India

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court Monday said it would consider certain larger questions in the 2009 contempt case against activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan and journalist Tarun Tejpal as the issue before it has wide ramifications.

The top court said it would like to hear arguments from the lawyers as to what should be the process which should be followed in contempt cases where allegations are being levelled against judges.

Kanpur (UP), Aug 18 (PTI) Another accused of the Kanpur ambush during which eight policemen were killed by henchmen of slain gangster Vikas Dubey has surrendered before a court.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Brajesh Srivastava told PTI that Govind Saini surrendered before the court in Kanpur Dehat on Monday.

The UP Special Task Force (STF) and the Kanpur police were on the lookout for Govind Saini ever since his name had figured in the massacre that took place at Kanpur's Bikru village on July 2 night.

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The AAP Monday claimed the entire Shaheen Bagh protest was "scripted by the BJP" and that its leadership dictated each and every move of the agitators for electoral benefits in Delhi polls, drawing a rebuttal from the saffron party.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj made the claim a day after several members of the minority Muslim community from Shaheen Bagh area, which was the centre of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests here, joined the BJP.

Lucknow, Aug 17 (PTI) Twenty staff members of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Monday, three days before the start of a brief session, Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit said.

The three-day monsoon session of the state legislature is scheduled to start from Thursday and will conclude next Monday.

Coronavirus tests were carried out on its 600 secretariat staff on Monday, Dixit told PTI.

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The Delhi BJP on Monday slammed the AAP for accusing it of "orchestrating" the Shaheen Bagh protests against the citizenship law.

The BJP said the ruling party in Delhi was "shocked" with the prospect of "losing" support among the Muslims.

The blamegame between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi came up a day after several Muslims from Shaheen Bagh, a centre of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, joined the BJP on Sunday.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Aug 18 (PTI) A 23-year-old man has been arrested for reportedly raping a minor girl in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

According to police, the accused, Ankit, entered the house of the victim, in the absence of her parents, and raped her on August 10.

A case was registered against him under relevant sections of law, they said.

Ankit was arrested on Monday, police added.

Lucknow, Aug 18 (PTI) Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday slammed the state government over the law and order situation, saying the public does not see any difference in the style of working of the BJP government and the SP government in the past.

She also termed the crime committed on different sections of the society especially the Dalits as "shameful".

Lucknow, Aug 18 (PTI) Fourteen people have died in flood-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh this year and 16 districts in the state are affected by the deluge, an official said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has stressed that flood relief work is the state government's priority and there will be no dearth of funds to help people hit by the deluge, Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said.

The Sharda river at Palia Kalan in Lakhimpur Kheri, the Saryu and the Ghagara at Ayodhya, Barabanki's Elgin Bridge and Ballia's Turtipaar are flowing above the danger mark.

Gorakhpur (UP), Aug 18 (PTI) An elderly woman was allegedly gangraped in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar district, police said on Tuesday.

The 60-year-old woman belonging to the Shohratgarh area of the district was found injured and unconscious on the outskirts of a village on Saturday, they said.

Two people have been arrested on the rape charge.

Police said they were informed about the incident by some villagers after which the woman was rushed to a community health centre of the area.

Lucknow, Aug 18 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Atul Garg was hospitalised on Tuesday after he said he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The 63-year-old Garg, an MLA from Ghaziabad, requested all those who came in contact with him recently to get tested for the disease.