So far as car thefts go, this one from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi breaks new grounds. The ‘car’ in question was actually a two-wheeler. But that does not detract from the uniqueness of the modus operandi.

The owner of the scooty – the resident of a flat in Varanasi’s Kabir Nagar – has said a girl in a school uniform had come to her and asked for the keys of her two-wheeler. 

The scooty needs to be moved, she had said. 

Seeing the school uniform, the woman had handed over the keys.

What happened next was caught on the CCTV camera installed outside the building. 

The footage shows the girl turning the scooty around carefully, taking furtive glances to see if anyone is watching. Then she starts the vehicle and comfortably rides away.

But it may not be a ride into the sunset. The police are now searching for her.

The scooty owner has filed a complaint with the Varanasi police, on basis of which a First Information Report has been registered. 

Varanasi:

Two youth, Ved Prakash Yadav and Aman Yadav Katta, were arrested for imitating a scene from the popular OTT series ‘Mirzapur’ for a social media reel, the police said.

According to the police, the two have been arrested over a viral video showing Ved taking a round of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Malviya’s statue in a car, with both of his legs on the dashboard.

The video also shows Ved smoking while sitting on a chair, even as Aman is standing behind him.

In the background, the theme song of ‘Mirzapur’ is playing.

Inspector Cantt Shivakant Mishra said that the duo had been arrested on charges of disturbing public peace.

Both the youth were produced before a magistrate and later released on bail.

The police official said that after the video went viral, resentment started brewing among locals as the reel had been shot near legendary freedom fighter and founder of BHU Bharat Ratna Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya’s statue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Varanasi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a surprise visit to the under-construction Varanasi stadium and sports complex to review the work in progress there after attending a Kisan Samman Sammelan, Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, and praying at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Taking to X, PM Modi wrote: “Reviewed the progress at the Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium in Kashi. This stadium and sports complex will greatly help the youth of Kashi.”

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to the upcoming sports facility.

In the pictures shared by PM Modi, he can be seen interacting with the officials over the model of the sports complex besides inspecting other facilities.

The sports facility seems to be coming up along world-class standards with floodlights and lush green outfields.

This was PM Modi’s first visit to his constituency after scoring a hat-trick from Varanasi in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A Varanasi-bound IndiGo flight today received a bomb threat at the Delhi airport, prompting authorities to inspect the plane, officials said.

The flight, 6E2211, was scheduled to take off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport around 5 am and was stopped on the runway minutes before departure.

“At 05:40 am, a phone call was received from the IGI airport regarding a bomb threat. A message ‘BOMB BLAST @30 MINUTES’ was written on a piece of paper inside the lavatory of the flight and was found by the pilot,” an official said.

The aircraft, with 176 passengers onboard, was immediately taken to the isolation bay for further necessary action, the official said, adding that a quick response team was deployed, which has so far not found any suspicious items.

All passengers were deboarded through the emergency door and are safe, the official said.

#WATCH | Passengers of the IndiGo flight 6E2211 operating from Delhi to Varanasi were evacuated through the emergency door after a bomb threat was reported on the flight. All passengers are safe, flight is being inspected.

(Viral video confirmed by Aviation authorities) https://t.co/el2q5jCatxpic.twitter.com/ahVc0MSiXz

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2024

The IndiGo also released an official statement and said that the aircraft was taken to a remote bay as per guidelines by airport security agencies.

“The flight is currently undergoing inspection. Post completion of all security checks, the aircraft will be positioned back in the terminal area,” the airline said.

ALSO READ | Mumbai Cops Receive Hoax Message Threatening To Blow Up Taj Hotel, Airport

Earlier this month, a tissue paper with the word ‘bomb’ written on it was found on an Air India flight lavatory at Delhi airport, but it had turned out to be a hoax.

Police had said that they received information regarding a tissue paper found in the lavatory of an Air India flight scheduled to depart for Vadodara on May 15, with the word ‘bomb’ written on it.

“Following standard security protocols, a thorough inspection was conducted, and no suspicious items were found,” an official had said.

Several hospitals and schools in Delhi have recently been targeted with bomb threat emails, that claimed the presence of explosives on their premises. However, investigators found the threats to be false alarms.

Varanasi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with 25,000 women at Kashi’s Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground on Tuesday.

He will address an election rally in Prayagraj too.

Kashi region BJP Spokesperson Navaratan Rathi said: “There are 1,909 booths in Varanasi Lok Sabha and 10 women from each booth have been invited for Prime Minister Modi’s interaction with women. All preparations for the event have been completed.”

Doctors, engineers, lawyers, professors, chartered accountants, and teachers have also been invited to the programme that will start around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, he added.

BJP’s state unit secretary and Mahila Morcha in-charge Archana Mishra said: “Our enthusiastic participation at his Kashi roadshow on May 13 made the Prime Minister very happy and that is why he is coming here again to share his happiness with us.”

