Latest news with #Mittal
The Print
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
Solan court allows woman's plea challenging closure report in gang rape case against Haryana BJP chief
On 1 April this year, judge Malhotra admitted the revision petition and sought case records from the Kasauli court. Sessions judge Arvind Malhotra directed the Kasauli court to record the woman's statement and objections by 30 July, and decide whether to uphold the police closure report or reopen the case. Gurugram: The Solan district and sessions court in Himachal Pradesh has allowed a revision petition of a Delhi-based woman seeking to reopen a gang rape case filed by her against Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli and Haryanvi singer Rocky Mittal, alias Jai Bhagwan. The judge heard arguments from both sides 5 July and announced its order in open court Tuesday, allowing the woman's plea and ruling the complainant must appear before the Kasauli court to record her statement and submit objections by 30 July. The Kasauli court will then decide whether to proceed with the case or uphold the closure report. The case has drawn significant attention due to Badoli's position as Haryana BJP president. He was appointed to the post in July 2024, ahead of the assembly elections, relieving Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini of the dual charge. Badoli is hopeful of getting a full term in the office. ThePrint tried to reach Badoli through texts and calls Tuesday, but his number was found switched-off. This report will be updated if and when a response is received. He had earlier dismissed the woman's allegations as 'baseless' and politically motivated. The BJP Tuesday shared his pictures with party leaders including state general secretary (organisation) Phanindranath Sharma and Haryana Minister Rajesh Nagar from the Amarnath cave. On Monday, the BJP shared a press note with his pictures with other BJP leaders aboard a flight to Srinagar. Mittal told ThePrint Tuesday that his lawyers have explained to him that the Solan court's order was between the police and the woman and that it does not affect him. Also Read: Solan court admits appeal against closure report in gang rape case against singer, Haryana BJP chief 'Gangraped while visiting as tourist' The case originates from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the woman 13 December last year at the Kasauli police station in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh under Sections 376D (gang rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The allegations, which became known to public 14 January, claim that the incident occurred 3 July 2023 at the Himachal Tourism Corporation's Ros Common Hotel in Kasauli. The complainant, a Delhi resident, alleged she was visiting Kasauli as a tourist with her friend and employer Amit Bindal when she met Badoli and Mittal. According to her complaint, the accused coerced her into consuming alcohol, gangraped her in the presence of her friend, and recorded compromising photos and videos. She further claimed the duo threatened to kill her if she reported the incident and later attempted to implicate her in a false case in Panchkula to silence her. The Kasauli police investigated the case for over two months but found no corroborating evidence. According to the Kasauli police, the complainant refused a medical examination and the 17-month delay in filing the FIR hindered the collection of critical evidence such as CCTV footage, alcohol glasses or bedsheets. Consequently, on 4 February this year, the police filed a closure report, which the Kasauli judicial magistrate's court accepted on 12 March after the complainant failed to appear despite summonses issued to two addresses. Complicating the matter, Rocky Mittal filed an extortion case against the woman 6 February 2025 at Panchkula's Sector 5 police station. The FIR, lodged under Sections 308(2) (extortion), 308(5) (extortion by fear of death or grievous hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), also named Amit Bindal, another woman, and an unidentified person. Mittal alleged the complainant demanded Rs 50 lakh and political favours to settle false the rape case. He cited WhatsApp calls 21 and 22 January this year, and earlier threats between 1 and 18 September 1 last year. He claimed the rape allegations were part of a 'honey-trap' plan using audio and visual evidence. He accused the complainant of using AI-generated videos to blackmail him and Badoli. The woman, who was granted anticipatory bail 12 March by a Panchkula court, alleged the extortion case was filed to pressure her into withdrawing the rape case. She claimed the fear of arrest prevented her from attending the Kasauli court hearings 6 and 12 March this year. The complainant, represented by her advocate Rajeev Negi, challenged the Kasauli court's order on the police closure report in the Solan sessions court by way of a revision petition. Her advocate argued the extortion case was a retaliatory move by the accused to discredit her. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Haryana BJP chief, singer Rocky Mittal booked in Kasauli for gang-rape, criminal intimidation
