India

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Railways has cancelled 81 trains and diverted two more in view of cyclone "Fani", which is likely to affect 19 districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, besides Kolkata.

The railways said that it will grant full refund to passengers for the cancelled or diverted trains if the tickets are produced for cancellation within three days from scheduled date of journey.

Bhopal, May 1 (PTI) A young man was arrested here Wednesday for allegedly raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

Avinash Sahu (18) was arrested for offences of rape and murder under the IPC and under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, police said.

The girl was visiting a Jain temple with her 16-year-old aunt Tuesday evening when Sahu, who knew the latter, took the girl away to a secluded spot when the aunt was not around, police said.

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Election Commission Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Latur last month in which he had urged first time voters to dedicate their vote in the name of the Balakot air strike heroes and the soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack is not violative of its instructions on invoking armed forces in poll campaigns.

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Two African nationals were arrested for allegedly smuggling cocaine, police said Wednesday.

The accused were identified as Tine Mustafa (29) and Innocent Aghadiobi (40), both residing at Tilak Nagar, they said.

Lucknow, May 1 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday paid homage to those who died in the Naxal attack in Maharashtra and said that the sacrifice of the 15 police personnel will be avenged by killing atleast 100 Naxals.

"This is a battle of the entire country and 130 crore countrymen are with our brave jawans," he said in an election rally in the state.

Sukma, May 1 (PTI) Six Naxals, four of them carrying rewards on their heads, were arrested Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said.

They were held near Kindrelpad village under Konta police station limits when a team of district police force was out on a search operation, an official said.

The team had launched the operation from Konta and was proceeding towards interior forests. Near Kindrelapad, 500 km from Raipur, they spotted a group of suspected Naxals.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), May 2 (PTI) The Muzaffarnagar district administration in Uttar Pradesh's has carried out a surprise inspection at government hospitals and health centres, and found over 200 staff absent, an official said Thursday.

Acting on a complaint, a team led by sub-divisional magistrates and senior officers conducted the drive on Wednesday. As many as 202 officials, including 23 doctors and 21 nurses, were found absent, District Magistrate Ajay Shanker Pandey told PTI.

Ahmedabad, May 2 (PTI) A special CBI court here Thursday discharged former police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.

Vanzara and Amin had filed discharge applications in the court after the Gujarat government refused to grant sanctions to the CBI to prosecute the two former police officers.

Special CBI court judge J K Pandya said that since the government has not sanctioned their prosecution, their discharge pleas are allowed and proceedings against them will be dropped in the case.

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) The office of country's first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, will move out of a five-star luxury hotel in Delhi to its own permanent address.

At present, the office of Lokpal works from 'The Ashok' hotel in Chanakyapuri here.

"The government is in the process of searching a permanent office for Lokpal," the personnel ministry replied to an RTI application filed by this PTI journalist.

Rae Bareli (UP), May 2 (PTI) Far from the rough and tumble of hectic electioneering, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday met snake charmers in Raebareli constituency of Uttar Pradesh and boldly held a reptile, saying "it's fine".

Photojournalists covering Vadra's election campaign caught the rare sight on camera as she halted at Kuchariya village in an obscure nook on her way to Belavela, another village in the constituency, represented by her mother, Sonia Gandhi.