She said BJP’s women wing members have gone door-to-door in Varanasi to invite women for the Tuesday event.

Lok Sabha coordinator and MLC Ashwini Tyagi said: “Prime Minister has done many things for the upliftment of women during his 10 years in office. It was because of him that 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies under the Nari Shakti Vandan Act could become possible.”

After the event, Prime Minister Modi will spend the night at the BLW guest house in Varanasi.

The Prime Minister will address a meeting at the Government Polytechnic Ground on Wednesday (May 22), said Basti Superintendent of Police, Gopal Krishna Chowdhury.

He said that members of SPG security had already reached Basti and inspected the rally venue and added that no flying zone had been declared in nearby areas.

He said from May 20 to May 22, flying drones or balloons in the region have been banned due to security reasons.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister Anupriya Patel, too, would share the stage with Prime Minister Modi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The affidavit of Comedian Shyam Rangeela, who had filed a nomination to contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat was rejected by the Election Commission on Wednesday. In a video message, Mr Rangeela claimed that out of the 55 candidates vying for the seat, the forms of 36 nominees met rejection, while the affidavits of 15 candidates, including PM Modi and Congress pick Ajay Rai, sailed through the scrutiny process.

Mr Rangeela has alleged a series of hurdles in the nomination process, claiming he was barred from submitting his papers on time. His accusations extended to the District Magistrate’s office, where he alleged being unfairly singled out and denied assistance during the filing process. 

“Today, the District Magistrate told me that there was some issue with my documents and that I did not take the oath. They did not let the lawyers go in with me and called me alone. My friend was beaten up. Modiji may act and cry, but I don’t want to cry here,” Mr Rangeela said.

वाराणसी से नहीं लड़ने देंगे ये तय था, अब साफ़ हो गया
दिल ज़रूर टूट गया है, हौंसला नहीं टूटा है ।
आप सबके सहयोग के लिए शुक्रिया ।
मीडिया और शुभचिंतकों से निवेदन है कृपया अभी कॉल ना करें, जो भी सूचना होगी यहाँ देता रहूँगा, शायद अब थोड़ी देर बातचीत करने की इच्छा नहीं है pic.twitter.com/aB6AZqLGqv

— Shyam Rangeela (@ShyamRangeela) May 15, 2024

“27 nominations were submitted yesterday and 32 were rejected today, I feel like laughing at the Election Commission, should I laugh? Or should I cry?” he added.

नॉमिनेशन के पीछे का कारण जो चुनाव आयोग कार्यालय से आपको दिखा रहें है उसकी भी सच्चाई आपके सामने रख रहा हूँ,
लोकतंत्र में उन्हीं को लड़ने का अधिकार है जिन्हें आयोग चुनेगा pic.twitter.com/aBFK6Zejry

— Shyam Rangeela (@ShyamRangeela) May 15, 2024

The response from the official Varanasi District Magistrate’s account attempted to justify the rejection, citing deficiencies in Mr Rangeela’s affidavit and failure to comply with procedural formalities. 

“Your nomination paper was scrutinised in your presence and you were informed about the deficiencies. Your nomination paper has been cancelled because the affidavit submitted by you was incomplete and you did not take the oath/affirmation, a copy of the order of which has also been made available to you,” Varanasi District Magistrate S Rajalingam wrote on X.

आपके नामांकन पत्र की संवीक्षा आपके समक्ष की गयी तथा कमियों से आपको अवगत कराया गया। आपके द्वारा प्रस्तुत शपथ पत्र अपूर्ण होने एवं आप द्वारा शपथ/प्रतिज्ञान न लिये जाने के कारण नामांकन पत्र निरस्त किया गया है, जिसके आदेश की प्रति भी आपको प्राप्त करायी गयी है। @ECISVEEP

— DM VARANASI (@Varanasi_DM) May 15, 2024

Formerly a staunch supporter of PM Modi, Mr Rangeela had said that the circumstances have evolved over the past decade, prompting his decision to contest against the Prime Minister from Varanasi.

“In 2014, I was a follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I shared many videos supporting the Prime Minister. Videos were also shared against Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal. Seeing them, one could say that I will vote only for the Bharatiya Janata Party for the next 70 years. But the situation has changed in the last 10 years. I will now contest against the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha polls as an Independent candidate,” he had announced.

The Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency witnessed a historic clash in 2014 when Mr Modi, then BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, contested against AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Mr Modi’s resounding victory, with a margin exceeding 3 lakh votes, solidified Varanasi’s position as a BJP stronghold, a legacy he aims to extend in the upcoming elections.

Varanasi, comprising five assembly seats, has been a battleground where the BJP and the Congress have locked horns over the years. Since 1957, while the BJP has enjoyed significant success since 1991, winning the seat seven times, the Congress has also wielded influence, securing victory six times. The Varanasi seat has never been won by the Samajwadi Party or the Bahujan Samaj Party.