Breaking News, April 15 | LIVE UPDATES

The CBI is planning to conduct DNA tests in the Hanskhali rape case to check whether the samples collected from the scene of crime match with those found on the accused arrested in the case, an official of the agency said on Friday.

Embattled senior Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa, embroiled in a controversy over the death of a contractor who accused him of bribery, on Friday submitted his resignation from the state cabinet amid a little drama involving his supporters, and not before attending a series of engagements including visiting a popular Lingayat mutt earlier in the day.

The Shivpal Yadav-led Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PRSP) on Friday dissolved its state executive, all executive committees of its national and regional cells, and the entire board of spokespersons.

The families of those who have been slapped with charges under the stringent UAPA in connection with the February 2020 Delhi riots gathered at an iftar celebration here on Friday and shared how their lives changed after their loved ones were arrested.

Amid threat of a new coronavirus variant, nearly 300 samples taken from people who had tested positive for COVID-19 in Delhi recently have been sent for genome sequencing, official sources said on Friday. The sequencing is to be done essentially to find if any new variant, like XE, has circulated in the city or not, amid a spike in daily cases in the last few days.

A political killing rocked Kerala on the day of Vishu as a local leader of the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamist outfit, was allegedly hacked to death in front of his father in Palakkad district on Friday.

A woman has gone missing amid the Ram Navami violence that took place in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh on April 10, with a top police official stating on Friday that a special team had been formed to trace her.

The Delhi government Friday said precaution doses of coronavirus vaccines will soon be provided free of cost to people at its hospitals. The move comes as the national capital witnesses an uptick in coronavirus cases and a rise in positivity rate.

With St Stephen's College announcing that it will conduct interviews carrying 15 per cent weightage for admissions across categories, Delhi University vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh on Friday said the varsity does not want any confrontation and will resolve the issue through dialogue.

Four persons, including a woman, were killed and two others seriously injured on Friday when a four-wheeler carrying them hit a tree on the side of the road in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district, a police officer said. The victims are residents of Katihar district in Bihar, he said. The driver lost control of the speeding vehicle, which then hit the roadside tree in Mohanpur police station area, Officer-in-Charge Prem Pradip said.

A tribal girl has been gang-raped in West Bengal's Birbhum district by at least five men when she was returning home from a village fair, police said on Friday. The incident took place when the minor and her boyfriend were coming back from a Charak Mela at Adityapur in Santiniketan police station area on Thursday night, an officer said. Five men beat up the girl's boyfriend and took her to the banks of a river where they took turns to rape her, he said.

Bihar government has sent a fresh proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to get Cyclopean wall, a more than 2,500 years old structure at Rajgir, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is a 40 km long wall of stone which encircled the ancient city of Rajgir to protect it from external enemies and invaders, built before 3rd century BC. “We are leaving no stone unturned to get Cyclopean wall listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We have submitted a fresh proposal highlighting the historical significance and features of the Cyclopean Wall to the ASI following their request”, Additional Secretary cum Director (Archaeology), of Bihar’s Art, Culture and Youth department, Deepak Anand said.

The National Green Tribunal has formed a committee and sought a report on a plea against operation of stone crushers in violation of environmental norms in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel said it is clear from the report of the district magistrate that there have been serious violations in operation of stone crushers, supported by illegal mining to the detriment of the environment. "Steps so far taken to prevent illegal mining and further pollution are inadequate. So are the steps to make the violators accountable for past violations."

The in-charge of a police outpost and a constable were allegedly held captive by the locals of Umarala village when they reached there following reports of a scuffle, officials said. The villagers also threw stones at a police vehicle, damaging it. The duo could be released after an additional police force reached the village, they said. Three people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has convicted a 29-year-old woman on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for causing death of her child and sentenced her to imprisonment for the term she has already undergone in jail since arrest in August 2018. The woman, a resident of Dhapsipada of Bhiwandi taluka, was convicted by the court on April 9, but a copy of the verdict was made available on Friday. Thane Additional Sessions Judge RV Tamhanekar, in his order, held the accused, Kalpana Nilesh Gaikar, guilty of the offence of culpable homicide and sentenced her to jail term already undergone between August 10, 2018, and May 30, 2020.

A woman was injured when her father-in-law allegedly opened fire at her from his revolver at their residence in Thane city apparently for not serving breakfast to him, police said on Friday. The 42-year-old woman, a resident of the Rabodi locality, suffered bullet injuries in her abdomen and is undergoing treatment at a hospital here, they said. Senior inspector Santosh Ghatekar of the Rabodi police station said an offence under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) besides the Arms Act has been registered against the accused, Kashinath Pandurang Patil, 76, who is yet to be arrested. The officer, quoting a complaint filed by another daughter-in law of the accused, said the incident took place at around 11.30 am on Thursday.

At least eight people were arrested after a fake call centre was busted by Kolkata Police in the city's Garden Reach area, an officer said. Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house in the Garden Reach area late on Wednesday night and busted the call centre which was operating without any valid licence, the officer said on Thursday. The owner of the call centre managed to flee. Police seized at least 13 laptops, eight mobile phones, four hard disks and Rs 19 lakh, he said.

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California is delaying a coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren until at least the summer of 2023. Governor Gavin Newsom's administration announced the change on Thursday. California was the first state to announce it would require all schoolchildren to receive the coronavirus vaccine. But the mandate will not take effect until federal regulators give final approval to the vaccine for children. That hasn't happened yet. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr Mark Ghaly said school districts would need more time to implement the mandate once federal approval happens. State officials say the mandate will not happen before July 1, 2023. California is one of two states, plus the District of Columbia, that has announced a coronavirus vaccine mandate for K-12 public schools, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

An Ohio man who testified he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the U.S. Capitol was convicted Thursday of obstructing Congress from certifying Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory. A federal jury also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of stealing a coat rack from an office inside the Capitol during the riot on January 6, 2021. Jurors deliberated less than three hours before their verdict, rejecting Thompson's novel defense. He blamed Trump and members of the president's inner circle for the insurrection and for his own actions.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Thursday urged people to stand up against discrimination based on religion, caste and gender and work towards eradicating social evils. Paying tributes to the founding father of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar on his 131st birth anniversary, Tamang said he had worked towards uplifting the downtrodden all his life.

African countries need to stay vigilant and weigh the risks before relaxing Covid-19 measures, despite the decreasing infections, warned the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a statement, noting that the continent is faced with risks of possible resurgence and new variants.

A woman and two men on Thursday drowned in a dam in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, where they and several others had gone for a picnic, police said. The incident occurred at Kukda dam, where 10 employees of a non-government organisation had gone for an outing, Gariaband Additional Superintendent of Police Chandresh Singh Thakur said. The deceased were identified as Ritu Kumari, Rakesh Teta of Kanker and Lakshya Verma, he said. Kumari, who hailed from Jharkhand, resided in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. While Teta was a resident of Kanker district, Verma was from Raipur city, Thakur said.

Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) which operates metro service on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route in the city on Thursday launched an `e-ticket on WhatsApp' facility. Mumbai Metro One is the first MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System) in the world to offer e-ticket on WhatsApp, it claimed in a release. This was an extension of “Paper QR Ticket” currently available through ticket counters, it said. To use the facility, passengers will need to send the message `Hi' to 9670008889.

CBI sleuths on Thursday broke open the lock and searched the residence of the prime accused in the alleged gang rape rape of a minor girl at Hanskhali, who subsequently died, an officer of the probe body said. The house is where the alleged crime was committed on April 4 and the investigating agency collected samples from there before locking the house, he said. The CBI sleuths were accompanied by personnel of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory and the entire search operation and evidence collection were videographed, he said.