Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Jul 1 (PTI) Odisha Police on Monday arrested a person on charges of impregnating a minor of a girls' hostel run by the ST & SC Development Department of the state government.

The accused was arrested by personnel of the Mahila Police Station from Adivasi Gaon in Bhubaneswar, DCP Anup Sahoo said.

The man, who is a distant relative of the minor girl, allegedly raped her twice, when she had gone to the house of a relative at Salia Sahi area during the summer vacation.

Bhubaneswar, Jun 27 (PTI) Eminent freedom fighter Mohammed Baji died at his residence at Sunari Sahi in Nabarangpur Thursday, family sources said.

He was 103.

Berhampur (Odisha), Jun 27 (PTI) A local court Thursday sentenced five persons to life imprisonment for the killing of a journalist in Odisha's Ganjam district five years ago.

The scribe, Tarun Acharya, 35, was killed on May 27, 2014, for exposing that child labourers were being engaged in a cashew processing unit, his family said.

Additional district and sessions judge of Khallikote, Srinibash Pratihari, held all the five accused, including the owner of the cashew processing unit, guilty of the killing.

One more accused is still absconding.

Cuttack, Jun 14 (PTI) The Odisha police on Friday booked a newly elected BJD MP and his family members on the charge of assaulting and sexually harassing a woman journalist who had gone to his residence to complaint against his brother for passing lewd remarks at her.

The case was registered against Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty, his younger brother Anuprash and the MP's filmstar wife Barsha Priyadarshini after the journalist, Sashmita Acharya, lodged a written complaint against them, police said.

Balasore (Odisha), Jun 12 (PTI) India successfully launched the indigenously-developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) in its maiden test from a base off the Odisha coast on Wednesday.

The HSTDV was successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Launch Complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Dr Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal at 11.27 am, DRDO sources said.

Bhubaneswar, Jun 5 (PTI) The Odisha government Wednesday suspended Internet services in Kendrapara for 48 hours "as a preventive measure" following a skirmish between two groups there on the eve the Eid-ul-Fitr and circulation of inflammatory messages on social media.

However, the festival was celebrated with gaiety in other parts of the state, police said.

The Internet service was suspended for 48 hours from 11.30 am to prohibit people from using various social media platforms in Kendrapara town and adjoining areas, a home department notification said.

Balasore (Odisha), Jun 4 (PTI) Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos on Tuesday was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha.

The anti-ship version of the missile was launched around noon from the launch complex-3 of the ITR, Defence Research and Development (DRDO) sources said.

Bhubaneswar, Jun 3 (PTI) More than five lakh people of 1.64 lakh households in Odisha's coastal districts continue to struggle with hot and humid weather conditions due to lack of power restoration though one month has passed since the cyclone Fani made landfall near Puri on May 3.

The worst affected was Puri district where only 1,51,889 out of 2,91,171 affected electricity consumers (52 per cent) have got back power so far, an official said adding, Fani had completely damaged power infrastructure in the district.

Bhubaneswar, Jun 2 (PTI) Four-time MP from Puri Pinaki Misra was on Sunday nominated as the parliamentary party leader of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Lok Sabha.

BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has nominated Misra as the party leader in the lower house of Parliament, BJD general secretary Bijay Nayak said.

Similarly, Kandhamal MP Achyutananda Samanta has been nominated as the BJD Chief whip and Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty as party's deputy chief whip in Lok Sabha.

Berhampur (Odisha), Jun 1 (PTI) The police after an exchange of fire, arrested two persons in connection with the killing of a Congress' assembly poll candidate in Ganjam district of Odisha.

Manoj Jena, Congress candidate from the Aska assembly seat, was shot at on May 22, on the eve of the counting day, and he died on May 24. He, however, did not win the seat.

The two accused, both residents of Aska, were arrested on late Friday night.