India

New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked the BJP-ruled Centre to shun "arrogance" and scrap three farm laws as demanded by agitating farmers, and bring a Bill to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce.

Kejriwal said he will hold one-day fast on Monday in response to a call given by the agitating farmers and urged his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) volunteers as well as the people of the country to join in.

Kanpur, Dec 13 (PTI) An Army colonel posted here was booked on Sunday for allegedly raping a friend's wife at an officers mess, police said.

The victim's husband, a civilian, lodged an FIR against the Army officer at the Cantonment police station, Superintendent of Police (East) Raj Kumar Agarwal said.

According to the complainant, his wife is of Russian descent and has been living in India for 10 years.

Kolkata, Dec 14 (PTI) GRSE-built first Project 17A stealth frigate, an addition to the might of the Indian Navy, was launched here on Monday, with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat asserting that Indian forces will leave no stone unturned to safeguard the country's frontiers.

He also said that the stealth frigate 'Himgiri', built by the PSU, will provide a major boost to Indian Navy's defence preparedness.

After touching water, the state-of-the-art naval ship will undergo extensive trials before it is delivered to the Navy, a defence official said.

Jaipur, Dec 14 (PTI) The Rajasthan farmers protesting against the Centre's new farm laws continued to block the Delhi-Jaipur national highway at Shahjahanpur in Alwar district on Monday as police stopped them from marching towards Delhi.

With the police stopping them from proceeding towards the national capital along the state's border with Haryana, the farmers camping at Jaisinghpur-Khera border in Shahjahanpur under the leadership of Swaraj Abhiyan chief Yogendra Yadav and others went on a day-long hunger strike, seeking the repeal of farm laws.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesting Indian farmers have called for a national strike on Monday, the second in a week, to press for the quashing of three new laws on agricultural reform that they say will drive down crop prices and devastate their earnings.

The farmers are camping along at least five major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi and have said they won’t leave until the government rolls back what they call the “black laws.”

Pune, Dec 13 (PTI) A Madgyal breed sheep, known for its unique appearance and superior meat quality, has got an offer of a whopping Rs 70 lakh from a buyer in Maharashtra's Sangli district while its owner has quoted a price of Rs 1.5 crore.

The Madgyal breed sheep, inhabitants of Jat tehsil in Sangli, are taller, larger and have a higher growth rate than other breeds. Hence, they are in great demand among breeders.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Dec 12 (PTI) A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two men in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Saturday.

The minor had gone missing for some hours, after which her family started searching for her. She was found unconscious and bleeding on the roof of a nearby house in the village under Budhana police station limits on Friday evening, they said.

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) The CBI set up an "internal inquiry" under an SP-ranked officer after 103 kg gold out of a total 400 kg, seized and sealed by it eight years ago, was found missing, but the probe is yet to be completed as COVID-19-induced restrictions delayed it, officials said.

The internal inquiry is underway and strict action will be taken if any adverse role of any CBI official surfaces, the CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday evening.

Lucknow Dec 12 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government has delegated its power to grant licenses to run liquor bars to divisional commissioners, an official statement said on Saturday.

The divisional commissioners have been given the power under the new UP Excise (Grant of Bar Licenses) Rules 2020, it added.

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Saturday extended its support to the ongoing farmers' protest against the three newly elected agriculture-related legislations, and alleged the country's farming laws are being changed to favour multinationals and corporates.

The JIH supports the ongoing protest by farmers against the new farm laws enacted by the Centre, the Islamic body's vice president Mohammad Saleem Engineer told a press conference.