India

NEW DELHI, Oct 12 (NNN-PTI) – With 66,732 new cases registered in India over the past 24 hours, the country’s COVID-19 tally rose to 7,120,538 today, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

The death toll reached 109,150 with 816 deaths since Sunday morning, showed the ministry’s data.

The trend over the past few weeks showed that the rise in COVID-19 tally and deaths per day has slowed down, as the increase in the number of cases has fallen below 70,000-mark and the deaths below 900 per day.

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Delhi government has exempted road tax on battery-operated vehicles under its new Electric Vehicle Policy, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Sunday.

People have been asked to give their suggestions on the exemption of the registration fees of electric vehicles, according to a Delhi government statement. It said an order to waive the fees will be issued in three days.

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) A case has been registered against a Delhi BJP leader over a video of him purportedly hurling abuses on an on-duty traffic constable, police said on Sunday.

In the video, which viral on social media, former North Delhi mayor Yogender Chandolia was seen hurling abuses on a traffic constable.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sanjay Bhatia said a case had been registered under relevant sections and an investigation was underway.

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) Oct 12 (PTI) The body of an 18-year-old woman, who was reported missing on Friday, was found in a sugarcane field here on Sunday evening, police said.

Rudrapur, Oct 12 (PTI) A BJP councillor of ward 13 in Rudrapur was shot dead by unidentified men outside his residence in broad day light on Monday, police said.

The accused arrived at ward councillor Prakash Dhami's residence in a car and called him outside on the pretext of getting his signatures on a document, Udham Singh Nagar SP Devendra Pincha said.

As soon as Dhami came out, they opened fire at him and drove away, he said.

He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, the SP said.

Buxar, Oct 12 (PTI) Seven persons allegedly raped a 30-year-old woman after killing her five-year-old son in a village in Bihar's Buxar district, police said on Monday.

One person has been arrested in connection with the incident, while search is on to nab the others, they said.

On Saturday, the accused took the woman to a jungle when she had come to Chaigain village to deposit money at a bank along with her son, raped her and killed the child, her father said in the FIR lodged with Murar Police Station.

Lucknow, Oct 12 (PTI) Family members of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died after allegedly being raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district last month, appeared before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday.

The family comprising the victim's father, mother and three brothers was brought amid tight security from Hathras earlier in the day.

Shimla, Oct 12 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday said he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Thakur, in a tweet, said he had quarantined himself at his residence last week after coming in contact with someone who had coronavirus.

On doctor's advice, I have isolated myself at my official residence, he added.

Apart from Thakur, his Karnataka counterpart B S Yediyurappa and Haryana CM M L Khattar have tested positive earlier since the pandemic began.

Kanpur: As many as 15 grocery shops were gutted down in a massive fire at Baqarganj in Babupurwa area here on Saturday late night.

Leaping flames prompted locals to alert the Fire Brigade and the Police departments respectively. The flame soon took other shops into its ferocious, fiery grip.

About one dozen Fire tenders struggled several hours to douse the fire, said reports.

Most of the affected shopkeepers demanded police to ascertain the specific cause of the fire. 

Police also said quoting the shopkeepers that a loss of Rs 50 lakh was estimated.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) The Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile, having a range of around 1,000 km, developed a technical snag during a test firing on Monday at a facility in Odisha, forcing its developer DRDO to abort the trial, official sources said.

The missile was test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from an integrated test range in Balasore in Odisha at around 10:30 AM.