Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, Apr 27 (PTI) Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora has said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi truly respects the Maharashtra Police, he should withdraw the candidature of Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur, who is contesting as a BJP nominee from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency.

Deora also said that Modi's focus on emotive issues, rather than the real ones, during his speech in Mumbai on Friday is a clear indicator of the "failure" of his government in delivering on key issues, like employment.

Thane, Apr 26 (PTI) A court here has sentenced a 26-year-old man to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a tribal girl in 2016.

Special court judge P P Jadhav held Ashirwad Vishnu Patil guilty under Indian Penal Code section 376 (rape) and relevant provisions the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and awarded the sentence on Monday.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him.

Surat, Apr 26 (PTI) A sessions court here Friday convicted Narayan Sai, son of jailed self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, in a rape case filed against him by a former woman devotee in 2013.

The sentence will be pronounced on April 30.

Besides Sai (47), who is lodged at Lajpore Jail here since 2013, the court held four of his aides, including two women, guilty of various offences.

Vadodara, Apr 26 (PTI) A special court for POCSO cases at Bharuch in Gujarat has sentenced a man to life imprisonment till death for raping a hearing-and-speech impaired girl.

Ashok Vasava, 34, was convicted under IPC section 376 (rape) as well as under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act Thursday.

Public prosecutor R J Desai said Vasava, father of three children, raped an 11-year-old girl who was deaf and mute at Jhagadiya in Bharuch district on December 6, 2016, when she stepped out of her house to answer nature's call.

New Delhi, April 26 (PTI) A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a person at a park in Shahdara here, police said Friday.

Police were informed about the incident on Thursday.

The girl's mother has lodged a complaint and a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a senior police officer said.

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) A total of 164 candidates are in the fray across seven constituencies in the national capital after withdrawal of nominations by nine contestants, the Delhi Electoral Office said Friday.

The New Delhi constituency has 27 candidates, the highest in the city, while the North West seat has the least 11 contenders.

Friday was the last day for withdrawal of nominations.

Bhuj, Apr 27 (PTI) A Pakistani national was apprehended from Kutch district of Gujarat for illegally entering India, the Border Security Force (BSF) has said.

A BSF team held the man at 3.30 am on Friday, as soon as he sneaked into India, it said.

"The man, identified as Tajgi Meghwal (28), a Pakistani Hindu, was apprehended from the Indo-Pak border near the border out post (BOP) called 'Jairaj' in Kutch district," the BSF said in a statement issued on Friday night.

NEW DELHI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- India's state-owned carrier Air India's check-in system has been restored after it suffered a global shutdown for hours early Saturday morning following a server breakdown, officials said.

The glitch in the server which occurred at around 3:00 a.m. (local time) hampered operations and caused delay in its domestic and international flights across the world, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at various airports.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — At 12:10 p.m. Friday, men and boys in a Muslim neighborhood in Sri Lanka’s capital did something everyone had warned them not to do: They came together to pray.

Hundreds gathered at the Masjidus Salam Jumma mosque for their communal Friday prayers, one of many mosques that conducted services despite warnings of retaliatory violence.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Militants linked to Easter suicide bombings opened fire and set off explosives during a raid by Sri Lankan security forces on a house in the country’s east, leaving behind a grisly discovery Saturday: 15 bodies, including six children.

The gunbattle that began Friday night and the carnage that followed come amid widespread fear of more attacks as officials hunt for militants with explosives believed to still be at large after the coordinated bombings of churches and luxury hotels that killed more than 250 nearly a week ago.