Four persons arrested for

allegedly spitting on a doctor at a medical facility in Tripura were granted interim bail by a court here on Tuesday.

After hearing the arguments, judicial magistrate Sanjan Lal Tripura granted interim bail to the accused persons till August 29 on furnishing of bail bond of Rs 30,000 each with one surety of like amount by August 10 with the condition that they will co-operate with the investigation.

The police prayed for getting remand but the judge declined, saying the present factual circumstances of the case do not justify that.

West Tripura District Surveillance Officer Dr Sangita Chakraborty went to the Covid Care Centre set up at the Bhagat Singh Youth Hostel on July 24 to admit five women with newborn babies when a group of patients said they would not allow any new admission, alleging that the facility had reached full occupancy, according to police.

When doctors at the centre tried to convince the patients, they allegedly abused and spat at Chakraborty and also threatened to infect her with coronavirus, police said.

The four were arrested based on an FIR lodged by the Director of Health Services at the New Capital Complex (NCC) police station.PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday performed the ?bhoomi pujan’ of a Supreme Court-mandated Ram temple in Ayodhya, bringing to fruition the BJP’s ?mandir’ movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among those who attended the event at the site where a large number of devout Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

The guest list, including religious leaders who formed part of the movement that started in the 1980s, was restricted to 175 in view of the COVID-19 crisis.

As a priest chanted Sanskrit ?shlokas’ and the ground-breaking ceremony got under way under a giant marquee decorated in shades of reds and yellows, Modi and the other dignitaries, all in masks, maintained social distancing and sat a safe distance away from each other.

Slogans of ?Bharat Mataki Jai’ and ?Har Har Mahadev’ went up as the ritual ended and the prime minister laid the foundation of the temple

Bhajans and ?shlokas’ were heard as the town, festooned with marigold flowers and yellow and saffron flags, celebrated the beginning of the construction of a grand Ram temple. Roads leading to Ayodhya were adorned with hoardings of the proposed temple and of Ram Lalla, the infant Ram, the deity now housed in a makeshift temple. Most shops were painted in bright yellow

The prime minister arrived in Ayodhya in a helicopter where Adityanath among others received him.

Before the function to lay the foundation stone of the ‘Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir’, the prime minister took part in prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple

From there, he travelled to the ‘Shree Ram Janmabhoomi’ where he performed prayers at the ‘Bhagwan Shree Ramlala Virajman’.

He also planted a Parijat (Indian night jasmine) sapling.

He will unveil a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone and also release a commemorative postage stamp on the ‘Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir’

On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court settled the fractious issue going back more than a century and backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site. It also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town

Delivering a unanimous judgement on a case that had long polarised the country, the court said the faith of the Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed

The Ram Janmabhoomi movement got a fillip in 1990 with then BJP president L K Advani’s ?rath yatra’. Two years later, in December 1992, the 16th century Mughal-era Babri Masjid, built on what a large sections believe is Lord Ram’s birthplace, was demolished.

Former Union minister Uma Bharti

on Monday said she will go for darshan of Lord Ram in Ayodhya after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others leave the venue of the ground-breaking ceremony for Ram temple construction there, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The 61-year-old senior BJP leader’s comments came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Bharti was among the leaders of the Ram Janambhoomi agitation and is an accused in the Babri mosque demolition case.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple is scheduled to be held on Wednesday in Ayodhya and is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Modi.

“I will leave Bhopal today and on the way I might come in contact with a coronavirus infected person. Taking this into account, I will keep a distance from the place where @narendramodi and hundreds of others will be present,” Bharti tweeted in Hindi.

“I will go for darshan of Ramlala after @narendramodi and others leave the venue,” she further said.

“I have informed senior officer-bearers of Ram Janambhoomi Nyas at Ayodhya and @PMOIndia not to incorporate my name in the list of the people during @narendramodis function,” she said.

Bharti in an earlier tweet said a senior office-bearer of the Ram Janambhoomi Trust directed her to reach Ayodhya by August 4 evening and be present there till August 6.

The mosque in Ayodhya was demolished in December 1992 by ‘kar sevaks’ who claimed an ancient Ram temple had stood on the same site.