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
4 ZP students from ‘Super 50' make it to IITs, 1 bags IIIT seat
Nashik: Four students from the Nashik zilla parishad (ZP) schools, who participated in the ZP's "Super 50" programme, have successfully secured admissions into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). All four students received two years of fully sponsored training through this pilot project, which was launched in 2022 by ZP CEO Ashima Mittal. The "Super 50" programme began in the academic year 2022-23. It initially selected 50 meritorious students from scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) categories who had exclusively attended ZP schools and belonged to economically weaker sections (EWS). One of the students also manged to get into IIIT Nagpur. These students were chosen based on an entrance examination. The programme has since expanded to include 110 students, with 55 receiving coaching for medical entrance exams and the other 55 for engineering entrance exams. Mittal, while talking to TOI, expressed immense pride in the students' achievements. "The success achieved by the students participating in the "Super 50" initiative is a matter of pride for Nashik district. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gold Is Surging in 2025 — Smart Traders Are Already In IC Markets Learn More Undo The fact that children from rural and tribal areas have secured places in the top educational institutions of the country is a testament to their ability. This is not just a success, but the beginning of social change. We will continue to expand such initiatives and reach more students in the coming days," she said. Vrushali Waghmare from Manmad will pursue electronics and telecommunications from IIT Dhanbad, while Dimple Bagul (Kalwan) has opted for electricals at IIT Kharagpur. Megha Dahale (Trimbakeshwar) has decided to study food engineering at IIT Kharagpur and Akanksha Shejwal (Nihad) will study chemical science at IIT Dhanbad.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Six lakh villages to get high-speed fibre-based broadband in next 3 yrs: DoT secy
As many as six lakh villages will get connected with a high-speed optical fibre-based broadband network within three years, a senior government official said on speaking at CII-GCC Business Summit, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said that GCCs (Global Capability Center) are currently concentrated in some of the top cities, and the wider connectivity will help them expand their footprint to tier 2 and 3 towns."Within three years, we will have all the village panchayats, which are roughly about 2.5 lakhs, plus the villages associated with them, which are roughly about 6 lakhs, will get connected to a high-speed fibre network," he said. The government has started rolling out Bharatnet Phase 3 with an outlay of ₹1.39 lakh crore to connect every gram panchayat and villages with an optical fibre cable (OFC) network. The project will also connect mobile towers with OFCs that will boost network speed, as the country will look to begin high-speed 6G services in the future. Mittal said that India has a significantly lower data cost of around 9 cents per GB compared to the global average of USD 2.6, which is a very significant enabler for any GCC. "The enablers of GCC are very well established in India. We need talent, which is very critical. We need connectivity, which is excellent. The capability to innovate, the rule of law, strong IPR protections, all these things make India a very attractive destination," he said. Mittal said India's median broadband speed was about 138 Mbps. "We cover 99.6 per cent of the GCC. There are only two districts in the country where there is no 5G. Recently, three companies have now these new licences fully ready to commercialise, which will connect these tier 2, tier 3 cities and people who would work for these GCCs wherever they want to," he noted. The government recently freed some spectrum to boost wifi proliferation across the country. "We are working on freeing up additional spectrum and creating R&D, SMEs and startups in these fields. We hope that with all these initiatives, the GCCs will find the digital infrastructure not to be lacking when they plan for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities," Mittal said. He said that the government is trying to bring in ease of doing business for the cable landing stations through a single window portal.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Six lakh villages to get high-speed fibre-based broadband in next 3 yrs: DoT Secy
