India

Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Oct 9 (PTI) A court here on Wednesday sentenced BJP MLA Dhulu Mahto and four other persons to 18 months imprisonment for assaulting police personnel and forcibly taking away Rajesh Gupta from their custody six years ago.

Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Shikha Agrawal found them guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) and 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt).

They fled with Rajesh Gupta, who faced arrest warrants then.

Sukma, Oct 9 (PTI) Four Naxals, including two women, surrendered in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, police said.

The four ultras, of whom three were carrying cash rewards on their heads, turned themselves in before the police here citing disappointment with the Maoist ideology and violence committed by them, an official said.

Of the surrendered, the woman cadre, Madvi Gangi, who was active as the head of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisaan Majdoor Sangthan (DAKMS), a frontal wing of Maoists, in Kerlapal area, was the most dreaded one, he said.

Patna, Oct 9 (PTI) Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday asserted that BJP had "nothing to do" with a sedition case lodged in Muzaffarpur district against nearly 50 renowned actors, filmmakers and intellectuals who had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the rising incidence of mob lynching.

In a statement issued here, Modi noted with dismay that the FIR was lodged upon the complaint of a "serial litigant" from the north Bihar town, who has filed countless petitions against well-known personalities "including myself".

Ghaziabad, Oct 9 (PTI) The third accused of raping a minor girl last month was arrested here on Wednesday, police said.

The 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three men -- Awdesh, Kapil and Shobit -- on September 13 when she was alone at her home, Superintendent of Police (rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said.

The accused took turns to rape the girl and made a video of the crime, he said.

Kendrapara (Odisha), Oct 9 (PTI) A minor girl in Kendrapara district was allegedly raped by two men while she had gone outside to attend to nature's call, police said on Wednesday.

The accused have been arrested, they said.

"The duo have confessed to the crime. They gangraped her while the 14-year-old girl had gone to a field to answer to nature's call.

Jaipur, Oct 10 (PTI) A delegation of Sufi leaders and spiritual heads of various shrines across the country will visit Jammu and Kashmir between October 12 and 14 to meet the locals and assess the ground situation there.

The spiritual head of Ajmer dargah, Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, has taken the initiative to send the delegation comprising 18 members that will be led by his son Nasiruddin Chisty.

Basti (UP), Oct 9 (PTI) A 26-year-old BJP worker and former student union leader was allegedly shot dead by two men here, sparking protests by his supporters who set ablaze several government buses and police vehicles.

Kabir Tiwari, a former student union president of APN college, was attacked around 10 am at Ranjeet crossing on Malviya road here, they said.

He was taken to the district hospital from where he was referred to Lucknow. Tiwari died on the way, they said.

Gorakhpur (UP), Oct 10 (PTI) Unidentified miscreants killed a 55-year-old journalist by slitting his throat near Dubouli village in Kushinagar district on Thursday morning, police said.

The victim, Radheyshyam Sharma, was associated with a local Hindi newspaper, they said.

Surat, Oct 10 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday appeared before a magisterial court and pleaded not guilty in a criminal defamation case filed against him for his "why do all thieves share the Modi surname" remarks.

Gandhi appeared before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate B H Kapadia here and pleaded not guilty when asked by the court whether he accept the charges, levelled against him by BJP legislator from Surat-West, Purnesh Modi.

Geneva, 10 Oct 2019, (UMMn): India has slipped 10 points, from 58th rank in 2018 to 68 in 2019, on Global Competitiveness Index 2019. The Global Competitiveness Index 2019 has been compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF).