India

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Dec 25 (PTI) A POCSO court in Uttar Pradesh's Kairana has sentenced a man to 10 years' imprisonment for raping a woman and sexually harassing her minor daughter two years ago.

Special judge Mumtaz Ali also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on accused Sachin on Thursday after holding him guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, prosecution lawyer Satyender Dhiryan said.

Larkipora (Kashmir), Dec 25 (PTI) Sepoy Gurvinder Singh of the Army's 19 Rashtriya Rifles was given a new mission in Kashmir on Friday -- 'Mission Smile'.

His crisp olive greens gave way to a red costume, his assault rifle was replaced by a goodie bag and "Fauji" Santa was ready to welcome kids from the valley for a day filled with fun, with endless supplies of goodies, toffees, chocolates and some tips on their future and career.

Chandigarh, Dec 25 (PTI) Campaigning came to an end on Friday for elections to municipal bodies in Haryana, which will be held on Sunday.

Chandigarh, Dec 25 (PTI) Farmers owning allegiance to the Bharti Kisan union (Rajewal) on Friday attempted to gherao the house of a Punjab BJP leader in Jalandhar where a function was being held on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Farmers tried to break barricades and police prevented them from doing so, following which a commotion took place in which headgears of some farmers were tossed up, police said.

Mumbai, Dec 25 (PTI) Workers allegedly belonging to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) vandalised warehouses of e-commerce behemoth Amazon at Marol in Mumbai's Andheri suburb and in Pune city on Friday, police said.

In Pune, a local MNS leader took responsibility for the incident. A similar incident was also reported from Vasai area near Mumbai.

Bhopal, Dec 26 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2020, which provides for prison term of up to 10 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh for conversion through marriage or by any other fraudulent means, got the state cabinet's approval on Saturday, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.

He claimed that once enforced, it will be the most stringent law in the country against religious conversion carried out by fraudulent means, allurement or threat.

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - India’s government detained at least 75 Kashmiri political leaders and activists to forestall political unrest after an alliance of Kashmir’s regional political parties won a local election, leaders and a police official said on Saturday.

MUMBAI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Asia's largest slum in India's financial capital Mumbai drew a blank score for fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday for the first time after 267 days, after it reported the first case on April 1 this year.

"A 'zero' that will be remembered as the best score ever!" the city's civic authority BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on the social media.

There were several days in the past when a solitary case was reported but Friday was the first time when no case has been reported from the Dharavi slum, a civic official said.

Kohima, Dec 25 (PTI) Nagaland celebrated Christmas with religious fervour and joy on Friday with many churches holding live online Christmas services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The midnight services on Thursday welcoming the birth of Jesus was limited to lesser congregations in Churches following the COVID-19 protocols in the Christian majority state.

Chandigarh, Dec 25 (PTI) Responding to a call given by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, farmers protesting the Centre's new farm laws halted toll collection on most highways in Haryana on Friday.

According to officials, toll collection was halted either past midnight or from early Friday morning at several toll points in the state.