Riyadh, Aug 23 : Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced a comprehensive project to develop the ritual sites in Makkah, the media reported.

Mecca Governor Prince Khalid Al Faisal made the announcement at a press conference at the conclusion of the current Haj season.

He said that the details of the project will be announced soon and his country wants to increase the number of pilgrims to 5 million as part of its economic vision of 2030, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statistic authority announced this week that the number of pilgrims crossed the two million mark in this Haj season.

The governor said that his country doesn't stop citizens of any country from performing the Haj ritual, revealing that some Qataris managed to come to Saudi Arabia despite the ban imposed by their country. He added that 86,000 Iranians performed Haj this year.

Saudi Arabia has severed ties with both countries over allegations of supporting terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of states.

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Raisen (MP), Nov 24: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a truck driver while his two associates restrained the teenager’s male friend in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district, an official said on Sunday.

Police have arrested two persons, including the truck driver, in connection with the alleged crime committed in Siyarmau forest on Silwani-Sagar Road, some 110 km from the district headquarters, on Saturday evening, he said.

The teenager and her 21-year-old male friend were returning after visiting the Vandevi temple in the area when they parked their two-wheeler and entered the forest, said Silwani’s Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anil Maurya.

At the same time, a truck broke down following which its driver, later identified as Sanju Adivasi (21), and his two friends also went inside the forest, where they spotted the girl and her friend.

The trio thrashed the young man and snatched the key of his motorcycle, he said, citing the FIR.

The driver took the girl deep inside the forest and allegedly raped her, while his associates restrained her friend, the official said.

After the three accused left, the girl and the youth walked to the road and alerted some policemen who were passing by.

Police registered a case against Sanju Adivasi and his associates Shivnarayan Advasi and Akshay Ahirwar under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 64 (rape), 70-1 (gang rape) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

Sanju and Shivnarayan have been arrested, while Ahirwar is on the run, the official said.