According to officials, at least three to four people are feared trapped under the massive mounds of rubble even as the body of a man was pulled out at night, while a woman was rescued in an ongoing search and rescue operation at the site.

#WATCH | Gujarat: A Four-floor building collapsed in Sachin area of Surat. Many people feared trapped. Police and fire department team at the spot. Rescue operations underway. pic.twitter.com/FIJJUGzbEQ

— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2024

“Today around 3 pm, a six-storey building collapsed in the Sachin area. Many people who were living in that building got trapped inside. Police and fire brigade reached the spot immediately. A woman was successfully rescued who was trapped under the debris,” Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot told news agency ANI.

Gehlot said that among the 30 flats in the building which collapsed at around 2:45 PM on Saturday afternoon, only 4-5 flats were occupied and the rest were empty.

“Many were at work and those people who were sleeping after nightshift got trapped. NDRF and SDRF all are working. The estimation is that 5-6 people are still trapped under the debris,” the officer added.

The senior officer confirmed that the voices of trapped persons were heard at the beginning of the rescue efforts.

He said the building was constructed in 2016-17. Prima facie, around five flats in the building, were occupied, mostly by those who work in factories in this area, he added.

“When rescue work started, we heard voices of those who were trapped inside. We rescued a woman alive from the rubble and sent her to the hospital. We suspect that nearly five people are still trapped inside,” stated Gehlot.

VIDEO | Rescue operations underway in Surat's Pali village after a building collapsed there earlier today. More details awaited.

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/QuLO78pBDE

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 6, 2024

“We learnt that four to five flats in the building were occupied. One woman has been rescued. Four to five people are still feared trapped underneath,” Surat district collector Sourabh Pardhi told reporters.

Pardhi said that search and rescue operations are ongoing with the help of NDRF and SDRF and the efforts are underway to rescue people who are feared trapped under the debris.

“We are hopeful that the operation will end in a couple of hours,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Addressing a press conference, Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil also asked the government to consider giving “generous” compensation to the kin of those killed saying the majority of the families belong to humble backgrounds.

Gohil’s statement came soon after the state government ordered the suspension of six officials for “gross negligence in allowing the game zone to operate without necessary approvals”.

The Congress leader claimed the action was only taken against some low-ranking officials.

“In the past, several high-ranking officials, including the Rajkot mayor, collector and municipal commissioner, had visited this place and shared their photographs on social media too. In such a scenario, how can you expect that a junior officer would dare to take action against the game zone management?” asked Gohil.

Gohil also shared some photos posted on the Facebook page of the TRP Game Zone, where 27 persons, including four children under the age of 12, were killed in a massive fire on May 25.

“In one of the photos taken in 2022, BJP’s office-bearers, including former mayor Pradip Dav, can be seen at TRP Arena. In another photograph, former BJP MLA Arvind Raiyani and some other local BJP leaders can be seen at the same place,” claimed Gohil.

There is no meaning in suspending junior-level officers who do not have any powers, he said, demanding that senior civic and state officials and BJP office-bearers be named as accused in the FIR.

“We also demand generous compensation for the kin of the deceased,” he said.

So far, the state and Centre have announced a cumulative compensation of Rs 6 lakh for the kin of each deceased.

The senior Congress leader said there was a time when the Union railway minister and civil aviation minister used to resign after major accidents.

He wondered how the officials failed to notice that such a large recreation complex was being run illegally, particularly when the Gujarat High Court had repeatedly asked the government to ensure compliance with fire safety norms at such places.

“During our visit to Rajkot on Sunday, we learnt that even if you have installed all the required equipment to deal with fire, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) won’t be issued unless you pay a bribe. And, even if you don’t have anything in place, you can obtain a fire NOC if you are ready to shell out some money,” Gohil alleged.

(With PTI inputs)

The bodies of the four victims–  Sushila Gopalsinh Rajput (42), her sons Daksh (11) and Yuvraj (17), and her sister’s daughter Durga (17), were recovered on Monday during a search and rescue operation which was launched after the victims were reported missing in the sea, police said.

They said that three members of the family were rescued were in the nick of time by the rescuers during the operation while the bodies of the woman, her two sons and her niece, who were swept away in the sea while picnicking on Dandi beach in Gujarat a day before, were found on Monday.

“After being alerted by Home Guards deployed on the beach, district authorities, Fire Brigade and local police launched a search and rescue operation. Teams of the State Disaster Response Force and Marine Commando also joined the search operation on the coastline using the All Terrain Vehicles,” a release issued by the Navsari disaster management unit said.

