On April 17th, 2023, Monday, The Bathinda police detained one Army jawan in connection with a recent military station firing incident in which four army personnel were killed in their sleep. The firing incident in which the army personnel was killed took place inside the Bathinda Military Station in Punjab on April 12th. Mohan Desai, an accused, has admitted his crime and said he shot his colleagues over personal disputes. Mohan Desai, who was the witness to the killing of 4 jawans, has been arrested for murdering the soldiers.

 According to the Punjab Police, four army personnel were interrogated in connection to the incident on Sunday. Among the four jawans, Mohan was one of them who was summoned by the police officers for questioning. The sources said Mohan told the investigation team and the army authorities that he was subjected to sexual harassment and turned the gun on his fellow army personnel to avenge the humiliation after meticulous planning. A case has also been registered by the police against two unidentified individuals concerning the incident.

On the basis of the statement of Major Ashutosh Shukla, a witness of the incident, the FIR was registered. The four murdered army personnel have been recognized as Yogesh, Santoish, Sagar, and Kamlesh. They were asleep in their rooms after finishing their duty when two masked men attacked them with sharp-edged weapons and riffles. The four jawans were found in the pool of blood in their rooms, and all four of them belonged to an artillery unit of the army.  The police informed the media that one of the weapons used in the crime was seized. According to the Army statement, no other injuries to personnel or damage to the property have been reported. 

Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister, also received information of the incident from Manoj Pandey,  Army Chief General, sources said. The army conducted a joint investigation with police to establish the facts of the case and the area was fenced off. The sensational murder on 12th April had raised questions on security arrangements, especially since it happened amid the speculations of retaliation to the massive crackdown on separatist Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and his outfit ‘Waris Punjab Se’. 

On Monday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who is also the nation’s Minister of Industry and Trade arrived in New Delhi to co-chair the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission. Which has mainly aimed to increase trade ties between the two countries. As per the official Twitter handle of the Russian Embassy, post, “Denis Manturov landed in the Republic of India on a working trip. On April 17, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov reached for a two-day working visit to the Republic of India, New Delhi.”

Deputy PM Manturov firstly participated in the 24th India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC). The IRIGC is the prime institutional mechanism to manage economic cooperation. It consolidates six working groups on trade and economic cooperation, industrial modernization, tourism, energy, culture science and technology. A  general meeting of the intergovernmental commission (IGC) will be scheduled on Tuesday, subsequent of these co-chairs will sign the final agreement of the 24th IGC assembly.

Both sides of the government plan to consider the issues of bilateral trade and economic and humanitarian cooperation. The Deputy PM will also carry out many bilateral conferences, the Russian official said in the tweet. The main emphasis of meetings, enhancing several institutionalised mechanisms, has been set up for the development of economic cooperation between the two nations. The central institution at the government stage is IRIGC-TEC. 

Both countries reviewed the improvement achieved in the many Working Groups and Sub-Group Meetings under the pipeline of  IRIGC-TEC which will be held in New Delhi. The Intergovernmental Commission is a system for continuously observing bilateral progress across the major sectors of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and India.  This Intergovernmental Commission was established by a consensus on the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation signed in May 1992. 

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On Sunday, a request was made to the Supreme Court to establish an impartial committee led by a former judge of the apex court to investigate the death of Atiq Ahmed, a gangster-turned-politician, and his brother Ashraf, who was fatally shot while under police escort. This request was made after the incident. Advocate Vishal Tiwari filed a plea requesting an investigation into 183 encounters that have occurred in Uttar Pradesh since 2017.

On Saturday night in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, ahmed (60) and Ashraf, who were under police escort on their way to a medical college for a checkup, were fatally shot by three men who posed as journalists and approached them while they were responding to reporters’ inquiries, despite being in handcuffs. The final funeral ceremonies for ahmed’s son Asad, who, along with one of his associates, was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13, took place just a few hours before the shooting.

The request was made for the establishment of an impartial panel of experts to investigate the death of Atiq and Ashraf. “An Independent Expert Committee should be established under the supervision of a former Supreme Court justice to investigate the 183 encounters that have taken place since 2017, as accounts by the Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police (Law and Order), and the police custody killing of Atiq and Ashraf. The committee should provide instruction and proper directives to make sure the preservation of the rule of law,” the petitioner said.

According to the plea, extrajudicial killings or fake police encounters are not by the law. As per the statement, if the police become reckless and engage in dangerous behaviour, it can lead to a breakdown of the rule of law and instil fear in people towards the police. This situation can pose a significant threat to democracy and also contribute to a rise in criminal activity. 

Former Lok Sabha member Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were murdered on April 15 by assailants pretending to be newsreaders. According to unidentified reports, the Allahabad District Court remanded the three attackers who killed Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed to judicial jail for a period of fourteen days. 

