Himachal Pradesh

Hamirpur (HP), Oct 8 (PTI) Sixty-seven persons, including 35 students at a school, were tested positive for COVID-19 here on Friday, an official said.

This took the number of active cases to 317 in the district, he said.

According to the official, 35 students of the Navodaya Vidyalaya at Doongri in Hamirpur were found to be Covid positive Friday, while 11 were earlier tested positive for the virus, he added.

The district has recorded 281 Covid-related deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

Hamirpur, Sep 11 (PTI) A special POCSO court has sentenced a 45-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl.

Special judge POCSO court Praveen Kumar Sonkar on Friday announced the verdict and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the convict, Gayadeen Prajapati, manager of a private school.

District government advocate Rudra Pratap Singh said Prajapati raped the girl on February 28, 2019 when she had gone to attend a coaching class.

Shimla, Aug 16 (PTI) Two more bodies were recovered on Monday from the site of the landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, taking the death toll to 25, a senior official said.

Search and rescue operation for those missing in the landslide that occurred on Wednesday last are underway.

State Disaster Management Director, Sudesh Kumar Mokhta, said as per information provided by Bhawanagar SHO, two bodies had been retrieved from the rubble at Chaura village on National Highway 5 in Nichar tehsil on Monday.

Shimla/Jammu, Jul 28 (PTI) A series of flash floods in Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh killed at least 16 people on Wednesday and damaged several residential houses, standing crops and a mini power plant, officials said.

In Kishtwar, a cloudburst hit a remote village around 4:30 am, leaving seven people dead and 17 others injured, while at least nine people are dead, two injured and seven reported missing in the flash floods in the hilly state, they said.

Shimla, May 11 (PTI) A coronavirus positive Central Public Works Department employee was found dead on roadside in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla on Tuesday, police said.

Sarjeet Singh (56) was found lying near the Green Park area falling under the Shimla East police station, they added.

He was taken to the Shimla's IGMC hospital where he was declared brought dead by doctors and was also found coronavirus positive, police said.

His parents were informed and the body has been kept in the hospital mortuary, they added.

Shimla, Apr 28 (PTI) A court here on Wednesday convicted a 28-year-old man in connection with the rape and murder of a 16-year-old schoolsgirl in a forest in Himachal Pradesh's Kotkhai town four years ago.

Special Judge Rajeev Bhardwaj held Anil Kumar alias Nillu alias Charani guilty of rape under Sections 376 (2)(i) and 376 (A), murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault) of theProtection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Shimla, Mar 19 (PTI) The opposition Congress in Himachal Pradesh on Friday sought a high-level probe into the death of BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma, who was found hanging from the ceiling at his official residence in New Delhi.

Raising the issue soon after Question Hour in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri stated that the people of the state in general and of his Mandi segment in particular wanted to know the exact cause of his "mysterious death".

Dharamshala, Nov 12 (PTI) Actor Asif Basra, known for starring in movies such as "Jab We Met", "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" and "Kai Po Che!", died on Thursday here, the police said. He was 53.

The actor was found hanging in a private complex here by the police and a team of forensic experts is on the spot, said SSP Kangra Vimukt Ranjan.

The police is investigating the case and further details are awaited, Ranjan added.

Shimla, Oct 14 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, Parmar said he had developed coronavirus symptoms two days ago.

"I have isolated myself at my official residence on doctors' advice," he added.

So far, 13 legislators, including the speaker and CM Jai Ram Thakur, have contracted the virus.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

Shimla, Oct 12 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday said he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Thakur, in a tweet, said he had quarantined himself at his residence last week after coming in contact with someone who had coronavirus.

On doctor's advice, I have isolated myself at my official residence, he added.

Apart from Thakur, his Karnataka counterpart B S Yediyurappa and Haryana CM M L Khattar have tested positive earlier since the pandemic began.