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The Morning Wrap: Maharashtra Govt Says Salman Was Drunk And Driving; India Deports Australian 'IS Supporter'

The Morning Wrap: Maharashtra Govt Says Salman Was Drunk And Driving; India Deports Australian 'IS Supporter'
Bollywood actor Salman Khan attends a promotional event for his upcoming movie 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. The film is scheduled to be released on Nov. 12. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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Bollywood actor Salman Khan attends a promotional event for his upcoming movie 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. The film is scheduled to be released on Nov. 12. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

The Congress party called for an independent investigation into the alleged allotment of 250 acres at Rs15 per square metre to a company owned by the business associates of Gujarat Chief Minister’s daughter, according to a report.

Maharashtra government told the Supreme Court that actor Salman Khan was drunk and driving his SUV when it ran over people sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai in 2002, and sought a reversal of the Bombay High Court verdict acquitting him.

In Mehsana district of Gujarat, a Dalit family has been trying to build a toilet for over two years, but some local upper-caste people are opposing it, said a report. “We have approached a number of authorities, including the State Human Rights Commission, but nothing has happened,” a Dalit villager said.

Australian ska-funk-jazz band The Cat Empire, known for their infectiously energetic live sets, will be making their live debut in India this week at the ninth edition of SulaFest, a world music, food, and wine festival that takes place annually in Nashik, Maharashtra.

After Jet Airways suspended five crew members who allowed Sonu Nigam to use the plane's address system to sing, Twitter users couldn’t stop making jokes about it in the singer’s support.

Main News

In a move that could inflate the cost of essential life-saving imported drugs, the Finance Ministry has withdrawn exemption of 76 medicines from customs duties. The list includes 10 HIV drugs and at least four cancer drugs, but haemophilia patients are likely to be the most affected by the decision.

The second phase of the odd-and-even formula to control traffic in Delhi could be announced as early as next week. On January 27 , the Delhi government had sought the opinion of citizens on bringing back the scheme. A decision will be taken based on this survey.

In the first major verdict pertaining to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, a court acquitted 10 persons charged with arson and murder of a 10-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman in Lonk village of the district. The BJP erupted in celebrations soon after upper district judge let off all the accused for want of evidence.

In a first, India deported an Australian national on “strong indications” that he was an Islamic State supporter. They found jihadi literature, including Islamic State propaganda, on his laptop, sources said.

Two policemen were suspended for failing to stop the mob that stripped and assaulted a young Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru and for not registering a complaint. Nine suspects have been arrested so far. Meanwhile, the NHRC said: “If the contents of the report are true, the incident would amount to a serious violation of human rights, including racism.”

Off The Front Page

Digvijay Singh, 25, a probationary officer at SBI in Gujarat, recently applied for an advance festival loan for Rs 42,970, mentioning “Valentine” as the festival. But the bank rejected his request, saying it was an “invalid festival”. Check out the loan form that went viral.

Hollywood action star Vin Diesel shared the first pictures of him and Deepika Padukone shooting for their much awaited film “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage”. Diesel, 48, took to Instagram to share Deepika’s look in the movie.

According to a report, residents of Delhi and NCR spend only 9.6 per cent of their income on fruits and vegetables and as a result might have nutritional deficiencies. Up to 48.2 per cent of their earnings are spent on consumption of apparels and accessories.

A leopard was caught on camera escaping after a sumptuous feast of more than 50 'desi' chicken at a poultry farm in Maharashtra. The poultry owner said he suffered a loss of Rs 20,000.

About 12 per cent women between 35 and 40 years of age in Indore were under an increased risk of developing stomach cancer, according to a report. Unsuitable lifestyle, erratic biological cycle and obesity were found to be the main reasons for the increased vulnerability.

Opinion

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara is in urgent need of some Racism 101.

Under fire after the attack on the Tanzanian student in Bengaluru, Parameshwara is doing his best to dodge the R-word. “It was not a racial attack but just a violent response to the accident,” he told he media. Race is a huge and ugly part of this story. But public officials, by sleight of hand, want to make it into a story only about road rage rather than race. That is adding insult to injury, writes Sandip Roy in HuffPost India.

The poverty debate in India needs to focus more on helping the poor, than projecting a bleeding heart at their plight, writes Surjit S Bhalla in The Indian Express. “What is the goal of the MGNREGA? To provide income support to any family that seeks jobs that entail ‘back-breaking’ work like digging ditches, construction of roads, etc. The primary target of this programme is very, very poor families. But how well has it succeeded in this objective? Not very, and indeed it is just as good (or, more realistically, bad) as the PDS.”

India has unquestionable credentials to seek a place on the global high table: the second largest population, third largest economy in PPP terms, leading IT power and largest troop contributor to UN Peace Keeping operations, writes Virendra Gupta in The Pioneer. “Our objective should be to ensure that India gets its rightful and equitable place on the world stage. If UN fails to provide us the desired role, we should have no hesitation in seeking to work through other organisations which are capable of enabling us to play our legitimate role.”

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.