Former Lok Sabha member Ahmed and his brother were slain on April 15 by assailants acting as television reporters while they were being transported to an Allahabad hospital for a required medical examination. The two gunmen and an accomplice were reportedly captured by police at the scene of the crime. Luvlesh Tiwari, Mohit alias Sunny of Hamirpur, and Arun Kumar Maurya of Kasganj have been recognized as one of them.

In connection with the murder of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the 2005 assassination of Raju Pal, a lawmaker from the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), Atiq, who was facing over 100 criminal cases, was transferred from Sabarmati prison in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to Naini prison in Allahabad. On March 28, Atiq asked the Supreme Court to provide him and the other members of his family who were suspected of being involved in the murder of Umesh Pal protection. He also contested being sent from Sabarmati to Allahabad prison for the same case’s inquiry.

Atiq had expressed worry to the Supreme Court that the Uttar Pradesh police would kill him in a staged encounter. The Supreme Court, however, rejected Atiq’s appeal, noting that Atiq was already in police custody and would be kept safe by the State’s machinery.

Notably, his son Asad and friend Gulam were slain in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Jhansi two days before Atiq died and 14 days after the Supreme Court denied his motion.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi launched a critical attack on the Opposition party, saying that credit-hungry people or those whose only objective is to rule the country have done a lot of damage to it already, on April 14th, 2023, Friday. The ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is committed to serving the people and the nation, and the loyalty and dedication to the country are at the centre of its effort, he further added.  

PM Modi attacked the Congress and said “Over the nine years, whenever there is a conversation regarding the development of the Northeast, some people get troubled as they can’t claim the credit for the growth in the state.” While addressing the public gathering in Guwahati, Assam, ahead of the significant Bihur celebrations, He further added, “They complain that they, too, ruled the country for decades. The people whose only intention is to lord over the country, have done a lot of damage to the country’s people.”

According to some officials, Narendra Modi mentioned while targeting the Opposition that instead of catering towards a particular vote bank, the BJP is more focused on reducing the difficulties of the people of the country. The government wants to guarantee that the females of the country should not travel far for the treatment. We are working to ensure that no poor person has to postpone his/her treatment for want of money. We had less number of doctors and medical professionals as it was a huge roadblock to accessing quality healthcare services in the country. 

Considering the transformation of the country’s healthcare sector, PM Modi said, “Before 2014, in the last 10 years, almost 150 medical colleges were constructed in the country. However, in the past 9 years, about 300 new colleges for medical students have been built by the Indian government. The seats of MBBS in the country have also increased to more than one lakh.” The beautiful and colourful performances by almost 10,000 Bihu dancers will be witnessed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi later on Friday. PM Modi will also inaugurate, lay the foundation stone, and dedicate projects worth INR 14,300 crore to the nation. 

On April, 13th, 2023, Thursday, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is on a week-long visit to the US, participated in a panel discussion on ‘Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders’ in Washington DC. The panel included the CEO of Goldman Sachs David Solomon and the President of World Bank Group David Malpass. The Finance Minister in the panel discussion outlined the initiatives to support the economic status of women during the World Bank Spring / IMF meetings. The government of Prime Minister Modi has been closely working with not only women-centric development but also with the idea of women-led development pointed out by the Finance Minister, who appeared in the discussion.  

“Prime Minister Modi has emphasised that we are required to have a ‘women-led’ development for India instead of just having ‘women-centric’ development. He also ensured that zero-balance accounts (Jan-Dhan accounts) were opened for every Indian,” Nirmala Sitharaman said while informing the mass audience at the discussion. The Finance Minister also highlighted various initiatives taken by the government of India which results in women’s empowerment and enhancement of their economic independence and their outcomes. David Malpass, the President of the World Bank pledged to focus more passionately on the empowerment of  women, citing the huge prospective for economic upturn for all countries. 

David Malpass informed the audience that “Starting a business for a woman to build a better future. Allowing access to finance, digital technology, and skills is the key.” All three speakers emphasized the importance of increasing access to finance for women-led businesses as well as recognizing the role women played in handling global challenges from climate change to fragility. They also discussed the requirement of upskilling women, so they are not left behind amid rapid change in technology. They also had a conversation about expanding the definition of women authority to include not only Heads and CEOs of major worldwide companies but also the authority of small and local initiatives. 

The FMCBG (Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors) held on Thursday in Washington discussed the key challenges towards the Global Economic Outlook and explored the possible areas of policy coordination on the global issues, apart from having conversation regarding the progress on deliverables envisioned during India’s G20 Presidency. Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the roundtable on ‘Multilateral Development Bank Evolution’ hosted by the US Department of Treasury Secretary at the headquarters of the World Bank. 

