Indian Sub-continent

Feni (Bangladesh), Oct 24 (AFP) A court in Bangladesh sentenced 16 people to death on Thursday over the murder of a 19-year-old female student burnt alive in April that provoked outrage across the country.

Nusrat Jahan Rafi was doused in kerosene and set on fire after refusing to withdraw a sexual harassment complaint against the head teacher of the seminary she attended.

"The verdict proves that nobody will get away with murder in Bangladesh. We have the rule of law," prosecutor Hafez Ahmed told reporters after the verdict in a crowded courtroom.

Sikar, Oct 24 (PTI) A girl and her married lover, a father of three, were allegedly beaten to death in Sikar district of Rajasthan, police said on Thursday.

The incident, which occurred on Monday night, came to light on Wednesday evening, police said.

Chandigarh, Oct 24 (PTI) The ruling Congress won three Assembly seats, while the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won one in the Punjab bypolls, the results of which were announced on Thursday.

While the Congress won the Jalalabad, Phagwara and Mukerian seats, the SAD came up trumps in Dakha.

Neemuch (MP), Oct 23 (PTI) A synthetic milk production unit that allegedly supplied thousands of litres of the adulterated liquid was raided at Rampura here, an official said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the district administration and food department officials raided Mahavir Dairy, owned by Raju Gujar (42), at Rampura in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district, additional district magistrate Vinay Dhoka said.

The authorities seized palm oil, detergent powder and chemicals used to produce synthetic milk, he added.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 24 (PTI) Tourists visiting Chilika lake and Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha may soon enjoy a stay in houseboats.

Visitors to Puri may also get a chance to surf the waves at a planned annual event.

Jaipur, Oct 24 (PTI) Seven people have been arrested for allegedly garlanding two Bahujan Samaj Party leaders with shoes, blackening their faces and parading them outside the party office here two days ago, police said.

Rajasthan BSP president Sumrat Singh lodged an FIR at the Sindhi camp police station, following which the accused were arrested on Wednesday.

The BSP workers were alleging corruption in ticket distribution in the party in the assembly polls last year.

Shimla, Oct 24 (PTI) The ruling BJP on Thursday won the Dharamshala bypoll in Himachal Pradesh, with its candidate Vishal Nehriya winning by a margin of 6,673 votes.

Nehriya defeated his nearest rival Rakesh Kumar, an independent candidate. Congress candidate Vijay Inder Karan was at the third place.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the victory margin of Kishan Kapoor of the BJP over Sudhir Sharma of the Congress was of 2,997 votes in Dharamshala.

Chandigarh, Oct 24 (PTI) Seven ministers are trailing as both the ruling BJP and the Congress are locked in a tough contest on Thursday with no party looking set to attain majority on its own in the 90-member assembly, according to the latest trends.

The BJP, which had set a target of winning 75 seats ahead of the polls, is leading in 38 seats, while the Congress is ahead in 32 constituencies. The fledgling Jannayak Janta Party, which fought its maiden assembly polls, is also ahead in 10 seats.

New Delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) Fitch Ratings on Thursday slashed India's GDP growth forecast in the current fiscal to 5.5 per cent saying a large credit squeeze emanating from shadow banks has pushed economic growth to a six year low.

Fitch, which had in June this year put India's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent for the fiscal year that began in April 2019, said the recent government measures to boost economy including a cut in corporate tax rates will gradually nudge growth.

Ahmedabad, Oct 24 (PTI) Of the six Assembly seats in Gujarat where bypolls were held on October 21, the Congress is now leading on four seats while the ruling BJP is ahead on two seats.

In Radhanpur (Patan district), OBC leader and BJP candidate Alpesh Thakor is trailing behind Congress' Raghu Desai by over 8,700 votes.

In Bayad (Arvalli), BJP candidate Dhavalsinh Zala is trailing behind Congress' Jashu Patel by over 700 votes.

Sensing defeat, Zala left the counting centre and even accepted his defeat.