India

Bulandshahr (UP), Jul 28 (PTI) Four men were arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in a village here, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on July 4 when the girl had gone to an agricultural field.

The accused had also taken obscene photographs of the minor and threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident, the police said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the minor's mother on July 27, a case was registered against the four men and they were arrested on Wednesday, the police added.

Chandigarh, Jul 28 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the Kartarpur corridor so that devotees could visit the shrine dedicated to Sikh Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan.

Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed President Joe Biden's strong commitment to strengthen the India-US strategic partnership when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on him.

"Good to meet US Secretary of State @SecBlinken today. I welcome President Biden's strong commitment to strengthen the India-US Strategic Partnership, which is anchored in our shared democratic values and is a force for global good," Modi tweeted.

Chennai, Jul 28 (PTI) Veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said he had submitted before a Parliamentary panel in detail, the "dangerous aspects" of the Draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which "strangles the voice of freedom of expression."

The actor, also founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) political party, had appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology chaired by senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday.

Raipur, Jul 28 (PTI) The Chhattisgarh government will launch a scheme under which landless families will be provided a financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced on Wednesday.

He was replying to the debate on demand proposals for the first supplementary budget of the financial year 2021-22.

After the discussion, the supplementary budget of Rs 2,485.59 crore was passed.

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar met RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday.

"Met with an old colleague Lalu Prasad Yadav ji and enquired about his health. Was very happy to meet Lalu ji after a long time," Pawar tweeted in Hindi.

Yadav's daughter and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Misa Bharti was also present during the meeting.

Pawar and Yadav were ministers in the United Progressive Alliance-1 and the UPA-2 governments.

Budaun (UP), Jul 29 (PTI) A 21-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death here by her family members for marrying against their wishes, police said on Thursday.

The victim has been identified as Archana, a resident of Palia Gujar under Dataganj police station area here, they said.

Srinagar, Jul 29 (PTI) The Hurriyat Conference on Thursday demanded the release of its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, saying his fundamental rights and civil liberties stand completely curbed for the last two years.

The demand for the release of Mirwaiz was made following a meeting of the executive committee of the Hurriyat Conference held at the residence of Bilal Lone.

"Hurriyat Conference executive members seek his (Mirwaiz) immediate release from illegal arbitrary house detention by the state authorities," the amalgam said in a statement.

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) India on Thursday said it has a steadfast policy to support a sovereign, democratic and peaceful Afghanistan and it is in touch with various stakeholders within and outside Afghanistan including regional and international partners.

The comments by the Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in Rajya Sabha came a day after India and the US strongly pitched for an immediate intra-Afghan peace process to end the violence in Afghanistan and find a political settlement.

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Wednesday stayed the imposition of Rs 25,000 costs on the police in a case related to north-east Delhi riots but refused to interfere with the trial court's strictures against its investigation at this stage.

We can't expunge the remarks without hearing you (Police). Costs may not be deposited till the next date of hearing, said Justice Subramonium Prasad who was hearing Delhi Police's challenge to the trial court order calling its investigation into the case callous and farcical and imposing Rs 25,000 costs.