely precautions as there is no specific and useful treatment for the CCHF.

215 police personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 23,033 in the force including 19,681 recoveries, 3,107 active cases and 245 deaths: Maharashtra Police

The surge in COVID-19 cases continued in Telangana with 2,072 new cases being reported which pushed the total infection count to 1.89 lakh

The Pakistan army violated ceasefire by resorting to heavy firing and mortar shelling in forward areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir''s Poonch district, a defence spokesman said.

Amnesty International on Tuesday has halted its operations in India, alleging that its accounts were frozen earlier in September as part of a crackdown by the government and it had to let go of most of its staff.

Amnesty in a press statement said "the complete freezing of Amnesty International India's bank accounts by the government of India, which it came to know on 10 September, brings all the work being done by the organization to a grinding halt."

A Dalit girl who died in Hathras succumbed at Safdarjung Hospital. For two weeks she struggled with life and death in hospitals. Incidents of rape in Hathras, Shahjahanpur and Gorakhpur have rocked the state. Law and order in UP has deteriorated to a great extent. There is no name-mark for the safety of women. The criminals are committing open crime. The killers of this girl should be punished severely. Yogi Adityanath you are responsible for the safety of women of UP

India's COVID19 tally crosses 61-lakh mark with a spike of 70,589 new cases and 776 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. Case tally stands at 61,45,292 including 9,47,576 active cases, 51,01,398 cured/discharged/migrated & 96,318 deaths: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Religious places have reopened in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district after nearly six months, and devotees have been asked to strictly follow all guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 3,803 on Tuesday as nine more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Sensex jumps 211.15 pts to 38,192.78 in opening session; Nifty rises 62.90 pts to 11,290.45

Pakistan resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation on the line of control (LoC) on Tuesday targeting Indian positions in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

'Rail Roko' agitation in Amritsar, by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee -against Farm Bills (now laws), enters 6th day. Visuals from Devidaspura village. "On Oct 1, we'll announce mass agitation together with others across the nation," says Committee's General Secretary

Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear a petition filed by former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija, seeking release of her mother from detention.