India

Tikamgarh, Aug 27 (PTI) A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 15-year-old boy in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

The alleged incident occurred at Ladpura, around 85 kms from here, on Monday evening when the girl was alone in a field, said Orchha police station sub-inspector Gaurav Rajoriya.

Kottayam (Ker), Aug 27 (PTI) A court here on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to 10 people for the honour killing of a 23-year-old Dalit Christian man last year, which had triggered widespread protests across the state.

Principal Sessions Court Judge C Jayachandran convicted the 10 men under various sections of the IPC, including sections 302 (murder) and 364A (kidnapping for ransom), Special Public Prosecutor C S Ajayan told reporters here.

Hooghly (WB), Aug 27 (PTI) A security guard of a private school in Hooghly district was arrested on Tuesday on the charge of molesting a minor girl student, following demonstration by angry guardians in front of the school.

The security guard allegedly molested the 11-year-old girl inside the premises of the school in Serampur area last week and the student told her parents about the incident, police said.

Dantewada, Aug 27 (PTI) A woman Naxal "deputy commander" with a reward of Rs 8 lakh on her head was arrested on Tuesday from Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

Kowasi Mangli (27) was apprehended from the house of a relative in Mendoli village under Katekalyan police station limits, a local police official said.

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) Dalit activists on Tuesday said they will sit on an indefinite dharna from August 30 at Jantar Mantar to demand rebuilding of a Ravidas temple at its original place in south Delhi's Tughlakabad area.

A Ravidas temple was demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on August 10 on the directions of the Supreme Court, following which a protest by Dalits against the demolition turned violent on August 21.

Kolkata, Aug 27 (PTI) The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal is planning to introduce a stringent Bill in the Legislative Assembly to check incidents of mob assault and lynching in the state, sources said on Tuesday.

The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 is likely to be tabled in the House on August 30, they said.

"The bill aims to protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable persons and prevent incidents of lynching. It also proposes action against those involved in perpetrating the crime," a senior TMC minister said.

Bilaspur, Aug 27 (PTI) A 22-year-old deaf and mute woman was allegedly raped by five men in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district, police said on Tuesday.

All the accused have been arrested.

The alleged incident took place on the night of August 25 in a village under the Marwahi police station limits, said Pradip Arya, Station House Officer (SHO).

Patna, Aug 28 (PTI) Members of a panchayat in Bihar's Gaya district "punished" a gangraped minor girl by tonsuring her head and parading her through the village, a police officer said here on Wednesday.

The 15-year-old girl was kidnapped by residents of her village on August 14 and gangraped, sources in the police headquarters said.

The girl narrated the incident to her parents who then approached the local panchayat for justice two days later.

Srinagar, Aug 28 (PTI) High schools in the Kashmir Valley reopened on Wednesday in areas where restrictions have been lifted but students kept away.

Higher secondary schools in the valley have been shut for over three weeks due to restrictions imposed in the state after its special status was revoked.

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday referred a batch of petitions challenging the changes brought in the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir by abrogating Article 370 to a five-judge Constitution bench.

The apex court issued notices to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a batch of pleas challenging the presidential order by which Article 370 of the Constitution was abrogated.