10 persons, including two minors, allegedly took turns to rape a 13-year-old mentally-challenged girl over a period of two months in Meghalaya's North Garo Hills district, police said today.

The incident came to light after an FIR was lodged by the girl's family at the Resubelpara police station yesterday.

Police arrested nine of the accused today, while one is absconding.

The mentally-challenged girl was repeatedly raped over the last two months, the police said, adding that the wife of one of the accused had witnessed the dastardly act and informed the village elders about it.

The village heads called the family members of the girl to a meeting on July 25 to arrive at a compromise. However, the girl's family did not relent and lodged the FIR, the police said.

They added that two of the accused were minors, while most of the others were married and hailed from the same village of Haluapara under Resubelpara police station.

"It appears that they took turns to rape the girl at various times and at various locations in the village. The accused even confessed to their crime at the meeting held in the village," Circle Inspector of Resubelpara police station G K Sangma said.

Social activists flayed the villagers for trying to suppress the incident.

"The villagers also need to be docked for trying to hide the heinous crime committed against a 13-year-old girl. There cannot be a compromise for what the culprits have done and for attempting to do so, the elders should be taken to task for trying to circumvent the law," social activist Dardy G C Marak said.

It may be noted that kangaroo courts decide the fate of most criminals in the remote parts of Meghalaya.  -- PTI

A man was arrested in Kochi today for allegedly posting abusive messages on social media against a 21-year old college student, whose story of selling fish to raise money for her studies and to take care of her family went viral, police said.

Viswanathan was arrested for launching an abusive propaganda on social media platforms against Hanan, they said.

He has been charged under various sections of the IT Actand Indian Penal Code (IPC), police said.

Police said they got more details from one Nooruddin Sheikh from Wayanad, who was questioned yesterday and later let off, about the people who subjected Hanan to vicious trolling on social media.

More arrests will be made in the case, they said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had directed the police to initiate action against those who targeted the woman in the virtual space after a Malayalam daily reported about her struggles.

He had told reporters in Kochi yesterday that those engaged in cyber space should be cautious and try to understand things.

Facts should be presented before the people, he had said.

A final year B Sc (Chemistry) student at a private college in Thodupuzha, Hanan's touching story was widely shared on social media by several people, including film artistes and politicians.

But a section of netizens expressed doubt on her story and termed it as 'fake', after which she was viciously trolled.   -- PTI

Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis today assured partial withdrawal of police cases filed against the Maratha youths for vandalising properties during recent protests for the quota demand.

"However, the criminal charges like assaulting policeofficials will not be withdrawn," the CM told reporters at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai.

The announcement came after Fadnavis held a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane and his MLA son Nitesh Rane, along with some leaders of the Maratha community who are pro-reservation.

However, the names of the pro-reservation groups were not revealed by the state government.

These groups had organised a bandh in Mumbai region and some parts of Maharashtra last week which had turned violent, with the incidents of arson reported from various cities.

Today's meeting was held in the wake of the Maratha bodies demanding withdrawal of the criminal cases registered against the protesters who had organised the shutdowns.

"The criminal charges involving attacks on police will not be withdrawn but others will be taken back. The community needs to resort to peace," the chief minister said.

When asked about the date on which the State Backward Class Commission will submit its report to the government, Fadnavis said, "The report will be submitted within a month. Once it is received, we will discuss in the special session ofthe state legislature and take further action".

He said the BJP government is supporting the expectations of the Maratha community on quota demand.

"We will also ensure that no injustice is done (to Marathas) during the ongoing mega recruitment drive of thestate government," the CM said.

The commission is currently conducting a survey on the socio-economic backwardness of the Marathas who have been demanding 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.

Under the recruitment drive, the government has advertised 72,000 posts to be filled up for various departments.   -- PTI

Over 470 Indians, including 418 fishermen, are detained in Pakistani jails, according to a government report submitted before the country's Supreme Court today.

In its report furnished before the apex court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said about 357 Pakistanis were confined in the Indian jails.

The ministry also disclosed that due to escalation and unilateral suspension of talks between the two countries, the Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners had not met since October 2013.

"As per the information shared with us by the Ministry of Interior, there are 53 Indian civilians and 418 fishermen (total 471) confined in Pakistani jails," The Express Tribune reported.

The ministry told the apex court that as per information provided by the Indian High Commissioner and the most recent list of prisoners exchanged between Pakistan and India on July 1, there are 249 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 108 fishermen in Indian jails, it said.

The report also stated that since 2016 India had released a total of 114 Pakistani prisoners, 83 civilians and 31 fishermen, whereas Pakistan had released 951 Indians, 941 fishermen and 10 civilians, in the same period.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar will take up the joint petition moved by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) highlighting the alleged ordeal of Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails, the media report said.

According to the report, whenever an arrest of fisherman is brought to notice of Pakistan authorities, they immediately request the ministry of external affairs in India for consular access to collect information for establishing the Pakistani citizenship of the detained fisherman.

The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners, comprising four eminent retired judges from each side, was established in January 2007.