As many as six lakh villages will get connected with a high-speed optical fibre-based broadband network within three years, a senior government official said on Monday. While speaking at CII-GCC Business Summit, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said that GCCs (Global Capability Center) are currently concentrated in some of the top cities, and the wider connectivity will help them expand their footprint to tier 2 and 3 towns. "Within three years, we will have all the village panchayats, which are roughly about 2.5 lakhs, plus the villages associated with them, which are roughly about 6 lakhs, will get connected to a high-speed fibre network," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Lifetime Office 365 Download The government has started rolling out Bharatnet Phase 3 with an outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore to connect every gram panchayat and villages with an optical fibre cable (OFC) network. The project will also connect mobile towers with OFCs that will boost network speed, as the country will look to begin high-speed 6G services in the future. Live Events Mittal said that India has a significantly lower data cost of around 9 cents per GB compared to the global average of USD 2.6, which is a very significant enabler for any GCC. "The enablers of GCC are very well established in India. We need talent, which is very critical. We need connectivity, which is excellent. The capability to innovate, the rule of law, strong IPR protections, all these things make India a very attractive destination," he said. Mittal said India's median broadband speed was about 138 Mbps. "We cover 99.6 per cent of the GCC. There are only two districts in the country where there is no 5G. Recently, three companies have now these new licences fully ready to commercialise, which will connect these tier 2, tier 3 cities and people who would work for these GCCs wherever they want to," he noted. The government recently freed some spectrum to boost wifi proliferation across the country. "We are working on freeing up additional spectrum and creating R&D, SMEs and startups in these fields. We hope that with all these initiatives, the GCCs will find the digital infrastructure not to be lacking when they plan for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities," Mittal said. He said that the government is trying to bring in ease of doing business for the cable landing stations through a single window portal. PTI
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal warns India against blind AI push: 'Jobs first, deep-tech later'
Shark Tank judge Anupam Mittal founder and Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal has started an important conversation around India's AI ambitions. In a lengthy LinkedIn post, Mittal has advised caution against the tech-first approach which overlooks the employment realities of the country. Mittal has also criticised the blind adoption of deep-tech narratives and warned that India's present skilling infrastructure is 'dangerously out of sync' with its lofty AI goals. Anupam Mittal warns India against blind AI push Mittal's LinkedIn post featured a photo of an elderly woman wearing a BlinkIt delivery jacket with a caption, 'Maybe she should learn Python. Perhaps she can fine-tune an LLM too, while delivering your groceries.' This remark made by Mittal reveal the disconnect between elite tech discourse and the lived experiences of India's gig workers. Mittal also argues that AI-driven automation is transforming tech giants like Microsoft, Meta and Google, but India still lacks the formal emlpyment and reskilling budgets required to keep pace. 'India is not there yet,' Mittal wrote, noting that most of the workforce is self-employed and lacks access to real-time upskilling. Read Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal's complete LinkedIn post here Saw this woman the other day, and thought maybe she should learn Python 🤷♀️ by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Luxury Views, Affordable Prices - Binghatti Hillviews Binghatti Developers FZE Learn More Undo Perhaps she can fine-tune an LLM too, while delivering your groceries 😏 Every time I say India needs jobs along with deep-tech, someone sends me a whitepaper on AI skilling . Basically parroting the west without understanding our own reality. Of course, AI replacement and automation is happening at the top cos in the world including Microsoft, Meta, Google. Their CEOs are on record: 40–50% of work processes will be AI-driven in 2–3 years. Yes, true! But those are economies with lower populations, high formal employment, and deep reskilling budgets. When I worked in the US, every time a new tech or software rolled out, we were upskilled in real time not just as individuals, but across the entire org. That's what real skilling infrastructure looks like. India is not there yet ❌ given most are self-employed. Ergo, the gig economy has been a blessing for us. It enabled employment for millions. In a country 🇮🇳 holding ~20% of the world's population, that's no mean feat! When we start touting deep-tech as the only solution to all our problems, we endanger the livelihoods of a billion plus nation. Yes, we have highly-skilled and super-talented folks who will undoubtedly build future big-tech from India but we also have a large low-skilled populace that needs to be taken along. India needs to address both these issues simultaneously, no? What's your take?
