India

Kanpur (UP), Dec 25 (PTI) A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted on Wednesday to probe cases of rioting registered here during recent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The SIT will be headed by Additional SP (Crime) Rajesh Yadav, IG (Kanpur range) Mohit Agarwal said.

Other members of the team will include Circle Officer (Anwarganj), Station House Officer (Kakadev), SHO (Barra), a police Sub-Inspector and a prosecution officer, he said.

Aizawl, Dec 25 (PTI) The BSF on Wednesday seized a huge cache of arms from Parva village near the Mizoram-Myanmar border, officials said.

The stockpile includes M-16, AK-56 and AK-47 rifles, a pistol and 954 rounds of live ammunition, they said.

The arms, which were recovered in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, are suspected to have belonged to cadres of the Arakan Liberation Army (ALA), an insurgent group in Myanmar, the officials said.

Sambalpur (Odisha), Dec 25 (PTI) BJP National Secretary Suresh Pujari Wednesday said the party will not backtrack on implementing the national register of citizens (NRC) as it is essential for the security and self respect of the country.

NRC, he said, is in the interests of the country.

Pujari, who is the MP of neighbouring Bargarh, told a press conference here that intruders are availing of all the government benefits and the political parties are using them as vote banks.

Lucknow, Dec 25 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed those who damaged public property during protests in Uttar Pradesh against the amended citizenship law, saying they should understand that rights and duties go hand in hand.

"They (the vandals) should ask themselves was it right. Whatever was torched, was it not of their child's use? What has happened to those common people and policemen who got injured?" Modi asked.

He said he wanted to tell those who damaged public property "not to forget that rights and duties go hand in hand".

NEW DELHI, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chief Minister of India's central state of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath Wednesday led a protest rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), officials said.

Nath said he would not allow the implementation of any such law in his state which discriminates on the basis of religion and is against the spirit of the country's constitution.

New Delhi, Dec 25 (PTI) Global hospitality firm Hyatt Hotels Corporation is looking to open 11 new hotels across India by the end of 2020 as part of its expansion plans in the country, a senior company official has said.

The Chicago-headquartered firm currently has 32 hotels across 20 destinations under its eight brands in India. The eight brands under the Hyatt portfolio in India are -- Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Alila and Andaz.

Hyderabad, Dec 25 (PTI) A second-year engineering student of a private college here was allegedly sexually assaulted by an Assistant Professor at the institution, police said on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old woman, in her complaint filed stated that the Assistant Professor called her to the lab on Monday and bolted its door before committing the crime, they said.

A case under relevant IPC sections was registered against the accused, aged around 30, and he has been taken into custody.

Guwahati, Dec 24 (PTI) Tens of thousands of people hit the streets across Assam on Tuesday at the call of AASU, Congress and several other groups to peacefully protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The largest gathering was in Dibrugarh, the hometown of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. A large number of people assembled at Chowkidinghee playground at a programme by All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which is spearheading the protests.

Bhopal, Dec 24 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath will lead a protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act in state capital Bhopal on Wednesday, Congress leaders said.

Called 'Samvidhan Bachao Nyaya Shanti Yatra', it will start at noon from Rangmahal Talkies and culminate at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Minto Hall (old Vidhan Sabha), MP Congress vice president and organisation in charge Chandra Prabhash Shekhar said.

Hyderabad, Dec 24 (PTI) Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) continued at some places in Telangana on Tuesday with different groups holding rallies.

A huge rally was taken out at Nirmal town against the CAA and NRC by different organisations, political parties and students organisations, a senior police official told PTI.

The protestors raised slogans and held aloft placards, demanding immediate withdrawal of the CAA.