Uttarakhand

Rishikesh, Jul 23 (PTI) A man was arrested here in Uttarakhand on Friday for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl repeatedly over a period of time, police said.

Kranshu Chauhan has been arrested in the case, Rishikesh Kotwali police station in-charge Shishupal Singh Negi said.

He repeatedly raped the girl over a period of time after intimidating her, the officer said.

Dehradun, Jul 13 (PTI) The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday cancelled the Kanwar Yatra in view of the looming threat of a third wave of COVID-19.

"We decided to cancel the yatra, according topmost priority to human life in view of the threat of a possible third wave, the surfacing of the Delta Plus variant of the virus and its impact across the country and abroad," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. The decision was taken after a meeting with senior officials and considering all aspects into account including the opinion of medical experts, he said.

Dehradun, Jul 12 (PTI) The Uttarakhand government on Monday extended the coronavirus lockdown imposed in the state by another week till July 20, and authorised district magistrates to cap the number of tourists visiting popular destinations in their jurisdictions on weekends if necessary.

Dehradun, Jul 3 (PTI) Pushkar Singh Dhami will be the new chief minister of Uttarakhand following his election on Saturday as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the hill state where assembly elections are due next year.

Dhami, 45, will be the youngest chief minister of the state and replaces Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned on Friday night within four months of taking charge from Trivendra Singh Rawat.

"My party has appointed a common worker, son of an ex-serviceman, who was born in the border district of Pithoragarh to serve the people.

Dehradun, Jul 2 (PTI) Another BJP MLA in Uttarakhand has been accused of rape by a former party colleague.

A case of rape was lodged against Jwalapur MLA Suresh Rathore at Bahadarabad police station in Haridwar on Thursday night after a lower court's order.

The legislator has been accused of rape and criminal intimidation, police said.

Rathore is the second MLA from Uttarakhand after Dwarahat MLA Mahesh Negi against whom such serious charges have been levelled.

Dehradun, Jul 3 (PTI) The Uttarakhand BJP legislature party will meet on Saturday afternoon to elect its new leader, a day after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister after a less than four-month stint.

Ending days of speculation about a change of guard in the state, Rawat on Friday handed over his resignation letter to Governor Baby Rani Maurya past 11 pm, hours after returning from Delhi where he was summoned by the top BJP leadership on Wednesday.

Dehradun, Jun 7 (PTI) The Covid lockdown in Uttarakhand has been extended for another week till June 15 with some relaxations.

The period of current lockdown in the state was scheduled to come to an end at 6 am on Tuesday morning.

Extended for another week, the curfew would remain in force till 6 am on June 15, Chief Secretary Om Prakash had said in an order on Sunday.

The order authorises district magistrates to give relaxations in rural areas under their jurisdiction based on their assessment of the Covid situation.

Rishikesh, Jun 5 (PTI) A man and a woman have been arrested here for allegedly issuing fake negative RT-PCR test reports to tourists.

The arrest follows complaints that eight RT-PCR test reports shown by tourists from Delhi on arrival were found fake on scrutiny, Muni-ki-Reti inspector in-charge Kamal Mohan Bhandari said.

Dehradun, May 12 (PTI) Uttarakhand will import 20 lakh doses of Sputnik vaccine over the next two months, officials said on Wednesday.

Giving the information at a press conference here, Chief Secretary Om Prakash said a five-member committee has been constituted for the purpose and the required funds have been arranged.

The state government has also requested the country's leading vaccine manufacturing companies to supply doses of the vaccine to Uttarakhand, he said.

Dehradun, May 9 (PTI) A seer from the Joona Akhada, Mahant Vimal, died from coronavirus at a hospital here.