167

Man detained for ‘aiding’ Mohali intelligence HQ attackers

A man from Tarn Taran district has been detained in connection with the explosion at the Punjab Police’s intelligence wing headquarters in Mohali, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.

Jagrup Singh, a resident of Mehndipur village in the Khadoor Sahib region of the district, was detained after the investigating team got a strong lead about the role of some suspects in providing logistical help and arranging stay for the attackers, a senior police officer part of the probing team said, asking not to be named.

Singh was lodged in Faridkot jail on murder charges and had come out on parole a few days back, the official added.

166

UP DGP Mukul Goel removed for 'neglect of duty', 'indolence'

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday removed the state police chief Mukul Goel from his post for ‘disregard of government duty’, ‘not taking interest in departmental work’ and ‘indolence’. Goel has now been posted as director general (DG), civil defence.

The state government is yet to name his successor. Additional DG (law and order) Prashant Kumar has been given the additional charge until a new DGP is appointed. Additional chief secretary, home, Awanish Awasthi, confirmed to TOI about Goel's removal.

"DGP Mukul Goel has been removed for not taking interest in official work, disregard of duty and general indolence. He has been sent to the civil defence as the DG," said a government spokesperson.

165

Gujarat BJP MLA, 25 others caught gambling in resort sentenced to 2 years jail

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in Gujarat Kesarsinh Solanki and 25 others were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) on Wednesday in connection to a gambling case by a court in Gujarat’s Panchmahals district.

They were arrested from a resort in a police raid on July 1, 2021 where Solanki and others were found gambling at a resort near Shivrajpur village in Panchmahals district.

The cops, who raided the resort on a tip, found the accused gambling in five rooms. The group included seven women who were called to work as dealers on the gambling tables. People involved in the gambling included those from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara and Amreli.

164

Taj Mahal rooms should be opened for probe, says BJP MP

BJP MP and royal scion Diya Kumari claimed on Wednesday that "I have documents to prove that the Taj Mahal complex used to have the palace of the Jaipur royal family."

On whether the erstwhile royals would now move court to stake claim to the land, the MP said the family was contemplating its next move. "I am not saying that the Taj Mahal should be demolished, but its rooms should be opened for examination. Some rooms have been closed for centuries. I believe that we should all get to know what is in there. Our facts can also be established once a proper inquiry is made."

Diya Kumari said her family would provide all support, including documents, to the court to arrive at an informed decision. "The documents related to the claim are in the pothi khana (archive) of the royal family. If the court gives an order, the documents will be submitted."

147

Two new SC judges superseded several seniors in queue

In a big pushback to 'seniority' as an elevation criteria, Chief Justice N V Ramana on Monday administered oath to new SC Judges - Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala, who leapfrogged many HC chief justices and superseded scores of HC judges.

Justice Dhulia, as Gauhati HC Chief Justice, was 30th in the all India seniority list of HC judges. Appointed as a Judge of Uttarakhand HC on November 1, 2008, he was junior to 23 CJs/acting CJs of HCs, except Uttarakhand acting CJ Sanjay Kumar Mishra, who was appointed on October 7, 2009 as a HC judge. Thus, Dhulia superseded 23 CJs/Acting CJs and six other HC judges.