India

Palghar, Jan 25 (PTI) A Mumbai resident and some of his relatives have been booked in a Child Marriage Act case by Virar police in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Saturday.

Nikhil Gohil, from Mazgaon in the metropolis, has also been booked for rape under Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, said Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Katkar.

Ahmedabad, Jan 24 (PTI) After remaining in police custody for a week, Congress leader Hardik Patel was a free man on Friday as he was granted bail by two courts in different towns.

On Thursday, Patel walked out of Sabarmati Central Jail here after getting bail in a sedition case registered here in 2015.

But as soon as he came out, he was arrested by a police team from Mansa town in Gandhinagar in a 2017 case where he is accused of addressing a rally without police permission.

Srinagar, Jan 24 (PTI) After remaining shut for more than five months, 2G mobile internet services on postpaid as well as prepaid phones will be restored in the Kashmir Valley from Saturday but can only be used to access 301 websites approved by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, an official order said.

According to a notification issued by the home department of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, access to the internet with 2G speed on mobile phones will resume from January 25.

Mumbai, Jan 25 (PTI) A five-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an unidentified person at Matunga in Central Mumbai, police said on Saturday.

The incident came to light on Thursday morning, when the police received a call about girl lying unconscious at Arora Junction in Matunga, an official said.

Jaipur, Jan 25 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva on Saturday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act "negates" constitutional guarantees and rights given to all Indians and that the judicial system which is supposed to be the protector and the interpreter of the Constitution "has failed us".

Speaking at the 'Of the People, By the People: The Indian Constitution' session at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival here, the former governor of Rajasthan said she had expected the courts "to be more active and more vocal" on the matter.

Chandigarh, Jan 25 (PTI) A 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by two men in Haryana's Panipat district, police said on Saturday.

The girl was going to tuition centre on her scooter on Friday evening when two men waylaid her and then took her to a secluded place in their car, an official of the Model Town police station said.

She was given something laced with sedatives before being gang-raped the official said.

Chennai,Jan 25 (PTI) Coming to the rescue of the second wife of a deceased doctor, the Madras High Court has directed the Director of Local Fund Audits to sanction family pension with effect from the date of her husband's death.

C Sarojini Devi had challenged the order of the Director of Local fund Audits, Chennai, refusing to grant family pension on the ground that the marriage between the petitioner and doctor, a deceased government employee, was not valid and she cannot be considered to be the legal representative.

Patna, Jan 25 (PTI) A college for women here on Saturday withdrew its ban on wearing of burqa in its premises after it had prohibited it as part of the institute's new dress code.

Acknowledging that the prohibition was due to a misunderstanding, the college authorities said that it has "no intention to disturb or harass students of any community".

Chennai, Jan 25 (PTI) Scores of members of Muslim outfit Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath took out protest marches across Tamil Nadu on Saturday against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The protesters gathered in front of the Chennai Collectorate holding placards and TNTJ flags and raised slogans demanding withdrawal of the Act.

Tight security was in place to ensure no untoward incidents took place, police sources said.

Mumbai, Jan 25 (PTI) NCP president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that all political leaders know that their phones are tapped, which is why they do not think about it seriously.

His comments come a day after Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh accused the previous BJP-led state government of tapping phones of senior NCP and Congress leaders during the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.