#દાંડી દરિયામાં નાહવા પડેલ 7 લોકો ડૂબ્યા, ત્રણનો બચાવ, ચારની શોધખોળ…#sea #dandi #drowned #policeman #હોમેગાર્ડ #homgaard #drowning #seabeach #beach #navsari #gujarat #exploration pic.twitter.com/MsQHW4EsEW

— Rajesh Rana (@rajurana23) May 12, 2024

As per the release, the bodies of Sushila and her youngest son, Daksh (11), were found on the shore between Dandi and Onjal villages at around 5 am and that of Yuvraj and Durga at the adjacent Vansi-Borsi beach at around 9 am.

The deceased persons originally belonged to Bhilwara in Rajasthan but settled at Khadsupa village in Navsari district. They were picnicking on the Dandi beach with other relatives when the tragedy struck.

“Three others were rescued by Home Guards at the beach (on Sunday), but four others could not be saved as they were swept away into the sea before help could reach them,” said Deputy Collector Janam Thakore.

(With PTI inputs)

Like any other citizen of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is a native of Gujarat, will also exercise his voting franchise tomorrow in the third phase of Lok Sabha polls. Modi will cast his vote at the polling booth set up at the Nishan Higher Secondary School in Ahmedabad.

Officials said preparations for polling arrangements are underway at the school which has been designated as a polling booth.

Gujarat Lok Sabha Election 2024

Voting for 25 out of 26 seats in Gujarat is set to take place in the third phase of the ongoing general elections on May 7. The election results will be announced on June 4.

The third phase will include constituencies from Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Chhota Udaipur, Bharuch, Bardoli, Navsari, and Valsad.

However, voting will not take place in Surat as BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed last week. This decision came after the nomination of Congress’ Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected, and other candidates withdrew from the contest.

The Congress is in alliance with the AAP in Gujarat where it will contest from 24 seats while the AAP will contest in Bhavnagar and Bharuch constituencies.

Notably, the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls swept all 26 seats on offer in Gujarat.

‘Run for Vote’

Meanwhile, a ‘Run for Vote’ marathon was organised in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning to create awareness among youth to cast their votes in the third phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2024.

The marathon was organised as part of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) drive to promote the importance of 100 per cent voting, said an official.

“A ‘Run for Vote’ marathon was organised to create awareness among youth to cast their votes on May 7 for the Lok Sabha Elections,” said Joint CEO, SVEEP, Ashok B Patel.

The Election Commission is running a voting awareness campaign to encourage people to exercise their franchise in the ongoing general elections.

(With ANI inputs)

In an official release, Gujarat Police said Congress leader Satish Vansola and Rakesh Baria, an AAP functionary, were arrested by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell for allegeding sharing a deep fake video Shah in which the Home Minister is purportedly seen announcing the curtailment of reservation for the SCs, STs and OBCs.

Mevani’s PA, AAP Dahod chief arrested

Police said that Vansola, a resident of Palanpur in Banaskantha, has been working as the Personal Assistant (PA) of Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani since the last six years, while Baria– who hails from Limkheda town of Dahod district, has been serving as the AAP’s Dahod district president since the last four years.

Satish Vansola, who belongs to the Dalit community, also serves as the general secretary of Banaskantha district Congress, the police said, adding that the two men have been booked under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

As per the release, the duo shared the morphed video of Amit Shah’s speech with an aim to create enmity between reserved castes and unreserved castes in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“Both of them had shared this edited video of Amit Shah on their Facebook pages. They received this video on their WhatsApp and investigations are still on to nab the person who had edited this video,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, Lavina Sinha.

Dalits will not forget: Mevani

Following Vansola’s arrest, Mevani said Dalits from Banaskantha and Patan Lok Sabha seats will keep this in mind during voting.

“Satish is not just my PA, he is like my brother. BJP’s IT Cell has been spreading fake videos for a long time. But instead of taking any action against them, police have arrested a common man like Vansola who had posted that video by mistake,” said Mevani, working president of Gujarat Congress and MLA from Vadgam (SC) seat of Banaskantha.

Amit Shah fake video case

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the Congress, alleging that it circulated a “deep fake and morphed” video of Amit Shah to derail the poll process, and demanded strict action against the party.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police had on Sunday registered an FIR after the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, filed a complaint about the doctored video of Shah where his statements indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims on religious ground in Telangana were changed to make it seem that he was advocating scrapping of all reservations.

(With PTI inputs)

As per an official release by the India Coast Guard in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a joint operation by the ICG and the Gujarat ATS, led to the seizure of an Indian fishing boat in the high seas on Sunday afternoon, adding that a total of 173 kgs of Hashish (extracted from cannabis) was seized from the vessel and two Indian citizens have been arrested.

“Based on specific and credible intelligence inputs from the ATS, the ICG strategically deployed its ships and aircraft, ensuring that the boat does not evade the sea-air coordinated surveillance,” the release said.

