Minor immolates self citing rape
Betul: A 14-year-old girl died of severe burn injuries on Wednesday after she immolated herself, alleging rape and harassment by three persons in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district, police said. The police have arrested all three accused, an official said. The Class 8 student poured kerosene and immolated herself at her home in Devgaon village on Tuesday evening and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur, additional superintendent of police (ASP) Shraddha Joshi said. The girl suffered 90 per cent burns and was first taken to the district hospital, from where she was referred to a hospital in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city, Joshi said. In her statement, the victim had named three persons accusing them of raping and harassing her, the senior official said. On the basis of girl’s statement, the police arrested Sandeep Hisare (23) and Nitesh Nagle (21), while another accused identified as Ajay was nabbed from Kamla Nagar area of Bhopal, Joshi said. The trio has been booked under section 376D (gang rape) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, she said. The victim has also left a note in which she has held Hisare responsible for her death, the official said, adding that further probe is underway. (PTI)
24 killed as bus plunges into river
Kota: Twenty-four people were killed and five others sustained injuries after a private bus carrying a wedding party fell into a river on Kota-Dausa highway in Bundi district on Wednesday morning, police said. The wedding party with at least 29 persons on board was headed to Sawai Madhopur from Kota when driver Shyam Singh apparently lost control of the bus around 9.30 am while on a bridge near Papdi village under Lakheri police station limits, Lakheri Sub-Inspector Rajendra Kumar told PTI over phone. The bus, then, plunged into Mej river from the bridge that had no wall or railing, he said. Thirteen people died on the spot including the driver while the others succumbed to their injuries on the way to a hospital in Lakheri town, the policeman added. (PTI)
Man held for derogatory remarks
Palakkad: A 24-year-old man was arrested here on charges of making derogatory remarks against those protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh after a compliant was filed against him, police said on Wednesday. Attappadi resident Sreejith Raveendran was nabbed after the Democratic Youth Federation of India, CPI-M’s youth wing, filed the complaint, they said. The man, who claims to be the block coordinator of Bajrang Dal, had on Tuesday posted the video in which he is heard making the comments against Shaheen Bagh protesters, He is also heard saying protesters will be taught a lesson soon after US President Donald Trump leaves India. “We got the complaint after his video was widely shared and arrested him today afternoon. He is a daily wage labourer,” police said. A case was registered under section 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code (promoting enmity between different groups based on religion). (PTI)