India

New Delhi, Apr 12; GANASHAKTI: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday asked the Election Commission to act strongly against the ruling BJP for its "despicable attempts" to politicise and misuse the armed forces during the ongoing election campaign.

Over 150 armed forces veterans have written to President and Commander-in-Chief Ram Nath Kovind to complain about the manner in which political parties have been repeatedly using armed forces for political gains ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

Shimla, Apr 12; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Himachal Pradesh Power Minister Anil Sharma resigned from the BJP government on Friday, days after the Congress fielded his son Aashray Sharma as its candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

Anil Sharma has been under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party after his father, former Union minister Sukh Ram, quit the saffron party and joined the Congress along with Aashray Sharma last month.

Krishnagiri (TN), Apr 12 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging he ran his government for 15 of his friends and he wondered why no big-ticket defaulters of bank loans like Vijay Mallya were not in jail.

The Congress chief said the ones like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, after taking bank loans, failed to return it and ran away from the country.

"Not even a single one is in jail," he added.

Kanpur: As many as 30 static and 30 video surveillance team were active in the district. They would keep vigil on the contestants fighting the elections. Their meetings and expenses will be closely watched by the teams that will directly report to the district election officer. Strict action will be initiated on violation of code of conduct. 

Detailing about their responsibility the deputy district election officer K Singh told that they will be equipped with the GPS all the time. She 

Thane, Apr 12 (PTI) Five people were convicted Friday for raping a mentally ill woman in 2016 in Maharashtra's Thane district.

While four of them were sentenced to 20 years in jail by District Judge S A Sinha and also fined Rs 20,000 each for kidnapping and raping the victim, the fifth person, a fruit vendor, was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 for rape.

The 22-year-old woman was raped by the accused on January 8, 2016, Additional Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar said.

New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party is capable of defeating both the BJP and the Congress in the city and an alliance is possible with the grand old party only when it will be done on 33 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa, said AAP leader Gopal Rai Friday.

Earlier in the day, the Congress announced that it will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi alone, but maintained that it is still willing to have an alliance with the AAP provided that the tie-up is restricted only to the national capital.

Gorakhpur (UP), Apr 12 (PTI) A woman, allegedly fed up with dowry demands from her husband and in-laws, set herself on fire in Rajghat area here, police said Friday.

The woman's family, however, alleged her in-laws burnt her to death.

The woman in her 20s, Poonam Gupta, a resident of Laldiggi locality, was seen running in the street on Tuesday with her clothes set on fire. She was recorded in CCTV cameras in the area and the video later surfaced on social media.

Bhopal, Apr 12 (PTI) A 23-year-old woman from Madhya Pradesh has filed for divorce, claiming that her husband shuns shaving and bathing for almost a week at a stretch.

The couple, who married last year, was directed by Bhopal family court to stay separately for six months, after which they will be granted divorce decree, a counsellor said.

"Bhopal family court judge R N Chand has directed the couple to stay separately for six months," court counsellor Shail Awasthi told PTI Friday.

Unnao (UP), Apr 12 (PTI) BJP Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj Friday told people that if they do not vote for him, they will face divine displeasure, prompting the police to lodge an FIR against the priest-turned-politician.

"If you ensure my victory, I will work for you, otherwise do 'bhajan-kirtan' in temple," he said at an election meeting at Sheshpur village in Sihramau area.

"I am a 'sanyasi'. When a 'sanyasi' comes to your door and asks for 'bhiksha' (alms), and is not heard, he takes away all the happiness of the family and transfers his sins onto them," he added.

Mumbai, Apr 12 (PTI) Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has put in bid for buying stake in the ailing airline, sources said.

Goyal quit as chairman of the carrier last month under a debt resolution plan that saw lenders taking control of the airline.

Airline sources said Goyal has put in bid for Jet Airways.