It said the boat was intercepted after proper identification, and investigations confirmed that the two accused persons were involved in smuggling around 173 kg of drugs.

“This operation is the ICG’s 12th apprehension in the last three years and a testimony of coordination and success of joint efforts of ICG and ATS Gujarat for appropriate response to drug trafficking through seas,” it said.

Heroin worth Rs 602 crore seized from Pakistani boat

Notably, the drug bust comes a day after around 86 kilos of narcotics worth a whopping Rs 602 crore, were seized from 14 Pakistani citizens off the Gujarat coast.

According to officials, the ATS, ICG, and the NCB had launched a joint operation following intelligence inputs, adding that the Pakistani nationals tried to escape the spot and even tried to run over ATS officers with their boat who opened retaliatory fire and arrested the suspects.

Around 86 KG contraband drugs worth Rs 602 crore were seized from the possession of the Pakistani nationals, they said, adding that the operation was being carried out by the agencies based on intelligence inputs for the last few days.

In an official release, the Indian Coast Guard said the “breathtaking” overnight operation was carried out on April 28.

(With inputs from agencies)

Addressing an election rally in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar, the BJP leader claimed that the Congress will be “finished” after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and asserted that children may not be able to tell about grand-old party ten years from now.

“From the atmosphere prevailing in the country, I think Congress will be finished this time (in elections),” Singh claimed, adding that opposition party lacks the courage to stand.

“I think when children will be asked ten years from now about Congress…….When I see their (Congress’) plight, I feel pity. As dinosaurs disappeared from the Earth, the Congress will also disappear,” the Defence Minister said.

‘Erstwhile willingly merged with India’

Singh, who was addressing a campaign rally for BJP candidate Nimuben Bambhaniya, also launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his purported remarks on erstwhile kings.

“They (erstwhile royals) did not usurp people’s land but rather offered their princely states for their merger with independent India,” Singh stated.

“Today, I was listening to a speech by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He said there used to be such kings who used to usurp people’s land and give it to others. As far as kings of our country are concerned, they had decided to transfer all their princely states to India on a single appeal made by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (the first home minister),” he said.

Rajnath noted that force had to be used for only three states- Junagadh, Hyderabad and Bhopal- for their merger (with the Union of India).

‘Congress govts were always accused of serious corruption’

The BJP leader also targeted the Congress over corruption, claiming that previous dispensations led by the grand-old party have been accused serious graft charges.

“But nobody could say that any minister in the governments led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Narendra Modi is accused of corruption,” he claimed.

Terming corruption as a big disease, Singh asked why Congress was accused of graft when it was in power.

World now listens to India due Modi govt’s work

Addressing another campaign rally at Anand, the defence minister said due to the work done by the Modi government, the world listens carefully when India speaks at the international forum.

“When I visit other countries, I find a massive change in the people’s behaviour and their viewpoint (about India). In the entire world, a perception is created that India is not weak but a strong country,” he said.

Singh said the BJP fulfilled the promises mentioned in the manifestos of the party.

“Whatever promises made by the party in its manifestos since Jan Sangh days have been fulfilled, whether scrapping Article 370 or constructing Lord Ram’s temple in Ayodhya,” Singh said.

He appealed to voters, saying, “You should not even look at the candidate, and there is no point thinking whether the candidate reached out to you. All you have to see is how India achieves a position of pride in the world. We live and die for the country.

(With PTI inputs)

According to officials, the ATS and NCB had launched a joint operation following intelligence inputs, adding that the Pakistani nationals tried to escape the spot and even tried to run over ATS officers with their boat who opened retaliatory fire and arrested the suspects.

Around 86 KG contraband drugs worth Rs 602 crore were seized from the possession of the Pakistani nationals, they said, adding that the operation was being carried out by the agencies based on intelligence inputs for the last few days.

In an official release, the Indian Coast Guard said the “breathtaking” overnight operation was carried out on April 28.

“The operation is  an epitome of inter-agency coordination wherein Indian Coast Guard (ICG)Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) collaborated seamlessly which culminated in the successful operation,” it said, adding that approximately  86 kg of narcotics worth Rs 600 crore has been seized along with 14 Pakistani nationals from the Pakistani boat.

The ships and aircraft of Indian Coast Guard were deployed on concurrent missions to effect the operation, the release said.

“ICG ship Rajratan, which had NCB and ATS officials onboard, positively identified the suspect boat and no amount of evasive manoeuvring tactics employed by the drug laden boat could save it.”

The ship’s specialist team embarked the suspect boat and after thorough checks, confirmed the presence of the sizeable amount narcotics.

As per the release the Pakistani boat, along with its arrested crew, is being brought to Porbandar for further investigation.