The mandate of the committee included visits to prisoners in each other's jails and recommend measures for their expeditious release.

During its last meeting, the committee had asked the bar council in India that the courts in both countries may conduct expeditious trial of all under-trial prisoners.

It highlighted that the authorities of both countries will have to provide legal assistance to such prisoners by appointing lawyers of good repute.

Fishermen from India and Pakistan are arrested by the maritime security agencies of both the countries for illegal fishing.

They often stray into illegal waters due to absence of any proper technology to confirm the coastline border between Pakistan and India near Sir Creek in the Arabian Sea.  -- PTI

The rainfall deficiency over east and northeast India has come down in last one week but the country-wide monsoon deficiency remains at five per cent, according to IMD data.

Nearly 74 per cent of the country has received normal rainfall until now this season, the data said.

The southern peninsula and central India have been witnessing good rains, but east and northeast India have been witnessing deficient rainfall and a negative precipitation of 29 per cent.

Rainfall deficiency in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir is minus one per cent.

"The rainfall deficiency over east and northeast India has come down due to good rainfall.

"States like Jharkhand that recorded monsoon deficiency have been witnessing good rainfall over the past one week.

"On other hand, central India, which had been witnessing heavy rainfall, is seeing a decline in precipitation, thereby lowering the chances of flood," Additional Director General of IMD Mritunjay Mohapatra said.

The IMD said the prevailing widespread rainfall activity over western Himalayas and adjoining plains is likely to reduce significantly from today as the low pressure area over northwest Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring area has become weak and no moisture incursion is likely from Arabian Sea or Bay of Bengal over the next two to three days.

A low pressure area is likely to form over east Uttar Pradesh and under its influence, 'fairly widespread to widespread rainfall' is likely over West Bengal, east Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in the next two- three days. This will help the monsoon deficit states, the IMD said.

In a forecast, the department said, "Subdued rainfall activities are likely to continue over many parts of west, central and  peninsular India during next four-five days."  -- PTI

Seeking to scotch rumours and identify fake news on social media platform WhatsApp, a team of experts at a city-based institution is working on developing an application that may be able to tell you whether a message is fake or not.

Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, associate professor of computer science at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, (IIIT-D) is heading the team which is developing the app that seeks to determine the authenticity of a message circulated on this platform.

Rumours on WhatsApp have sparked off a spate of incidents involving mob fury, including one where five men were lynched on the suspicion of being child-lifters in Maharashtra's Rainpada village.

Recently, a man was beaten to death and three others were injured after a mob attack them suspecting them to be child-lifters, near Bidar in Karnataka.

The professor feels that the application will be a useful tool in the current scenario where a number of such incidents have been reported in which people were killed in violence, triggered on the basis of rumours circulated on WhatsApp.

"We are collecting a large number of data and have asked people to forward us messages on the number 9354325700. These messages will be analysed and accordingly, we will develop a model for putting a wrapper on such messages," he added.

For example, if a message is received, there will be colour codes that will indicate the authenticity.

A green might indicate that it is a legitimate content, yellow colour might indicate that the system is not able to decode it while red might indicate that it is definitely fake content, he said.

"Through the messages received, we will study the common factors in such messages. The commonality might be an image, a URL or some words. If it is a forwarded message, it is a high probability that it is a fake message," said the professor.

He said the app is likely to be ready in a couple of months.  -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah held a meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat in Mumbai in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation by the Maratha community seeking job reservation in Maharashtra.

The duo held talks at Yashwant Bhavan, the RSS office in Mumbai but what transpired between them was not known.

However, a BJP source said Shah and Bhagwat discussed ways to strengthen the ruling party in the state, which will see both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2019, but did not touch upon the quota issue.

He said the meeting was scheduled long back and it had nothing to do with the ongoing stir by Marathas demanding 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.

"The meeting was decided months ago and it barely lasted for an hour. It was just a coincidence that it happened in the backdrop of an all-party meet called by the chief minister," the BJP source said.

Incidentally, an all-party meeting was also convened yesterday by the state government to discuss the quota issue.

The BJP-led government has faced criticism over its handling of the state-wide agitation, which turned violent in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and parts of Marathwada this week.

Early this week, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had claimed that there were 'talks within the BJP' to replace Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a claim denied by senior party ministers.

There were no discussions within the BJP on replacing Fadnavis, the source said, adding that the CM was 'adequately capable' of handling the ongoing protests.

Shah was on a day-long visit to the city yesterday, during which he met Bhagwat, who was also in Mumbai.

As part of his visit, Shah also attended a special preview screening of Chalo Jeete Hain, (Come, let's live), a film based on Modi's early life. -- PTI

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif needs to be immediately shifted to the intensive care unit of a hospital from Adiala Jail after suffering heart issues, an official said.

Sharif, 68, is serving a 10-year jail term in a corruption case over his family's purchase of luxury apartments in London. He has been lodged in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since July 13.

Last week, it was reported that Sharif is on the verge of a kidney failure and doctors have recommended to shift him to a hospital immediately.

Pakistan's caretaker government today decided to shift jailed former prime minister to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad after irregular ECG and blood reports.

