Several BJP, AAP leaders and BTP workers join Congress in presence of Mukul Wasnik in Gujarat
Ahmedabad, (PTI): Several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and the ruling BJP in Gujarat joined the Congress on Thursday in the presence of the opposition party's general secretary in charge of the state Mukul Wasnik.
Some of the key leaders who joined the Congress at its 'Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan' headquarters here were Ishwar Patel, former MLA of Dharampur seat of Valsad, and Arif Ansari, who is former chairman of Gujarat AAP's minority cell.
Patel won from Dharampur seat in 2012 as a Congress MLA. He had joined BJP some time back.
Surat-based lawyer Ansari said he had resigned from AAP nearly four months back after he was removed from the minority cell and made chairman of sports cell.
Other leaders who joined Congress included former BJP president of Kodinar taluka Pravinsinh Zala, former BJP president of Santrampur town Sunil Bhoi, organisation secretary of BJP's state women wing Miraben Panchal and former AAP president of Narmada district Dharmendrasinh Gohil, said a Congress release.
Several Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) functionaries also joined the Congress during the day, it added.
On the occasion, Wasnik said the BJP's "anti-people" policies were hurting citizens of the country, resulting in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Welcoming the new entrants, Wasnik said the Congress under Rahul Gandhi was on a mission to unite the country, adding that all must come together to save the nation.
Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said his party always believed in taking everyone along.
The entry of these leaders and workers will further strengthen the party in Gujarat, said the Congress release.
• ભારતીય જનતા પાર્ટી, આમ આદમી પાર્ટીના હોદ્દેદારો, કાર્યકરો અને આગેવાનો તિરંગો ખેસ ધારણ કરીને કોંગ્રેસ પક્ષમાં વિધીવત રીતે જોડાયા.
— Gujarat Congress (@INCGujarat) October 19, 2023
• ધરમપુર વિધાનસભાના પૂર્વ ધારાસભ્યશ્રી ઈશ્વરભાઈ ડી. પટેલ સહિત અનેક આગેવાનો કોંગ્રેસ પક્ષમાં જોડાયા.
• રાષ્ટ્રીય અને આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય ખેલ સ્પર્ધામાં… pic.twitter.com/wO2zHu0djY
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Two tribal girls gangraped in Chhattisgarh's Surguja; three arrested, three juveniles detained
Ambikapur (PTI): Two tribal girls were raped allegedly by six persons, including three juveniles, in a village in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, a police official said on Thursday.
Three accused have been arrested and three minors were detained in connection with the incident that took place on the night of April 24 under Sitapur police station limits, he informed.
"The motorcycle-borne accused intercepted the victims when they, along with two other friends, were returning home on foot after attending a wedding. Two of the girls managed to escape. The two victims, one aged 15 years and another 13 years, were forced onto a motorcycle, taken to a secluded place and sexually assaulted," he said.
One of the victims returned home the same night and informed her family the next day, following which a case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Sitapur police station on April 26 for gangrape and other offences, he said.
Medical examinations of the victims were conducted at the Sitapur Community Health Centre on April 26 and 27, the official said.
"Initial medical reports did not confirm sexual assault. However, after the victims' families expressed dissatisfaction with the findings, the girls were sent for fresh medical examination at the district hospital in Ambikapur. Based on this medical report, all six accused were taken into custody by April 30," he said.
The arrested accused have been identified as Anand Bek (27), Vikas Tigga (24) and Manish Khalkho (18), all residents of the Sitapur area. The three juveniles, two of them aged 17 years, have been detained, he said.
