Kochi, Aug 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aerial survey to witness the massive loss and destruction triggered by the torrential rains in Kerala was called off on Saturday due to bad weather, state government officials said.

Modi, who arrived in the state capital on Friday night, flew in to Kochi earlier in the morning.

The Prime Minister was to be accompanied in his survey by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, State Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan and other top state officials.

His visit comes at a time when the Congress-led opposition has been demanding immediate deployment of the Army since the state government has been unable to deal with the crisis.

Overflowing rivers and a series of landslides have resulted in the death of 180 people as of Saturday morning, with over 3 lakh others forced to move to some 2,000 relief camps.

Before returning to Delhi from Kochi, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting to discuss the situation. Rains subsided on Saturday morning resulting in the water level in Idukki and parts of Ernakulam and Thrissur districts coming down.

But on Friday night, air lifting could not take place in Chengannur as the incessant rains continued in the region.

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Gumla (PTI): Three persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly raping two women at a village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, police said.

All the three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, Gumla Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge, Mahendra Karmali, told PTI.

According to police, one of the women had been called to Gumla Sadar by her boyfriend on Sunday for an outing.

“She arrived at the spot accompanied by a female. The woman’s boyfriend then called a friend, and they took the two women to a secluded place in Sisai police station area in the evening, forcibly made them consume alcohol before raping them,” the officer said.

The accused later called another man to the spot, who also allegedly raped the women, he said.

“The women later reached the Sadar Police Station and lodged a complaint on Sunday night. Police conducted raids and nabbed the three accused on Monday,” he added.

Further investigation is underway.