Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Ending all speculations, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he does not want to be a minister in the new BJP government due to health reasons.

In the four-paragraph letter, Jaitley said he had orally informed Modi about his desire not to be a part of the new BJP government to enable him to concentrate on treatment and health.

Chandigarh, May 28 (PTI) Three motorcycle-borne men opened fire at police personnel in Karnal Tuesday and managed to free from custody a convict they were transporting from a court, officials said.

The daring daylight raid took place when the police party was transporting the convict to Yamunanagar from Karnal after a hearing. Two policemen were injured in the attack, they said.

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Three West Bengal MLAs, including BJP leader Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu Roy, and over 50 municipal councillors, most of them from the Trinamool Congress, joined the saffron party Tuesday as it works to consolidate its position in the state following its impressive show there in Lok Sabha polls.

Siddharth Nagar (UP), May 29 (PTI) An inspector's body was recovered after neighbours complained of foul smell coming from his house in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar district, an official said on Wednesday.

The body of Pankaj Shahi, 50, posted as the incharge of cyber cell, was found on Tuesday night. It appears to be a week old, Circle Officer (Sadar) Sunil Singh said.

Prima facie, it appears to be a case of natural death and more details will be known after the post-mortem, Singh said.

Jaipur, May 28 (PTI) A 26-year-old woman, who was allegedly tortured and gang-raped last week, on Tuesday demanded justice and speedy arrest of the accused, including a doctor and a police constable.

Addressing a press conference here, the woman accused the police of not providing protection to her even after being directed by a court following her complaint of rape against suspended constable Kapil Sharma last year.

Sahjahanpur (UP), May 28 (PTI) A critically ill boy died after he was allegedly refused an ambulance by the state-run district hospital here.

A probe by the city magistrate has found the hospital guilty of lapses in the death of the child on Sunday night.

Afroz, 9, was brought to the district hospital in Shahjahanpur with complaints of high fever and was referred to Lucknow for specialised treatment.

Kapurthala (Pb), May 28 (PTI) A three-year-old girl was Tuesday allegedly raped by a 55-year-old man, who lured the minor out of her house when her father was asleep, in a village in Sultanpur Lodhi here, police said.

The minor victim, daughter of a migrant labourer from Bihar, was lured out of her room by accused Ganesh on some pretext in the morning, SHO Vikramjeet Singh said.

The accused took the girl to his place in the neighbourhood and allegedly raped her, Singh said.

Kolkata, May 28 (PTI) The West Bengal government on Tuesday transferred 43 IPS officers including the Police Commissioners of Bidhannagar, Howrah and Siliguri, an officer said.

Bharat Lal Meena the CP of Siliguri Police Commissionerate would be the new CP of Bidhannagar Police, an official notification said.

The order appointing Nishant Pervez as the CP of Bidhanagar was cancelled and he would continue as DIG of state CID, the officer said.

Barabanki (UP), May 28 (PTI) At least 14 people died and around 40 others were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident prompted the Yogi Adityanath government to order a high-level probe into all the angles, including the possibility of a "political conspiracy".

At least 12 people, including four members of a family, died due to consumption of the spurious liquor, Superintendent of Police Ajay Sahni said in a statement.

Jaipur, May 29 (PTI) The state executive of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee will meet Wednesday and would endorse the CWC resolution urging Rahul Gandhi to continue as party chief and steer the party out of its current state, a top party leader said.

The meeting will be chaired by PCC chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, he said.