In November last year, the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a “prominent” place in the holy town.PTI

The domestic equity market in this coming week will be driven by a host of key developments like RBI monetary policy, macro-economic data release and corporate earnings, analysts said.

At the start of the week, the market will also take cues from July auto sales numbers which signal a recovery in the sector hit hard by COVID-19.

With most parts of the country in unlock phase, the automobile industry has performed better in July over the previous month in terms of sales and is now marching towards normalcy in terms of production as well.

“Going forward, markets would react to auto sales numbers. On the event front, they would also be keeping a close watch on the RBI monetary policy,” said Ajit Mishra, VP Research, Religare Broking.

On the macro data front, market participants will be keenly awaiting PMI manufacturing and services sector numbers that are scheduled to be released in the first half of the week.

On the earnings side, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Lupin, Titan, Voltas Apollo Tyres, Canara Bank, Adani Power and M&M, among others, will announce their quarterly numbers during the week.

“We expect market volatility and stock-specific action to continue for a while. Investors would watch out for quarterly results for stock-specific action and development over US fiscal stimulus which could provide some cheer to the markets,” Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank is scheduled to meet for three days beginning August 4 and will announce its decision on August 6.

Besides, COVID-19 cases trend and geopolitical developments on US-China ties front will remain key market drivers globally.

Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 1.8 crore and the death toll has topped 7 lakh.

In India, the death toll due the disease rose over 37,000 and the number of infections has crossed 17-lakh mark.

Investors will also track movement in Brent crude oil and rupee-dollar during the week.

During the last week, the Sensex fell 522.01 points or 1.36 per cent, while the Nifty declined 120.70 points or 1.07 per cent.PTI

Tamil Nadu went on a total shutdown

mode on Sunday with the government imposing intense curbs as part of its anti-coronavirus measures, leaving main roads deserted while most shops, barring pharmacies,remained closed.

Roads were virtually empty with no vehicles plying on account of the strict implementation of the curbs, with police making it clear that private vehicles will be allowed only for emergency purposes.

While announcing extension of the coronavirus-induced lockdown to August, Chief Minister K Palaniswami had said on July 30 that complete curbs will be in place on all five Sundays this month also, much like in July.

There will be no relaxations, he had said.

Subsequently, all kinds of shops, including those selling vegetables and groceries, commercial establishments, hotels and restaurants downed shutters on Sunday, while the roads were deserted in the absence of major vehicular movement.

In Chennai, police said no vehicle will be allowed to ply today except those meant for milk distribution, medical purpose, emergency and funeral cause.

Private vehicles meant for medical emergency and those belonging to the print and electronic media were exempted from the curbs.

Other vehicles plying without (valid) reasons will be detained and 193 traffic check posts have been set up across the city for this purpose, police said and requested people against venturing out of their homes “unnecessarily.”

As of August 1, Tamil Nadu’s cumulative COVID-19 cases stood at 2,51,738, with Chennai having a total of 1,00,877 of these infections.PTI

India’s COVID-19 tally reached 16,95,988 on Saturday with a record single-day increase of 57,118 cases, while the recoveries surged to 10,94,374, according to the Union Health Ministry data

The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 36,511 with 764 people succumbing to the disease in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed

At present, there are 5,65,103 active cases in the country

The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients was recorded at 64.53 per cent, while the fatality rate further dropped to 2.15 per cent, the data stated

This is the third consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000. The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,93,58,659 samples have been tested up to July 31 with 5, 25,689 being tested on Friday

Of the new 764 deaths reported, 265 are from Maharashtra, 97 from Tamil Nadu, 84 from Karnataka, 68 from Andhra Pradesh, 45 from West Bengal, 43 from Uttar Pradesh, 27 from Delhi, 23 from Gujarat, 16 from Punjab, 14 each from Bihar and Telangana, 12 from Jammu and Kashmir and 11 from Rajasthan

Ten fatalities have been reported from Madhya Pradesh, eight from Odisha, four each from Assam, Haryana and Uttarakhand, three each from Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala, two from Chhattisgarh while Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Manipur and Puducherry recorded one fatality each.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that he deplored attempts to question the efficiency of the Mumbai Police in handling the probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

He said the state police were capable of probing the case, an assertion which comes in the backdrop of growing clamour for a CBI probe in the actor’s death here in June.

