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Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) In August last year, West Bengal was rocked by widespread protests over the ghastly rape and murder of a lady junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises.Doctors, common men, and women had taken to the streets to protest, demand justice, and hold the state government accountable for its failure to provide security to women in workplaces.On the anniversary of the tragic incident, another round of protests and rallies is taking place to demand a fair investigation into the incident and justice for the victim.Last year, the body of the victim was recovered from a seminar hall within the hospital premises on the morning of August 9. While the sole convict in the case and civic volunteer Sanjay Roy had already ...

Sagar, Aug 9 (IANS) In a tragic incident on the eve of Raksha Bandhan, four young men drowned in the Bebas River near Richhawar village under Sanodha police station limits in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district.As of Saturday morning, the bodies of three victims have been recovered, while search operations continue for the fourth.Speaking to IANS, Sanodha police station in-charge Bharat Singh Thakur said the tragedy occurred late Friday evening when five friends from Khushipura and Richhawar villages went for a picnic near the river.While bathing, one of them ventured into deeper waters and began to drown. In a desperate attempt to save him, three others jumped in, but all four were swept away by the river's strong currents.The fifth youth had warned them not to enter the water but, according ...

Chennai, Aug 9 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will launch a new welfare initiative on August 12, providing doorstep delivery of essential commodities to senior citizens above 70 years of age and persons with disabilities across the state. The Chief Minister's Thayumanavar scheme aims to ensure that vulnerable sections of society receive their Public Distribution System (PDS) entitlements without the difficulty of visiting ration shops.The programme will cover rice, sugar, wheat, palmolein oil, and toor dal, the key commodities supplied under the PDS.According to state government data, Tamil Nadu has 2.26 crore ration cards covering a population of seven crore.Of these, 16.73 lakh ration cards - benefitting a total of 21.7 lakh people - will be included under the Thayumanavar ...

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) As the country celebrated the joyous festival of Raksha Bandhan, Congress leaders including senior Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge extended heartfelt greetings, highlighting the cultural and emotional significance of the festival that honours the bond between brothers and sisters.Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to X to share her warm wishes on Raksha Bandhan, saying: "Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all of you on the festival of Raksha Bandhan, a symbol of love, trust, and faith between brothers and sisters. May this sacred festival bring abundant joy to everyone’s lives."Her message captured the essence of Raksha Bandhan, a festival that transcends rituals and is deeply...

Moradabad, Aug 9 (IANS) Former Samajwadi Party MP, ST Hasan on Saturday stirred a fresh controversy while commenting on the recent cloudburst in Uttarkashi, claiming that other religions are not being respected in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.Speaking to IANS, ST Hasan said, “We don’t know how many people are still trapped under the debris. It’s a truly heart-wrenching incident. A whole village has been washed away. Earlier, it didn’t rain like this there. Why are such tragedies happening? We need to reflect on this. We’ve cut down too many trees.”He further added, “In Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, other religions are not being respected. There is someone who governs this world, and when divine justice happens, no one can protect themselves. Bulldozers should not be used on any d...

Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) BJP's central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, on the first anniversary R.G. Kar rape and murder tragedy highlighted the "rising incidents of crime against women" in the state under the Mamata government.In a social media statement, BJP IT cell chief described West Bengal as the "most unsafe" state for women, and shared some statistics to substantiate his claims.Malviya pointed out that, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there had been 34,738 crimes against women in 2022 in Bengal, which is among the top five states in India.According to him, the current crime rate in West Bengal is 71.8 per lakh population, higher than the national average of 65.4, as per the NCRB records.Malviya had also pointed out that West Bengal has 48,600 pending rape an...

Jaisalmer, Aug 9 (IANS) Border Security Force (BSF) personnel manning the India-Pakistan border along Rajasthan in Jaisalmer, celebrated Rakha Bandhan, a festival that symbolises the deep bond between brothers and sisters. The women personnel tied 'rakhis', applied 'tilak' and offered sweets to their colleagues and celebrated the festival with enthusiasm."Staying far away from our families, we celebrate the festival among ourselves and take pledges for the safety of our country and fellow colleagues," one of the BSF personnel told IANS.Talking to IANS, BSF's Komal Sharma said that sweetmeats 'rasgullah', 'jalebi', 'besan ke laddu', 'rakhis', flowers and sandal powder for 'tilak' were received by the headquarters.An elated Sharma said that it is her first Raksha Bandhan in the BSF and she i...

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 9 (IANS) The Congress party in Kerala has launched a blistering attack on the state government after the Argentine Football Association (AFA) accused it of breaching a contract to bring football icon Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team to the state.AFA’s Head of Marketing, Leandro Peterson, claimed the deal collapsed because the Kerala government failed to meet its contractual obligations -- directly contradicting Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman and the event sponsor, who had earlier blamed AFA for the breakdown.“Messi is missing,” quipped KPCC president Sunny Joseph, demanding that the Sports Minister offer a clear explanation.Party MP Shafi Parambil said the government’s much-hyped social media campaign, ‘Messi is coming to Kerala’, had spectacularly backf...