13 held after clashes over demolition of dargah in Gujarat’s Somnath district
Somnath (Gujarat): At least 13 people were detained after violent clashes erupted in Gujarat’s Somnath district, when residents of Veraval’s Prabhas Patan area allegedly tried to stop the demolition of a dargah on Monday.
According to officials, during a demolition drive, tensions escalated after a dispute broke out between local residents and staff from the Mamlatdar’s office. Around a hundred women and children gathered to protest, after the dargah's boundary wall was demolished.
Police said the crowd started throwing stones at officials. Security personnel used batons and fired three tear gas shells to disperse the mob and only after the crowd became calmed down, the demolition resumed.
Authorities have cleared the rubble from 11 demolished structures as of Tuesday morning. The demolition sites includes several residences and the sacred site, according to a Madhyamam report.
An FIR was registered at the Prabhas Patan police station based on a complaint by Deputy Mamlatdar Ranjeetsinh R. Kher, who stated that the drive initially targeted illegal encroachments on government land under survey number 831 without incident. The situation turned violent when the operation extended to the dargah. Around 70 to 100 people allegedly surrounded the officials and shouted slogans and pelted stones at the officials.
Cases have been filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on public servants and endangering life, along with provisions of the Gujarat Police Act. While seventeen individuals have been identified, several other are not named.
Earlier, on September 28, 2024, local authorities had razed nine Muslim religious structures. These structures includes the 1,200-year-old Haji Mangrol Dargah, Shah Silar Dargah, and Garib Shah Dargah, along with a mosque, a 500-year-old graveyard, and 47 homes in the same locality.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