The decision was taken by the Punjab government which has administrative control of the Adiala jail after a team of doctors recommended that Sharif needed proper medication and care.

"Sharif will be shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad where preparations have been made to keep the high-profile prisoner," Punjab Home Minister Shaukat Javed said.

Earlier, a team of doctors headed by Dr Ejaz Qadeer and comprising cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik, Medical Specialist Dr Shaji Siddiqui, neurologist Dr Sohail Tanvir and Dr Mashood carried out medical checkup of Sharif after he complained of pain in chest.

Apparently, his ECG was not satisfactory, which prompted the doctors to advise shifting to the hospital. Sharif had open heart surgery in 2016 and has been also suffering from hypertension and diabetes.

Last week, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif wrote a letter to caretaker Punjab government seeking better facilities for them at Adiala Jail.

Shehbaz had asked the authorities to ensure continuous provision of medicines and medical examination to Nawaz Sharif from his personal doctor.  -- PTI

A renowned Bangladesh photographer today said he has been the victim of 'unwanted cruelty' after being sacked over an image of a couple kissing that raised a social media storm in the conservative Muslim-majority country.

The Purboposhchimbd news portal said Jibon Ahmed was 'not fit' to work for the company because of doubts about whether the kiss image was staged.

Ahmed protested his innocence, insisted he has proof the image was spontaneous and said he has been roughed up by other photographers because of the image.

In a Facebook post, Ahmed said he had been 'exposed to unwanted cruelty' due to the 'powerful' photo.

'I never ever believed that one click would create so many stories. Today due to this photo, the social and mainstream media media are flooded with false and true stories about me,' he said of the divisions.

The couple were snapped kissing in monsoon rain on the steps of the Dhaka University campus.

He posted it -- with the caption 'Songs of rains -- let love be free' -- on his Facebook page while the news portal also used it.

The photo quickly went viral in Bangladesh.

It drew social media praise for bringing a hint of social freedom.

But conservatives questioned whether the photo had breached Bangladesh's public decency mores.

Media commenters asked whether Ahmed sought the couple's permission to publish the photo.

After publishing the photo, Purboposhchimbd later wrote an article saying it believed the photo was 'pre-planned' and the photographer had 'apologised'.   -- Agencies

Five empty ballot boxes and over a dozen papers have been found by the roadside in Pakistan's Karachi and Sialkot, raising suspicion over the poll body's claims of having conducted free and fair general elections.

A European Union team of election observers had concluded that Pakistan's general elections on July 25, won by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf with 116 seats, were eclipsed by 'restrictions' on freedom of expression and an 'unequal' opportunity for candidates to campaign.

Alleging poll rigging and threatening country-wide protests, a multi-party meeting which included the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) has rejected the results and demanded a 'transparent' re-election.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate for NA-241 seat Moazzam Ali Qureshi informed the police about the recovery of a dozen ballot papers from a garbage dump near a famous superstore in Qayyumabad area of the city, DIG police Amir Farooqui was quoted as saying by Dawn news.

The police asked him to approach the concerned district returning officer of the election commission, who would launch an inquiry if needed.

About 12 ballot papers were recovered.

In Sialkot, people found five empty ballot boxes near Kashmir Park in the Cantonment area, the report said.

Police said that some unidentified people had thrown the empty ballot boxes, it said.

After receiving information about the recovery of the ballot boxes, PTI's defeated candidate from the constituency (NA-73) Usman Dar along with a large number of his party workers reached the spot and raised slogans against PML-N's Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who has won the election.

Dar alleged that the recovered ballot boxes were thrown by PML-N workers after they had stolen them from some local polling stations.

Asif rejected the allegations, saying that PTI's Dar was trying to get sympathy from the people, the report added.

In its preliminary assessment of the 25 July elections, the EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) said the media outlets and journalists suffered from restrictions which resulted in self-censorship.

The multi-party meeting told media that it was 'not an election but selection' and the results were unanimously rejected by the parties attending the moot.

However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the 'blatant' rigging allegations levelled by the incumbent PML-N and other parties, saying it did 'our job right'.

Cricketer-turned-polician Khan led his party to victory in the parliamentary elections, amid a growing consensus among South Asia experts and Pakistan-observers that it was greatly influenced and meddled by the strong Pakistani Army.

Pakistan's NA -- the lower house of Parliament -- comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected.

A party can only form the government if it manages to secure 172 seats in total.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 seats and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively, the ECP said.

A party can only form the government if it manages to secure 172 seats in total.  -- PTI

Social activist Anna Hazare said today he will launch a hunger strike from October 2 against the Union government for the delay in appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre.

He also appealed people to join him in his campaign for a corruption-free country.

"I will go on a hunger strike from October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, at my native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra," the anti-corruption crusader told PTI.

He criticised the National Democratic Alliance government, saying it had earlier assured it will appoint the Lokpal and implement the Lokpal Bill, passed by Parliament and signed by the then President in January 2014.

