Indian Sub-continent

Kalimpong (WB), Apr 12 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on Monday that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will have no impact on the Gorkhas, and accused the ruling TMC in West Bengal of spreading lies to create fear among the people of the hills.

Shah, during an address after a roadshow in Kalimpong, said as long as the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is there at the Centre, no Gorkha will be harmed.

Kannauj, Apr 12 (PTI) A BJP leader was shot at and seriously injured by unidentified assailants in Chandapur area of the district, police said on Monday.

The 48-year-old BJP leader Neeraj Pandey was shot at on Sunday night while he was returning home after seeking votes for a panchayat poll candidate.

Superintendent of Police, Prashant Verma, said a case has been registered.

Pandey was initially admitted to the district hospital, and later referred to a Kanpur hospital.

New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) India hit a new coronavirus infection record with 168,912 new cases, the highest single-day rise so far, taking the total tally of cases to 13,527,717, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate has fallen below 90 per cent.

The active cases have surpassed the 12-lakh mark, while the death toll increased to 170,179 with 904 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 18, 2020, the data updated at 8 am showed.

11 Apr 2021; MEMO: The government of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir will withdraw cases filed against a group of people from Bangladesh, including members of the Rohingya community, so that they can be deported, local media reported on Saturday, Anadolu Agency reported.

It is not clear how many of the group are Rohingya refugees, hundreds of whom have been staying in Jammu since 2007.

Fatehpur (UP), Apr 11 (PTI) A youth was arrested in Lalauli area here on Sunday for allegedly sodomising a minor child, police said.

SHO of Lalauli police station Sandeep Tiwari said a 22-year-old man lured the boy to a jungle around Saturday afternoon, and sodomised him there.

He said a case was registered based on a complaint lodged by the boy's family members on Sunday and the accused has been arrested.

The child has been sent to a government hospital for treatment.

Bijapur, Apr 11 (PTI) Four machines and a vehicle engaged in the construction of a water treatment plant in Chattisgarh's Bijapur district were set ablaze by Naxals on Sunday, police said.

The arson incident took place in the afternoon under Naimed police station limits, where a WTP is being built on the bank of Mingachal river to supply potable water to Bijapur town, an official said.

Kolkata, Apr 11 (PTI) West Bengal registered 79.90 per cent polling during the fourth phase of assembly elections held in 44 constituencies spread across five districts, state chief electoral officer Ariz Aftab said on Sunday.

The highest turnout of 84.76 per cent was registered in Cooch Behar district while it was 82.54 per cent in Alipurduar during the polling held on Saturday, he said.

While in Hooghly the turnout was recorded at 79.75 per cent, it was 77.25 per cent in South Parganas and 77.24 per cent in Howrah, the CEO said.

Mathura (UP), Apr 11 (PTI) A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura on Sunday, following which three accused persons were arrested, police said.

The incident took place at a village here on Sunday afternoon.

An FIR was registered and three of the four men were arrested by the police, SP (city) Martand Prakash Singh said, adding that efforts were underway to nab the fourth accused.

The minor has been sent for a medical examination, he said.

New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) The active COVID-19 cases in India breached the 11 lakh-mark (1.1 million) for the first time after a record high of 1.52 lakh (150,000) new infections while a massive vaccination push, dubbed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the beginning of another major war against coronavirus, was launched on Sunday in a bid to abate the surge.

The active caseload till now was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12 and at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A Taliban militants' attempt to gain ground outside Kunduz city, the capital of northern Kunduz province, has been foiled, provincial government spokesman Esmatullah Muradi said.

A group of Taliban militants, according to the official, stormed police checkpoints in Ibrahim Khil area outside Kunduz city Sunday morning, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a couple of hours, and the militants fled away after leaving three bodied behind.

Two policemen were also killed in the fighting, the official confirmed.