Shaunak Badole in Open Group and Divyanshi Khandelwal in Women Group annexed the title of Nagpur District Open and Women Selection Chess Championship organised by Chess Association Nagpur in association with GH Raisoni Sports and Cultural Foundation and Kalpana Prakash Welfare Foundation on 26^th March 2023 in Nagpur.

Shaunak true to his top seeding scored 6.5 points out of seven rounds and emerged winner. Chandrashekhar Sable with a last round draw with Shaunak stood second with 6 points to his credit. Nilay Kulkarni, Sharma Sai and Ayush Ramteke scored 5.5 points and were adjudged 3^rd to 5^th in the final list.

In the women group, Divyanshi Khandelwal who was seeded fifth at the start of championship had a memorable event scoring all 5 points out of 5 rounds and won the championship. In her march to the top, she scored over the Top Seed Aparneeta Jagtap and Third seed Tijan Gawar. Aparneeta Jagtap and Tijan Gawar with their only loss to Divyanshi were placed second and third respectively with 4 points. Anvi Hirde and Shanaya Shelkar scored 3.5 points and were placed 4^th and 5^th in the final merit list.

Shaunak Badole, Chandrashekhar Sable, Nilay Kulkarni and Sharma Sai shall represent Nagpur District in Open Group and Divyanshi Khandelwal, Aparneeta Jagtap, Tijan Gawar, Anvi Hirde and Shanaya Shelkar shall represent Nagpur District in Women Group in the Maharashtra State Open and Women Chess Championship to be held later this year.

Prizes were distributed at the hands of Shri Yashwant Shamkuwar, Ex. Secretary of Vidarbha Chess Association who is a Senior player himself. Shri Bhushsan Shriwas, Secretary, Chess Association Nagpur and Kalpana Prakash Welfare Foundation and Chief Arbiter IA Deepak Chavan were present on the dais. Top 10 Finishers in Open and Women Group got the Trophies and Medals. Medals were also given to Top player in Under 15,13,11,09,07 Category.

Chief Arbiter IA Deepak Chavan, successfully conducted the event assisted by SNA Sagar Sakhare, SNA Sham Agrawal, SNA Prayas Ambade and Prathamesh Machave.

Also read: Nagpur Youth Congress activists stage protest against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP

Members of Youth Congress Nagpur…

Members of Nagpur Youth Congress staged protest against former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as Member of Parliament from Lok Sabha amid ‘Modi surname’ remark. The protest was held at Chhatrapati Square in the city on Saturday morning where members raised slogans hailing Gandhi. 

When we spoke to Secretary, Maharashtra Youth Congress, Abhishek Dhawad, who led the protest, said, “It is an orchestrated attack on the democracy. And, BJP’s attempt to cripple the voice of Opposition by expunging Rahul Gandhiji is a testimony to the fact that the accusations hold weight and thus the BJP government needs to come clean.”

When asked about Gandhi’s accusation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi siding with business tycoon Gautam Adani, Dhawad quipped, “Adani’s meteoric rise couldn’t have happened without the former being hand in glove with the Centre. It’s the biggest scam in the history of mankind!”

Senior Congress leader and former Corporator Praful Gudadhe Patil, Nagpur District Secretary Mangesh Kamone, etc., marked their presence during the protest.  

Gandhi, on Friday, was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP, a day after a Surat Court convicted him in a defamation case regarding Modi surname remark. The notification disqualifying the Wayanad MP was issued hours after Gandhi attended the morning session of Lok Sabha.

Gandhi, in 2019, had remarked, “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi have Modi in their names.”

Also read: Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP bars him from contesting LS polls for 8 years?

Area in Satranjipura where raids were being conducted

National Investigation Agency – NIA – conducted searches at three locations in Nagpur in its ongoing probe into a case having suspected terror links with Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. The investigation that began at 4 am and concluded at 8 am during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, was carried out at Satranjipura and Hansapuri areas of the city. 

Acting on a tip off, the officials raided the residences of the accused for allegedly establishing a contact in Pakistan through their mobile phones. 

The NIA interrogated two people – Akhtar Raza Vald Moh and Ahmad Raza Vald Moh – living near Badi Masjid in Satranjeepura for allegedly chatting with a Pakistani person through WhatsApp. 

The NIA team released Abdul after issuing him a notice and confiscating his phone. The NIA team confiscated Abdul’s mobile phone.. Reportedly, a few days back, both the accused had an argument at an Iftar party that was organised at Badi Masjid so the Lakdganj Police had called them for questioning. 

Zakir Naik is an Islamic preacher, founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) who faces multiple charges of money laundering and hate speech in India. Naik, who has been residing in Malaysia since 2017, is accused of instigating Muslim youth and terrorists in India and abroad to commit terrorist acts.

Also read: Dance enthusiasts, friends pay tribute in loving memory of Tiki Peters in Nagpur