Page 13 - Uttarakhand

BJP heading for big win with 5 seats so far in Haridwar panchayat polls

The BJP on Thursday was on way to recording a good show in the three-tier panchayat elections in Haridwar district winning five of the 44 district board seats and leading comfortably in around 15 others. Of the eight seats whose results have been declared so far, BJP has won five, BSP 2 and Congress 1. The counting was still in progress but the BJP is likely to emerge as the single largest party in the district panchayat board with a tally of around 20 seats. The BJP-supported candidates have also won 70 per cent of the seats in block and gram panchayats. Out of a total of 316 Gram Pradhan seats, results of 282 have been declared and most of them have been won by BJP-supported candidates. BJP-supported candidates have won a majority of seats in the six block panchayats too. As per the trends, the BSP is likely to finish second behind BJP followed by independents. It is a record performance by the saffron party in Haridwar district panchayat polls. Out of a total of 47 district ...

Ankita Bhandari murder case: SIT questions revenue officers, employees

As the investigation into the Ankita Bhandari murder case intensified, the SIT said that all the officers and employees of Revenue Police of Uttarakhand's Pauri are being questioned

BJP may perform better in Haridwar panchayat polls; results likely today

The ruling BJP is likely to perform better in the Haridwar's three-tier panchayat polls, the voting for which took place on Monday. All results are likely to be announced by Thursday afternoon as the counting is on. Available trends indicated that the party may win 15 of 44 district panchayat board seats. The BJP may also do well for the first time in gram and kshetra panchayats. The party had in the previous polls won only three seats of the district panchayat board.

Ankita murder case: Crucial evidence probably destroyed, says former DGP

Former Uttarakhand DGP Aloke B Lal on Tuesday said the hurry shown in the demolition of the resort in question in the Ankita Bhandari murder case must have destroyed crucial evidence. There have been allegations from various quarters about the destruction of evidence in the murder case by an overnight razing of parts of the resort at Bhogpur in Pauri district. "It seems to me that the proper procedure of a demolition of the so-called illegal resort was not followed in this case. Usually, a show-cause notice is issued before any such exercise is undertaken," Lal told PTI in an exclusive interview. "However, in this case, bulldozers razed portions of the resort in the dead of night without any prior notice. The sudden action must have destroyed crucial evidence in the case," he added. "The main purpose behind the late-night action could be seen as the administration's over zealousness to project itself as effective. The action seems to have been aimed at gaining brownie points for qu

Ankita murder case: Rahul accuses BJP, RSS of viewing women as objects

The recent murder of a 19-year old receptionist in Uttarakhand allegedly by a BJP leader's son, an issue which led to protests in the northern state, was raised on Tuesday by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra speech in which he said the incident indicates the BJP and RSS ideology of viewing women as "objects". Referring to the murder of the young woman -- Ankita Bhandari -- the Congress leader alleged, "A BJP leader who owned a hotel, his son, who ran the hotel, was forcing a young girl to become a prostitute. When she refused to become a prostitute, she was found dead in a lake." "That is the way BJP treats women of India," Gandhi, also the MP from Wayanad, alleged. "It is the most disgusting, the most shameful example of how the BJP and RSS treat women in this country. The ideology of BJP and RSS views women as objects and second class citizens. India can never succeed with this ideology. A country which cannot learn to respect its women or empower them, can ..

Ankita Bhandari murder: Last rites held finally, NH 58 blocked in protest

Her body was brought to the NIT Ghat here and consigned to flames amid the presence of a large number of people.

Ankita case: Father refuses cremation till final post-mortem report comes

At present, the provisional post-mortem report has come, in which the assault has been confirmed before death and the cause of death has been said as drowning

Ankita Bhandari case: Angry locals block Badrinath-Rishikesh highway

Anger over the Ankita Bhandari death case poured onto the streets as the locals blocked the Badrinath Rishikesh highway area in front of the base hospital where Ankita's remains are kept

Power has gone into heads of BJP leaders: AAP on murder in Uttarakhand

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday termed as extremely shameful the murder of a 19-year old woman receptionist of a resort in Uttarakhand and alleged that the crime was the result of the power going into the heads of the BJP leaders. The AAP attacked the BJP after Uttarakhand Police on Friday arrested Pulkit Arya, son of a BJP leader Vinod Arya from Haridwar, for allegedly killing the teenager who had been missing for the last few days. Along with Arya, the police also arrested the manager and the assistant manager of the resort, owned by the BJP leader's son in Pauri's Yamkeshwar block. All the three were sent to judicial custody for two weeks. The state police chief Ashok Kumar on Saturday said that the woman receptionist, whose body was fished out from a canal, was being pressured by the resort owner to provide "special services" to the guests. Extremely shameful, the AAP chief spokesperson Saurbah Bharadwaj said when asked for his party's reaction at a press conference here.

