Morning Digest | CBI arrests police officer, ex-R.G. Kar principal in Kolkata rape and murder case; U.S. calls on India to ban Russian state media network, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on September 15, 2024

As the U.S. ramped up its efforts to ban and block Russian state media network RT globally, sources tell The Hindu that U.S. officials have spoken to the Ministry of External Affairs about joining their actions against what they call “Russian disinformation”, by revoking accreditations and designating their journalists under the “Foreign Missions Act” . However, while the Ministry has been silent on the issue, government officials said that the debate on sanctions is not relevant to India, while a former diplomat said that banning media organisations showed “double standards” by Western countries.

The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Tala police station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal and former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) Sandip Kumar Ghosh on charges of tampering with evidence and delaying filing of FIR in connection with the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RGKMCH in Kolkata. Dr. Ghosh remains in judicial custody after the CBI arrested him on September 2 on charges of financial irregularities in the institution.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the agitating doctors, who had arrived at her residence in Kolkata for talks, to join the meeting, amid their demand for live-streaming of the discussions. The meeting between Ms. Banerjee and the agitating junior doctors who are protesting over the R.G. Kar rape and murder incident did not take place at the scheduled time as the medics remained adamant on live-streaming of the talks.

Family, friends, admirers, and comrades bid a final adieu to Sitaram Yechury, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary on Saturday, as his mortal remains were brought to the party headquarters for people from all walks of life to pay their last respects. At 3:30 p.m., he left the party office for one last time, with a winding trail of mourners following in the wake of the funeral cortege, holding his photographs and raising slogans. 

Stepping up the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaigning in Haryana, where the Assembly election is scheduled for October 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, terming it “the most dishonest and deceitful party in the country”. Mr. Modi also took a jibe at Congress-ruled States. “The Congress came to power in Himachal Pradesh two years ago by making false promises. Government employees are resorting to strike to get their salaries. Youth are not being recruited. The situation has come down to shutting schools and colleges. The Congress had promised to give ₹1,500 to women but thousands of women are still waiting. Besides, several public welfare schemes started by the previous BJP government have now been stopped,” the PM alleged.

In less than two months after a schoolboy died of Nipah at Pandikkad in Malappuram district, yet another case of the infection surfaced at Naduvath, near Wandoor, hardly 10 km from Pandikkad. The test result of a 23-year-old man who died at a private hospital at Perinthalmanna on Monday last was found positive. The man, a student in Bengaluru, had been admitted at Perinthalmanna hospital with jaundice symptoms. His blood sample tested at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, found him positive for Nipah virus. However, the Health department is awaiting result from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for final confirmation.

Three district administrations in Manipur’s Imphal Valley withdrew a partial curfew relaxation following a large gathering of women outside a police station to protest the critical injury suffered by a pregnant woman during the students’ unrest on Tuesday (September 10, 2024) . The curfew in the Imphal East, Imphal West, and Bishnupur districts had been relaxed for 11 hours on Saturday (September 13, 2024).