BJP, Congress locked in close contest in Haryana
Will JJP turnout to be the king maker?
Chandigarh, Oct 24: No party seemed to be heading for a clear majority in Haryana on Thursday, with both the ruling BJP and the Congress locked in a close contest, according to the early trends available.
The BJP is leading in 38 seats, while the Congress is ahead in 27 constituencies.
The fledgling Jannayak Janta Party, which fought its maiden assembly polls, was also ahead in 11 seats. The Indian National Lok Dal is ahead in two seats,, while the Loktanter Suraksha Party leading in one, according to the latest trends.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress were among those who were leading from Karnal and Garhi Sampla-Kiloi respectively, as per early trends.
Commenting on the initial trends, Hooda exuded confidence that Congress would form the government in the state.
JJP leader Dushyant Chautala took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party's "Mission 75", saying they would fall way short of their target of winning 75 seats.
Chautala said no party would be able to form the government on its own, while adding the JJP will hold the key to formation of the next dispensation.
"People of Haryana want change," he told reporters.
Most of the exit polls had predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP, which came to power for the first time on its own in Haryana in 2014.
Haryana Minister Anil Vij, a five-time legislator from Ambala Cantt, was said to be leading from his constituency in early trends, while Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu was trailing in his Narnaund constituency to the JJP's Ram Kumar Gautam.
Congress candidate and former BCCI chief Ranbir Singh Mahendra was trailing from Badhra constituency, where the JJP's Naina Chautala is ahead.
Former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh of the BJP was ahead from Pehowa constituency, as per early trends.
Another sportsperson fielded by the BJP, wrestler Babita Phogat, was ahead in Dadri constituency.
Raj Kumar Saini, chief of Loktanter Suraksha Party, was ahead in Gohana segment.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
