India

Karimnagar (Telangana), Jan 2 (PTI): A four-year-old girl has allegedly been kidnapped and raped by her close relative in a village in Jayashankar Bhoopalpalli district, police said on Thursday.

The girl, along with her mother and grandmother, was asleep in their house in Konampet village on Tuesday night when the relative Rasa Komuraiah (36) entered the house, took the child away and allegedly raped her, the police said.

The girl's mother woke up early Wednesday, found her daughter missing and started a search, they said.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) A section of protesters at Shaheen Bagh, who have been demonstrating against the CAA for the last 20 days, called off the road blockade on Thursday alleging "politicisation" of their "peaceful protest", though locals refused to leave the spot and continued with their agitation.

"We have called off the Shaheen Bagh road blockade today to avoid the impending violence from party goons and to avoid politicisation of the stage by parties, Sharjeel Imam from Shaheen Bagh Coordination Committee said in a statement.

Patna, Jan 2 (PTI) The opposition in Bihar on Thursday expressed shock over the "abduction and murder" of an 18- year-old youth who went missing last month on a day the state witnessed anti-CAA protests and whose decomposed, mutilated body was recovered from a pit more than a week later.

Hyderabad, Jan 2 (PTI): A 19-year-old priest was on Thursday arrested here for allegedly stealing as many as 31 bicycles, police said.

The accused, who learnt the Vedas, worked as a priest in temples and was addicted to playing PUBG game. He used to quarrel with his mother for lavish needs, a press release from the police said.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dismiss his own chief minister for openly opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act and to declare him an "anti-national" for doing so.

Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala used a tweet of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to challenge the Prime Minister.

"Mr Prime Minister, Stop fooling India! Your own CM is openly opposing CAA. Will you now declare him 'anti national'? I challenge you to dismiss him before criticising the opposition," he said on Twitter.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) As part of its programme to mobilise support for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP has launched a toll-free number for people to give missed calls to register their endorsement of the law ahead of the party's 10-day mass contact drive from January 5.

Bhopal, Jan 2 (PTI) The Congress-affiliated Seva Dal on Thursday distributed a book on Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar, questioning his credentials as a patriot and his reputation for valour, drawing criticism from the BJP.

The Hindi book, distributed at an ongoing camp of the Seva Dal here, was titled "Veer Savarkar, Kitne 'Veer'?" (How brave was `Veer' Savarkar?).

The book alleged that Savarkar received money from the British after he was released from Andaman's Cellular Jail.

Bhopal, Jan 2 (PTI) At least 1,000 teachers from six government medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh have resigned in the last 48 hours to press their demands including a "clear- cut promotion policy", their union said on Thursday.

The protest could hit services in hospitals attached to government-run medical colleges.

The protesting teachers would not be reporting for duty from January 9, said Dr Rakesh Malviya, secretary of the state unit of the Central Medical Teachers' Association.

Jammu, Jan 2 (PTI) The Pakistan Army shelled mortars along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a defence spokesman said on Thursday.

The Indian Army retaliated to the shelling that took place on Wednesday night.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing of small arms and shelling with mortars along the LoC in Krishna Ghati sector in district Poonch around 2100 hours on Wednesday", the spokesman said.

The firing stopped at 2330 hours.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) All 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have requested the HRD Ministry to exempt them from reserving positions in the teaching staff for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

The premier business schools, which currently do not offer reservation in teaching positions, have been asked by the Ministry to provide quota in faculty positions for SC, ST, OBC and EWS candidates.