Indian Sub-continent

Bhubaneswar, May 19 (PTI) Repolling was held in 34 booths under several constituencies of Odisha on Sunday amid tight security arrangements, election officials said.

The Election Commission had ordered repolling in these constituencies in view of alleged irregularities and incidents of violence during the third and fourth phase of elections held on April 23 and 29.

Voting from 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday was held in a smooth and peaceful manner, a poll official said.

Raipur, May 19 (PTI) A BJP leader was Sunday arrested for allegedly molesting a 34-year-old woman here, police said.

Prakash Bajaj (42) was arrested on charges of molestation following a complaint lodged by the woman at Civil Lines police station here, an official said.

Bajaj is a member of the state working committee of the BJP.

Kolkata, May 19 (PTI) Dubbing exit polls as "gossip", West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said she doesn't trust such surveys as the "game plan" is to use them for "manipulation" of EVMs.

The Bengal BJP was quick to hit back, asking Banerjee to "stop living in denial" as the days of her TMC government in West Bengal are numbered.

Most exit polls forecast a majority for the ruling BJP-led NDA in Lok Sabha elections with varying numbers, as the seven-phase democratic exercise ended Sunday.

Indore, May 19 (PTI) A 60-year BJP worker was allegedly shot dead by a Congress leader in Paliya village in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place some time before the polling for the Indore Lok Sabha seat came to an end, police said.

Talking to PTI, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ruchivardhan Mishra said Congress leader Arun Sharma allegedly shot dead Nemichand Tanvar outside his house possibly with a country-made gun from close range around 5.30 pm.

Chandigarh, May 19 (PTI) No polling took place at four booths in Ferozepur Parliamentary Constituency in Punjab on Sunday, officials said.

There was no voter turnout at polling booth number 61, 62, 63 and 64 which were set at a school in cantonment area of Ferozepur city.

"There is a report that voting did not take place at four polling booths," Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju said Sunday evening.

Muzaffarnagar, May 20 (PTI) Shamli police have arrested a woman, her lover and two others for allegedly beating her husband to death in the district's Khedi Kemru village, officials said on Monday.

The body of the deceased, Harish alias Sonu (31), was found in a drain on May 15, they said.

Earlier, based on a complaint lodged by Harish's mother, police had arrested his brother-in-law, Shivam, and another relative, Mohit, for the murder.

Bhaderwah/Jammu, May 20 (PTI) Curfew was relaxed in the entire Bhaderwah town for the first time on Monday since its imposition last week following the killing of a person in a firing incident and subsequent violence, officials said.

Bhaderwah Tehsildar Zeeshan Tahir said curfew was relaxed at 10.30 am initially for one-and-a-half hour and subsequently extended for two more hours after the first relaxation period passed off peacefully.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A prominent rights group in Indian-controlled Kashmir is advocating for the United Nations to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate what it calls the endemic use of torture by government forces who have faced a decades-long anti-India uprising in the disputed region.

The Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society on Monday released a detailed report saying India is using torture as a “matter of policy” and “instrument of control” in Kashmir, where rebels have fought Indian rule since 1989.

Jammu, May 18 (PTI) A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth here and the accused has been arrested, police said Saturday.

A family lodged a written complaint at police station Janipur Friday, alleging Karan Singh, a resident of Shivalik Puram, allegedly abducted their minor daughter and raped her in captivity, a police official said.

Palghar, May 18 (PTI) A 22-year-old labourer has been handed a 20-year rigorous imprisonment by a sessions court in Vasai in Palghar district of Maharashtra for raping a four-year-old girl in 2016.

Additional Sessions Judge Rahul Bhosale convicted the accused, Suresh Mukne, under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and under section 366 A (procuration of a minor girl) of the Indian Penal Code on May 16.