BJP leader booked under POCSO act for allegedly revealing identity of minor survivor
Ballari (Karnataka) (PTI): An FIR was registered against former Minister B Sriramulu under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts for allegedly revealing the name of a minor survivor, police said on Monday.
The BJP leader had revealed the identity while addressing a mega protest rally here on January 17, targeting the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka over the deteriorating law and order in the state, in the backdrop of recent clashes in Ballari that led to the death of a person.
The case was registered at the Ballari Women Police Station under Sections 23(1) and 23(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, police said.
Reacting to the FIR, Sriramulu's close friend and MLA G Janardhan Reddy said, the case has been registered on the basis of a complaint by Ballari APMC police station inspector and "we will face whatever it is in accordance with law."
BJP leaders, during Saturday's protest rally, had demanded the arrest of Congress MLA Nara Bharat Reddy in connection with the recent clashes in Ballari, and sought the transfering of probe into the case to CBI.
Tension had prevailed in parts of Ballari on January 1 night after supporters of Ballari City Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and Gangavati BJP MLA G Janardhan Reddy allegedly clashed over a banner installation issue. The situation turned violent with alleged stone-pelting and firing of bullets, leaving one person, a Congress worker, dead.
The incident reportedly began after supporters of Bharath Reddy allegedly installed a banner related to the Valmiki statue unveiling in front of Janardhan Reddy's residence in Ballari.
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Prez Putin receives US invitation to join Trump's Gaza Peace Board: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to join US President Donald Trump's Gaza Peace Board, and the invitation is under consideration, the Kremlin said on Monday.
"Indeed, President Putin also received an offer through diplomatic channels to join this Peace Board," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We are currently studying all the details of this proposal, and we hope to contact the American side to clarify all the details," he said.
Several other countries have received offers from the US to join this body. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif have also received invitations to join the Peace Board.
The US president unveiled the board as part of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In October, Israel and militant group Hamas agreed to Trump's peace plan.
The board is being projected by Washington as a new international body to usher in peace and stability in Gaza and beyond, triggering speculations that it may respond to other global conflicts as well.
"Russia sees the Gaza Peace Board as the US attempt to create a rival of the United Nations Organisation with a broader mandate," Russia's Channel- 1 TV said on Monday in its 'Pryamoi Efir' (Live Broadcast) political show.
