NC Digest: Ishrat’s Mother Files Objections To Discharge Pleas Of Ex-Cop; Rahul Gandhi Slams Modi, Says Religion, Caste Matter Little To Him And More

In a surprise move, an anti-corruption court judge, who had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison in a graft case, has recused himself from hearing two other corruption cases against the jailed former prime minister of Pakistan. Justice Muhammad Bashir of the Islamabad Accountability Court, in a letter addressed to Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Anwar Khan Kasi, said that the Al-Azizia steel mills and the Flagship corruption cases should be transferred to some other judge, according to the IHC sources. Read more here.

The body of an 11-year-old boy, whose throat had been slit, was found in a house in Ulhasnagar township in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said today. The body of Harsh Alhat, a student of a local school, was found at 10 pm yesterday in a house some distance away from the victim’s residence, a police official said. “The boy was with his parents till late evening yesterday. We suspect he was abducted and then killed with a kitchen knife. His throat was slit,” the official said. Read more here.

Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday underlined that he doesn’t indulge in religion politics slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi who accused him of siding with Muslims. Gandhi took to Twitter on Tuesday morning and said, “I stand with the last person in the line. The exploited, marginalised and the persecuted. Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me. I seek out those in pain and embrace them. I erase hatred and fear. I love all living beings. I am the Congress.” Read more here.

Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh on Sunday urged countrymen to move ahead of “Hindu-Muslim” politics and get inspired by Croatia, a small country which made it to the finals of Fifa World Cup, 2018. This is a slap on the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is busy spreading communal hatred across the country. Singh took to Twitter and said, “A small country with a population of about 50 lakh people, Croatia has reached the tournament final while we in India, which has a population of over 135 crores, are playing ‘Hindu Muslim’.” Read more here.

Opposition parties today decided to move forward with consensus for filling the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman post and asked the Congress, the TMC and the Samajwadi Party to come out with a “suitable candidate” acceptable to all. During a meeting in Parliament, opposition leaders decided they should unitedly move forward in fielding a joint candidate for the post that fell vacant after P J Kurien retired on July 1, but no names were discussed, sources said. Read more here.

Coming out in support of the ongoing protest by dairy farmers in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena today sought to know why the government cannot hike the milk procurement prices when it can spend crores on big-ticket projects like the bullet train. Farmers’ organisations in the state have launched a protest to demand a hike of Rs 5 per litre in milk procurement prices. As part of the protest, which began early Monday, milk tankers are being blocked in several districts of Maharashtra by protesters. Read more here.

The mother of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Gujarat Police along with three others, today filed an objection to the discharge applications of two retired police officers accused in the 2004 case. Shamima Kauser filed a plea in a special CBI court here, opposing the discharge applications of retired police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin, and submitted that there was “clinching” evidence against the two. Read more here.