US court dismisses bribery and fraud charges against billionaire Adani

Devendra Nath Mahto joined a march to the state Assembly despite being on a nine-day hunger strike. The CJP denounced the police use of tear gas, batons and water cannons against protesters as "inhuman." DW has more.

Protesting student leader Devendra Nath Mahto said his health deteriorated after police used batons to disperse protesters

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke called police action 'cruel and inhuman'

Jharkhand unit of the BJP has called a statewide shutdown on Tuesday

Here's a roundup of the biggest headlines from India on Tuesday, August 11:

Inspired by the Cockroach movement, young people in India's eastern state of Jharkhand are marching on the state assembly to demand transparency and a probe into alleged irregularities in civil service recruitment exams.

Tamil Nadu's state legislature on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the central government to scrap the nationwide medical college entrance examination, media reports said.

Health Minister KG Arunraj said the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam undermined social justice and disadvantaged rural and poorer students by increasing reliance on costly coaching centers, according to the reports.

The Tamil Nadu government instead proposed admissions for medical colleges based on students' grades in Class 12.

The motion was supported by all parties, with the lone lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walking out during the proceedings, reports said.

The NEET exam has been in the news in India since the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) launched a protest following the cancellation of the test in May, after authorities found its question paper was leaked.

The cancellation of the highly competitive NEET exam sparked outrage across the country.

The CJP protests, which started in New Delhi and then spread across the country, forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month.

A US judge dismissed bribery and fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on Monday after the Trump administration moved to drop the case.

Adani, a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's, was charged in 2024 with participating in a $265 million (€230 million) scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure solar energy contracts.

His associates were also charged with attempting to obstruct the US investigations by destroying evidence. Adani has denied wrongdoing.

Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis criticized the US Justice Department's handling of the decision said the decision to dismiss the 2024 charges was unusual and raised concerns because prosecutors and investigators, including FBI and SEC agents involved in the case, were not consulted.

According to media reports Adani's attorney Robert Giuffra, who is also Donald Trump's personal lawyer, told Justice Department officials in April that if charges were dropped, the billionaire would invest $10 billion in the United States.

Garaufis said he believed that Adani's reported pledge to invest in the US did not influence the Justice Department's decision to drop the case.

In May, court documents showed that Gautam Adani agreed to pay civil penalties of $6 million, while his nephew Sagar Adani, another leader at Adani Green Energy, agreed to pay $12 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The proposed settlement doesn't include an admission of guilt.

Adani welcomed the ruling, saying his faith in "truth, fairness and the rule of law" remained unwavering.

Student protest leader Devendra Nath Mahto was admitted to a hospital in the eastern state of Jharkhand after taking part in a march to the state legislature on Monday while on a nine-day hunger strike.

Police used tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse the crowd of students marching toward the state assembly on Monday in state capital Ranchi.

The students are alleging irregularities in government recruitment exams.

Mahto said his health deteriorated after police used batons to disperse protesters outside the Legislative Assembly.

"At present, my treatment continues under the supervision of doctors," he wrote on X.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke also alleged that Mahto was injured by police batons and was experiencing chest pain.

"Be it Jantar Mantar or Jharkhand, such police brutality against students is cruel and inhuman," Dipke wrote on X, alluding to the last month's student protests that forced India's education minister to resign.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Hemant Soren-led government of using excessive force, alleging hundreds of students were injured, and called a statewide shutdown on Tuesday.

Earlier on Sunday, the sixth round of talks between student protesters and the government failed to reach a breakthrough following which the protesters announced a march to the state Assembly.