India News Updates: Dance choreographer booked for harassing minor stepdaughter in Hyderabad

Assam Congress President Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday said all the land "illegally" occupied by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his ministers will be redistributed among the poor people if the opposition party forms government in the state next year. Read here

Part of double-deck flyover built at Rs 422 crore in Patna sinks after incessant rainfall

A dance choreographer, who mentors contestants on television reality shows, has been arrested for the alleged sexual harassment of his minor stepdaughter here, police said on Sunday. The girl’s mother, in her complaint, alleged that the accused—her second husband—had inappropriately touched her daughter on multiple occasions, police added.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Gachibowli Police Station under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including charges of sexual harassment and stalking. The accused was recently remanded in judicial custody, police said. -- PTI

The body of a minor girl, who was missing since last Friday, was found hanging inside a jungle near her home in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Sunday morning, police said.

The incident happened at Lulkidihi village under the jurisdiction of the Talwara police station in the district. According to the police, the girl had gone to the forest to graze cows and goats on Friday.

When she did not return home in the afternoon, her father searched for her in the locality and reported the matter to the police after failing to find her,  the police said. Local youths had seen the deceased girl talking to a person from neighbouring Chhattisgarh. Another local was also present there, a police officer said.

The police have detained the two men and initiated an investigation into the case. It is learnt that the girl had come in contact with one of the detained persons through social media, the police officer said. -- PTI

Flood-like situation in UP's Chandauli after water from River Ganga enters residential areas

One law enforcement personnel and three terrorists were killed when a group of nearly 50 militants ambushed a police checkpost in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Sunday.

Heavily armed terrorists attacked the Fateh Khel police checkpost in the Bannu district late Saturday night, police said. According to DIG Bannu, a group of 40 to 50 terrorists had attacked the checkpost. Police retaliated, and in the exchange of fire, one policeman and three attackers were killed, and the rest managed to flee. Two police constables were also injured in the attack. -- PTI

Floods in Uttar Pradesh have affected 402 villages in 37 tehsils, impacting 84,392 people, an official statement said on Sunday.

Of this, 47,906 people have received assistance, according to Relief Commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami.

Currently, 17 districts -- including Kanpur Nagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Agra, Auraiya, Chitrakoot, Ballia, Banda, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Chandauli, Jalaun, Kanpur Dehat, Hamirpur, Etawah and Fatehpur -- are grappling with the impact of flooding. Relief and rescue operations are underway in full swing, with continuous patrolling by National Disaster Relief Force, State Disaster Relief Force, and Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel. -- PTI

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday extended condolences over the death of 11 pilgrims after their vehicle plunged into a canal in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, calling the incident "extremely tragic".

President Murmu prayed for the speedy recovery of those who were injured.

At least eleven people were killed after a vehicle carrying pilgrims fell into a canal in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The incident occurred under the limits of Itia Thok Police Station.

In a post on X, Murmu wrote, "The news of the deaths of many people in a vehicle accident in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, is extremely tragic. I express my deep condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured." -- ANI

Andhra CM Naidu expresses grief over Ballikurava quarry accident

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday expressed grief over the tragic accident at the Ballikurava quarry in Bapatla district, where six workers lost their lives and several others were seriously injured.

The incident occurred when large rocks fell on workers engaged in quarry operations. Earlier, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has slammed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for "once again betraying" farmers by dismantling the Rythu Bharosa scheme and going back on his pre-election promises. -- ANI

The political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday condemned the assault on employees of a private airline by an Army officer at Srinagar International Airport last week, saying the officer must be held accountable.

"This is gundagardi!! This incident took place at Srinagar Airport, where an Army officer was seen brutally assaulting SpiceJet staff member(s), leaving him with serious injuries. It is highly condemnable & shameful. The officer must be held accountable," National Conference spokesperson Sarah Hayat Shah said in a post on X.

PDP leader Iltija Mufti also demanded action against the officer.

NA man convicted of kidnapping and murdering an eight-year-old boy in 1993 has been arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police after evading law for over 26 years, an official said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Raj Kishore (55) alias Bade Lalla, a resident of Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996 for the brutal murder of a businessman's son.

"He was later granted a six-week parole by the Delhi High Court in 1999 but he never returned to prison," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.

The officer further mentioned that after several years of evasion and being declared a proclaimed offender in 2014, Kishore was finally apprehended from Ghaziabad's Khoda Colony on August 2. -- PTI

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kuril Islands on Sunday.

"Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.8 - 118 km E of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia," USGS quakes posted on X. Read more

An SUV fell into the Saryu canal in the district on Sunday, leaving 11 people dead and four others injured, police said.

Station House Officer (SHO), Itiathok police station, Krishn Gopal Rai, said the victims were going from Sihagaon village to offer holy water at the Prithvinath Temple in Khargupur when the accident occurred near Belwa Bahuta.

Rai said the SUV was carrying 15 people, including the driver. -- PTI

Three rusted artillery shells were found and subsequently destroyed in a controlled explosion in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police officials said.

Police were informed by locals about the abandoned shells along the banks of Basantar river near village Palth following which a bomb disposal squad was rushed to the scene, the officials said.

They said the shells were later destroyed in a controlled explosion without causing any damage.  - PTI

India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Mahisagar, Aravalli, Gandhinagar, Mahesana, Khera, Sabar Kantha, Dahod, and Panchmahal districts of Gujarat.

Moderate rain and thunder showers are expected to take place in these districts, which can cause waterlogging, leading to traffic congestion.

IMD has also issued a yellow warning for Kachchh, Banaskantha, Patan, Surendranagar, Ahmadabad, Anand, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Bharuch, Narmada, Surat, Tapi, Dangs, Navsari, and Valsad districts of the state.

On Saturday, IMD predicted heavy rainfall to continue over Northeast and adjoining East India for the next seven days, with extremely heavy rainfall today over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. - ANI

A small earthquake rattled the New York metropolitan area Saturday night. The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor had a magnitude of 3.0.

It hit in the New Jersey suburb of Hasbrouck Heights, less than 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of Central Park, at a depth of about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers).

One resident of New York's Brooklyn borough described it as a very brief tremor, just a slight swaying for a moment.

Nevertheless, social media quickly lit up with people who felt it.

Ancient Hindu idols were recovered during excavation work for the renovation of a spring in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, officials said.

The idols and 'Shivlings' were recovered at Karkoot Nag in the Salia area of Aishmuqam in the south Kashmir district. The site holds significance for Kashmiri Pandits, who associate it with the Karkoota dynasty that ruled Kashmir from 625 to 855 CE.

The Public Works Department is undertaking revival and restoration works in the spring and the labourers recovered the idols during the excavation work, officials said on Saturday. - PTI

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Sunday that one of its staff members was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Yunis headquarters in Gaza.

"One Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff member was killed and three others injured after Israeli forces targeted the Society's headquarters in Khan Younis, igniting a fire on the building’s first floor," the aid organisation said in a post on X