NEWS

Dharavi, once a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hotspot in Mumbai, did not report a single infection in the last 24 hours for the first time since April when the first patient was detected in the area, news agency PTI reported on Friday. The caseload of Dharavi now stands at 3,788, though the number of active cases is 12, eight of them in home isolation and four in a Covid care centre, a news agency cited a civic official as saying. So far, 3,464 people have recovered in Dharavi, where 650,000 people are crammed into shanty colonies spread over 2.5 square kilometres.

The first Covid-19 case in Dharavi was reported on April 1, nearly 20 days after the first such case was detected in Mumbai.

Maharashtra recorded 3,580 cases on Thursday, taking the tally to 1,909,951. The death toll breached the 49,000 mark after 89 new casualties. Maharashtra has controlled its daily caseload and has not crossed 5,000 cases for the past 20 days. A total of 98,503 cases have been reported in December, against the 109,166 from November 1 to November 24.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Friday said the Union government should accept farmers' demands and repeal its contentious farm laws. He also asked the Centre to stop the politics of lies and deceit, adding if the laws were in the interest of farmers, they would have been celebrating their passage rather than sitting on the roads in protest. The government should stop misconduct with farmers and withdraw the laws. The government does not care for them. Opposition parties, NGOs and people, all will have to come together to put pressure on the government, he told reporters during his Dausa visit.

He said the government had promised to double the income of farmers and now it is not ready to give promise on the minimum support price (MSP). He also exuded confidence that the Congress will win the next assembly elections in the state.

More support among the public is there than the majority we have. Our government will complete five years in office, he said. He said those who stood with the party in the last assembly elections should get due honour and this is what AICC general secretary Ajay Maken said.

The Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police arrested absconding accused Gaurav Singhal of misappropriating Rs 9 crores of black money by cash deposit. Arrested on December 24, Singhal had opened seven bank accounts on forged documents during demonetization, said the Delhi Police.

The 35-year-old man, Gaurav Singhal, was arrested after Tax officer Sh. Rajesh Kumar Gupta alleged that large amounts of cash were deposited in different bank accounts during the demonetization period, according to a press release by the EOW.

Upon inquiry with the banks concerned, it was found that there were several businesses claiming to be occupants of the same premises. The police also found that all the seven bank accounts were opened using two different names- Yogesh Kumar and Rahul Jain.

In a major jolt, six of Janata Dal-United's (JDU) seven MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh shifted allegiance to the ruling BJP, a bulletin issued by the state legislative assembly said.

The lone MLA from the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA), Kardo Nyigyor from Likabali constituency, also joined the BJP on Friday.

The development comes a day ahead of the announcement of the panchayat and municipal poll results.

The JD(U) MLAs who switched sides are Talem Taboh from Rumgong Assembly Constituency, Hayeng Mangfi (Chayang Tajo), Jikke Tako (Tali), Dorjee Wangdi Kharma (Kalaktang), Dongru Siongju (Bomdila) and Kanggong Taku from Mariyang-Geku constituency.