The Opposition on Saturday demanded action against Maharashtra leaders, including ministers, linked to Ashok Kharat, the self-styled godman arrested on charges of rape, a day after NCP leader Rupali Chakankar tendered her resignation from her post as chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women.. A photo showing Rupali Chakankar, chairperson of the state women’s commission, holding an umbrella for Ashok Kharat was shared widely on social media (X/Anjali Damania). The Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) has demanded that Chakankar, who headed a trust run by Kharat, be made a co-accused in the case, over her links to the accused. Kharat is said to have links with several politicians, businesspeople and celebrities.. Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar said she has forwarded Chakankar’s resignation to CM Devendra Fadnavis for acceptance. Chakankar tendered her resignation on Friday.. ALSO READ | Sena ex-minister’s aide on SIT radar, oppn demands action against Mahayuti ministers. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the state government over its alleged links with Kharat, saying: “Maharashtra has a law against superstition and now we see that those expected to implement it were involved in Ashok Kharat’s superstitious activities. Action against Kharat is not enough; his political devotees too must not be spare.”. Saying that photos of several ministers with Kharat have emerged, Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray added, “The CM should conduct an inquiry into these ministers. There are around eight or nine such ministers and all of them should be removed from the cabinet.”. ALSO READ | Case of ‘godman’ Kharat a blot on Maharashtra: Minister Shirsat. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said Chakankar’s resignation was not enough. The call detail records (CDR) of the ministers and political leaders seen with Kharat should be checked and action should be taken against them. “Kharat amassed massive sums of money and had links with political leaders from the ruling alliance. So there is a possibility the state government will try to bury the matter,” Wadettiwar said.. The case involving the self-styled godman Ashok Kaharat is a taint on Maharashtra, and strict action should be taken in this matter, minister of social justice Sanjay Shirsat said.. The Shiv Sena leader said photographs of Kharat with many prominent leaders have surfaced, but that doesn’t mean those individuals have links with him.The minister said the matter is being probed and the government will take appropriate action. 

 Punjab transport and jails minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Saturday resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Saturday, a day after his name surfaced in a controversy linked to the alleged suicide of a state warehousing corporation official in Amritsar.. Patiala, Feb 11 (ANI): Minister of Transport and Prison Department Laljit Singh Bhullar inspects Patiala Central Jail, in Patiala on Wednesday. (ANI Photo) (Harmeet Sodhi). The minister stepped down after chief minister Bhagwant Mann sought his resignation, with Bhullar saying he took the decision to facilitate a fair inquiry into the case.. On Friday, a district manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance at his residence in Amritsar. Prior to his death, a video of the official surfaced on social media, in which he claimed he had taken the step out of fear of Bhullar.. ‘Kha layi poison…’. “Kha layi (poison) thuade yaar ne minister Laljit Bhullar de dar ton, hun ni bachda (Your friend has consumed poison due to fear of minister Laljit Bhullar, I won’t survive now),” the official purportedly said in the video. HT could not independently verify authenticity of the video.. ALSO READ | Patti MLA Laljit Singh Bhullar’s political rise and controversies. In the letters written by the official to his senior officers, that were made public by Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia, the deceased official purportedly accused Bhullar of pressuring him to award a warehousing tender to the minister’s aide Sukhdev Singh Bhullar (minister’s father). In the letters, the official alleged that when he refused, he was summoned to the minister’s residence on March 13 in his office in Patti and was assaulted, and coerced into recording a “confession” claiming he had accepted a ₹10-lakh bribe, which he said was intended to be used to blackmail him. No FIR has been registered in the case yet.. Resignation accepted to ensure fair probe. On Saturday, Bhullar resigned from his post as state minister, even as he termed the allegations “baseless and false”. “Our party has always stood for truth. I request my party and the CM to accept my resignation so that my position does not become an obstacle in ensuring a fair inquiry. I want the truth to come out,” he said.. ALSO READ | DM’s suicide: Opposition targets AAP govt, seeks FIR against ex-minister Laljit Singh Bhullar. CM Mann described the incident as “very sad and painful”.. “Whatever I could do, I have done. I immediately sought the minister’s resignation, and we will give charge of his department to another minister,” he said. “To ensure the investigation into the suicide is not compromised, we have accepted the resignation. We stand with the family in this difficult time.”. Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said the case should be handed over to the CBI. “My first demand is that a case of murde 

