Kozhikode (Kerala) [India], March 3 (ANI): Three Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leaders were on Wednesday granted bail by a court in Kozhikode in connection with a protest march to Air India office in 2009 against the cancellation of flights and increase in airfares.
The bail was granted on the bond of two persons and on the condition that they will appear before the court for trial without interruption.
Kerala Chief Minister’s son-in-law P A Muhammad Riyas, T.V. Rajesh and K.K. Dinesh were remanded for 14 days by the Kozhikode court on Tuesday in connection with the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) protest march to the Air India office in Kozhikode in 2009.
The leaders had earlier obtained bail in the case and after the expiry of the bail period, they approached the court again.
Notably, at the time of protest, Rajesh was the state secretary of the DYFI and Riyas was the organisation’s state joint secretary at the time. Rajesh had organised the protest in March 2009. (ANI)

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 3 (ANI): A person was killed while one suffered critical injuries after a man attacked two of his friends over a dispute in the Dahisar area of Mumbai, police said on Wednesday.
“There was a dispute among three friends over food on March 1, in an under-construction building, where they were working. Later, the dispute escalated and a friend attacked his two friends while they were sleeping,” the police said.
According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Kalia.
A case under section 307 (attempt to murder) and 302 (murder) of the IPC was registered against the accused, Vinod, at Dahisar police station. (ANI)

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 3 (ANI): Five suspended Congress MLAs stage a protest on Wednesday for the third consecutive day outside Himachal Pradesh Assembly demanding revocation of their suspension.
An FIR was lodged against five MLAs after several opposition leaders on Friday protested outside Himachal Pradesh Governor’s Bandaru Dattatraya office.
Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday morning suspended 5 MLAs – LoP Mukesh Agnihotri, Harshwardhan Chauhan, Satpal Raizada, Sunder Singh Thakur and Vinay Kumar till March 20 after Opposition leaders protested and tried to stop the Governor outside Assembly.
In a bid to remain politically alive, the Congress leaders are desperately trying to find issues against the Himachal Pradesh government, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. (ANI)

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India].March 3 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Wednesday gave its nod to change the name of Municipal Corporation Kotdwar of Pauri Garhwal district to Kanva Nagri Kotdwar after Hindu sage Kanva Rishi.
“Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has given the approval to change the name of Municipal Corporation Kotdwar to Kanva Nagri Kotdwar in the name of Kanva Rishi. Now Municipal Corporation Kotdwar will be known as Kanva Nagri Kotdwar,” said the Information Department of the Uttarakhand government. (ANI)

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 3 (ANI): The Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) request for COVID-19 vaccination of the Dalai Lama is currently under consideration of the state government, said Dr Gurdarshan Gupta, Chief Medical Officer of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, two months after the CTA claimed the request was sent.
According to Palden, the Health Secretary of the CTA, requests have been made to both the central and Himachal Pradesh government to get the 85-year-old spiritual leader and the staff around him vaccinated.
“We had written to the Government of India and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kangra district about two months back but have not received any response. Our request was for His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama, the people living around him, and the Tibetan community in India to be vaccinated,” Palden told ANI.
Dr Gurdarshan Gupta, CMO of the district, meanwhile said the request had been received and was under the consideration of the government.
“COVID-19 vaccination has been going on since January 16 and the first priority group, as per the Government of India’s guidelines, was healthcare and frontline workers… The request was received from the central Tibetan government regarding vaccinating HH the Dalai Lama and the people living around him. It has been sent to the government, modalities are being worked out to vaccinate them,” Dr Gupta said.
He further said a specific request had been made for the Dalai Lama to be vaccinated on his own premises.
“HH has been in self-quarantine for quite some time so a request has been received to vaccinate him in his own premises. It is under the consideration of the government and the final decision will be taken when it is received from the government. It will be done as per protocol,” the CMO added.
The first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive against the coronavirus had begun on January 16 with frontline and healthcare workers. The second phase began on February 13. In this phase, people above 60 and those with comorbidities above 45 will be vaccinated.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the first dose of Covaxin, India’s homegrown coronavirus vaccine developed by biotechnology firm Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research at AIIMS, Delhi. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): The Supreme Court is hearing a transfer petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government seeking its direction to transfer alleged gangster and don-turned politician, Mukhtar Ansari from Roopar Jail in Punjab to jail in Uttar Pradesh.
Former Attorney General (AG) and senior Supreme Court lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the accused, Ansari, submitted before the Apex Court bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan that he had earlier applied for a transfer and the Court had passed an order that transfer was not necessary in the case and that he could go for video-conferencing.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, the senior lawyer appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told the Supreme Court that nothing has been done so far by the Punjab Police even after two years had been passed.
“Nothing has been placed before the Court. The Punjab Police in alleged collusion with this man is dodging the judicial system,” Mehta Submitted to the Apex Court bench.
“He manages to dodge the judicial system. He is in jail since 2005, but he is operating from the jail allegedly and running his illegal activities from there,” Mehta told the Apex Court.
“He is in the judicial custody under the supervision of the court,” Mehta said and added that look at his alleged activities from the jail.
The SG Mehta said that the accused, Ansari, procured a medical certificate saying that he cannot travel. But, he has been attending other proceedings. “Facts are being suppressed,” he said.
“We are not a mute spectator to it if a prisoner is not shifted to another jail. The state does it on behalf of the victim. The state will proceed. Fundamental rights of the society are to ensure that justice is being done as quickly as possible,” Mehta told the Apex Court. (ANI)