Kota(PTI): Two people have been arrested in Rajasthan's Bundi district for allegedly raping and murdering a 15-year-old tribal girl, police said.

The minor's naked body bearing bite marks and fatal wounds to the neck and the head was found in a forest area near Kalakunwa village under the Basoli police station area on Thursday evening, they said.

The police launched a massive overnight search operation involving nearly 200 personnel and the dog squad, and tracked down one of the suspects, Sultan, by Friday morning, Bundi Superintendent of Police (SP) Jai Yadav said.

The man was taken into custody and during interrogation, he admitted that he had committed the crime along with Chotulal Bheel, the SP said, adding both were placed under arrest within 12 hours of the crime.

The accused were in an inebriated state when they gang-raped the girl. Later, they smashed her head with a stone and strangled her, the police officer said, adding that the role of a minor is also under investigation in the matter.

A case was registered under sections 302, 201, 376 (I) (M) of the IPC and provisions of the POCSO Act, he added.

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Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.

Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”

In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.

Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."

Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.

Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.

Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.

“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.