"But there is a lack of will in this government to curb corruption and hence, it is giving a lot of reasons and delaying the appointment of the Lokpal," Hazare said.

Hazare, who has been the face of the Lokpal movement, went on a 12-day hunger strike in 2011. He later launched a fast, which enjoyed a huge popular support across the country.

The United Progressive Alliance government later passed the Lokpal bill.

The Supreme Court had earlier this week expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre's response on appointment of search committee members for a Lokpal.

The Centre had earlier told the apex court that the Lokpal selection committee, headed by the prime minister, was scheduled to meet to set up a search panel for recommending a panel of names for the appointment of the anti-graft ombudsman and its members.

The government had said the search panel would lay down its procedures, following which the selection committee would fix the time frame within which the names for selecting the chairman and members of the Lokpal would be recommended.

The committee comprises the prime minister, the chief justice of India, Lok Sabha speaker, the leader of the largest opposition party and an eminent jurist.

The apex court, in its last year's verdict, had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.  -- PTI

Amid a row over proposed changes in the RTI Act, the government has invited applications from eligible candidates to fill vacant posts of Information Commissioners in transparency watchdog Central Information Commission.

'It is proposed to appoint Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission. Persons fulfilling the criteria and interested for appointment to the post of Information Commissioner may send their particulars in the enclosed proforma,' the advertisement says.

There are six information commissioners (ICs) working in the CIC against a sanctioned strength of 10.

The CIC is headed by chief information commissioner.

Radha Krishna Mathur is the incumbent chief information commissioner.

Many RTI activists and the government are at loggerheads over the proposed changes in the transparency law. The activists have claimed that the proposed changes will dilute the law.

According to the proposed amendment, the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the chief information commissioner and ICs 'shall be such as may be prescribed by the central government'.

The tenure of information commissioners at the Centre and the states is proposed to be amended from 'a term of five years' to 'terms as may be prescribed by the central government'.

The salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the information commissioners shall be as may be specified at the time of appointment of the selected candidate/s, the advert reads.

"The latest advertisement seeking applications for the post of ICs make the government intent clear that the proposed changes in the Act may get the nod of the Parliament," RTI activist Ajay Dubey said.

"We shall fight any attempt by the authorities concerned to dilute the RTI Act," Dubey said.

An information commissioner shall be a person of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass-media or administration and governance, according to the advertisement.

Persons who have attained the age of 65 years shall not be eligible for appointment, it said.  -- PTI

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu meets Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Chief M Karunanidhi at Kauvery hospital in Chennai where the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was admitted yesterday following a drop in blood pressure.

DMK working president M K Stalin and party MP Kanimozhi were also present.  -- Photograph: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched 81 investment projects worth over Rs 60,000 crore for Uttar Pradesh at a mega ground-breaking event.

The projects are expected to give a big boost to industrialisation in the state.

These projects have the potentials of creating over two lakh new jobs, UP Minister for Industries Satish Mahana said.

"This is unimaginable achievement of UP government," the PM said while launching the projects.

"People are calling this event a ground-breaking ceremony. But I call this a record-breaking ceremony. The manner in which development works have been carried out in such a short span of time and old methods have been changed, was never seen before in Uttar Pradesh," the PM said.

"These projects will prove to be a big step in giving a new direction to Digital India and Make in India. Be it setting up of fiber or establishment of IT center for internet service in Uttar Pradesh, digital infrastructure will give a new direction, new pace to the state," he said.

"Today the nation is becoming a hub of mobile manufacturing for the world. Uttar Pradesh is leading this manufacturing revolution. More than 50 mobile manufacturing company are working in UP & the largest mobile manufacturing unit in the world has also been established here," the PM said.

Modi slammed previous non-Bharatiya Janata Party governments for lack of development, says they did not have will and their intentions were not clear.

Around 80 leading industrialists, including Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla group, Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani group, Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel group and Sanjeev Puri, MD, ITC, besides top magnates of other major business houses participated in the event, which comes close on the heels of 'Investors Summit' in February this year.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who led the state in holding the successful investors summit earlier this year, said climate was very favourable for them to set up their projects in the state.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who represents the Lucknow seat in the Lok Sabha, assured on behalf of the Centre additional security for the ambitious projects in case of any requirement.

"I can give you this assurance as the country's home minister," he said.  -- PTI, ANI

WhatsApp has started working on building its payments service for other countries even as it waits for the 'green light' from Indian authorities for offering the feature to its user base in New Delhi.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been testing its payments services in India for a few months now with about one million users and is waiting for clearance from the government for a full-fledged rollout across the country.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, in a recent investor call, said WhatsApp's payments services 'gives people a really simple way to send money to each other and contribute to greater financial inclusion'.

He added that feedback and usage have been 'very strong' among people who have used the service.

"All signs point to a lot of people wanting to use this when the government gives us the green light. And in the meantime, we've broadened our focus to building this for other countries so we can give more people this ability faster," he said.

Zuckerberg added that over the next five years, the company is focused on building the business ecosystem around messaging on WhatsApp and Messenger.

WhatsApp has been working with the Indian government, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and multiple banks to further expand its payments feature to more users in India, a company official had told PTI.

