High Court serves notice to Karnataka BJP govt over Anti-Conversion ordinance

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, on Friday said that he will neither retract his recent statements against the RSS and BJP nor will he apologise for them, while the two saffron outfits demanded that he be arrested for his remarks.

Gandhi, during the recent unveiling of a statue of the late Gandhian P Gopinathan Nair at Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram, had referred to the BJP and RSS as "dangerous and insidious enemies" who have entered Kerala.

He had also termed the RSS as "poison", following which BJP-RSS workers shouted slogans and blocked his car.

On Friday, speaking at an event in Aluva near Kochi, Gandhi said that once he said "those things", he does not believe in retracting them or apologising for them.

"What this incident has done is strengthen my resolve to continue to expose the traitors. This is a fight which is even more essential than the freedom fight. We have a common enemy now, the Sangh. They must be exposed," he said.

He also said that he was worried that "the descendants of my great grandfather's murderers" will go to Mahatma Gandhi's statue and fire bullets at it "as they are habituated to do".

The BJP hit back at him by saying that he is just someone who was "by default" born as a descendant of Mahatma Gandhi and has been trying to "monetise" his great grandfather's name.

Former Union Minister of State and BJP leader V Muraleedharan alleged that Tushar Gandhi has been for several years trying to "monetise" Mahatma Gandhi's name.

Muraleedharan, speaking at a BJP protest against Tushar Gandhi at Neyyattinkara, further said that those who invited him for the statue unveiling probably were not aware of his background.

He further said that just because Tushar has the Gandhi name, it does not entitle him to the same respect or honour reserved for the Father of the Nation.

He demanded that Tushar Gandhi be arrested for his statements based on the BJP's complaint.

The BJP leader also criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government for arresting five RSS-BJP workers a day ago for raising slogans against Mahatma Gandhi's grandson.

A case was registered against the five people under Sections 189(2), 191(2), 190, and 126(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, and wrongful restraint.

According to the police, a small group of people, allegedly linked to the Sangh Parivar, raised slogans against Tushar Gandhi at the end of a function he attended at Neyyattinkara on Wednesday evening.

Vijayan had strongly condemned the alleged "Sangh Parivar attack" on Tushar Gandhi, stating that actions that suppress freedom of expression cannot be allowed in a democratic society.

Bengaluru: Actor Ranya Rao, stepdaughter of a senior IPS officer, was just moments away from clearing airport security at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) swooped in. What followed was a dramatic bust—gold bars worth ₹12 crore, allegedly being smuggled, were recovered from her and her accomplices.

The 33-year-old actress, who debuted in the 2014 Kannada film Maanikya, had landed in Bengaluru on Monday aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai. According to officials, she was accompanied by two individuals carrying the smuggled gold in briefcases. They had nearly cleared security and were about to exit when DRI officers, acting on specific intelligence, intercepted them and launched a search.

Gold Concealed on Person

A thorough examination led to the discovery of 14.2 kg of gold ingeniously hidden on her person. "The contraband, valued at ₹12.56 crore, was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962," the DRI stated.

More Gold, Cash Found at Her Home

The investigation didn’t stop at the airport. Authorities then searched Ranya Rao’s residence on Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she lives with her husband. There, they uncovered additional gold jewelry worth ₹2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to ₹2.67 crore, bringing the total seizure in the case to ₹17.29 crore.

"The lady passenger has been placed under arrest under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and remanded to judicial custody. This marks a significant blow to organized gold smuggling networks," the DRI statement added.

Frequent Gulf Trips Raised Suspicion

According to reports, Ranya Rao had been making frequent, short trips to Gulf countries, which eventually put her under the DRI’s radar.

Ranya is the stepdaughter of a senior IPS officer. Her stepfather remarried after his first wife’s death, and Ranya is one of two daughters from her mother’s previous marriage.

With a 14.2 kg gold seizure, this is one of the biggest smuggling busts at Bengaluru airport in recent times, reinforcing the DRI’s crackdown on illicit gold trade.

Jaipur: A 25-year-old man was allegedly strangled to death in Rajasthan's Dausa district for trying to stop three men from applying colour on him ahead of Holi, police said on Thursday.

The incident was reported from Ralwas village on Wednesday evening when Ashok, Bablu and Kaluram reached a local library to apply colour on Hansraj, who was preparing for competitive exams there, officials said.

As Hansraj refused to be smeared with colours, the trio kicked him and thrashed him with belts, before one of them strangled him to death, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dinesh Agarwal said.

The angry family members and villagers later staged a protest with Hansraj's body, blocking a national highway in the area that continued till 1 am on Thursday.

The protesters demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to Hansraj's family, a government job to one member of the family, and immediate arrest of the accused trio.

The body was finally removed from the highway after police assurance.