Indian Sub-continent

Kolkata, Feb 22 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that efforts are on to introduce an "inhuman" religion in the country on the basis of divisive politics.

In an apparent attack on the BJP on Thursday, Banerjee accused the saffron party of trying to impose its choice of food, clothing and religion on the people and then deciding who would stay in the country and who would be thrown out.

Srinagar, Feb 21 (PTI) Accusing the BJP of "polarizing the country to hide its failures , National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Thursday said it was time to forge unity and give a befitting reply to those who were "hell bent to destroy our social fabric .

Gandhinagar, Feb 21 (PTI) The Gujarat Government informed the Legislative Assembly Thursday that more than 400 fishermen from the state are lodged in jails in Pakistan at present.

Fishermen from the state are often apprehended by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency for allegedly crossing into that country's waters.

To a question by Congress MLA Chirag Kalaria, fisheries minister Purshottam Solanki said in a written reply that as of December 31, 2018, 433 fishermen from Gujarat were in Pakistani jails.

Jalpaiguri (WB), Feb 21 (PTI) An elephant stood guard to protect a four-year-old girl, who had fallen down from a scooter, from other members of the herd in Jalpaiguri district Thursday, forest officials said.

The incident occurred on National Highway 31 near Garumara forest when a family of three was returning to Lataguri after offering puja at a temple inside the forest.

Baruipur (WB), Feb 21 (PTI) A 28-year man died after he was allegedly beaten up by members of a club when he protested the molestation of his two female friends by them in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, police said Thursday.

Though police was yet to arrest anyone in connection with the incident, around five persons, named in the FIR lodged by the family members of the deceased, were slapped with murder charges, a senior officer of South 24 Parganas district said.

Diphu (Assam), Feb 22 (PTI) A hardcore militant of People's Democratic Council of Karbi-Longri (PDCK) was apprehended Friday along with arms and ammunition in Karbi Anglong district of central Assam, police said.

The operation was jointly carried out by the Army and police at Borlangfer area of the district.

Thane, Feb 22 (PTI) Three persons have been sentenced to life in prison by a court in Thane in Maharashtra for gang-raping a newly-wed teen.

District Judge S A Sinha, in a recent order, convicted Naveen Ashok Bagade (43), Santosh Yashwant Shelke (22) and Rajkumar Tikeshwar Sahani (29) under section 376 D (rape by one or more persons constituting a group) and 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/.The death toll in the fire in the four-storey residential house in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka has reached 81, the Bangladesh Observer newspaper reported.

Earlier reports said 69 people died in the fire. According to Reuters, at least 50 people were hospitalized, some of them remain in critical condition.

The fire in the residential building broke out at 10:30pm local time (7:30pm Moscow time), later spreading to four neighboring structures. According to Xinhua, the fire started after a gas explosion in the house.

RIYADH, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi crown prince's two-day visit to China starting Wednesday is expected to bring the bilateral relations to a new high, Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

During the visit, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Saudi crown prince, and Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng will co-chair the third meeting of the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee.

Kolkata, Feb 20; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A teenaged girl from Kolkata was trolled and allegedly threatened with rape on Facebook for a post on the plight of Kashmiris in the wake of the Pulwama attack, she said Wednesday.

In her February 15 post, the Class 12 girl condemned the deadly terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF jawans, while highlighting the daily hardships of Kashmiris.

She said some people asked her to leave the country and go to Pakistan in reply to her post, and others threatened rape and dire consequences.