Kohli, Mirabai named for Khel Ratna
New Delhi, Sep 20 : The Sports Ministry on Thursday approved the names of Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and ace weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu for the country's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- ard, which will be given away by President Ram Nath Kovind at a specially organised function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday.
Both Kohli and Chanu will be presented a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh each apart from a medal and a citation.
The ministry also released the names of 20 Arjuna awardees for the year which includes star woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana, sprinter Hima Das, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and table tennis star Manika Batra, among others.
Apart from these four, the others are Indian hockey stars Manpreet Singh and Savita Punia, long distance runner Jinson Johnson, shuttler N.Sikki Reddy, boxer Satish Kumar, golfer Shubhankar Sharma, Ravi Rathore (Polo), shooters Rahi Sarnobat, Ankur Mittal, Shreyasi Singh, paddler G.Sathiyan, tennis star Rohan Bopanna, wrestler Sumit and Pooja Kadian (Wushu).
Para athletes Ankur Dhama and Manoj Sarkar will also be awarded the Arjuna award, that includes a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.
Among the winners of the Dronacharya awards are boxing coach Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa, Vijay Sharma (Weightlifting), A. Srinivasa Rao (TT) and Sukhdev Singh Pannu (Athletics).
The ministry also named Clarence Lobo (Hockey), Tarak Sinha (Cricket), Jiwan Kumar Sharma (Judo) and V.R. Beedu (Athletics) for the Dronacharya Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Satyadev Prasad (Archery), Bharat Kumar Chetri (Hockey), Bobby Aloysius (Athletics) and Chougale Dadu Dattatray (Wrestling) have been named for the Dhyan Chand Award.
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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.
