Heavily-armed terrorists in army uniform are holed up inside a police station in Dinanagar in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab. A 5 am today (Monday) they opened fire at the police station killing six people. Ten including seven civilians and three policemen have been injured in the attack. Six to seven families of the police officers staying in nearby residential quarters have been held hostage by the terrorists. No group has claimed responsibility of the attack but it is like suicide attacks that have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir.
The terrorists first attacked a state roadways bus. They hijacked a Maruti car by injuring a restaurant owner and drove to the Dinanagar police station. Home minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal who apprised him of the developing situation in Gurudaspur. Soon after the Home Minister tweeted saying, "the MHA is monitoring the situation in Gurudaspur and Punjab. I am confident that the situation will be soon brought in control."

Salman Khan apologises for Yakub-Tiger tweets

After tweets that triggered a volley of protests, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on Sunday evening apologised for saying that the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon should not hang but his brother Tiger Memon should. While standing by what he said overnight, Salman said his father Salim Khan wanted him to retract his tweets "as they have the potential to create misunderstanding". He has deleted the earlier tweets. "What I said is that Yakub Memon should not hang for him (Tiger). I have not said or implied that Yakub Memon is innocent. I have complete faith in the judicial system of our country," his latest tweet.

SC to hear Yakub Memon's plea against death sentence today
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the mercy petition of 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon today (Monday). Memon's final plea, challenging the death warrant against him, will come up for hearing at 11 am today. Memon, in his petition, has said that all legal remedies have not been exhausted and he has also approached the Maharashtra governor with a plea for mercy. He had filed the mercy plea before the Governor immediately after his curative petition was dismissed by the apex court last week.

Cashless scheme for mishap victims
A week after the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released data on accident deaths in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenth 'Mann Ki Baat' address on Sunday said that his government would soon introduce the Road Transport and Safety Bill and launch a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims. Modi also asked the public to suggest what issues he should speak about during the Independence Day speech next month even as he remembered the 16th anniversary of Kargil War and offered respects to soldiers and their families.

Vasundhara Raje does not care about media or Congress talks
Speaking for the first time on controversial agreement with a Portugal-based hospital, where Lalit Modi's wife Minal was treated, Rajasthan chief minister Vasudhara Raje said the step was taken with public welfare in mind. "What TV or Congress is saying do not affect the public's welfare. The MOU was signed for public and patients of cancer. The government had signed a memorandum of understanding with a private Portuguese biomedical research organisation, to set up a state-of-the-art cancer institute in Jaipur, on October 2, last year. The MoU was signed about two months after Lalit Modi's wife was treated at the Lisbon-based hospital.

Owaisi raises demand to hand riots case accused
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that the then Narendra Modi government in Gujarat had asked the prosecution not to press for death sentence to former minister Mayaben Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, convicted in 2002 post-Godhra riot case. "Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi were convicted by a Court, which sentenced them to life imprisonment in connection with the killing of 92 persons. The prosecution wanted capital punishment. But Modi, who was then Gujarat Chief Minister, asked prosecution not to appeal against the ruling (in HC) and let the punishment be life sentence," the All-India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader alleged.
"Shouldn't those who killed 92 persons get death sentence?...When should capital punishment be awarded?," the 46-year-old controversial politician asked.

Heavy rainfall warning for MP, Raj, Gujarat
The weather department on Sunday issued warning of "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat over the next 48 hours even as it predicted heavy downpours in Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal on Tuesday and Wednesday. A cautionary statement issued by the Ministry of Earth Sciences today said, "Areas where heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to occur are west Madhya Pradesh, east and west Rajasthan, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch region. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to occur in Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal thereafter on Tuesday and Wednesday."

Pranab to inaugurate Mysore varsity centenary today
President Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the University of Mysore on Monday. The president, will arrive at Mysuru airport by a special flight from New Delhi at 1.50 pm. He will be visiting Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hills at 2.15 pm before inaugurating the yearlong centenary celebrations of the University of Mysuru at the amphitheatre in Manasagangothri at 3 pm.

Parliament stand-off may continue
With the opposition led by Congress remains adamant on external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and the Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje's resignation before any discussion is allowed, will result in another week of adjournaments. Meanwhile, the Congress has put the onus on prime minister Narendra Modi for functioning of parliament. “Culpability and gross abuse of office in helping Lalit Modi, the Indian fugitive, by both Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are evident. Their explanations are weak-kneed and meaningless in view of proven criminality. “Onus now lies upon the PM to take action by placing smooth functioning of Parliament above the parochial interests of the BJP. Therein lies the test of his leadership and lofty promises on which he rode to power,” party spokesperson Randip Surjewala said.

61,000 Indian millionaires shifted overseas in last 14 yrs
A report by New World Wealth and LIO Global said that India has seen the second-biggest outflow of high net worth individuals in last 14 years. As many as 61,000 millionaires have shifted base to abroad due to reasons like tax, security and child education. This migration is second only to China which saw an outflow of 91,000 ultra-rich persons in the same period.

HC issues fresh notice to boxer Vijender on becoming professional
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday issued a fresh notice to boxer Vijender Singh on his joining professional boxing league. The boxer was made DSP by Haryana government after winning bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Being a government employee, Vijender cannot accept another employment and cannot accept remuneration from any other source without the government's permission.

Govt orders blocking websites inciting religious intolerance
In the wake of terror groups using Internet to incite religious intolerance, the government has ordered blocking of at least 40 webpages with inflammatory content relating to a minority community, including posts on social media and popular video-sharing platforms. The websites were being used to induce Indian youth to join ISIS and for spreading news about purported death of certain persons while fighting Allied Forces in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.