Indian Sub-continent

Basti (UP), Sep 13 (PTI) An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man in a sugarcane field here, police said on Monday.

As per the victim's father, the incident took place on Sunday evening in Dabaulia, Superintendent of Police Ashish Srivastava said.

The minor is undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said, adding that a case was registered based on a complaint by the father.

Efforts are on to nab the accused, a distant relative of the girl, the officer said.

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) Haryana-based industrialist Ashok Goel Mangaliwala, BJP leader Pawan Beniwal and INLD leader Kanwarjit Singh on Monday joined the Congress in the presence of AICC state in-charge Vivek Bansal and PCC chief Kumari Selja.

Bansal claimed that the winds are blowing in favour of the Congress and against the BJP in Haryana and hoped those who have joined will contribute in strengthening the party further.

Ballia (UP), Sep 13 (PTI) A 15-year-old girl in a village here got pregnant after she was allegedly abducted and raped, police said on Monday.

The accused Pawan Turha, a resident of Taghrauli village, abducted the girl in July with help from his father, uncle and brother and took her to Delhi, they said, adding he raped her many a time.

Few days ago, Turha's family members dropped the girl home and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about having been raped, according to the complaint filed by her mother.

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to travel to Tajikistan this week to attend a key meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on the situation in Afghanistan after its takeover by the Taliban, people familiar with the developments said on Monday.

Jaishankar is also likely to hold a series of bilateral meetings at Tajik capital city Dushanbe with his counterparts from Russia, Iran and Tajikistan among others, they said.

Ghaziabad, Sep 13 (PTI) A Samajwadi Party leader in Uttar Pradesh was shot at by unidentified assailants near his house here Monday, police said.

Dinesh Nagar is the former president of Lohiya Vahini.

He was attacked near his house in Panchwati colony of Loni border police station area around 11 am, police said.

A bullet pierced stomach and he was immediately rushed to the GTB hospital Delhi.

He remains at hospital but is recovering after surgery to remove the bullet, Superintendent of Police (SP) Iraj Raja said.

Chandigarh, Sep 13 (PTI) The SAD on Monday announced its candidates for 64 assembly seats for the upcoming polls in Punjab.

While Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal will fight from Jalalabad, former ministers Tota Singh, Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Daljit Singh Cheema and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon will contest from Dharamkot, Zira, Rupnagar, and Sahnewal, respectively.

Though the party had earlier announced names of 24 candidates, it released a complete list of 64 candidates on Monday for the 2022 state assembly polls.

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on Monday met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed issues relating to "climate action".

"Good to see @ClimateEnvoy John Kerry. Continued our discussions on climate action and climate justice," Jaishankar tweeted.

Kerry is on a two-day visit to India, ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasglow in November.

Patna, September 13 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday slammed BJP MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachol for demanding renaming of Bakhtiyarpur, a city located about 50 km from the state capital, Patna.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Sep 14 (PTI) A minor Dalit girl in the district was allegedly sexually harassed by her teacher, police said on Tuesday.

According to police, the 16-year-old girl was sexually harassed by the teacher at a computer centre in Purkazi town on Monday.

The teacher has been booked under relevant sections of IPC, POCSO Act and the SC/ST Act, they added.

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Lok Janshakti Party MP Prince Paswan has been booked under rape charges by the Delhi Police, officials said on Tuesday.

A senior police officer said the case was registered on the direction of court.

"The court's direction came on Thursday and a case has been registered under relevant sections at the Connaught Place Police Station," the officer said.

Prince is a Member of Parliament from Samastipur in Bihar.