16-year-old gang-raped by six over 5 days in Andhra Pradesh
Amaravati (AP): A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped for five days by six persons, including three minors, after being locked up in a room in Ongole town of Andhra Pradesh, police said Sunday.
All those accused of allegedly raping her have been apprehended from different parts of the state and police said they are further investigating the case.
The incident also stirred up a row over safety of women in the state with Home Minister M Sucharita promising stern action.
Prakasam District Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal told reporters that one of the accused befriended the girl when she was waiting for her friend at the RTC bus station in Ongole on June 17.
She was then taken to his room where he and five of his friends allegedly raped her for five days.
The girl, who belonged to the neighbouring Guntur district, escaped from their clutches and reached the bus station on Saturday evening when an on-duty home-guard Venkateswarlu and Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Babu Rao spotted and rescued her, the police official said.
She was then admitted to the government hospital for treatment and her condition was state to be stable.
Based on the girl's complaint, police launched a manhunt for the accused and nabbed them from different places since late Saturday night.
One of the accused was nabbed at Bitragunta in SPS Nellore district while he was trying to board a train, he added.
Condemning the incident, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Gautam Sawang said safety and security of women and children and prevention of crime against them would be given high priority.
Perpetrators of such crimes would be dealt with sternly and brought to book systematically, he said in a statement here. Sawang directed the Prakasam district SP to ensure the case was investigated thoroughly to secure conviction of the accused.
A case under different sections of POCSO Act and IPC was registered against the accused. "This is a heinous crime and we will take deterrent steps to ensure such incidents did not recur," said the Home Minister.
Ongole MLA and Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy also condemned the incident.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
