Man held for raping minor stepdaughter in Uttarakhand's Kotdwar
Kotdwar (PTI): A man was arrested here for allegedly raping his 13-year-old stepdaughter, police said on Sunday.
The 32-year-old accused was arrested from Najibabad Road on Saturday and later sent to judicial custody on court orders, they said.
According to police, the minor's mother had lodged a missing person complaint on Friday, stating that her daughter had left home without informing anyone at around 7 am on February 5.
During the investigation, police analysed CCTV camera footage from nearby areas and found that the girl had gone to her grandmother's house.
The grandmother told police that the girl was extremely frightened and did not want to return home due to alleged harassment. She later left the girl with an acquaintance, from where police safely recovered her.
After gaining the girl's confidence, police said she disclosed that her stepfather had raped her on the night of February 4, following which she ran away from home the next morning.
A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 65(1) and 75(2) (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3 and 4 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
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Kerala woman on trek at Tadiandamol hills goes missing, search operations on
Bengaluru (PTI): A 36-year-old woman, who went trekking at Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu district, has gone missing inside the forest. Additional personnel and drone cameras have been deployed to search for her, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.
He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing concern about the young woman's disappearance, instructed that search operations be intensified.
G S Sharanya had come alone from Kerala for the trek and stayed at a private homestay in Kakkabe village.
She had gone to the high mountain range of Tadiandamol hills in Kodagu with a guide and 15 other trekkers on April 2. She went missing that afternoon. As soon as the matter was known, five teams of 50 people, including police, the anti-Naxal squad, a dog squad and forest personnel were formed, and are conducting searches, the minister's office said in a statement.
According to Khandre, CM Siddaramaiah expressed concern about the disappearance of the young woman who went on a trek and instructed that additional personnel be deployed for the search.
"Four additional teams of 40 personnel have been deployed today. A total of 9 teams are conducting the search operation. Honest efforts continue to find the missing young woman," he said.
Further noting that, as per reports, the young woman last contacted the homestay by phone on Thursday, stating she had lost her way, the minister said, "Search is being conducted based on her phone location. Local tribal people have also rushed to help, and sophisticated thermal drone cameras have been obtained with an additional team deployed starting today."
