The Evening Wrap: UP police arrests journalist on way to Hathras

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 06, October 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. UP police arrests journalist on way to Hathras A [Delhi-based journalist working for a Malayalam news portal was among four people arrested]( by the Uttar Pradesh police when they were on their way to Hathras. The arrests came hours after the State police, under fire for their handling of the Hathras rape and murder case, claimed that there was an international conspiracy to defame the state government and trigger caste riots over the Hathras incident. The four were taken into custody at a toll plaza in Mathura when they were travelling in a car from Delhi to Hathras, the police said. Mathura police said that “suspicious literature, one that could have an adverse impact on peace,” was recovered from the four. However, it is yet to reveal the content or state the laws that the literature violated. The four taken into custody were identified as Ateeq-ur-Rehman, Siddiqui Kappan, Masood Ahmed and Alam. Kappan is a journalist working for several Malayalam media houses and had reportedly gone to Hathras to cover the case on Monday. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists, in a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has demanded the release of Kappan, saying he was trying to perform his duty as a reporter. “The Hathras police station and State police department have not provided any information so far on taking him into custody,” said Miji Jose, president of the KUWJ. Supreme Court asks UP govt for affidavit on witness protection [ A view of the Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi. File ] A view of the Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi. File The [Supreme Court on Monday said it would ensure that the investigation]( into the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl by upper caste men in Hathras would is conducted smoothly. “We will ensure the investigation part is smooth,” Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde, heading three-judge Bench, said. The court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit to place on record that the witnesses in the case are protected. “We want it on affidavit on how Hathras case witnesses are protected. We want you to ascertain whether the victim’s family has chosen a lawyer. We want to know the scope of the ongoing proceedings in the case before the Allahabad High Court, and how we can widen and make it more relevant,” Chief Justice Bobde addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State government. The Chief Justice said there was no doubt that what transpired with the victim was “horrible” and “shocking”. There was no doubt that the case was “extraordinary”, the court said. Give me a free press and this govt will not last long, says Rahul Gandhi [ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi drives a tractor during the party’s ‘Kheti Bachao’ tractor rally against the farm laws, at Haryan-Punjab border, on October 6. ] Congress leader Rahul Gandhi drives a tractor during the party’s ‘Kheti Bachao’ tractor rally against the farm laws, at Haryan-Punjab border, on October 6. At a press conference in Patiala on Tuesday, in response to a question on whether the Central government was able to take unilateral decisions only because of a weak Opposition, [former Congress president Rahul Gandhi]( said, “Give me a free press and other key institutions and this [NDA] government will not last long.” He noted that the Opposition in any country functioned within a framework, including the media, the judicial system, and institutions that protected the voice of people. “In India, that entire framework has been controlled and captured by the Bharatiya Janata Party government; the entire architecture designed for giving voice to the people has been captured.” Gandhi termed the control of institutions by the government a big problem. No other country in the world today was faced with a situation where even the media did not question the government when its land had been seized by another nation. “Mr. Modi is not interested in India’s people but is only concerned about protecting and promoting his image, which would have got dented had he admitted to China’s incursion. The media, by helping promote his image, is also to blame,” he said, before telling the reporter who had asked him the question that he, too, “was walking into slavery” by not doing his job. Bihar Assembly elections: BJP, JD(U) split seats evenly [ JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi during a press conference in Patna on October 6, 2020. ] JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi during a press conference in Patna on October 6, 2020. After several rounds of talks, [the major NDA partners in Bihar — JD(U) and BJP — on Tuesday announced a seat-sharing formula]( for the upcoming Assembly election. The JD(U) will contest 122 seats while the BJP will fight one seat less, at 121, for the 243-member Assembly. “The JD(U) will contest on 122 seats and give seven seats out of it to alliance partner, Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (secular), and BJP would contest on 121 seats while accommodating the Vikashil Insaan Party from its own quota,” JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced at a crowded joint press meet where BJP leaders were also present. Stating that there was no confusion in the NDA in Bihar, Kumar said, “We’ve been working since long to make Bihar a saksham (capable) State and will keep working for it.” Senior State BJP leader and Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi reiterated that those who will not accept Nitish Kumar’s leadership, would not be a part of NDA in Bihar. “Nitish