They stand as one, united by light of purpose ahead: Rahul Gandhi on Kerala Congress leaders
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the party's Kerala leaders "stand as one" and were "united" by the light of purpose ahead.
His assertion came after the Congress' top brass met Kerala leaders at 'Indira Bhawan' here for a brainstorming session on Friday to discuss the strategy and the way forward ahead of next year's assembly elections.
Posting a picture from the media byte by Kerala leaders after the meeting, Gandhi said in a Facebook post, "They stand as one, united by the light of purpose ahead."
His post was accompanied by the hashtag 'Team Kerala'.
The nearly-three-hour meeting at the Congress's Indira Bhawan headquarters here had discipline, unity and strengthening of the state organisation as its running theme.
At the meeting, Gandhi said leaders should be very careful about the political strategy and should not do or say anything that does not toe the party line, according to sources.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had laid stress on discipline, ensuring unity and filling up the vacant posts to strengthen the party's Kerala unit.
Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan, Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor and AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi, among others, were present at the meeting.
"We got a clear indication from our high command that the Congress is very much connected with the people of Kerala emotionally and politically. People are looking for a change, so we should not do anything that will disrespect the people of Kerala.
"This was a clear indication and if anyone (says) anything personally, we will take strong action. Because we have no right to disrespect the people of Kerala," Dasmunshi had told reporters after the meeting.
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11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, who later died by suicide due to trauma, police said on Wednesday.
The post-mortem report confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries on the minor's body, including bite marks and nail scratches. The cause of death was found to be hanging, they said.
According to ASP (South) Anshika Verma, the incident came to light on 27 April, when the girl, a Class 8 student, was found hanging at her home in Deoria Abdullaganj village under the Mirganj police station area. Initially, the family reported the death as suicide and was reluctant to pursue police action.
"The autopsy report changed the course of the investigation. It confirmed sexual assault and noted severe physical trauma. The cause of death was confirmed as hanging," Verma said.
A breakthrough in the case came from the statement of the victim's younger sister, who told police that the accused, Zeeshan (26), a resident of the same village, frequently loitered near the minor's school and allegedly gave her small sums of money to keep his interactions with her a secret, she said.
Police said that on the day of the incident, the accused allegedly lured the minor and assaulted her. Distressed by the incident, the child later took her own life while her mother was away, police said.
"Based on technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and statements from the family, we established Zeeshan's involvement. He was arrested near the Mirganj weekly market on Tuesday," they said.