According to government sources, the Indian IT Ministry has told WhatsApp to prioritise curbing of fake news on its platform, against the backdrop of lynching incidents claiming many lives, over its plans to launch payments service.

The sources had noted that there are outstanding concerns over WhatsApp's proposed payment service plan, including how and where will the data of users be stored in the backdrop of Reserve Bank of India's instructions mandating that data be stored in India.

The government wants greater clarity on how the storage issue is being handled by WhatsApp and these matters are under discussion, the sources had said, adding that detailed examination is required given that WhatsApp has a large user base in India.

India is the largest market for WhatsApp, with the country accounting for over 200 million of its total 1.3 billion user base.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT had asked NPCI to check if WhatsApp's payments service conforms with the RBI rules and data security of customers.

NPCI was also asked to check that all compliance are in place before the US-based messaging app is allowed to scale up its services.

WhatsApp, on its part, has stated that sensitive user data such as the last 6 digits of a debit card and UPI PIN is not stored at all.

While it admitted to using the infrastructure of Facebook for the service, it had asserted that the parent firm does not use payment information for commercial purpose.

The recent draft Data Protection Bill, submitted to the government by the Justice Srikrishna panel, could also have an impact on WhatsApp's plan.

The draft bill says that every data fiduciary shall ensure the storage of at least one serving copy of personal data on a server or data centre located in India.

Also, the government will notify categories of personal data as 'critical personal data' that can only be processed in a server/data centre within India.

The panel's report and the draft data protection bill will now go through the cycle of inter-ministerial consultations, Cabinet approval and finally Parliamentary nod.  -- PTI

As much as Rs 15,167 crore amount of policyholders is lying unclaimed with 23 life insurers, according to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) data.

Insurance regulator Irdai has already asked insurers to take steps to identify the policyholders or beneficiaries and disburse the claims.

Board level committee for policyholder protection of every insurer is entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the timely payout of the all dues to policyholders.

It also oversees the steps taken by the insurers to reduce unclaimed amounts as part of the standard procedures on customer service.

Out of the total unclaimed amount of Rs 15,166.47 crore, as on March 31, 2018, insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is sitting on Rs 10,509 crore, while the 22 private sector insurers account for the remaining Rs 4,657.45 crore.

Among the private insurers, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co has 807.4 crore of unclaimed insurance claims followed Reliance Nippon Life Insurance (Rs 696.12 crore), SBI Life Insurance Co (Rs 678.59 crore) and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co (Rs 659.3 crore).

The Irdai had asked the life insurance companies to provide a search facility on their website to enable policyholders or beneficiaries or dependents to find out whether any unclaimed amounts due to them are lying with these companies.

Policyholders/beneficiaries are required to enter the details like policy number, PAN of the policyholder, name of the policyholder, date of birth or Aadhaar number, in a window provided on the website of the insurer to find out the unclaimed amount.

The insurers have to update information regarding unclaimed amounts on their websites on half-yearly basis.  -- PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe into the alleged abuse of minor girls at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, an official said today.

The case relates to mental, physical and sexual exploitation of the girls residing at Balika Grih, Muzaffarpur.

The CBI has booked officers and employees of the shelter home.

"It is alleged that officials/employees of girl's children home run by Seva Sankalp Evam Vikash Samiti used to mentality, physically and sexually exploit the children residing there," a CBI spokesperson said.

The matter had come to light earlier this year when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by a Mumbai-based institute.

The audit report stated that many girls at the shelter home had complained of sexual abuse.

A special investigation team was formed to probe the complaints.

The NGO running the shelter home in Muzaffarpur was blacklisted and the girls were shifted to shelter homes in Patna and Madhubani.

Women staff members of the shelter home and Brajesh Thakur, who ran the NGO, were among those who were arrested by the local police in connection with the case.  -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised the team effort showcased in the Thai cave rescue operation, in which a soccer team, which was trapped inside the cave for days, was saved.

Addressing the nation through the 46th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann ki Baat', the Prime Minister said that the sense of responsibility displayed during the entire operation was amazing.

Lauding the efforts of the rescuers and the authorities in the operation, Prime Minister Modi said that 'everyone got involved in the rescue mission like a team'.

"Government, parents, media, countrymen everyone displayed extraordinary patience. Everyone got involved in the rescue mission like a team. The restrained behaviour, is a lesson for all," he said adding that wonders happen when entire humanity comes together.

On July 8, 11 teenage boys and the football coach of the Wild Boars soccer team which was trapped inside Tham Luang cave in Thailand for days, without food and water was rescued.

In his address, the prime minister also raised concern over the irregular rainfall across India and stressed on the importance of environment protection.

"Mankind has chosen a path that conflict with nature. This conflict turns nature against us. This calls for a more responsible attitude towards nature," he said.  -- ANI

Union minister Ramdas Athawale has demanded removal of Justice (retd) A K Goel from the post of National Green Tribunal chairperson, alleging that the Supreme Court bench, he was a part of, had given 'wrong judgment' related to the SC/ST Act.

