In Noida TV anchor's death, police arrest colleague
Noida (UP), Dec 17: Police has arrested a senior colleague of the news anchor who allegedly fell to death from a fourth-floor Noida flat last week, officials said Monday.
Rahul Awasthi was detained for questioning but arrested Sunday after investigators found his statements to be "inconsistent", police said.
Radhika Kaushik, who hailed from Rajasthan, was in her flat in the Antriksh Forest Apartments in Sector 77 with Awasthi when the incident happened around 3.30 AM on December 14, police said.
The 25-year-old anchor's family suspects foul play in her death and a murder case was registered at Sector 49 police station, Station House Officer Girija Shankar Tripathi said.
"Awasthi was detained and questioned but there were inconsistencies in his statements over the two days. He was arrested yesterday but charged under IPC 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder)," Tripathi said.
According to officials, the private security guards have told investigators that the duo was seen together in the balcony moments before Kaushik's body was found on the ground in a pool of blood.
"This is contradictory to what Awasthi had told the police initially that he had visited her for dinner and was in the bathroom when she accidentally toppled over the railing of the balcony of her flat," the officials said.
SHO Tripathi said the viscera of Kaushik would be sent for test Tuesday to ascertain if she was drunk, adding that liquor bottles were found in the flat.
Asked about suspected foul play in the case, he said "the benefit of doubt should be given to victim and not the accused (who has been arrested)".
"The railing in the balcony is of low-height, there were other strings also tied up in the balcony. The railing is cylindrical and not flat in shape, which apparently does not make it an ideal place for anyone to sit on. So we are probing the matter," the official said.
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Canadian report finds 'no definitive link' between Nijjar killing and India
Ottawa, Jan 29 (PTI): A Canada commission report has said that "no definitive link" with a "foreign state" in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was "proven", smashing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that accused the involvement of Indian agents in the killing.
In September 2023, Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.
The report titled "Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions' was released on Tuesday.
In the report commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said "Disinformation is used as a retaliatory tactic to punish decisions that run contrary to a state's interests."
The report has suggested India spread disinformation on the killing of Nijjar.
"This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister's announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven)," the report said.
Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.
The 123-page report also talked of expelling six Indian diplomats.
"In October 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in reaction to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India," it said.
However, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced the withdrawal of its high commissioner.
The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi had rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".
India has repeatedly criticised Trudeau's government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada. The Khalistan movement is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
On Tuesday, India strongly rejected "insinuations" made against it in the report by a Canadian commission that investigated allegations that certain foreign governments were meddling in Canada's elections.
In a strong reaction, the MEA in New Delhi said it rejects the report's "insinuations" on India.
It is in fact Canada which has been "consistently interfering" in India's internal affairs, it said.
