India

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Air India on Monday said it will progressively induct 30 new aircraft, including 5 wide-body Boeing planes, from December this year, as the Tatas-owned airline looks to boost its domestic and international services.

The airline has signed leases and letters of intent for inducting 5 wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months.

Chennai, Sep 12 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID thwarted an attempt to smuggle antique idols out of the country and seized 20 idols from the residence of a French national in Auroville, police said on Monday.

Following information that a handicrafts shop illegally dealt with stolen antique artefacts belonging to Tamil Nadu, the Idol Wing initiated a search on September 11 under the leadership of Inspector Indira, after obtaining an order from the Judicial Magistrate.

Pilibhit, Sep 12 (PTI) Two people were booked for allegedly raping a 16-year-old Dalit girl in a village here, police said.

The incident took place around 4 am on Sunday, they said.

In his police complaint, the minor's father alleged that the accused, who belong to the same village, took his daughter to a field and raped her, Station House Officer (Jahanabad) Prabhas Chandra said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 12 (PTI) The Congress party's Bharat Jodo Yatra entered the second day in Kerala on Monday, amid an encouraging turnout of people who have been lining up the streets of the state in thousands to extend support to Rahul Gandhi who has embarked on the 3,500 km Kanyakumari-Kashmir footmarch.

The 150-day yatra had been launched from Kanyakumari in neighbouring Tamil Nadu on September 7.

Gandhi commenced his walk from Vellayani junction here on Monday morning.

Kanpur: A 30-year-old man was allegedly killed by his elder brother in the Ghagghu Kheda village under the limits of Maharajpur police station here.

The police identified the deceased as Shiv Bahadur, son of Jagdish Yadav, as reported.

Family members informed the police after they found the body of Shiv with serious injury marks lying on the cot in the verandah of his house on Sunday.

Accused Dhananjay Singh, after committing the murder, escaped on a bike from the spot.

The deceased Shiv Bahadur was a lawyer and used to practice in the Kanpur court.

Patna, Sep 10 (PTI) The JD(U) lashed out at Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal for coming up with "misleading" data on population growth rate in two districts of the state, alleging that he was trying to incite communal hatred among people.

Jaiswal had on Wednesday claimed that population growth rate in Kishanganj and Araria districts was the "highest in the world", partly due to the alleged high rate of influx of "Bangladeshi infiltrators".

Ballia (UP), Sep 10 (PTI) A 25-year-old man was booked for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl in the Nagra area here, police said on Saturday.

The accused lured the girl when she was playing outside, took her to his house on a motorcycle and raped her, they said, adding the incident took place on September 5.

Patna, Sep 10 (PTI) Civic polls in Bihar will be held in two phases on October 10 and 20, the State Election Commission announced.

The elections will be held for 224 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the state, it said.

Kanpur: There was disarray in the pantry car of the Lichchavi Express coming from New Delhi to Kanpur when the vendors thrashed the head constable.

At the Central railway station, the GRP apprehended a vendor from Bihar and started an investigation.

Head constable Ikhlaq Khan, posted in Ghaziabad, was coming here from New Delhi on Saturday by Lichchavi Express with his daughter.

He told the GRP in Kanpur Central that the vendors and workers in the pantry car of the train were beating up a young man badly.

NEW DELHI, Sept 9 (NNN-PTI) – India yesterday imposed a 20 percent export duty on several varieties of rice, though excluding a few, said media reports, quoting a statement issued by the Department of Revenue, under the Indian Finance Ministry.

The newly imposed export duty will come into effect from today – Sept 9.

The move is seen as an attempt by the Indian government, to ensure sufficient rice stocks for domestic consumption, particularly through the public distribution system, under various schemes it has initiated, said the media reports.