On Thursday, Assam made history as a milestone with the largest Bihu performance at a single venue elevating the traditional dance image from the international stage. The Guinness Book of World Records was set at the Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati. Total participation of 11304 folk dancers in which male and female presented the Bihu dance in the presence of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. The largest ensemble of 2,500 Assamese dhol players also performed with the dancers. 

The traditional dance event was organised by the Assam government under the supervision of CM Himanta and his vision to promote the Assamese cultural heritage. The officials of the Guinness World Records team were especially present at the event. “We had set a world record and created history for both Bihu Dance as well as Bihu dhols with outstanding performances by dancers and drummers. It is a golden opportunity for us to showcase our heritage and culture across the globe,” Sarma said. 

Two world records were set by the Bihu performance. The first one was for the largest traditional dance, whereas the second one was for the largest musical instrument group. It has been reported that the culture department of the state covered the expenses of the event, while the Assam government took the lead in registering ‘Bihu’ in the Guinness World Records. On the other hand, The Assam government will give Rs 25,000 to each of the over 11,000 participants of the ‘Mega Bihu’ along with the “master trainers” and reserve performers.

According to an official quoted by a news agency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to make a day-long trip to Guwahati on Friday. During his visit, a group of performers will present the ‘Bihu’ dance to him, and Guinness certificates will be presented in his presence. In 2015, China established the previous records for the largest traditional dance with the participation of 7,700 individuals. On the other hand, in 2019, India set the record for the largest musical instruments ensemble with 3,730 participants. 

On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s ally Jitan Ram Manjhi, leader of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) reached New Delhi, where he met with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Political circles’ temperature got hyped up after this meeting from Delhi to Patna. Following his meeting with the Union Home Minister developed speculation of him again joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

At the meeting, he said, “We met with Amit Shah just to hand over the memorandum.” Manhji asserted that he has committed to abide by Kumar and decline any chance of associating with the BJP. On the other hand, the Bihar chief minister is also in Delhi to meet with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi and other key opposition party leaders. His main initiative is to boost and build up the environment of stronger opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 general election.

Manjhi met with Shah at the request of his political party, who are pushing for Dashrath Manjhi to receive the ‘Bharat Ratna’, which is India’s most prestigious civilian award. Dashrath Manjhi is a local legend who spent over 20 years digging a road through the mountains with his own hands, and his story has been celebrated in both folklore and film since his passing.

After his meeting with Shah, he hurried to meet Kumar in order to avoid any impression that he was about to change his stance once again, as the BJP attempts to win over smaller parties in Bihar ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.  Manjhi was selected by Kumar to take over as chief minister after the JD(U) performed poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, he protested against being asked to step down for his mentor in 2015 and joined forces with the BJP. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he sided with the RJD-led alliance, while the JD(U) and BJP formed a coalition. As a prominent Dalit leader, Manjhi wields influence within the “Manjhi” community in various regions of Bihar.

On April 13th, 2023, Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case against BBC India (British Broadcasting Commission) for alleged foreign exchange violation. The UK-headquartered broadcaster came under the radar of Indian agencies investigation, not for the first time. After the Delhi and Mumbai BBC offices got raided by ED, the new upgrade in this whole matter came as a result of a case registered against the British Broadcaster. The movement comes two months after the BBC offices in Mumbai and Delhi were investigated in a survey by the Income Tax Department. 

The documents and the recording of the statements of several company executives have been called by the federal probe agency under the provision of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act). The BBC offices were surveyed as a part of an investigation by the income tax authorities in February this year. BBC was embroiled in a controversy over its documentary on the Gujarat riot India: The Modi Question which drew sharp criticism from the government of India and tarnished the country’s image. ‘India: The Modi Question’ a two-part documentary declared to have certain aspects related to the 2002 Gujarat riot when PM Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat. 

 The Ministry of External Affairs described the series as a “propaganda piece” that lacked impartiality and narrated a colonial mindset. The inquiry is essentially looking at purported FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) violations by the country. The action was taken to inquire about the irregularities of foreign funding by the UK Broadcasters, violation of rules, and diversion funds under the 1999 Act of FEMA. Earlier, the ED had also sent a summon to the British Broadcaster calling for an inquiry into the event, following a search conducted by the Income Tax Departments. An officer of the BBC’s editorial department and administration department is being questioned at ED’s headquarters. 

The Indian government instructed the platforms of social media to block Twitter posts and Youtube videos sharing links to the documentary soon after it created a massive controversy in January this year. The documentary was widely criticized by the Indian government as well as several sections of the public. The BBC faced consequences and allegations of spreading fake news and propaganda, and the government of India accused the broadcaster of trying to destabilize the country. BBC has