 The ministry of civil aviation has withdrawn temporary fare caps on domestic airfares that had been in place since December, saying the situation that prompted the controls had stabilised — but warned airlines that excessive pricing would invite re-imposition of controls.. The Federation of Indian Airlines also wrote a letter warning of route withdrawals and delayed fleet and network expansions unless the caps were revoked. (Reuters). The decision comes two days after airline representatives reportedly met government officials to discuss challenges caused due to the West Asia conflict that has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and choked several international flight routes.. The Federation of Indian Airlines, which represents IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet also wrote a letter warning of route withdrawals and delayed fleet and network expansions unless the caps were revoked. According to Reuters, the FIA told the government that Indian airlines were incurring “huge” revenue losses and facing higher operational costs.. ALSO READ | West Asia conflict: India managing fuel crisis well, says Rajnath Singh. The caps — between ₹7,500 to ₹18,000 on economy routes depending on flight distance — will now stand withdrawn effective March 23, according to a MoCA order. “Airlines shall ensure that fares remain reasonable, transparent and commensurate with market conditions, and that passenger interests are not adversely impacted,” the order said. It added that any instance of excessive or unjustified surge in fares — particularly during periods of peak demand, disruptions or exigencies — “will be viewed seriously.”. ALSO READ | Iran war hits India fuel rates, prices of premium petrol hiked by ₹2. The ministry explicitly reserved the right to reimpose fare controls or take other regulatory measures if required in the public interest.. The caps had been introduced on December 6, following large-scale flight cancellations by IndiGo that caused widespread disruption, with the government citing the need to protect passengers during a period of constrained capacity. 

 Five engineering students from two universities in Andhra Pradesh drowned in the Godavari river in Eluru district on Friday, near Bhadrachalam in Telangana, police said on Saturday.. Five engineering students on temple visit drown in Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. The deceased were identified as Podicheti Abhiram (19), Charugulla Srikar Gupta (21), Daggupati Navadeep (19), whose bodies were recovered on Friday night, and Pasam Satish Kumar (19) and Teja Gnana Sai (19), whose bodies were retrieved on Saturday morning, said police.. Polavaram DSP M Venkateswara Rao said, “Seven second-year engineering students, including five from SRM University, Amaravati, and two from KL University, Vijayawada, had travelled to Bhadrachalam on Thursday. They stayed at a temple guest house and offered prayers at Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Devasthanam on the occasion of Ugadi.”. “On Friday morning, the group went to the Kollugudem sand ramp in Veleru village. Finding little water there, they walked nearly 3 km to a deeper stretch of the river. After taking photographs, six students entered the water,” said the DSP.. “As they moved further into the river holding hands, they entered a deeper portion. One student slipped first, and the others were pulled in while trying to rescue him,” the DSP said.. One student, identified as Harshvardhan, managed to swim to safety, while the remaining five went missing, the officer said, adding that the student on the bank, Chunduri Deepak, raised an alarm, but there was allegedly no immediate help.. Locals who were fishing nearby later joined rescue efforts, followed by fire services and SDRF teams, the DSP said.. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the incident and said the government would extend all possible support to the victims’ families.. Meanwhile, police have registered a case under Section 194 (unnatural death) under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). “The bodies were sent to Bhadrachalam Government Hospital for post-mortem examination, and later, handed over to the relatives,” police said. 

 Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday pitched for 50% reservation for women in government empanelment of advocates and called for creating a dedicated financial corpus to support women lawyers, especially during maternity breaks, as part of a broader push to secure “gender equality in the legal profession.”. Half of advocates empanelled by govt should be women, says CJI. Speaking at the 1st Supreme Court Bar Association’s national conference in Bengaluru, CJI Surya Kant said the government must move beyond the existing 15 to 30% benchmark and ensure that at least half of all empanelled advocates are women.. “Let us ensure 50% of those empanelled are women advocates. Let us not stick to just 30%. That can be a beginning. Second, in the legal aid panel too, at least 50% counsels should be women,” he said.. He also urged the Union and state governments to create a financial support system for women lawyers in their early years of practice, including “honorarium” based assistance during maternity leave.. “These measures will give women both opportunity and stability,” he said.. The Chief Justice said that such measures will ensure that women lawyers sustain participation in the legal profession even after the entry level at the Bar.. The CJI said that it was important for stakeholders to implement such measures to ensure that the “larger constitutional vision of equality” moves beyond formal guarantees to “lived realities.”. He also pointed to “encouraging trends at the entry level” of the legal profession, noting that women now constitute over 50% of students in national law schools and universities and a significant proportion of new entrants to the Bar.. “This reflects a societal shift. It shows that families and the society are now encouraging women, our daughters, to enter the legal profession,” he said.. The CJI however, added that there was no denying that a steep drop-off exists beyond entry-level participation.. “The real question is whether we are able to maintain that equality as careers progress,” he said.. The CJI called for a “closer examination” of systemic barriers that push women out of the profession.. He identified multiple structural challenges such as “long and irregular working hours, reluctance among litigants to brief women lawyers, and the lack of consistent mentorship from seniors.”. CJI Surya Kant also said there is an imperative need for creating safer work environments for women lawyers, particularly given late working hours in chambers after court.. To address these gaps, he also proposed creating a financial corpus to help women lawyers during the early stages of their practice and during their maternity break.. Such institutional opportunities, the CJI said, will help women build “credibility” and “client trust.”. “Creating a financial corpus for women lawyers for financial support in early years of practice. I think we can persuade the Government of India