India

Haridwar, Jan 19 (PTI) Four youths allegedly shot dead a tantrik (witch-doctor) here after they failed to win the attention of the girls they loved using his technique, police said on Tuesday.

The youths identified as Rahul, Vishal, Gaurav and Akash have been arrested for the tantrik's murder which took place in Rampur village under Gang Nahar police station area three days ago, Haridwar SSP Senthil Avudai Krishna Raj said.

A pistol has also been recovered from their possession, he said.

Gorakhpur (UP), Jan 19 (PTI) A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed in Purenderpur area of Mahrajganj district, police said on Tuesday.

The semi-naked body of the girl was found in a pool of blood in a forest area around 500 meters away from her home on Tuesday morning, they said.

After getting information, police officials including Maharajganj Superintendent of Police Pradeep Gupta, rushed to the spot and sent the body for postmortem.

It is suspected to be a case of gang-rape and murder, said police officials.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 20 (PTI) In yet another complaint against a central agency, Kerala Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta has written to the Centre about the alleged harassment faced recently by a state government official from Customs and sought an unbiased and time-bound probe.

The letter in this regard was sent by Mehta on January 9.

The state Assistant Protocol Officer, M S Harikrishnan, had appeared before the customs officials at Kochi on January5 following summons issued to him in connection with the sensational gold Smuggling case.

THULASENDRAPURAM, India (AP) — A tiny, lush-green Indian village surrounded by rice paddy fields was beaming with joy Wednesday hours before its descendant, Kamala Harris, takes her oath of office and becomes the U.S. vice president.

Harris is set to make history as the first woman, first woman of color and first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency.

In her maternal grandfather’s hometown of Thulasendrapuram, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, people were jubilant and gearing up for celebrations.

NEW DELHI, January 19. /TASS/: The visit of the Indian military delegation to Russia for training in operation of the S-400 air defense systems is a step in development of partner relations between the two countries, an Indian Air Force staff headquarters representative told TASS ahead of departure of almost 100 Indian servicemen to Russia.

Purulia (WB), Jan 19 (PTI) Terming the BJP as more dangerous than the Maoists, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the saffron party of making false promises to the people before elections.

The TMC supremo, whose party is witnessing an exodus ahead of the assembly elections due in April-May, asserted that politics is a solemn ideology and philosophy and one cannot daily change ideologies like clothes.

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of national security after reports that China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Remember his promise - Will not let the country bow," Gandhi said on Twitter as he posted a link of a news report about the alleged "Chinese village".

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala also slammed the prime minister on the matter.

"Modiji where is that 56-inch chest," he asked on Twitter.

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) A petition by US-based One Signal Inc, providing services including mobile and web push notifications, challenging blockage of its IP address without giving it a hearing or reasons came up for hearing on Monday in the Delhi High Court.

Dehradun, Jan 18 (PTI) The number of work days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Uttarakhand will be increased from 100 to 150, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Monday.

Making the announcement at a meeting held here to review the state employment guarantee council, Rawat said additional money for this will be arranged out of state funds.

Jalpaiguri (WB), Jan 18 (PTI) A worker of the ruling Trinamool Congress was hacked to death in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, the police said on Monday.

Four persons were arrested in connection with the killing of Ranjit Adhikari.

The TMC accused the BJP of being involved in the incident, while the saffron party claimed that it was the result of the infighting in the ruling party.

The murder occurred months before the assembly election in the state.