Delhi government says 'no' to Muslim school teachers going for Friday prayers
New Delhi, April 27: The Delhi government has told the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) that Muslim teachers cannot be allowed to go for Juma prayers during school hours, a senior official said on Friday.
DMC Chairman Zaraful Islam Khan told IANS that the Education Department of the Delhi government had in a written response said that teachers "can't leave their classes" and go for Juma prayers on Friday, as it would "harm the interests of students".
"They (Education Department) said that the rules can't be relaxed and teachers have to reach school by 12.45 (p.m) for classes which begin at 1 (p.m)," Khan said.
Earlier, teachers had approached the Commission with a request to allow them to go for prayers on Friday, after which it had sought a response from the Education Department and the three municipal corporations on the issue.
The response from the municipal corporations were awaited, Khan said.
"The teachers told us that there is a Union Home Ministry order of 1954 which says that employees can go for prayers after foregoing a certain amount from the salary. We have written to the Home Ministry to know whether the rule is still applicable," Khan said.
The response from the Home Ministry is yet to come, according to Khan.
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Girl child raped, murdered by uncle in Andhra Pradesh
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by her distant relative at a village in Tirupati district, said a police official on Saturday.
According to Tirupati district superintendent of police L Subbarayudu, Nagaraju (24), who is the victim's maternal uncle, lured the girl to a secluded place in AM Puram village by offering her snacks on Friday evening and committed the crime.
"Nagaraju lives near the girl's house and used to play with her everyday. Yesterday (Friday) evening he took her to a shop and bought some snacks. Later, he took her away from her house and sexually assaulted and killed her," he said.
Later, the parents of the girl noticed that she was missing and launched a search for her, and realised that she was last seen with Nagaraju.
They lodged a police complaint over the missing girl.
Following the complaint, the police immediately registered a missing case and took Nagaraju into custody.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime, they said.
Later, police took Nagaraju along to search for the girl's body and found it near a government school around 9 pm.
Nagaraju was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and other relevant sections.
The accused will be produced in a local court on Saturday.
Tirupati SP said they will seek a fast-track court for a speedy trial of the case.
