Jaipur (PTI): A Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered, leading to the suspension of two policemen for their suspected role in the incident in Rajasthan's Bikaner district, officials said on Wednesday.

Inspector General of Police (IG) Om Prakash said the body of the 20-year-old girl was found in the Khajuwala area on Tuesday.

"Her family members have accused three persons, including two constables of Khajuwala police station, of raping the girl. Both the policemen have been suspended immediately and the matter is being investigated," he said.

The family members of the victim have refused to grant consent to conduct a post-mortem examination and demanded the immediate arrest of all the accused. They also staged a 'dharna'.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Tejaswani Gautam said efforts were being made to persuade the family members and relatives of the victim for postmortem.

Police said a case under various sections, including 376-D (gang rape), of the Indian Penal Code was registered with Khajuwala police station.

The family members have alleged that the policemen Manoj and Bhagirath along with the third accused took her to the house, where they gang raped and murdered her.

Citing call records, police said the victim and the key accused were known to each other. Meanwhile, the role of the two constables is being probed.

The case is being investigated by additional SP Deepak Sharma.

The opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has cornered the Ashok Gehlot-led government over the incident.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rajendra Rathore tweeted that the involvement of policemen in the incident of rape and murder of a girl in Khajuwala in Bikaner is a blot on the face of the government.

The suspension of the constables is merely a formality, due to which the family members of the girl are resentful towards the police administration, he added.

"It is unfortunate that till now both the accused constables have not been arrested. I demand the state government to take strict action against the guilty policemen in this case and arrest them," he said.

Food and civil supplies minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said in Jaipur that the matter was being investigated by the police and action against the guilty will be taken.

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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.