Speaking on Friday, Thackeray lashed out at Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, saying the BJP politician had doubted the credibility of the Mumbai police in handling the case despite being a chief minister for five years.

“The opposition can even bring Interpol or followers of the Namaste Trump event into the inquiry. Devendra Fadnavis should understand that it is the same police whom he has worked with in the last five years,” Thackeray said at an event organised by a Marathi news channel.

Earlier in the day, Fadnavis said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) should register an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in connection with the money laundering angle in death case of Rajput.

There is a “huge public sentiment” about handing over the case to the CBI, but the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state has been reluctant to do so, the former BJP chief minister said.

Thackeray said the Mumbai police have been “corona warriors” and many personnel in the force have died due to the infection.

To question their efficiency is an insult to them and “I condemn this,” he added.

Thackeray said if anyone has any proof related to the case, he/she can bring it to the Mumbai police.

“We will interrogate and punish the guilty. However, please don’t use this case as a Maharashtra versus Bihar issue. This is the most deplorable thing to do,” he said.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had recently said that the Mumbai Police are capable of handling the matter and that there was no need for a CBI probe into the case.

The Mumbai police have recorded the statements of Bollywood personalities, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali, film critic Rajeev Masand, actress Sanjana Sanghi, the actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, casting director Shanoo Sharma, filmmaker Mukesh Chhabra, and Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films.

The police have so far recorded statements of around 40 people, including those of Rajput’s family and his cook.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

A Bihar police team is probing a separate ‘abetment to suicide’ case on the basis of a complaint filed by the late actor’s father in Patna.

Speaking at the event, the CM said he wasn’t bothered about the stability of his government as long as he enjoys support of the people of the state and Shiv Sainiks.

“The BJP says our government is against the mandate.

Then is destabilising democratically-elected governments a mandate?” he asked.

Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena president, said his party and the BJP have “divorced” now so the national party need not bother about what his outfit does.

“We were in a relationship with the BJP for 30 years, but they did not trust us. But those with whom we had political differences for 30 years trusted us,” Thackeray said, referring to the NCP and the Congress, who are part of the Shiv Sena-led government.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un said his country’s hard-won nuclear weapons were a solid security guarantee and a reliable, effective deterrent that could prevent a second Korean War, state media reported Tuesday.

Kim’s comments before war veterans marking the 67th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War again show he has no intention of abandoning his weapons as prospects dim for resuming diplomacy with the United States.

North Korea has previously ratcheted up fiery rhetoric or conducted weapons tests to wrest outside concessions. But some experts say Pyongyang will likely avoid serious talks with Washington before the US presidential elections in November as there is a chance for a US leadership change.

Kim said in his speech Monday his country has tried to become a nuclear state with an absolute might to prevent another war and that it has now built such a deterrent, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Now, we’ve changed to a country which can defend itself reliably and unwaveringly against high-intensity pressures and military threats and blackmailing by imperialistic reactionaries and hostile forces, Kim said.

There won’t any war on this land again and our national security and future will be guaranteed firmly and permanently because of our reliable, effective self-defensive nuclear deterrent, Kim said.

Kim’s speech followed recent remarks by both North Korean and U.S. officials suggesting they were reluctant to engage in a new round of diplomacy on the North’s nuclear program anytime soon.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said President Donald Trump would only want to engage with Kim if there were real prospects of progress. Kim’s sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, said a new summit would be unpractical for North Korea and that Pyongyang won’t gift Trump a high-level meeting that he can boast as a foreign policy achievement.

Kim Jong Un and Trump met three times since Kim in 2018 abruptly reached out to Washington and Seoul for talks after expressing his intent to deal away his advancing nuclear arsenals.

Many experts were skeptical of Kim’s disarmament commitment and said he only aimed to weaken US-led sanctions and perfect his nuclear program.

The nuclear diplomacy remains largely stalled since a second Kim-Trump meeting in February 2019 in Vietnam collapsed without reaching any agreement because Trump Kim rejected Kim’s proposal to get extensive sanctions relief in return for a limited denuclearization step.

Kim entered this year with a vow to bolster his nuclear program and threatened to unveil a new strategic weapon.

He also said he would no longer be bound by a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. Kim hasn’t performed such high-profile weapons tests, which some analysts say could completely derail diplomacy with the United States. PTI