Athawale, who is the president of the Republican Party of India, said, "Goel should be removed from the post of NGT chairperson. The Dalit community is not happy with this appointment as he was part of a bench which had given a wrong judgment."

The retired apex court judge was appointed as the chairperson of the NGT for five years on July 6.

The minister of state for social justice and empowerment said he would raise the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Supreme Court bench led by Justices Goel and U U Lalit had on March 20 'diluted' the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, ruling that government servants should not be arrested without prior sanction and private citizens too, can be arrested only after an inquiry.

Before arresting a public servant under the SC/ST Act, a preliminary probe by an officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent is a must, the court had said.

Many political parties and the people belonging to Dalit communities had opposed the judgement and held protests across the country perceiving it as the dilution of the Act.  -- PTI

A police constable deployed at Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shatrughan Sinha's residence in Mumbai accidentally discharged a bullet from his service weapon, but no one was hurt, an official said today.

The incident occurred last evening at Sinha's residence at Juhu in western suburbs, when the constable,deployed for his security, was handling the weapon, he said.

No one was hurt in the accidental discharge of the bullet, the official said.

The 72-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib in Bihar, who is also a former Union minister, stays on the eighth floor of a building called `Ramayan'.  -- PTI

The stage is set for the release of the second and final draft of Assam's National Register of Citizens amid tight security tomorrow.

The draft will be published at noon at all the NRC Sewa Kendras (NSK) across the state and applicants can check their names in the list which will include the applicant's name, address and photographs, NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela said.

The NRC will include the names of all Indian citizens who have been residing in Assam before March 25, 1971.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up across the state to maintain law and order, with district deputy commissioners and superintendents of police being directed to maintain a strict vigil, a senior police official said.

Vulnerable areas have been identified by superintendents of police in their respective districts and the situation is closely monitored to prevent any untoward incident, specially those arising out of rumour-mongering.

The Centre has despatched 220 companies of the central armed police forces to gear up security in Assam and the neighbouring states.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal held a high-level meeting recently on the NRC draft release and directed officers to remain alert and to help and explain the process of claims and objections to people whose names would not appear in the draft.

The chief minister has also directed the officials not to refer any case to the Foreigners Tribunal based on the NRC draft list.

Hajela has pointed out that there will be enough scope for claims by people whose names do not appear in the draft and 'genuine citizens should not panic if their names fail to figure in the document'.

If a person's name does not appear in the draft then he or she will have to apply in prescribed forms in their respective Sewa Kendras and these forms will be available from August 7 to September 28 and the authorities will inform them about reason for their names being left out.

The next step will be to file the claim in another prescribed form which will be available from August 30 to September 28 next and these claims will be finally disposed of after proper hearing.

The applicants can check their names in the draft by visiting their respective designated NRC Sewa Kendra (NSK) which will be available on all working days from 10 am to 4 pm from July 30 to September 28.

The applicants can also call 24x7 toll free numbers 15107 from Assam and 18003453762 from outside Assam by referring to their 21-digit Application Receipt Number (ARN).

The applicants can also check their names by visiting the NRC website and also through SMS.

The NRC is being updated under the Supreme Court's supervision.

The first draft of the ongoing NRC process was released on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, wherein the names of 1.9 crore of the 3.29 crore applicants were incorporated.  -- PTI

A meagre 27 per cent of people, accused of committing atrocities and crimes against scheduled castes and tribes, have been convicted during 2014-16 due to a variety of reasons like delay in lodging first information reports, prosecution unable to prove charges and witnesses turning hostile.

According to a report compiled by the Union Home Ministry, the rate of conviction is low despite the country having 195 exclusive special courts to deal with the alleged crimes against SCs and STs.

The figures come amid the ongoing row over the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In 2016, a total of 40,718 cases were registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of which charge sheets were filed in 30,966 cases and the conviction rate was 25.8 per cent, the home ministry says.

As many as 38,510 cases were registered in 2015 under the Act and charge sheets were registered in 26,922 of these cases, the conviction rate being 27.2 per cent. In 2014, altogether 40,208 cases were registered.

Charge sheets were filed in 29,248 of the cases and the conviction was rate was 28.4 per cent.

The data for 2017 is yet to be compiled.

The reasons for low conviction rate are mostly due to delay in lodging the FIR, witnesses and complainants becoming hostile, absence of proper scrutiny of the cases by prosecution before filing the charge sheet in the court, the ministry said.

Lack of proper presentation of a case by the prosecution and appreciation of evidence by the court, prosecution unable to prove the charges, long pendency of the trial makes the witness lose their interest and lack of corroborative evidence are some of the other reasons for the low rate of conviction, it said.

Section 14 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act specifies that for the purpose of providing for speedy trial, the state government shall, with the concurrence of the chief justice of the high court, establish an exclusive special court for one or more districts.

In the districts where less number of cases under this Act is recorded, the state governments shall, with the concurrence of the chief justice of the high court, specify for such districts, the court of session to be a special court to try the offences under the Act.

