At least 12 dead in Aligarh, four held

At least 12 people died and 14 took ill in three villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district after allegedly having spurious liquor bought from two government-authorised alcohol shops on Friday, a senior official said. Four people, including a vendor, manager, salesman and helper, were arrested in Karsua village while three officials of the excise department were suspended for laxity leading to such a tragedy. Aligarh district magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said a police team has been constituted to nab those involved in supplying the liquor. He said two liquor shops of the same licensee in Kursua and Andla villages were sealed as those who died purchased alcohol from there. “All the accused have been booked under Gangster Act and National Security Act (NSA) will be invoked against them,” Aligarh superintendent of police Kalanidhi Nathani said.

Union culture and tourism minister Prahlad

Patel has alleged that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, was using the national flag wrongly during media addresses. In a letter to Kejriwal, the Union minister alleged that the flag seen behind the CM during his press briefings appears to be in violation of the flag code. “The white portion in the centre appears to have been reduced and the green portion added to it, which is not in tune with provisions of the Indian Flag Code,” Patel wrote in the letter. Patel sought to draw Kejriwal’s attention to section 2(ix) of The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which states that the flag should not be used to decorate a speaker’s stage. There was no official response from the Delhi government to Patel’s accusation.