Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India.
1. Gujarat panchayat member loses post for flouting 2-child norm
Upholding the two-child norm for panchayat candidates, the Gujarat High Court has disqualified a taluka panchayat member who was elected last year and whose fourth child was born eight years ago but had died just five days after his birth.
Mahesh Parmar was elected to Thasra taluka panchayat in local body elections last year but after a few months, another contestant brought to the notice of the government the fact that he had become the father for the fourth time eight years ago. A government order disqualified Parmar, but he challenged it in the HC on the ground that his child died five days after birth. He also challenged the two-child norm itself, according to a report in the Times of India.
2. Harsha Bhogle off air for IPL 2016, says 'no one told me anything'
This year's Indian Premier League (IPL) telecast will not have the familiar voice of commentator Harsha Bhogle. The 54-year-old, whose association with Indian cricket goes back to the mid-80s and who has been describing IPL action since the 2008 opening season, was informed about the termination of his IPL contract just a week back.
According to the Indian Express, the decision has come as a surprise for the voice of Indian cricket since he had conducted the Season 9 draft auction, featured in the league’s promotional videos, was in the commentators’ 51-day-long duty roster, and even had his flight booked by the production house.
3. Soon, you may get vegetarian capsules
Your neighbourhood chemist could soon offer you a vegetarian capsule. The country's top drug regulator is evaluating a proposal to introduce plant cellulose-based capsules to replace those made of gelatin.
The regulator sought suggestions from stakeholders, including the pharmaceutical industry and consumers, to take what it says is a considered decision on the proposal. Regulatory sources said a final decision is likely by end of May. The proposal has the support of various quarters in government, the Times of India reported.
4. When a photo shoot went off track
A Bengaluru-based IT professional's penchant to take a picture of his vintage jeep in an "exotic" location — on the railway track — landed him in police custody and delayed the Kannur–Karwar– Bengaluru Express for more than an hour on Saturday.
According to a report in the Hindu, early in the morning, Sandeep of Kothanur in Bengaluru and wife Pratibha had gone on a ride on their 1966 model Willys. He parked the vehicle on the track to take pictures, close to Basavanapura in Ramanagaram district, about 35 km from Bengaluru, Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources said.
At 7:25 AM, the train with at least 700 passengers, who were travelling from Mysuru towards Bengaluru, came hurtling down the tracks, even as the couple watched. The shocked loco pilot, who spotted the jeep, applied brakes but the train stopped only after hitting the jeep. The train had just left the Ramanagaram railway station and was travelling at a speed of less than 50 km per hour.
5. Pratyusha was rich, but had to borrow money from maid
While her bank balance was hefty, TV actor Pratyusha Banerjee frequently borrowed small sums of money from her house help for buying medicines or to hire a cab. Renu Sinha, who worked for Pratyusha for three months and lived in the same house, said she had seen bruises suffered by the actor after fights with fiance Rahul Raj Singh.
Booked on abetment charges, Singh remains hospitalised and is in depression, according to his treating doctors.
As per the report in the Times of India, the house help had suggested to Pratyusha on a number of occasions that she walk out of the relationship. "Pratyusha hailed from a middle-class family in Jamshedpur and she believed that her broken relationships would bring disrepute to her family. I would ask her to take control over her finances and ask Rahul to return her passbooks and debit card. But she said she couldn't do it for some reason," Sinha said.
6. In UP, answer sheets bear threats and pleading
Aside from answers to the UP board examination questions, evaluators have also been left messages from students appealing for the minimum pass mark. Some took the appeal further by attaching money to their answer scripts to sweeten the deal.
One standard 12 examinee wrote of how a marriage proposal would be called off if they did not pass while another said his father would take him back to his village if he failed, the Hindustan Times reported.
7. It all started on Facebook
The morning newspaper of March 17 had left Mohammad Enamul Haq, 55, perturbed. The report said the Bermo police station, 15 km from Bokaro city in Jharkhand, had registered an FIR against his 20-year-old son Adil Akhtar for sharing and reacting to a Facebook post that allegedly denigrated Goddess Durga.
As Haq, or Karu Mistry as he is known in Jaridih Bazar locality of Bokaro district, would soon find out, Adil had shared a post by one of his Facebook friends — an acquaintance and a distant relative — commented on it and deleted it when someone reacted angrily to his comment, the Indian Express reported.
8. Retired military brass find lucrative careers in growing defence sector
The Make in India plan to build local capacity in defence has fuelled a trend of private companies hiring retired top military brass and tap their expertise to get a toehold in the arms bazaar.
Industry sources said the salaries range from Rs 36 lakh per annum to Rs 1 crore, depending on the profile of retired officers and the companies that hire them.
Retired officers are free to join defence companies after a year-long cooling-off period. The opinion is divided on whether this 'break' is sufficient to avoid a conflict-of-interest situation, the Hindustan Times reported.
9. Will live 100 years if Raj doesn't send a shooter to kill me: Senior RSS leader
Taking a jibe at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, senior Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue MG Vaidya on Saturday said that he would complete 100 years of his life as long as the MNS chief did not send a ‘shooter’ to kill him.
Mr Thackeray, in a rally in Mumbai on Friday, had targeted Mr Vaidya for his contention of dividing Maharashtra into four states and had said that it was time for Mr Vaidya to ‘leave the earth’, the Hindu reported.
10. Sit-ups, crawling: Public shaming alive and well in Rajkot cops' arsenal
A repeat offender was forced to crawl, a thief was made to perform sit-ups, and so were some unruly youngsters breaking traffic norms on Holi. These are just some of the techniques used by the Rajkot police to publically shame lawbreakers.
It is not uncommon to see police parade handcuffed offenders, asking them to beg for forgiveness, making them to do sit-ups or even forcing them to crawl in this laid back city of the Saurashtra peninsula.
Observers say the only change the practice has seen over the decades is that public thrashing of criminals has stopped, but the humiliation continues, according to the Hindustan Times.
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