Accordingly, for ensuring speedy trials of cases under the Act, a total of 195 exclusive special courts have been set up in Andhra Pradesh (14), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (17), Gujarat (16), Karnataka (8), Kerala (3), Madhya Pradesh (43), Maharashtra (3), Odisha (3), Rajasthan (25), Tamil Nadu (6), Telangana (10), Uttar Pradesh (40) and Uttarakhand (2).

The apex court had on March 20 ruled that on 'several occasions', innocent citizens were being termed as accused and public servants deterred from performing their duties, which was never the intention of the legislature while enacting the SC/ST Act.

Several states were rocked by widespread violence and clashes following a Bharat bandh call given by several SC/ST organisations protesting the top court's order.

Eight persons died in the violence.

While hearing the Centre's review plea to stay the order, the top court had in April asserted that 'no provisions of SC/ST Act have been diluted' and clarified that additional safeguards had been put in place 'to protect the fundamental rights' of innocents.

Some Dalit groups have called a countrywide agitation on August 9 to protest the changes in the Act.

Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan had written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday opposing the appointment of retired Supreme Court judge A K Goel as National Green Tribunal (NGT) chairman, since he was 'the judge who ruled against' the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  -- PTI

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said the Congress has to be the "backbone" of the opposition unity with its chief Rahul Gandhi at the forefront of the campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party from power at the Centre.

 

This, however, does not minimise the responsibility of regional leaders who are strong in their own states, Abdullah told PTI in an interview.

 

"The Congress has to be the backbone as the lion's share of seats of the opposition in one particular party will have to be from it as there are a number of states where there will be direct contest between the Congress and the BJP," he said.

 

"At the end of the day to form a government at the Centre you need 272 seats, which the regional outfits are not going to get. You will be looking towards the Congress to come close to the 100-seat mark, if not cross it to form a non-BJP government," he said.

   

Abdullah met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Friday and held talks on the probable opposition front.

 

Efforts to cobble up an opposition front is gaining momentum, but a section of leaders of regional parties are not keen on letting the Congress lead it and are propagating a non-BJP and non-Congress front.

 

On the issue of Rahul Gandhi being the face of the opposition, Abdullah said he being the president of the single largest opposition party was expected to be at the forefront of the election campaign.

   

"Obviously, one will expect Rahul Gandhi to be at the forefront of leading the election campaign in 2019 but at the same time Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the UPA. Therefore to the best possible extent one will hope Sonia Gandhi will also be part of the campaign," he said.

 

Refuting aspersions on Rahul Gandhi's leadership capabilities, Abdullah cited the example of Congress' role in forming the government in Karnataka and said he had shown a lot of maturity on how the party was orienting itself.

"He is president of the Congress party. If anybody has any doubt about his leadership quality then it has to be from his party. His party has absolutely no problem with him, then why should anybody else have objections?" Abdullah said.

"Rahul Gandhi has shown a lot of maturity on how the Congress is orienting. He is a leader in his own right and he has every right to be there," the NC leader said.

   

He, however, maintained that the issue of the "face of opposition" is being brought up to divide the opposition unity. "Individual regional parties are strong in their own states."

   

Mamata Banerjee will lead the fight against the BJP in West Bengal, while in Bihar, the anti-BJP face will be that of Lalu Prasad (RJD) supported by the Congress. In UP, the faces will be Aklhilesh Yadav (SP) and Mayawati (BSP) and in Tamil Nadu, it will be Karunanidhi (DMK) and his son M K Stalin, he said. 

"The Congress by virtue of its pan-India presence will have greater responsibility, but that's not to minimise the responsibility of other (regional) leaders. They would play a vital role. It's very important that we fight tactfully and tactically and this is the way forward," he said.-- PTI

At least 10 people have died and dozens were injured after an earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude struck the popular Indonesian holiday island of Lombok today.

"The earthquake killed at least 10 people, some 40 people are injured and dozens of houses were damaged," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency.

"We estimate the number will keep rising because we are not done collecting data," Nugroho said.

No Tsunami warning has been issued by US Geological Survey.

A day after a preliminary magisterial probe report sought a "deeper investigation" into the conduct of the father of the three girls, who died allegedly due to starvation in east Delhi, a police team was on Saturday sent to his native place in West Bengal to trace him, a senior officer said.

 

Mangal Singh, the father of the girls, is untraceable since Tuesday, when the girls were declared dead by doctors of a city hospital.

A magisterial probe report had said Singh had given some "unknown medicine" to his daughters by "mixing it in hot water" on the night of July 23 and he had been missing since the morning of July 24.

Police said they were awaiting the viscera report, which would help determine whether the girls were given any medicine that could have led to their death.

The sisters were declared brought dead by doctors at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital on July 24.

The initial autopsy reports had suggested that they died due to starvation. A medical board at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital had conducted a second autopsy at the request of the police, which had corroborated the first post-mortem report.

The police had said their teams were visiting places outside Delhi, including Noida, where the father of the girls had worked earlier.

