Polls in J-K can be held at any time, decision to be taken by poll panel: Centre to SC
New Delhi (PTI): Elections in Jammu and Kashmir can take place any time and a decision on the issue has to be taken by the poll panel, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday while giving a roadmap for restoration of electoral democracy and complete statehood in the union territory.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the decision on elections in J-K have to be taken by the Election Commission of India and the state poll panel.
Mehta told a bench that polls in J-K will be held in three stages - first there will be panchayat polls, second municipal polls and then legislative assembly polls.
On August 29, the Centre had told the top court that the union territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is not a "permanent thing" and that it will make an elaborate statement on the vexatious political issue in the court on August 31.
The five-judge constitution bench, hearing the pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, had asked the Centre to set a specific time frame for restoration of electoral democracy in the erstwhile state.
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Explosion near CRPF School in Delhi caused by lit cigarette butts: Report
New Delhi: The investigation team that probed the explosion that took place outside the CRPF School in the Prashant Vihar area of the city on October 20 morning has reportedly not found any terror force behind the blast.
The investigation team, consisting of Delhi Police and staff members from central agencies, has stated in its report that cigarette butts thrown by a local resident might have come in contact with industrial waste and have caused the explosion. Circumstantial evidence does not show the incident to have a terror angle to it, reports The Indian Express.
The Delhi Police, the city bomb squad and the fire brigade had rushed to the spot following the explosion, which was initially believed to have been caused by a crude bomb. The forensic experts who inspected the spot hinted at the presence of potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and some electrical wires there. The school wall had been damaged and the windows of a car nearby had shattered in the explosion.
The investigation team scanned the CCTV camera footage and zeroed in on around 10 people questioned. A senior police officer said that a North Delhi-based businessman from Prashant Vihar was found to be present at the spot around five minutes before the explosion, as he had come there on Sunday morning to walk his dog. The CCTV footage showed him smoking and, after questioning him, the team concluded that he had left lit cigarette butts before leaving the spot, the officer added.
The spot where the explosion took place is learned to have been usually used for dumping garbage and also has a public urinal.
An officer has said that the Delhi Police had consulted forensic and technical experts of the National Security Guard regarding the things found on the explosion site but are yet to get the report. The officer added that they have found no detonator so far.
