Kapil Mishra vs AAP: Money laundering allegations fly thick and fast

May 15, 2017

New Delhi, May 15: Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra's indefinite fast against the AAP on Saturday saw high drama with a ruling party legislator attempting a counter fast outside the former's house, but was detained by police.

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Sanjeev Jha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from Burari, attempted to hold a counter hunger strike outside Mishra's Civil Lines house to demand that he present proof of his bribery allegations against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Jha was detained by the police, who said the legislator did not have the requisite permission.

Mishra, who began his hunger strike on Wednesday, accused Kejriwal of using Jha as a pawn to disrupt his agitation. He insisted that he will present proof of his allegations only to investigative agencies.

He is on fast demanding that Kejriwal reveal the source of funding of the foreign trips of five AAP leaders - Sanjay Singh, Ashish Khetan, Satyendar Jain, Raghav Chadhha and Durgesh Pathak - in the last two years.

"I would like to advise Jha against sitting on a hunger strike as he is being used as a pawn," said Mishra, and alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will resort to "new drama" to distract attention from the "foreign trips controversy".

"They must know that I will handover the evidence only to investigative agencies. But Kejriwal wants that I hand them over to the 'thief' who then will judge himself and then proclaim himself to be innocent (referring to Kejriwal). That is not going to happen," he asserted.

AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia dubbed Mishra's hunger strike as "BJP facilitated".

Mishra declared that Kejriwal's attempts to foil his "Satyagraha" will not be successful.

Mishra alleged that the Chief Minister has asked "at least 20" MLAs to launch hunger strikes to counter him "but only one (Jha) was willing".

He said that Jha should be provided security, alleging that there could be an attack on Jha to portray Mishra in bad light.

"I would urge the police to provide security to Jha. Those who can attack me can go to any extent to prove me wrong," said Mishra, who was hit by a man on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a team of doctors examined Mishra and advised immediate hospitalisation, but he refused.

"He needs immediate hospitalisation but has refused to do so. We have asked him to drink more water," said a doctor.

Mishra on Friday too had refused hospitalisation despite his weakening condition. Mishra said he will drink only water during his fast.

Jha has accused Mishra of "lying" and declared he will join the agitation if he can prove his allegation of having seen Health Minister Satyendar Jain handing over Rs 2 crore to Kejriwal at his residence.

"If Mishra can prove his allegations to be true, I will myself join him in demanding Kejriwal's resignation as the Chief Minister," Jha told the media.

He also wrote a letter demanding to know when and how did he go to Kejriwal's residence when he saw the Chief Minister being handed over the cash.

"It has been six days that you levelled the allegation, but have not presented any proof. Rather you have been changing your statements. It proves that you have been lying," Jha said in the letter which was uploaded on social media sites.

Mishra in his reply, said he has the evidence and will hand them only to probe agencies.

Sisodia said the fact that police refused to let Jha hold a counter agitation goes to prove that the Bharatiya Janata Party was behind Mishra's hunger strike.

"Police have not allowed Jha's hunger strike, which he wanted to launch demanding proof of Mishra's allegations. It is evident that (his) Mish

ra's hunger strike is being facilitated by the BJP," Sisodia told the media.

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News Network
December 20,2025

train.jpg

At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services. 

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi). 

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

•    0361-2731621
•    0361-2731622
•    0361-2731623

The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30. 

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks. 

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested. 

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