Rupee gains 12 paise to 90.66 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee recovered from a low level and traded with a gain of 12 paise at 90.66 against the US dollar in early deals on Monday, tracking a retreating greenback against major overseas rivals.
However, persistent outflow of foreign funds from domestic equity markets and higher crude oil prices overseas amid a volatile geopolitical situation kept investors cautious, forex analysts said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.68 and gained further to trade at 90.66 against the greenback, registering a gain of 12 paise from its previous closing level.
The rupee crashed 44 paise to settle near its lowest level at 90.78 against the US dollar on Friday, after losing 17 paise in the preceding two sessions.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.21 per cent lower at 98.99.
Analysts said that the domestic currency found support amid a sell-off in dollar after US President Donald Trump announced imposing tariffs on European countries if they resist his plan to buy Greenland.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.17 per cent higher at USD 64.24 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex declined 482.80 points or 0.58 per cent to 83,087.55, while the Nifty fell 129.30 points or 0.50 per cent to 25,565.05.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,346.13 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
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NIA court to complete framing of charges against 2010 hand-chopping case accused on May 15
Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
