Suspended Assistant Police Inspector Riyazuddin Kazi, arrested by the National Investigation Agency on Sunday in the Antilia Bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case was produced before a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court today. NIA did not seek his further custody and hence Kazi was remanded to judicial custody till April 23. NIA has alleged that Kazi destroyed important evidence linked to the case.
The Rajasthan government has announced a weekend curfew from Friday 6 pm to Monday 5 am in an attempt to arrest the worrying rise of Covid-19 cases. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot made the announcement on Thursday night. He held a review meeting with doctors and health experts to discuss measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the state. Gehlot said earlier most Covid cases were being reported from 17 districts but in the last few days, the infection has spread fast and cases have spread to all districts.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced a lockdown across the state. To enforce wearing of masks, the state government has doubled the fine to Rs 1000 for those caught without masks for the first time and 10 times the fine amount for those caught again. "There will be a weekly closure in all rural and urban areas of the state on Sunday. Only sanitation, sanitisation and emergency services will operate during this period. Necessary awareness works should also be done in this regard," an official statement said.
Over the last two days, India has recorded a daily COVID-19 caseload of more than two lakh, setting new and rather alarming records. At the same time, the death toll has gradually risen. But as the second wave of the pandemic runs its course, reports suggest that things might get progressively worse. According to a research report put together by the members of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission's India Task Force, the death toll may soon find itself doubling. "India could lose nearly 1,750 lives to COVID-19 per day, rising to approximately 2,320 per day by the first week of June 2021," the report said.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher after a volatile session today amid positive cues from global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 28.35 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 48,832.03. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 36.40 points or 0.25 per cent to 14,617.85. Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by UltraTech Cement, ONGC, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech and Nestle India. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, L&T, TCS, Infosys and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.