Anti #Narco #Operations @IndiaCoastGuard Ship Rajratan with #ATS #Gujarat & #NCB @narcoticsbureau in an overnight sea – air coordinated joint ops apprehends #Pakistani boat in Arabian Sea, West of #Porbandar with 14 Pak crew & @86 Kg contraband worth approx ₹ 600Cr in… pic.twitter.com/N49LfrYLzz

— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) April 28, 2024

A video of the thrilling operation was shared by the Indian Coast Guard.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

ATS seizes mephedrone worth Rs 23o cr, 13 held

Meanwhile, in related news, 13 people have been arrested, and mephedrone valued at Rs 230 crore seized, during raids by ATS sleuths at drug manufacturing units in Gujarat and neighbouring Rajasthan.

An official said raids at four drug manufacturing units, were conducted in a another joint operation by the Gujarat ATS and the NCB on Friday after the ATS received a tip-off that Ahmedabad resident Manoharlal Enani and Kuldeepsinh Rajpurohit of Rajasthan had set up mephedrone manufacturing units, an official said on Saturday.

A watch was kept on the movements of Enani and Rajpurohit as well as their accomplices, following which the raids were conducted at the units in Sirohi and Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Piplaj village in Gandhinagar and Bhaktinagar industrial area of Amreli district in Gujarat, an ATS release said.

“The ATS recovered 22.028 kilograms of mephedrone (in solid form) and 124 kilograms of liquid mephedrone, collectively valued at Rs 230 crore. Rajpurohit was nabbed during the raid in Gandhinagar and Enani was held from Sirohi,” it said.

As per the probe, Enani was in jail for seven years after he was nabbed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2015 for his involvement in the production of mephedrone at an industrial unit in Rajasthan.

All the accused were inter-connected and procuring the raw material from a company at Vapi industrial area in Valsad district, the release said.

“Investigations are on to find out since when they have been producing the drug, whether they sold it in the past and who else was part of the entire cartel,” it said.

(With inputs from agencies)

The grand-old party suspended Kumbhani for six years, alleging his his nomination form was rejected due to gross negligence on his part or “in connivance with the BJP”, but Kumbhani has rejected the charges against him, claiming that he received no help from his party colleagues during campaigning.

‘Didn’t get support from Congress’

In a video, Nilesh Kumbhani claimed he had received offers from the BJP in the past but remained with the Congress all these years and even kept his office open in Varachha area despite losing elections.

“When I was coming to Ahmedabad to file a petition in the High Court regarding my nomination form, some Congress workers had staged a protest outside my house in Surat, which forced me to return. Congress leaders used to remain absent during my poll rallies as well as my door-to-door campaign,” he claimed in the video.

“The Congress leadership did not even give a list of workers who were supposed to be given booth duties during the election. Those who are speaking against me today are actually working in connivance with the BJP and left me to fend for myself. Though I was denied a ticket in the 2017 assembly polls, I did not desert the Congress,” he further claimed.

‘Part of plan’

Congress hit back at Kumbhani, claiming that getting the nomination cancelled was part of the “plan”, he cooked up with the BJP. Gujarat Congress leader Prafull Togadia accused Kumbhani of “betraying” the party and the people of Surat.

“He is making false allegations. First, he made his relatives his proposers and then claimed they were kidnapped. When we asked him to lodge a police complaint, he told the media nothing happened. It was his plan to get his nomination cancelled. People of Surat will never forgive him,” Togadia claimed.

Kumbhani, a former corporator in the Surat Municipal Corporation, had unsuccessfully fought the 2022 assembly polls on a Congress ticket from Kamrej.

Surat ‘walkover’

On April 21, his nomination form was rejected after his three proposers submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on it were not theirs. Later, the nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress’ substitute candidate, was also invalidated on the same grounds.

On April 22, the BJP’s Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed from Surat after all other candidates, including from the BSP, withdrew their nominations.

Following the declaration of result on April 22, Kumbhani had gone incommunicado and his whereabouts are still not known.

(With PTI inputs)

Lok Sabha Election 2024: BJP’s 1st Winner in Gujarat

While there has been no official confirmation, Dalal is set to be elected unopposed- from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency as all of his opponents are now out of the fray, with eight candidates pulling out, and the nomination of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani being rejected on technical grounds, leaving the BJP leader as the only nominee from the seat.

BJP’s Gujarat unit chief C R Paatil congratulated Mukesh Dalal on his victory, asserting that Surat has offered the first victory to PM Narendra Modi.

“Surat has presented the first Lotus to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I congratulate our candidate for Surat Lok Sabha seat Mukesh Dalal for getting elected unopposed,” Paatil wrote on X.

માનનીય પ્રધાનમંત્રી શ્રી નરેન્દ્રભાઇ મોદી સાહેબને સુરતે પહેલું કમળ અર્પણ કર્યું !!