Kumar is the face of NDA in Bihar poll and he will be the CM face of NDA as well”, he said. “Whoever (BJP and JD-U) gets what number of seats, Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister of the State….there is no ifs and buts over it,” Modi said. India committed to rules-based world order, says Jaishankar at Tokyo Quad meet [India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar speaking at the Quadrilateral dialogue or ‘Quad’ held in Tokyo, Japan on October 6.]India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar speaking at the Quadrilateral dialogue or ‘Quad’ held in Tokyo, Japan on October 6. [“Likeminded” countries should coordinate to counter the novel coronavirus pandemic which has brought a “profound transformation globally”, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar]( at the start of a meeting of the four Foreign Ministers of Australia-India-Japan-U.S. in the Quadrilateral dialogue or ‘Quad’ held in Tokyo on Tuesday. Jaishankar said that, as a member of the U.N. Security Council next year, India would seek “collective solutions to global challenges”, including the pandemic and U.N. reform. “As vibrant and pluralistic democracies with shared values, our nations have collectively affirmed the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. We remain committed to upholding the rules-based international order, underpinned by the rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation in the international seas, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes,” Jaishankar said, addressing his counterparts Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. While he made no direct reference to the situation at the Line of Actual Control with China, it is understood that the ongoing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops was among subjects to be discussed during the meeting, along with the issues outlined by Jaishankar: “Connectivity and infrastructure development, security, including counter-terrorism; cyber and maritime security; and the stability and prosperity in the region.” Cinema halls to open; I&B Ministry issues guidelines [ ] [After a gap of more than six months, cinemas will open their doors on October 15](. But it will not be the same again, with the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry issuing a set of protocols that permit only 50% seating, and no delivery of food inside the halls. As per the guidelines, only packaged food will be allowed, face masks and thermal screening will be mandatory, show timings will be staggered, and your contact number will be taken to facilitate contact tracing later. Other than the usual physical distancing norms of six feet distance between two persons and providing hand sanitisers in the common area as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Ministry, every alternate seat has to be kept vacant, which means that when you and your loved ones go to watch a movie together, you will have to sit apart, with a minimum gap of one seat between each other. The cinema halls will also have to ensure that there is no overcrowding in the common areas, lobbies, and washrooms during the intermissions. This could even mean no moving out of the hall during the interval. During the exit, too, the halls will have to ensure staggered row-wise movement to avoid crowding. And unlike pre-Covid times, when multiplexes would have many movies running in many screens simultaneously, the I&B Ministry has suggested that the commencement time, intermission period, and finish time of a show at any screen shall not overlap with the commencement time, intermission period, or finish time of a show at any other screen at a multiplex. Three share Physics Nobel for their discoveries about black holes [ David Haviland, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, left, and Goran K. Hansson, Secretary General of the Academy of Sciences, announce the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics during a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, Sweden on October 6, 2020. ] David Haviland, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, left, and Goran K. Hansson, Secretary General of the Academy of Sciences, announce the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics during a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, Sweden on October 6, 2020. The [Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to three scientists on Tuesday for their research into black holes](, “one of the most exotic objects in the universe, which have become a staple of science fact and science fiction and where time seems to stand still,” according to the Nobel Committee. Briton Roger Penrose, 89, was honoured for showing “that the general theory of relativity leads to the formation of black holes”, while Reinhard Genzel, 68, of Germany and Andrea Ghez, 55, of the U.S. were jointly awarded for discovering “that an invisible and extremely heavy object governs the orbits of stars at the centre of our galaxy,” the jury said. Incidentally, Ghez is just the fourth woman to receive the physics prize since 1901, when the first Nobel prizes were handed out. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 67,25,222 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,04,088. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [‘Varmaa’ movie review: Bala’s version is shorter and an insipid remake]( [alt_text]( [‘The Boys in the Band’ review: A sensitive take on a landmark event in gay theatre]( [alt_text]( [Watch | COVID-19: Guidelines for exhibition of films]( [alt_text]( [Explained: 2020 Nobel prize in Physics]( You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b4w9gsjbf2f90kauhrxfebysa8hk46@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) 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