The police had recovered some bottles of medicines from the place where they were putting up. -- PTI 

An all-out war erupted on Twitter after Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman R S Sharma on Saturday disclosed his Aadhaar number on the microblogging site and challenged everyone to show how mere knowledge of the unique number could be used to harm him, triggering a deluge of tweets that claimed to disclose his personal details from PAN to mobile number. 

The challenge by Sharma evoked an immediate response from the Twitterati, with some users claiming to have dug up his mobile number, photographs, residential address, date of birth and even chat threads using the information, while others warned him about the perils of throwing such a dare on the social media platform. 

While much of the information that was dug out may already be in the public domain, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India official did not verify whether the details pertaining to his PAN were indeed correct.

When contacted by PTI, Sharma declined to make any detailed comment on the matter by saying, "Let the challenge run for some time". 

Giving out his full Aadhaar number, the TRAI chairman had tweeted: "Now I give this challenge to you: Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me!"

The challenge by Sharma has got over 2,850 retweets, and 3,364 likes, and the numbers continued to climb well into the night. 

Sharma himself continued to engage in the verbal duel with the Twitterati till late hours, dismissing much information being revealed as 'public information' and seeking to debunk the theory that "Aadhaar compromises the privacy of the person".

"...Yeh details koi state scret nahin hain (These details are no state secret)...," retorted Sharma at one point, even chiding one of the users for disclosing an address that was old and asking if he (the user) would like to have his latest address.

A French security expert who goes under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, (@fs0c131y) wrote, "People managed to get your personal address, dob (date of birth) and your alternate phone number. I stop here, I hope you will understand why make your #Aadhaar number public is not a good idea."  

While many on Twitter claimed victory over 'leaking' Sharma's personal details post the challenge, the TRAI chief asserted through multiple tweets and replies that the challenge had never been about phone numbers and other information, but for causing harm using knowledge of his Aadhaar number.

"No I did not challenge them for phone number and other info. I challenged them for causing me harm! So far no success. Wish them luck," Sharma wrote on Twitter.  

The high drama played out on the microblogging platform just a day after Justice Srikrishna committee came out with its report on data protection where it mooted changes in the Aadhaar Act and proposed new safeguards to protect information of Aadhaar holders. 

Sharma, former UIDAI or Unique Identification Authority of India director general, has been an ardent supporter of the Aadhaar program, vouching for the safety of the system, and dispelling privacy concerns surrounding Aadhaar even during his current tenure as TRAI Chief.

"Data privacy is a big and very important issue in a digital world. I am one of the most vociferous supporter of that. However, the only thing I am saying is that Aadhaar does not violate privacy," Sharma tweeted on Saturday. -- PTI

Three people, including two women, were arrested for allegedly waving black flags and jumping in front of Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah's convoy in Allahabad, police said.

The incident took place on Thursday in the Dhoomanganj area, superintendent of police, city, Brijesh Shrivastav said.

The protesters claimed to be members of the Samajwadi Party's student wing, Dhoomanganj SHO Sandeep Mishra said, adding that they were arrested on the charge of breach of peace.

A purported video of the incident showing police personnel manhandling the protesters went viral on social media.

Shah's four-hour itinerary in the city was packed with temple visits, religious functions and meetings with seers. -- PTI 

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday said the Centre has agreed in-principle to construct a four-lane highway along the Indo-Bhutan border.

"The new connectivity would bring in revolutionary changes not only in connectivity, but also in trade and commerce of the areas," Sonowal said at the annual state convention in Nikashi.

He said that after getting clearance from the ministry of forest and environment, the construction work for the 264-km long highway, encompassing four districts of the state, will start on full throttle.

The Assam government is playing the role of a catalyst to Central government's efforts in bringing about infrastructural development along the border areas, he said.

On the publication of the final Draft NRC on July 30, the CM said that genuine Indian citizens whose names are left out from the draft, would get an opportunity to enrol through disposal of claims and objections. -- PTI 

National Award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he deserves to come to power again as he is the "rightful leader of the democracy."

Kangana expressed her wish when she attended the screening of short film 'Chalo Jeete Hain', which is reportedly inspired by the early life of Prime Minister Modi.

"The film has been made beautifully. It shows how Prime Minister Modi being a sensitive child went through such extreme circumstances. But I feel this film is not about him. Rather it is about us, how the society needs to be together to rise. This film is just a small part of his life," Kangana said after the screening.

When asked to analyse the last four years of the Prime Minister Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government, Kangana said: "He (Prime Minister Modi) is the most deserving candidate. It's not like he has reached this place because of his mother and father. He is the rightful leader of the democracy. We have voted him as our prime minister. This cannot be taken away from him. This is his well deserved place which he has earned after sheer hardwork. So, there shouldn't be any doubt about his credibility as a prime minister."

Does she wants Prime Minister Modi to be in power again?

Kangana said: "Ofcourse. Why not? Five years are very less to take the nation out of a pit. Our country is in a pit, we need to pull it out."

Co-directed by Aanand L Rai and Mahaveer Jain, 'Chalo Jeete Hain' invited a lot of praise from ministers after it was screened at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Tuesday. -- ANI