Indian Sub-continent

Noida (UP), Jul 25 (PTI) Thirty-three people, including 16 women, have been arrested from a fake call centre here for allegedly duping scores of people on the pretext of providing them loans at low interest rates, police said on Thursday.

The accused were held on Wednesday after a raid was conducted at their office in Sector 3 by teams of Sector 20 police station and Noida Cyber Cell, a senior official said.

New Delhi, July 24; GANASHAKTI: A Bill to tighten the lead anti-terrorist law to empower the government to designate individuals as terrorists and streamline the process of confiscating their property, among other things, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with voice vote despite the opposition's demand for its scrutiny by a Standing Committee.

Hyderabad, July 24 (PTI) Faced with a 'weak' monsoon, residents of a locality here have performed marriage of two donkeys praying the rain God to show mercy on them.

The ceremony held by people of Harijan Basti in Bowenpally at local Nalla Pochamma temple two days ago was no different from any other wedding as drum-beatings, songs and dance marked the occasion with the 'bride' and 'groom' elegantly dressed as per the Hindu marriage tradition.

Jaipur, Jul 24 (PTI) BJP legislators stormed the well of the Rajasthan assembly on Wednesday and raised slogans demanding a reply from the ruling Congress on alleged religious conversions in Ajmer district's Kishangarh town.

Raising the issue in the assembly, Ajmer MLA Vasudev Devnani said there is tension in Kishangarh and alleged that three Christian women were pressurising children aged 12-15 years to convert and lured them by financial support.

Mumbai, Jul 24 (PTI) The Maharashtra government on Wednesday doubled the minimum wages of workers employed in shops and establishments across the state.

Talking to reporters, Labour Minister Sanjay Kute said the decision will benefit nearly one crore workers employed in 10 lakh shops and establishments in the state in 67 different types of employment.

"As per clause III of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the minimum wages are revised after every five years. However, they were not revised in the last nine years due to technical reasons," he said.

Bengaluru, Jul 24 (PTI) Expelled BSP MLA N Mahesh said Wednesday his expulsion from the party for abstaining from voting in favour of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was an outcome of a "communication gap" between him and the party leadership because he does not know anything about Twitter.

Soon after the H D Kumaraswamy government lost the majority in the floor test in the assembly on Tuesday, BSP supremo Mayawati expelled him from the party.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 24 (PTI) Shweta Bhatt, the wife of Sanjiv Bhatt, the former IPS officer, who was recently sentenced to life, Wednesday met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and senior congress leader Ramesh Chennithala seeking support for her "fight against injustice" towards her husband."

Bhatt, who was an officer of the Gujarat cadre, was sentenced in a 1990 custodial death case.

He had earlier filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court against the role of then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots in the state.

Hyderabad, Jul 24 (PTI) A 13-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped by her neighbour here, police said on Wednesday.

According to a complaint filed by the mother of the victim, the girl had gone to buy some grocery around 8 pm when the man, who lives in the same locality, forcibly took her to his house on a motorcycle and committed the crime, they said.

Muzaffarnagar, Jul 25 (PTI) A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour at a village in Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Thursday.

They said the 20-year-old man picked up the minor from outside her home and brought her to his residence in Sujru village, where he raped her on Wednesday evening.

The girl's family reached the man's residence after hearing her cry, but the accused had fled, they added. A case has been registered and police are investigating the matter.

Pilibhit (UP), Jul 25 (PTI) A girl was allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint in a village here, police said on Thursday.

Rehan and Mintu of the same village took the minor away from her home on Tuesday night and allegedly gang-raped her, Station House Officer of Bisalpur Harishankar Verma said.

The girl was left with a broken arm when she tried to resist the assault, he said.

She was sent for medical examination and a case registered on the basis of a complaint from the girl's family, the SHO added.