સુરત લોકસભા બેઠકના ઉમેદવાર શ્રી મુકેશભાઇ દલાલને બિનહરીફ ચૂંટાવવા બદલ ખૂબ ખૂબ અભિનંદન અને શુભેચ્છાઓ પાઠવ્યા !! #PhirEKBarModiSarkar#AbkiBaar400Paar pic.twitter.com/w87WSrla5s

— C R Paatil (Modi Ka Parivar) (@CRPaatil) April 22, 2024

On the last day of withdrawal of the nomination forms on Monday, as many as 8 candidates, mostly Independents and Pyarelal Bharti of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), withdrew their papers.

Notably, the candidature of Congress’ Nilesh Kumbhani from Surat seat was rejected on Sunday after the district returning officer prima facie found discrepancies in the signature of the proposers.

The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress’ substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated.

Reacting to the development, Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the nominations of the party’s candidates were rejected at the BJP’s behest.

Addressing a presser, Gohil termed election of Dalal as the “murder of democracy”, adding that the Congress will challenge the decision in the court. The state Congress chief  claimed that it was part of a “conspiracy” to cancel the nominations of the opposition party’s candidates by any means possible.

Who is Mukesh Dalal, Elected Unopposed From Surat LS Seat?

Mukesh Dalal, who has been elected unopposed from the Surat Lok Sabha seat, is the general secretary of the local BJP unit in Surat. Dalal belongs to the influential Modh merchant community, and is considered a close-aide of state BJP chief CR Paatil.

A former Standing Committee Chairman of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), Mukesh Dalal is at present a member of the SDCA committee.

Earlier, Dalal had been proactive member of the BJP Yuva Morcha– the party’s youth wing, in Gujarat. A three-time SMC councillor and five-time standing committee chairman, Mukesh Dalal has risen from  grass-root level politics, having being associated with the BJP since 1981.

After completing his Bachelors Degree in commerce, Dalal completed his LLB and, later an MBA in Finance. He is also a former chairman of the Surat People’s Cooperative Bank Limited.

Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari and his wife, lives in Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha district of Gujarat state have decided to live as monks, leaving behind all material luxuries.

Who Is Bhavesh Bhandari?

As the news caught the eye of netizens, it went viral and the couple suddenly became part of discussion on various social media platforms. Many people were surprised by their choice to give away everything to become a monk. 

Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari, belongs to a wealthy family in Sabarkantha, had a privileged upbringing. He worked in the construction industry and managed projects in both Sabarkantha and Ahmedabad.

Bhandari has a son and a daughter, who already took a Diksha in 2022.  As their entire family has taken Diksha, they all will be living a simple life and give up even things such as air conditioners, fans, beds, any sort of electronics and other things.

Bhavesh Bhandari Family Took Diksha

Bhavesh Bhandari’s 16-year-old son and a 19-year-old daughter, also chose to become monks in 2022, which inspired Bhavesh Bhai and his wife to follow them.

A big procession was held in Himmatnagar, where apart from the Bhandari couple, around 35 others also promised to live a disciplined life.  According to reports, they will officially embrace a life of renunciation at the Himmatnagar Riverfront on April 22.

What Inspired Bhandari Family To Be Monk?

Earlier, a diamond merchant’s daughter in Gujarat had become a monk sacrificing all comforts in life. She first walked about 700 km with other monks and adopted their lifestyle and then officially announced her decision to become a monk. 

Devanshi, was the elder daughter of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi. Her father is the owner of Sanghvi and Sons, which is a diamond polishing and export firm in Surat. It’s a three decades old firm.

She took ‘diksha’  from Jain monk Acharya Vijay Kirtiyashsuri along with hundred others at Surat, according to the reports.

A senior official said that the fire erupted on the first floor of the house located on Aditya Road in Dwarka city at around 3.30 AM on Sunday morning when five members of the family were asleep.

Local alerted the fire department who rushed to the scene where they found a couple, their 8-month-old daughter and the man’s mother lying unconscious on the first floor of the house, said police inspector TC Patel.

The officer said the victims were rushed to a nearby government hospital where doctors declared them brought dead.

The only member of the family who survived the tragedy is the man’s grandmother. The elderly woman escaped unscathed as she was sleeping on the ground floor of the house where the blaze did not reach, the police.

The deceased have been identified as 39-year-old Pawan Upadhyay, his wife Tithi (29), their 8-month-old daughter Dhyana and Pawan’s mother Bhavaniben (69).

Officials suspect that the fire was caused due a blast in an air conditioner which exploded due to overheating.

However, forensic experts have been tasked to ascertain the exact cause of the fire, they said.

