Sanatan Sanstha stands by Gauri murder accused
Bengaluru: Sanatana Sanstha has alleged that the Special Investigation Team probing the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh is torturing the arrested to obtain the confession.
A few of arrested had revealed during the inquiry that they are the activists of Hindutva organizations and have links with Sanatan Sanstha. Following this, the SIT had kept a vigil on Goa-based Hindutva organizations. The new accusation, which has now come from Sanatan Sanstha, confirms the organisation’s links with the accused.
Chetan Rajhamsa, spokesperson of the Sanatan Sanstha, on Thursday, asserted that this is an illegal arrest. Congress-JD-S coalition government wants to project it as “Saffron Terror.”
“He also alleged that the false reports, regarding Sanatan Sanstha and Sangha Parivar, were being provided to media. The police took away an accused Sujit Kumar on May 6, but it has been shown as he was arrested on May 20. The other three were shown arrested on May 21, whereas they were taken on May 14 itself. It shows that the accused were kept in illegal detention for several days,” Rajhamsa said.
Chetan Rajahamsa alleged that the accused are being tortured and even they were not provided legal assistance because they are Hindus.
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Gill, Mandhana win top BCCI awards
New Delhi (PTI): Prolific batters Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were named the Best International Cricketers (Men's and Women's) at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 here on Sunday, recognising their outstanding performances in the 2024–2025 season.
Gill won the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award, while Mandhana received the award for the fifth time.
For Gill, it was his second Cricketer of the Year award after first winning it in 2023.
Former stars Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj were honoured with the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the BCCI's highest honour, recognising their outstanding service to Indian cricket.
India's five trophy-winning sides (2025 ICC Champions Trophy, 2025 Women's ODI World Cup, 2025 U-19 Women's World Cup, 2026 Men's U-19 World Cup, and 2026 T20 World Cup) were honoured as well on the occasion.
Gill enjoyed a stellar 2025 and established himself as one of the team's most dependable batters in the longer formats.
On the tour of England, skipper Gill led from the front in the five-Test series, finishing as the top run-getter with 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including four centuries and a top score of 269.
Gill also played a pivotal role in India's Champions Trophy triumph last year, having entered the tournament as the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world. He made an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh in India's opening match, and finished the tournament with 188 runs.
Mandhana finished 2025 with 1,703 international runs, including 1,362 in ODIs, the most by any woman in a calendar year. In doing so, Mandhana became the first batter in women's ODI history to score 1,000 runs in a single calendar year.
Mandhana also made handsome contributions to India's maiden Women's World Cup title triumph, aggregating 434 runs in nine matches to end as the tournament as India's leading run-scorer and the second-highest overall.
Before the World Cup, the left-hander Mandhana smashed a 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi to register the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian batter, surpassing Virat Kohli's 52-ball effort.
Shafali Varma (Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic One-Day), Ira Jadhav (Best Woman Cricketer (Domestic), Harsh Dubey (Best All Rounder in the Ranji Trophy), and Ayush Mhatre (Best All Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions) too won awards for their strong performances across the 2024-25 domestic season.
