N A T I O N

Giriraj seeks anticipatory bail
Patna, April 24
Facing imminent arrest for his alleged hate speech, BJP leader Giriraj Singh today applied for anticipatory bail in the district court here hours after a joint team of Bihar and Jharkhand police raided his house to arrest him. He filed the anticipatory bail plea in the court of district judge Virendra Kumar who listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.

Kerala temple treasure
SC orders special audit by ex-CAG
New Delhi, April 24
The Supreme Court today ordered a special audit of the assets of Kerala’s Padmanabha Swamy temple in the light of the amicus curiae’s report on total mismanagement and sorry state of affairs of the shrine in Thiruvananthapuram.

Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

Top posts in Navy to be filled soon
New Delhi, April 24
Top posts in the Indian Navy will be filled soon as the file for fresh appointments has been processed by the Ministry of Defence. At present, two senior-level posts are lying vacant. Two vacancies have been created following the resignations by Admiral DK Joshi and Vice Admiral Sekhar Sinha.

Giriraj seeks anticipatory bail

Patna, April 24
Facing imminent arrest for his alleged hate speech, BJP leader Giriraj Singh today applied for anticipatory bail in the district court here hours after a joint team of Bihar and Jharkhand police raided his house to arrest him. He filed the anticipatory bail plea in the court of district judge Virendra Kumar who listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.

Singh has sought anticipatory bail in connection with an FIR lodged against him at the Airport police station here on April 21 under provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950 and Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The FIR against him was lodged by a district officer on the direction of the Election Commission which had taken note of his statement defending his controversial remarks in Jharkhand that those who opposed Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan.

Giriraj Singh, a former minister in the Nitish Kumar government, had made the controversial remark during an election meeting in Jharkhand's Deoghar district on April 19.

He had also said that the Centre was giving subsidy for export of beef while taxing those who reared cows.

Two FIRs were lodged against him at Deogarh and Bokaro in Jharkhand for the comments and the one in Patna at the behest of the Election Commission, which barred him from campaigning in the two states.

The BJP leader had yesterday said he will surrender before a court either in Bihar or in Jharkhand today.

According to BJP leaders, Giriraj Singh will surrender before a court either in Bokaro or Patna in a day or two. "He is consulting legal experts," BJP leaders said. The Election Commission Tuesday night banned Giriraj Singh from holding any election rally or road show in Bihar and Jharkhand over his controversial remark. The poll panel had also asked him to submit an explanation by April 24. — PTI

Police raid his house

• The Jharkhand Police on Thursday raided the house of Giriraj Singh in Barahiya in Bihar's Lakhisarai district, but the BJP leader was nowhere to be found

• Giriraj was also not to be found at his official residence in Patna's high security zone

• His mobile phone was switched off and he was not available for comment

Kerala temple treasure
SC orders special audit by ex-CAG
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, April 24
The Supreme Court today ordered a special audit of the assets of Kerala’s Padmanabha Swamy temple in the light of the amicus curiae’s report on total mismanagement and sorry state of affairs of the shrine in Thiruvananthapuram. The audit would be supervised by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Roy.

A Bench headed by Justice RM Lodha also set up a new administrative committee headed by the district judge to manage the temple and its assets, including land, bank accounts and donations.

The apex court further directed that no temple property could be alienated in any manner. If the district judge was not a Hindu, the next senior most judicial officer from the religion would take charge of the temple administration, it clarified.

The changes were being made as the present trustees had failed badly and could no longer be allowed to call the shots in the interest of devotees and the temple, the SC explained.

It also replaced the present Executive Officer, who was reluctant to continue, by appointing Satish Kumar, who had managed the famous Guruvayur temple in Thrissur, as the new EO.

Top posts in Navy to be filled soon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 24
Top posts in the Indian Navy will be filled soon as the file for fresh appointments has been processed by the Ministry of Defence. At present, two senior-level posts are lying vacant. Two vacancies have been created following the resignations by Admiral DK Joshi and Vice Admiral Sekhar Sinha.

Naval headquarters has proposed the name of Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba to be the Vice Chief of the Navy, a post that fell vacated after Admiral Robin Dhowan was elevated as Navy Chief last week. Vice Admiral Lanba, at present, is heading the Delhi-based National Defence College. Lanba is slated to succeeded Admiral Dhowan as the next Navy Chief in May 2016 on the basis of his seniority.

When Admiral Dhowan was elevated, he superseded Western Naval Commander Vice Admiral Sekhar Sinha, who quit under protest. As a replacement for Sinha, the names of Vice Admiral Satish Soni and Vice Admiral Anil Chopra have been suggested.