(With PTI inputs)

India’s most colourful festival symbolizes happiness, new beginnings and hope. It is also one of the most important Hindu festivals in the country. The festival of colours marks the end of chilly winter season and is a two-day-long festivity. This year, Holi was celebrated on March 25, 2024. Holika Dahan, also known as Choti Holi, was celebrated on Sunday, March 24, 2024.

The festival is a perfect occasion for family and friends to unite, smear each other with vibrant powders and bask in the overwhelming joy of togetherness. The streets come alive with an explosion of colors as people step out of their homes, brimming with excitement to indulge in the celebrations. Holi, the festival of colors, is all about spreading color, rekindling familial bonds, and swaying to the beat of traditional drums. The festival wouldn’t be complete without the mouthwatering traditional delicacies like ‘gujiya’, ‘mathri’, ‘malpuas’, ‘bhang’, and ‘thandai’. Indeed, they add a taste of tradition to the whole celebration.

BJP MP Ranjan Bhatt announced she was withdrawing from the electoral race for “personal reasons”. Bhatt, the sitting BJP Lok Sabha MP from Vadodara, had been renominated by the party from the same constituency for the upcoming general elections.

“I, Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt, am unwilling to contest the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 due to my personal reasons,” the BJP leader announced on X.

Soon after Bhatt’s announcement, BJP’s Sabarkantha candidate Bhikhaji Thakor, in a social media post, also announced his unwillingness to contest the poll for “personal reasons”.

“I, Bhikhaji Thakor, am unwilling to contest the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha 2024 election due to personal reasons,” Thakor said in an Instagram post.

Notably, Bhatt’s decision to pull out of the poll race comes amid backlash over her re-nomination from the Vadodara seat.

Earlier this week, banners criticising the BJP’s decision to to renominate her had come up at different spots in the city while some local BJP leaders had also expressed their displeasure over Bhatt’s nomination.

BJP national women’s wing vice president Jyotiben Pandya resigned from the party and all posts after Bhatt’s name was announced as a candidate for the third time from Vadodara.

Ranjanben Bhatt had won the 2014 by-election after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vacated the seat. She also won the Lok Sabha election in 2019, and was announced as BJP’s candidate for the upcoming poll.

Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta resigns

In a related development, Congress national spokesperson Rohan Gupta quit the the grand-old party Friday, around a week-and-a-half after he pulled out from electoral race citing his father’s ill health.

Gupta cited Congress’ silence on alleged insults hurled at Sanatan Dharma by its INDIA bloc allies as one of the reasons behind his decision to quit the party.

Gupta, who had been fielded by Congress from the Ahmedabad East constituency, had withdrawn from the poll race last Monday citing his father’s ill health.

On Friday, Gupta said he wrote a letter to Mallikarjun Kharge, informing the Congress president of his decision to resign from the party’s primary membership and all other posts of the party c

“I hereby, resign from all posts and primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect,” Gupta said in the letter he shared on X.

Rohan Gupta also cited  “humiliation” and “character assassination” by a senior Congress leader as one of his reasons to quit the party.

“I am deeply pained to inform you that constant humiliation and character assassination by one of the senior leaders connected to the Communications department of the party for last two years (which many senior party leaders are aware of) and now at the time of personal crisis has compelled me to take this decision,” he said in the letter to Kharge.

“His behaviour has caused serious mental agony and stress and has compelled me to resign from the party with a broken heart to protect my self-esteem,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)

Gupta, who had been fielded by Congress from the Ahmedabad East constituency, had withdrawn from the electoral race last Monday citing his father’s ill health.

On Friday, Gupta said he wrote a letter to Mallikarjun Kharge, informing the Congress president of his decision to resign from the party’s primary membership and all other posts of the party c

“I hereby, resign from all posts and primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect,” Gupta said in the letter he shared on X.

Rohan Gupta also cited  “humiliation” and “character assassination” by a senior Congress leader as one of his reasons to quit the party.

“I am deeply pained to inform you that constant humiliation and character assassination by one of the senior leaders connected to the Communications department of the party for last two years (which many senior party leaders are aware of) and now at the time of personal crisis has compelled me to take this decision,” he said in the letter to Kharge.

“His behaviour has caused serious mental agony and stress and has compelled me to resign from the party with a broken heart to protect my self-esteem,” he said.

‘Opposed Congress’ silence on insults to Sanatan Dharma’

In another post on X, Gupta said he was not afraid of anything but needed to raise his voice when there was a “systematic conspiracy” to betray him.

“My humbleness should not be considered as my weakness. I have learnt my lessons the hard way,” he wrote.

“The person who has humiliated me for the last two years, the person who has not budged from doing it in last three days, I am sure that he will not refrain from doing it in future and nobody will be able to stop him. But now I am not ready to take any more assault on my self-esteem.”

