India

Pilibhit (UP), Jan 7 (PTI) Two minor sisters who worked as domestic helps here have alleged that they were raped by their employer, police said on Thursday.

Pilibhit SP Jaiprakash Yadav said both girls have charged their employer with raping them repeatedly.

Prima facie, it appears that the sisters leveled the allegation as they were removed from work but an inquiry is being conducted, the SP said.

Bhopal, Jan 7 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh government has ordered closure of poultry shops in Neemuch and Indore districts for a week after bird flu infection was found among chickens in these areas, officials said on Thursday.

Avian influenza or bird flu virus was found in samples of crow carcasses from seven districts and in chicken samples from Neemuch and Indore, said the state veterinary department in an advisory.

Chandigarh, Jan 7 (PTI) Ten crows were found dead in Kalauda village of Jind district in Haryana amid state on high alert due to unusual mortality at poultry farms in Panchkula.

The deaths were reported on Thursday, officials said, adding that samples taken from the birds have been sent to a lab in Jalandhar for testing.

Officials said the deaths could be caused due to cold or fertilisers sprayed in the fields.

Budaun (UP), Jan 8 (PTI) A priest was quizzed throughout the night for his alleged role in the gang rape of an anganwadi worker in this Uttar Pradesh district after his arrest in the early hours of Friday, police said.

"Mahant" Satya Narayan, the main accused in the case, was hiding in a forest area near the house of one of his followers in Mewali village under the Ughaiti police station, from where he was picked up in a late-night crackdown, they said, adding that he was on the run for five days.

Nagapattinam, Jan 8 (PTI) A 40-year-old widow working as a construction labourer in Nagapattinam was allegedly gang- raped in a temple, police said on Friday.

Two men have been arrested in this connection, the police said.

On Thursday night, the two stalked the widow going towards her sister's house nearby, and allegedly dragged her at knife-point to the temple, they said.

There, the duo allegedly gang-raped her until the wee hours of today and fled the scene, the police said.

The woman sustained injuries and fainted, they said.

Mumbai, Jan 8 (PTI) Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut on Friday reached the Bandra police station here to record her statement in a case related to sedition and other charges.

Ranaut, who has been provided Y-plus category security of CRPF personnel, arrived at the police station in suburban Mumbai around 1 pm along with her advocate amid heavy media presence.

The Bandra police had registered an FIR against Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for allegedly promoting enmity between communities through their remarks in October, an official said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 8 (PTI): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Friday flayed the contentious farm laws passed by the Centre, against which farmers are on the warpath in Delhi, saying it would undermine regulated markets and help the corporates.

Khan read in full length the remarks against the farm laws, against which the Kerala Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on December 31 demanding its immediate withdrawal.

NEW DELHI, Jan 7 (NNN-PTI) – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 10,395,278 today, as 20,346 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 150,336, as 222 COVID-19 patients died since yesterday.

There are still 228,083 active cases, while 10,016,859 people have been discharged so far from hospitals.

Muzaffarnagar, Jan 7 (PTI) A special court trying cases involving lawmakers here has ordered the arrest of BJP's Khatauli MLA Vikram Saini for his failure to appear before it in a case related to defiling a place of worship and triggering communal hatred during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

Issuing non-bailable warrant against Saini, Special Judge Ram Sudh Singh has directed police to arrest and produce him in the court by January 11.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged the Centre to extend the ban on flights between India and the UK till January 31 in view of the extremely serious COVID situation in that country.

The Centre has decided to lift the ban and start UK flights. In view of the extremely serious situation in UK, I would urge central government to extend the ban till January 31, Kejriwal said on Twitter.