News Digest: Mikhail killed Sheena; I was only shielding him, Indrani told Peter in jail

Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India

1.) Mikhail killed Sheena; I was only shielding him, Indrani told Peter in jail

Indrani Mukerjea was in denial after her arrest in August in 2015 on the charge of murder ing her daughter, Sheena Bora. So much so that when Peter Mukerjea met her in jail, the only time he would do so, she reportedly told him: “I have been framed. I didn't do it. Mikhail did it. I only disposed of the body.“ The snatch of conversation occurred at Byculla jail in October and Peter was stunned by the web of lies.

On Sunday evening, Peter's brother Gautam Mukerjea had an exclusive tête-à-tête with Mumbai Mirror. He was accompanied by his twin sister, Shagun Mukerjea. They were both essaying to convey the point that by suspecting Peter's involvement in the conspiracy, the investigators were barking up the wrong tree. There are over 250 witnesses in the case but not one statement indicts Peter. He was as taken aback by these disclosures about Indrani as anyone,“ says Gautam.

2.) Teachers to be held accountable if students bunk classes: Delhi government

From increasing the height of boundary walls to taking attendance of students twice a day, the Delhi government has asked all city schools to ensure their students do not bunk classes. In a circular to heads of schools, it has also instructed them to take action against teachers whose students are found roaming outside schools after marking their attendance, The Hindu reported.

“Of late, it has been observed that some students try to bunk classes simply to enjoy roaming in public places, parks, roads, etc. Innocent students do not realise that by bunking classes, they are not only causing loss to their studies but also endangering their own lives,” the circular, dated March 2, said.

The move comes in the wake of the mysterious death of a six-year-old boy, Divyansh Kakrora, of Ryan International School, who was found dead in school’s water tank. The police are yet to solve the case.

3.) Mumbai bar dancers may soon get fixed pay, home drop

A fixed monthly salary, vehicles to drop them home and the right to choose working hours — bar dancers in the state could avail of all this and more once the new law, Maharashtra Regulation of Dancing Places and Bars, 2016, regulating dance bars is passed.

After the Supreme Court last week struck down six of the 26 norms proposed for obtaining dance bar licences, Maharashtra has decided to bring in fresh legislation to regulate dance bars.

Sources told Hindustan Times that the state home department plans to impose stricter norms to contain obscenity and vulgarity, which the Supreme Court accepted was within the purview of the state, and put the onus of safety of the dancers on bar owners.

4.) NJAC case: Factor in merit, integrity in choosing judges, government tells SC

For the first time, the government has sought to include "merit and integrity" as "prime criteria" for appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

It has also proposed selection of up to three lawyers and jurists as Supreme Court judges, documentation of the reasons why a senior judge was overlooked for elevation, and establishment of a permanent secretariat to maintain records, reported The Indian Express.

The new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), finalised by a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last week, seeks to introduce performance appraisal as a standard for appointing chief justices of high courts and Supreme Court judges.

5.) Statues of Jat, non-Jat icons prime targets in Haryana violence

Im the recent violence during the Jat quota agitation in Haryana, it was not just the living who were targeted — the dead too were not spared, said a report in The Indian Express.

Lt Ravinder Chhikara's marble bust enjoyed pride of place in Jhajjar town, at a central square known as Chhikara Chowk. The young Grenadiers' officer died after killing some militants in Jammu and Kashmir in 2000. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously.

The bust was decapitated, allegedly by non-Jat communities, in the recent clashes. It is now wrapped in a sack.

6.) Bike taxi services in Karnataka will have to wait until law is framed

Karnataka has not banned the bike taxi services, but taxi hailing apps such as Uber and Ola will have to wait until Karnataka comes up with a set of regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act on how to govern them. Until the rules are notified, the bike taxi services launched by Uber and Ola in Bengaluru last week, remain unlawful, said transport department officials.

“We will have to first make enabling provisions under the law before we permit the operation of bike taxis,“ EV Ramana Reddy, principal secretary, transport, told The Economic Times.

The Motor Vehicle Act is silent on the operation of bike taxis, said a senior transport department official. However, Goa has overcome this problem by evolving a set of rules to govern bike taxis long ago, and has allowed their operation.

7.) She died fighting `breast tax', her name lives on

Nangeli ('the beautiful one'), a lower-caste woman, was in her early thirties when she decided not to pay the humiliating tax to the king of Travancore. “One day , when the official tax collector (or the parvathiyar) repeatedly came to Nangeli's house for her pending breast tax, she chopped off both her breasts,“ said Kannur based artist T Murali. When Nangeli's husband returned from the fields, he was so grief stricken that he apparently committed suicide.

Nangeli had paid with her life to rebel against a brutal `breast tax' (mulakkaram) which used to be collected from women if they wished to cover themselves with cloth in public.

The place in Cherthala where Nangeli made her sacrifice is known as Mulachiparambu, which in Malayalam means `the land of woman's breasts'. However, with locals reluctant to spell out this name, it is now known as Manorama Kavala (kavala means junction), reports the Times of India.

8.) SP starts election preparation, to announce candidates 1 year ahead

Mulayam Singh Yadavled Samajwadi Party (SP) is planning to announce at least half its candidates about a year ahead of the 2017 assembly elections as an Opposition Mayawati-led BSP and BJP have started making noises in the state with an eye on the polls.

The SP leadership has begun the exercise of candidate selection, people familiar with the developments told The Economic Times. In fact, it has decided to finalise candidates for 175 seats on a priority basis where the party does not have MLAs. And the exercise that began in January , has already finalized a tentative list of 98 candidates from these seats, said these people.

9.) 27 government banks may be merged into just 6

With public sector banks under pressure to tackle their dismal bad loan scenario, consolidation is the way forward, and this could bring down the number of lenders to about six from the present 27, participants in the recently-held Gyan Sangam, a retreat for chiefs of public sector banks and financial institutions, told Hindustan Times.

The timeframe for the mergers will ensure there are no disruptions, the sources said. As banks are short-staffed, a downsizing would not be required, they said.

An expert committee, which will be soon set up to look into the issue, will closely work with the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to identify the right matches for consolidation. The BBB, which will independently oversee consolidation and chalk out business plans for public sector banks, is set to be put in place by April 1, 2016.

10.) How to use Rajnath Singh's name to showcase Tarun Gogoi

The Congress in poll-bound Assam has put up a number of hoardings apparently aimed at embarrassing the BJP, reported The Indian Express.

The hoarding have Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh of the BJP handing over an award to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. "Shrestha Assam, Shrestha Congress: Misa bhashan nohoy, soncha kaam," reads the caption, which means "Assam is best, Congress is best: no false lecture but true work".

"The BJP has been saying our government has done nothing in 15 years. With that hoarding we are only telling the people that it is the BJP's home minister who has handed the Best Infrastructure Development award to our chief minister," said APCC spokesman.