Gupta said he chose to quit the party with a broken heart, calling the decision “very difficult but necessary to protect” his self-respect.

“The same leader has also damaged the party with his arrogant and rude behaviour. Due to his extreme leftist mindset he ensured party’s silence on insult of Sanatan Dharma which hurt me personally and I was forcefully stopped from opposition insult of Sanatan Dharma on national TV,” he wrote.

This has done serious damage to the party’s image and the morale of Congress leaders, said Gupta.

“The leadership should not ignore such activities by this kind of leaders which leaves imprints of insult on the souls of honest workers and leaders and compels them to leave party,” he said.

Withdrew from Lok Sabha race due to…

Rohan Gupta said he decided to withdraw his candidature from the Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat due to his father Rajkumar Gupta’s reluctance to let him contest from the constituency that he represented as the candidate of the same party two decades back.

Gupta’s father was the one who put his foot down and stopped him from contesting the upcoming elections despite the former’s desire, the Congress spokesperson had told mediapersons earlier.

His father was not happy with his son’s decision to contest the election, and to pressure him, he even resigned from Congress a few days before his withdrawal and severed his ties with the party he was associated with for decades.

He even fell unconscious and had to be rushed to the ICU where he refused to take injections, asking his son to give in writing that he won’t contest the election, Gupta had said then.

Gupta, however, did not disclose what exactly made his father oppose his candidature.

The Gupta senior had unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate from the then Ahmedabad seat, which after the reorganisation of 2009 became split into Ahmedabad East and Ahmedabad West seats.

Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7. In the 2019 elections, the BJP won all 26 seats in the state.

(With PTI inputs)

According to the police, the culprit tried to set fire to the premises by setting the door ablaze and also left behind some pieces of paper, one which contained a sinister threat for the Math’s priest “Gustakh Pir Ki Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda (punishment for the insolent priest, a beheading)”.

The incident was captured on the CCTV camera installed at the Math and the footage showed a person in black clothes and a white skull cap flinging something towards the door. The culprit then walks up to the door and sets it on fire.

#Bharuch@JaipurDialogues @Bitt2DA @iAhirVikash @rishibagree @randomsena @SudarshanNewsTV@Sudanshutrivedi
ये वीडियो में अंजान इसम मंदिर को जलाने की कोसिस कर रहा है गुजरात के भरूच मे ये हुआ है pic.twitter.com/TP785yd59Y

— સોની કુડી(modi ka parivar) (@kasundra151) March 22, 2024

“Around 5.30 am, a person threw some material on the door of the math in an attempt to set it ablaze. CCTV has captured the act. We have formed various teams to conduct a detailed investigation into the case. An FIR has also been registered in this regard,” a senior police officer said.

“A call was received from the priest following which police rushed to the spot and launched a probe to nab the culprit,” Bharuch district superintendent of police, Mayur Chavda told reporters.

The religious institution is located in the Navchowki Ovara area on the banks of the Narmada river.

‘Sar Tan Se Juda’

Another officer who was at the scene said that an unidentified man hurled three or four pieces of paper towards the door of the math before setting it on fire. The papers had an ominous threat scribbled on them reading, “Gustakh Pir Ki Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda”, he said.

Talking to reporters, the math priest Muktanand Swami said he was on the premises when the incident took place.

Swami said that the Shankaracharya Math and adjoining two temples come under Dwarka Sharda Peeth, which is among the four prominent peeths’ or areas of learning established by the Aadi Sankaracharya.

“When I returned to my math after performing puja at the adjoining temple around 5 am, my neighbour Dilip Dave came running and informed me that a persons was throwing some material on the math’s door. That man then set ablaze the door, which I doused afterwards,” the priest revealed.

Swami said he did not see anyone outside on the street when he tried to find out who had set the door on fire.

“When I checked the CCTV footage, I learnt that a man entered the premises from the river bank and threw some material towards the math and temple. He also threw some pieces of paper towards the door. It was written Sar Tan Se Juda’ (reference to beheading) on those papers,” said Swami.

(With PTI inputs)

Foreign Student Attack at Gujarat University: Gates Closed

All gates of the university have been shut immediately after the incident and cops are investigating the matter.

NOTE: India.com does not verify the authenticity of the videos.

International students (Africa, Uzbekistan, Afganistan etc) studying in Gujarat University @gujuni1949 claim they were beaten up, Stones thrown at them and at their hostel (A-Block), Vehicles destroyed while they were offering Ramazan Taraweeh at a place inside the hostel A-Block… pic.twitter.com/ogJ3h7FUin

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) March 16, 2024

Foreign Student Attack at Gujarat University: Video Went Viral

The video of the incident has went viral on the internet in which miscreants can be seen raising slogans and pelting stones at the hostel. Student who filed the clip, can be heard saying, “This is what is happening in our hostel A Block… This is unacceptable, they come here to attack us in our hostel.”

