India

New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI); A crucial bill seeking to provide death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years and making the law against such sexual offences more stringent, was passed by the Lok Sabha today.

The bill replaces the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 21, following an outcry over the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another woman at Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI); In an act of defiance, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said "no mandatory permission" should be required from police to install CCTV cameras, as he tore apart a report of a panel set up by

Lt Governor Anil Baijal on working out the guidelines for installation and monitoring of surveillance cameras.

The L-G office in a statement issued later, however, said, the rules were only at a "draft stage" and had been put out in public domain for suggestions and clarifications.

Lucknow, Jul 27 (PTI); A court here framed charges today against Mohsin Raza alias Arshad, a minister in the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a 29-year-old road rage case.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nirbhay Prakash also framed charges against co-accused Akbar and fixed August 4 for the recording of evidence of the prosecution witnesses.

The accused were present in the court at the time of framing of charges.

PTI; Jaipur, Jul 27 : The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission (RSHRC) has sought a report from the state government over the death of a 28-year-old man in Alwar district after he was allegedly thrashed by a mob on the suspicion cow-smuggling.

Yesterday, the National Human Rights Commission sent a notice to the Rajasthan government over the death of Akbar alias Rakbar Khan.

PTI; Ahmedabad, Jul 25 : Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel today said the BJP's "Hitlershahi" cannot prevent him from fighting for "truth, farmers, youth and poor", soon after he was awarded a two-year jail term in connection with a rioting case.

A sessions court in Visnagar town of Gujarat's Mehsana district today sentenced Hardik Patel and two of his aides -- Lalji Patel and A K Patel -- to two years imprisonment in a case of rioting and arson lodged against him and 16 others in July 2015. Later, the three were granted bail by the same court.

Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI); Actor Priyanka Chopra has thanked an online magazine for including her in its list of the 500 most influential people, saying it encourages her to tell important stories.

Popular magazine Variety had recently unveiled its list of influential people and apart from Priyanka, it also featured the names of Indian celebrities such as Karan Johar, Salman Khan and Ekta Kapoor among others.

The 36-year-old actor took to Instagram to express her happiness over being included in the list and shared the credit with her team.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 26 (PTI); China has quietly resumed its activities in the Doklam area and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it, a top US official has said while comparing Beijing's actions in the Himalayan region with its manoeuvres in the disputed South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.

Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI); The Congress would take out a morcha against the non-disclosure of the Rafale jet purchase price by the BJP-led Central government, in Mumbai on July 30.

The forthcoming march is the part of similar protests the Congress is planning to organise across the country, senior party leaders said today.

The morcha would start from Fashion Street and conclude at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

The Congress has been demanding that the government disclose the purchase price of each Rafale jet during the ongoing session of Parliament.

Kolkata, Jul 26 (PTI); Former President Pranab Mukherjee today said despite the country having high GDP growth and being among the top economic powers, it is "way behind" in the overall happiness ranking.

India occupies the 133rd place (according to a world survey) in overall happiness ranking in 2018, Mukherjee said.

He said this was so in spite of the impressive GDP numbers, high average life expectancy, which went up from 31.4 years (in four years after Independence) to 68 years at present, and a quantum jump in foodgrain production since 1947.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 25 (PTI); In a landmark ruling, a Special CBI court today sentenced to death two serving police officers in connection with the custodial death of a 26-year-old man in 2005.

K Jithakumar and S V Sreekumar, presently serving as assistant sub-inspector and civil police officer respectively, were awarded the death penalty, along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh by the court here.

Pronouncing the verdict, Judge J Nazer said "this is a brutal and dastardly murder by accused one and two."