SC grants bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira in Bhima Koregaon case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, noting that they have been in custody for five years.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said Gonsalves and Ferreira shall not leave Maharashtra and surrender their passports to the police.
It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.
The activists had moved the top court against a Bombay High Court order rejecting their bail pleas.
The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to the Pune police was funded by Maoists.
The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, police had alleged.
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PM Modi lauds reduction in tuberculosis incidence in India
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the reduction in the incidence of tuberculosis in India since 2015, which was twice the global rate of decline and credited it to the expansion of treatment coverage.
India's TB incidence, which refers to new cases emerging each year, reduced by 21 per cent, from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024, according to the World Health Organisation's Global TB Report 2025.
The reduction is almost double the pace of the decline observed globally at 12 per cent, the Health Ministry said.
"India's fight against TB is achieving remarkable momentum. The latest WHO Global tuberculosis report 2025 highlights that India has recorded a commendable reduction in TB incidence since 2015 and it is nearly twice the global rate of decline," Modi said in a post on X.
The Prime Minister said the decline in incidence of TB in India was one of the sharpest drops seen anywhere in the world.
"Equally heartening is the expansion of treatment coverage, the fall in 'missing cases' and the sustained rise in treatment success. I compliment all those who have worked towards achieving this success. We remain committed to ensuring a healthy and fit India," Modi said.