Foreign Student Attack at Gujarat University: Asaduddin Owaisi Reacted On The Incident

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the attack on the foreign student and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene as the incident took place in their home state.

In a post on X, he said, “What a shame. When your devotion & religious slogans only come out when Muslims peacefully practice their religion. When you become unexplainably angry at the mere sight of Muslims. What is this, if not mass radicalisation?
“This is the home state of @AmitShah & @narendramodi. Will they intervene to send a strong message? I am not holding my breath. @DrSJaishankar domestic anti-Muslim hatred is destroying India’s goodwill,” Owaisi added.

The incident took place at Lions School in Ankleshwar town, Bharuch district, just before the mathematics paper on Wednesday of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB).

Following complaints from the parents, the state education department swiftly removed the exam centre administrator, Ilaben Suratiya, who is also the principal of the school.

District Education Officer Swati Raol took action after meeting with the concerned parents.

“I have seen the CCTV footage and the parents also gave their application to me in this regard. I have ordered an inquiry into the incident and also started the process to change the exam centre administrator because I found merit in the complaint,” Raol said.

Parents recounted how their daughters, including one who cried for hours after the incident, were pressured by school staff to remove their hijabs before the exam.

Suratiya defended the actions, stating that ensuring clear video recordings of all students’ faces was the rationale behind the request.

“As per the rules, the faces of all the students must be clear in the video recording. That’s why we had asked the girls to remove their (head) scarves before the exam so that we don’t have to disturb them during the exam and others also don’t get disturbed,” Suratiya said.

However, Raol contested this action of the principal saying “there are no specific instructions or guidelines from the board about the attire to be worn during exams”.

CCTV footage reviewed by parents revealed that women supervisors at the school requested two Muslim students to remove their hijabs before collecting the garments, citing the need for clear facial identification according to exam protocols.

Talking to reporters, a parent said, “The school principal and other staff harassed the girl students, including my own daughter, by asking them to remove their hijab ahead of the exam.

“My daughter cried for three hours after returning home. It happened with nearly a dozen girls yesterday. We want the authorities to take action against those involved in this act,” the parent said.

After a thorough review and discussions with parents, Raol initiated an investigation into the incident and promptly replaced Suratiya as the exam centre administrator.

The GSHSEB clarified that there are no specific dress code rules for examinees, emphasising that students can wear any “decent” attire during exams.

Exam Director of the GSHSEB, M K Raval, said students can appear for the exam wearing any decent attire.

“There are no specific rules about clothes to be worn during exams. Students can wear any decent attire. Any female supervisor can check the identity of a female student ahead of the exam by matching her face with the photo on the receipt. After that, we have no issues,” Raval said.

(Only the headline has been reworked by India.com staff. Copy comes from an agency feed)

Here’s the BJP’s list of seven candidates for Gujarat:

• Bhikhaji Dudhaji Thakor – Sabarkantha
• Hashmukhbhai Patel – Ahmedabad East
• Nimuben Bambhania – Bhavnagar
• Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt – Vadodara
• Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathwa – Chhota Udaipur
• Mukeshbhai Dalal – Surat
• Dhawal Patel – Valsad

The BJP’s list of candidates for Gujarat includes two women nominees who have been fielded from key Lok Sabha constituencies of Bhavnagar and Vadodara.

The saffron party has fielded Hashmukhbhai Somabhai Patel from Ahmedabad East, Dhawal Patel from Valsad, Mukeshbhai Chandrakant Dalal from Surat, Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt from Vadodara, Nimuben Bambhania from Bhavnagar, Bhikhaji Dudhaji Thakor from Sabarkantha and Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathwa from Chhota Udaipur.

BJP 2nd candidate list

The BJP on Wednesday released its second list of candidates for the upcoming general elections, naming Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and Anurag Singh Thakur, and former chief ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Basavaraj Bommai, in its list of 72 candidates.

According to the list, BJP chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni has been fielded from Garhwal in Uttarakhand, while in Delhi, the saffron party has fielded two new candidates– Harsh Malhotra from East Delhi and Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi.

In Karnataka, Union minister Pralhad Joshi will fight from Dharwad while former chief minister B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Raghavendra will contest from Shivamogga.

Tejasvi Surya, the BJP’s youth wing chief, will seek re-election from Bengaluru South.

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysore royal family replaces Pratap Simha as the BJP candidate in the Mysore seat.

Earlier this month, the BJP had announced its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, while the opposition Congress has so far announced names for 82 Lok Sabha seats.

The BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats.

The Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held in April-May this year.

(With inputs from agencies)