BJP expels party leader after son arrested in Uttarakhand murder case

The BJP Saturday expelled Vinod Arya and his son from the party a day after the leader's another son was arrested in the murder case of a woman receptionist at a resort in Pauri. Vinod Arya's son Pulkit -- who owns the resort in Pauri's Yamkeshwar block -- was arrested Friday along with two employees of the resort for allegedly killing the receptionist, who had been missing for the past few days. The party's media incharge Manveer Chauhan said on Saturday that action has been taken against Vinod Arya and Ankit on the orders of state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt. Vinod Arya, a party leader from Haridwar, has formerly served as a chairman of the Uttarakhand Mati Board with a state minister's rank. Pulkit's brother Ankit is the vice president of state OBC Commission. The three murder accused -- Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta -- were sent to 14-day judicial custody by a court on Friday.

BJP's expenses on assembly polls in five states up 58% to Rs 344 cr

In 2017, BJP had spent Rs 218.26 crore on the elections in the five states. In 2022, the expense was Rs 344 crore. Congress's bill rose from Rs 108.14 crore to Rs 194.80 during the same period

Uttarakhand reports over 500 dengue cases; Dehradun, Haridwar most affected

The number of dengue cases in Uttarakhand has crossed the mark of 500, informed the state Directorate of Medical Health and Family Welfare

Uttarakhand government directs medical officers to check spread of dengue

Uttarakhand's in-charge secretary of health R Rajesh Kumar said that all chief medical officers (CMO) have been instructed to prevent dengue cases in the state

Uttarakhand CM Dhami to visit cloudburst-hit Pithoragarh village on Sunday

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will visit the cloudburst-hit areas of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district on Sunday and meet the affected people in Khotila village. The cloudburst that occurred past midnight in a border village of Nepal triggered a flash flood in Khotila village on the Indian side as surging waters of the Kali river rushed into homes, filling them with sludge and killing a woman. The body of Pashupati Devi, resident of Khotila village, was later pulled out of the sludge that had choked her house after the flooding of the river, Pithoragarh District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said.

Prize money for medal winners increased to promote sports: Uttarakhand CM

After the Uttarakhand Sports Department increased the prize money awarded to medal-winning players and coaches, the Chief Minister stated that the move was made to promote sports in the state.

Uttarakhand Public Service Commission to conduct recruitment to 7,000 posts

The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Friday decided to take away the responsibility of conducting recruitment to 7,000 government posts from the state Subordinate Service Selection Commission as the body is facing a probe in a paper leak case. The government handed over the responsibility to the State Public Service Commission. It has been done to maintain probity and transparency in recruitment examinations, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. The chief minister has asked the State Public Service Commission to issue a calendar of recruitment examinations to be held in Uttarakhand and start the process.

Pressure mounts on Uttarakhand govt to take tough steps against corruption

On July 22 this year, the police started investigation into the alleged paper leak for class III government jobs through the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC)

Uttarakhand minister questions norms for recruitment of Agniveers into army

Uttarakhand's Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj has questioned the norms being followed for the recruitment of "Agniveers" into the armed forces in the hill state. "The height requirement for the hill people in Army recruitment rallies was reduced during the time of (former Chief of Defence Staff) General Bipin Rawat to 163 centimetres. But the colonel looking after the recruitment process for Agniveers in Kotdwar is still following the 170-centimetre criterion," Maharaj said in a video statement. He said he has spoken to Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt about it and asked him to ensure that the recruitment of Agniveers is done strictly in accordance with the norms. "As people in the hills are usually not very tall, a relaxation in the height requirement was given to the Army aspirants in Uttarakhand during the time of late General Bipin Rawat. However, it has been brought to my notice that the norm set by General Rawat is not being followed in the recruitment rally for

Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh weather update, Aug 22: Heavy rainfall alert

Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and several states of India might experience heavy rainfall for the next few days, reports the Indian Meteorological Department. Read this written piece to know everything

Accused in arson case at Salman Khurshid's house acquitted: Uttarakhand HC

The Uttarakhand High Court has acquitted the two main accused in the November 2021 case of vandalism and arson at the house of senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid. Kundan Chilwal and Rakesh Kapil were acquitted of the charges by senior Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra on Thursday on the basis of a letter of settlement produced by the caretaker of Khurshid's property, who was also the complainant in the matter. On November 15, 2021, arson, vandalism and firing were reported at Khurshid's house in village Puda in Mukteshwar, causing damage to the property. On the complaint of the caretaker of the house Sundar Ram, the police had registered a case against Chilwal and Kapil. Earlier, the court had stayed their arrest. On Thursday, an agreement was presented before the court on behalf of Chilwal, Kapil and caretaker Sundar Ram. Based on this, the court disposed of the case. The agreement states that these people were not involved in the incident which was carri