India

Jaipur, Dec 23 (PTI) The Bharatiya Tribal Party on Wednesday withdrew support to the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan.

The BTP, a Congress ally which supported Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during the revolt in his party earlier this year, was upset that the ruling party candidates chose BJP over it zila pramukh elections in tribal Dungarpur district, where the outfit is trying to expand its influence.

Agartala, Dec 23 (PTI) Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde on Wednesday said it is the hallmark of every great institution and judges that they are "keener on justice and not merely on law".

Justice Bobde, who inaugurated an e-Sewa Kendra at the High Court of Tripura, appealed to judges to be more attentive towards justice.

"It's the hallmark of every great institution and judges that they are keener on justice and not merely on law," he said.

Barrackpore (WB), Dec 23 (PTI) BJP workers were lathi-charged near the Khardah police station in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday evening.

The police said that some BJP workers staging a blockade of the B T Road in protest against the arrest of party activist Bullet Roy for allegedly brandishing firearms tried to storm the police station and were lathi-charged by Rapid Action Force personnel.

Hamirpur, Dec 23 (PTI) A local court here on Wednesday sentenced a man to 12-year jail and imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 in connection with the rape of a minor.

District Government Counsel Rudra Pratap Singh said the court of Judge Neeraj Kumar convicted Binu Singh (22) of the rape of a 12-year-old girl, which took place on November 5, 2017.

The government counsel said the girl was raped when she was going to a grocery shop. The girl was dragged by the accused to a cattle shed where she was raped, he said.

Ballia (UP), Dec 24 (PTI) A 20-year-old woman was allegedly raped by her brother-in-law in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, police said on Thursday.

In her complaint to the police on Wednesday, the woman alleged that the 21-year-old brother of her husband raped her two days ago when she was alone at the house, Station House Officer (SHO), Revati, Pravin Singh said.

The woman stated that the accused also threatened to kill her with a sharp-edged weapon, the SHO said, adding a case was lodged based on her complaint.

Bhopal, Dec 24 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs will arrive at the state Assembly here on tractors on December 28 as a mark of protest against the Centre's three new farm laws and rise in fuel prices, a party legislator said on Thursday.

The three-day winter session of the state Assembly will begin from Monday.

MP Congress president Kamal Nath has asked all the party MLAs in the state to reach the Congress office in Bhopal on December 28 morning.

Ballia (UP), Dec 24 (PTI) A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped for three years on the promise of marriage in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, police said on Thursday.

The woman, in a complaint to police on Wednesday, said a 26-year-old man had been raping her for the past three years after promising to marry her, ASP Sanjay Yadav said on Thursday.

An FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint and the man was arrested, the ASP said, adding the woman has been sent to district hospital for medical examination.

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday formally approved its electoral alliance with the Left parties for the assembly elections in West Bengal, party's state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced.

The West Bengal PCC had earlier recommended an alliance in favour of the Left parties.

NEW DELHI, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,099,066 on Wednesday as 23,950 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 146,444 as 333 COVID-19 patients died since Tuesday morning.

There are still 289,240 active cases in the country, while 9,663,382 people have been discharged from hospitals after medical treatment.

Kohima, Dec 23 (PTI) Naga insurgent group NSCN-K, led by dreaded militant Niki Sumi, on Wednesday announced a ceasefire and said that it has contacted the central government for initiating peace dialogue.

The NSCN-K had signed a ceasefire with the Centre in 2001 but unilaterally abrogated it in 2015 when the then 'chairman' of the group, S S Khaplang, was alive.