India

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday refrained from examining the legal challenges posed to the changes made in the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the petitions filed on the "serious issue" of abrogation of provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution suffer from defects.

The apex court, which was dealing with the first petition filed on August 6, a day after the decision to scrap Article 370 was announced, expressed its anguish that there have been six petitions on the issue and all were filed with the defects.

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) Director General of the Election Commission Dhirendra Ojha has been given a one year extension, a government order said on Friday.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the extension in the central deputation tenure of Ojha, the DG (Media and Communications) of the Election Commission of India, it said.

Srinagar, Aug 16 (PTI) National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday returned to Delhi after spending 11 days in Kashmir Valley to ensure smooth implementation of plans after the withdrawal of special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Doval, Who came here on August 6, took charge of security and development-related activities with a special focus on ensuring that there was no loss of life, they said.

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad condemned the arrest of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir and senior leader Ravinder Sharma in Jammu on Friday.

Srinagar, Aug 17 (PTI) Landline services in 17 exchanges of the Kashmir Valley were restored on Saturday, officials said.

Seventeen out of a little over 100 telephone exchanges were made operational. These exchanges are mainly in Civil Lines area, Cantonment area, airport of Srinagar district.

Jajpur (Odisha), Aug 17 (PTI) A 51-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor in Bari area of Odisha's Jajpur district, police said on Saturday.

The accused, a neighbour of the nine-year-old girl, lured her with chocolates before taking her to his house in Ratnagiri area under Bari block on Thursday, a police officer said.

"The man took her to his house where he raped her," said Chakrabarty Kanhar, Inspector In-Charge of Bari police station.

Hyderabad, Aug 17 (PTI) The restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of abrogation of Article 370 are being lifted gradually and the situation should be normal within a week, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said on Saturday.

Precautionary measures were being taken in view of provocative statements and others coming from Pakistan, he said.

Surat, Aug 17 (PTI) A man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl living in his neighbourhood here, police said.

The accused, Ajit Vishwakarma (20), a resident of Hirabaug locality in Surat was arrested from his house, where he had sexually assaulted the girl on Thursday, police said.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir began restoring landline phone services on Saturday after a nearly two-week security crackdown and news blackout following a decision to downgrade the majority-Muslim region’s autonomy.

Administrator Shahid Choudhary said restrictions were being lifted in most areas and government offices would open sometime Saturday. He also said on Twitter that food and other supplies were available “in abundance.”

KANPUR: Does it not look odd if the policemen exchange blows with the advocates? In Nawabganj police station more than one hundred advocates created ruckus over policemen's misbehaviour with them. They demand action against the policemen who allegedly beat one advocate.

However, the PS  in charge Dilip Bind told that they have submitted an application with an allegation of battering to the advocate. The probe would be initiated after registering the report. The report will be forwarded to the higher officers for action.