India

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the agriculture-related laws are a "death sentence" for farmers whose voice has been crushed both inside and outside Parliament.

"The agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside. Here is proof that democracy in India is dead," he said on Twitter.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s confirmed coronavirus tally reached 6 million cases on Monday, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began.

The Health Ministry reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving the overall tally to 60,74,703. At least 1,039 deaths were also recorded in the same period, taking total fatalities up to 95,542.

New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has been forced to pay for its defaulting partner Videocon Industries Ltd after it had relied on a rarely used model to acquire stake in five oil blocks in Brazil, sources said.

In September 2008, BPCL and Videocon Industries had formed a 50:50 joint venture to acquire a Brazilian oil exploration firm for USD 283 million.

The two firms formed an incorporated joint venture IBV Brasil Petroleo Limitada to acquire Encana Brasil Petroleo Limitada from Canadian gas producers EnCana.

Ayodhya (UP), Sep 27 (PTI) Real estate prices in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh have doubled since the Ram temple 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony with scores of people wishing to own a property in the holy land.

Property rates started rising in the district last year after the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of the temple at the site where devout Hindus believe god Ram was born. And the prices have shot up since the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony in August this year.

Jammu, Sept 27 (PTI) Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire for nearly 30 minutes after the Border Security Force (BSF) picked up suspicious movement along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

No one was injured in the firing which started around 11.45 pm on Saturday in Mangu Chak Border Outpost (BOP) area of Ghagwal sector, the officials said.

Jammu, Sep 26 (PTI) A local court on Saturday awarded seven year sentence to a man for raping a woman on the pretext of marriage in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

Additional session judge Udhampur, S R Gandhi pronounced the judgment after hearing the additional public prosecutor Anil Kumar Magotra for the state, and counsel for the accused and the material on record, the official said.

Bhopal, Sep 26 (PTI) A 22-year-old woman hailing from Uttar Pradesh was on Saturday allegedly raped by two railway officers at the Bhopal main station here, the police said.

"We have arrested prime accused Rajesh Tiwari (age around 45), security counselor and in-charge of disaster management with the Bhopal Railway Division, and detained another railway officer," Bhopal Superintendent of Railway Police (SRP) Hitesh Choudhary told PTI.

Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) The crime branch of Mumbai police on Saturday nabbed a 22-year-old man from suburban Malad in connection with the killing of dalit activist Devjibhai Maheshwari in Kutch in Gujarat, an official said.

The accused, Bharat Jayantilal Raval alias Maharaj, is a resident of Tirupatinagar in Kutch, he said.

Dalit organisations had given a call for bandh in Gujarat and other states if the accused was not arrested within 24 hours of the incident, which occurred on Friday, the official said.

Sambalpur (Odisha), Sep 26 (PTI) A 32-year-old man has been booked in Odishas Bargarh district for allegedly manufacturing fake COVID-19 vaccines, police said on Saturday.

A case was filed against Prahallad Bisi, a class 7 dropout, after the officials of the Drug Control Administration and police raided his house in Rushuda village in the Bheden Police station area on Friday, they said.

Twelve bottles of the fake injections, labels and syringes were seized in the raid, they added.

New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) Former Union minister Jaswant Singh, one of the founding members of the BJP and a close associate of ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, died here on Sunday following a long spell of illness. He was 82.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and other top leaders cutting across the political spectrum paid rich tributes to Singh.