Chandigarh, July 30 (IANS) Former Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and international wrestler Jagdish Bhola was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a Special CBI Court in Mohali on Tuesday in a money laundering case linked to a multi-crore drugs racket.

The others convicted are Avtar Singh Taro, Sundeep Kaur, Jagminder Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Gurmeet Kaur, Sukhjit Singh Sukha, Sukhraj Singh, Gurdeep Singh Manchanda, Amarjeet Kaur, Devinder Singh, Maninder Singh, Subhash Bajaj, Sunil Bajaj, Ankur Bajaj, Dalip Singh Mann and Manpreet Singh.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Bhola, failing which he will have to further undergo one-year imprisonment.

Earlier, Bhola, who was dismissed from service in 2012 after his involvement in various drug rackets, was convicted for 24 years in three drug cases by a CBI court.

The Punjab Police had busted the multi-crore drug racket and claimed to have recovered synthetic drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, and Rs 1,91,64,800 in Indian currency besides some foreign exchange, arms and luxury cars from the accused.

The police had registered cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 along with various Sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act between 2013 and 2014.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, raised concerns in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday regarding the frequent train accidents occurring in recent months, emphasising the need for enhanced passenger safety.

Bandyopadhyay specifically referred to the derailment of the Mumbai-Howrah Express 12810 at 3:43 A.M., on Tuesday which resulted in four fatalities.

“I received information from my Chief Minister in the morning that Mumbai-Howrah train, 12810, had derailed and four people were killed at 3:43 A.M. today. I am keen to know the latest position from the honourable Railway Minister,” Bandyopadhyay stated during the session.

He highlighted that “safety in Railways has become a challenge” and expressed concern over the regular occurrence of accidents, despite past recommendations from the Standing Committee on Railways to prioritise safety.

The TMC MP questioned the absence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the House, asking, “Why is the Railway Minister not coming to the House and giving an explanation?”

The latest accident occurred on Tuesday, with the derailment of the Howrah-CSMT Express near Rajkharsawan and Badabambo stations, approximately 80 km from Jamshedpur in the Chakradharpur railway division of Jharkhand.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) The BJP held a silent protest at Rajghat on Tuesday over the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in Old Rajendra Nagar on July 27.

During the protest, Delhi BJP President, Virendra Sachdeva strongly criticised the Delhi government and said, “Today’s silent protest is to express our condolences for the students who died in that incident. This incident is not just an accident, but a murder.”

He mentioned that the ruling AAP leaders had been claiming that 90 per cent of the drains were cleaned, but they backtracked after the incident.

He further targeted the government, saying, “CM Arvind Kejriwal is in jail, why is he not resigning and why are other ministers not doing their work? For Delhi’s drainage management, Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj was given a proposal by the Chief Secretary, which he kept pending for months.”

Sachdeva pointed out, “The Delhi High Court ordered the formation of a committee after the Mukherjee Nagar incident, but the Kejriwal government took no action. Residents of Rajendra Nagar had been lodging complaints with the MLA and municipal councillor for days, but their complaints were ignored.”

The BJP President accused the Delhi government and the municipal corporation of being deeply involved in corruption.

He demanded that all coaching centres and PG accommodations undergo a safety audit and that the families of the deceased be given compensation of Rs 1 crore each.

He said that leaders of the INDIA bloc were more concerned about CM Kejriwal’s health while the real issue was the safety and deaths of students.

He stated that the municipal corporation and the Kejriwal government must take responsibility.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 30 (IANS) The BJP on Thursday filed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay in the West Bengal Assembly.

The proposal signed by as many as 50 BJP legislators was handed over to the Assembly secretary, Sukumar Roy in the afternoon. A team of BJP MLAs led by the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari went to the office of Sukumar Ray and handed over the proposal.

Last year too, BJP’s legislative team moved a similar no-confidence motion against the Speaker on the floor of the House and sought discussion on the matter. However, then, the motion was not admitted by the Speaker.

BJP insiders said that in the proposal handed over to the Assembly secretary, the party’s legislative team has highlighted 18 points on why Bandopadhyay should be removed as the Speaker of the House.

The main allegation is that any motion moved by the opposition, however of public interest that might be, is always dismissed by the Speaker. The BJP accused the Speaker of allowing the ruling Trinamool Congress legislators to move many motions even though their subjects were not directly related to the Assembly proceedings.

Later speaking to the media persons, Adhikari said that the Speaker was violating the constitutional provisions by all means. “He is acting on behalf of a particular political party sitting on the Chair of the Speaker which is supposed to be unbiased. He is always trying to suppress the voices of the opposition. He does not allow us to speak on crucial issues on the floor of the House. So we have submitted a no-confidence motion against him to the Assembly secretary,” Adhikari said.

Trinamool Congress leadership ridiculed this move of BJP and claimed that the LoP was resorting to such gimmicks just to maintain his own as well as his party’s relevance.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Adding the Nimotuzumab drug to the standard treatment regimen significantly improves the 10-year overall survival rate for patients with head and neck cancer, a study by Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai showed on Tuesday.

It demonstrated that Nimotuzumab, when combined with concurrent radiotherapy and the drug, cisplatin, enhanced progression-free survival and maintained a good quality of life for long-term survivors.

Patients receiving this combination had a 10-year overall survival rate of 33.5 per cent, compared to 22.5 per cent in those treated with only radiotherapy and cisplatin, the findings showed.

Median overall survival also improved from 2.78 to 3.69 years with Nimotuzumab.

Notably, there was no significant increase in late-term adverse events, stressing its safety and tolerability.

Head and neck cancers represent one-third of the cancer burden in India, with more than 65 per cent of patients presenting with advanced disease.

According to Kumar Prabhash, Professor and Head, the Department of Medical Oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital, the findings are promising for patients with head and neck cancer.

“By integrating Nimotuzumab into the existing therapy regimen, we have seen a significant increase in long-term survival rates while maintaining patient quality of life,” Prabhash said in a statement.

Shyam Aggarwal, Chairperson of Medical Oncology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, emphasised the treatment’s potential to become a standard option due to its efficacy and safety.

“Nimotuzumab’s safety and efficacy make it a viable option for treatment, preserving the quality of life while effectively managing tumour burden,” Aggarwal said.

This study represents a significant advancement in the treatment of head and neck cancer in India, with Nimotuzumab proving both effective and safe.

Neera Gupta, General Manager of Medical Affairs and Clinical Development at Eris Lifesciences, said that adding Nimotuzumab to concurrent chemoradiation not only improves survival rates but also preserves quality of life, addressing the challenges faced by patients in vital functions like speaking and swallowing.

–IANS

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