March 24: Top news at 1 pm  

Resident doctors in Maharashtra yet to resume work

Resident doctors in Maharashtra are yet to resume work despite an appeal by an association representing them to join duty and intervention of the Bombay High Court. With the doctors not returning to work, functioning of the OPDs and general wards in the government and the civic hospitals are likely to be affected today as well. "The OPDs in KEM, Sion and Nair hospitals have not yet become fully operational. Some doctors are managing them but it has increased the waiting period for patients," Dr Avinash Supe, dean of KEM Hospital, told PTI. Asked about the striking doctors resuming duty, Supe said, "Very few have returned to work. Hence, full medical services will not be available immediately." The High Court had yesterday directed the resident doctors to resume work immediately. However, the order was not available on the HC website till last night and therefore protesting doctors decided to wait. After the court order, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) late last night appealed to the striking medical practitioners to join duty.

'Countdown' has begun, I-T dept warns black money holders ahead of March 31 deadline

The Income Tax department today warned black money holders that it has "information" about their illegal deposits and they should avail the soon-to-end PMGKY window to come clean. In advertisements issued in leading national dailies, the department said that the "countdown" in this regard has begun and stash holders should declare their black money "or regret later". The window under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) closes on March 31. The advertisement said that the "Income Tax department has information about your deposits." The department also said that total "confidentiality is ensured" to those who declare their black assets and funds under this scheme. It had recently also cautioned stash holders to avail the scheme or face stringent action under Benami laws, adding that the defaulters' names will also be shared with the central probe agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. The tax and penalty against those who hide their black money and fail to avail the PMGKY could go as high as 137% of the cash deposits made, a senior officer had said.

Popular Tamil writer Asokamitran passes away

Noted Tamil litterateur Asokamitran passed away here tonight after a brief illness, aged 85. He is survived by his wife and three sons, senior journalist and Asokamitran's son T Ramakrishnan told PTI. A well-known novelist and essayist, he was noted for his subtlety and refreshing creativity in expression. Born Thiagarajan, he assumed the pseudonym Asokamitran in the 1960s. His work "Appavin Snegithargal", a collection of short stories won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996. "18-vadhu Atchakkodu", translated into English as "The Eighteenth Parallel", is one of his highly acclaimed novels. Widely travelled, many of his works have been translated into English and European languages. He was given the Tiru Vi Ka Award in 2014 for his contribution to Tamil literature by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Policemen taking bribe caught on camera by Punjab minister

Two police men taking bribe were today caught on camera by Punjab Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who was travelling in a private car without the red beacon on it, police said. The incident took place at Doraha near Ludhiana. Badal, who was returning from Ferozepur after attending a function without any escort, saw two policemen taking bribe and shot a video of the act, police said. Later, the Bathinda Urban MLA brought it to the notice of senior police officials. When contacted, Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said the minister reported the matter to him and he then referred it to Khanna SSP as the two police men belonged to his area.

Six youths arrested by anti-Romeo squad in Shamli

In a crackdown on eve-teasers, six youths have been arrested in Shamli district by the anti-Romeo squads of the UP police who held them for allegedly harassing girls. The arrests were made yesterday in three separate incidents. Ankur and Arjun were arrested in Jhunjhala town whereas Sonu and Naresh Kumar were arrested from Thana Bhawan town by the newly-formed squads, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Lal Sharma said. They were found passing lewd remarks on the girl students who were returning home after taking their board examination, the SP said. Two other youths were arrested in Shamli city for similar offences, he added.