India

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.

Hyderabad, May 18 (PTI) AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Saturday said reports of a war within the Election Commission were worrying and emphasised on unanimity of views in the poll panel.

ECI is one of the more trusted public institutions in the country, a 'war within' is extremely worrying. The SC, in TN Seshan case had made it clear that CEC doesnt enjoy a higher status than other ECs & must strive towards unanimity.

Basic Constitutional norms must be respected, he tweeted.

Srinagar, May 18: Two Kashmiris have been killed in an alleged encounter with Indian security forces in Pulwama and Baramulla, an Indian official said.

The Indian security forces' spokesman alleged that a cordon and search operation was conducted in Panzgam area of Awantipora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district was conducted following information about presence of Kashmiri separatists there, a police official said.

Jaipur, May 18 (PTI) Rajasthan government on Saturday directed the state police to make arrangements to register FIRs at the offices of the SPs and deputy commissioners if a local police station refuses to lodge the case.

Addition Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup wrote a letter to DGP Kapil Garg, asking him to make arrangement to register FIRs at the offices of SPs and deputy commissioners.

Bhopal, May 19 (PTI) Voters boycotted polling at six booths in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday over some local issues, a senior election official said.

Efforts were on to pursuade the voters to exercise their democratic right, MP's Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters here.

Polling was underway in the eight constituencies of Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa since 7 am, he said.

KOLKATA, India (AP) — Indians voted in the seventh and final phase of national elections Sunday, wrapping up a 6-week-long grueling campaign season with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party seeking reelection for another five years.

The voting also covers Modi’s constituency of Varanasi, a holy Hindu city where he was elected in 2014 with an impressive margin of over 200,000 votes.

He spent Saturday night at Kedarnath, a temple of Hindu god Shiva nestled in the Himalayas in northern India.

New Delhi, May 17; GANASHAKTI: Among  hundreds academicians, intellectuals, cultural activists  etc jointly issued the following statement: 

We are deeply shocked by the statement of Ms. Pragya Thakur, the BJP candidate for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, lauding Nathuram Godse the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi as a “deshbhakt”.