Two get death for rape of minors in MP
Gawalior/Katni, July 27 : Two persons were sentenced to death by trial courts in Madhya Pradesh in separate cases of rape of children below the age of 12, a lawyer said. The trial lasted for only five and 13 days in the two cases.
Lawyer Somvir Yadav, who represented a victim in one of the cases, told the media in Gawalior that a city court had convicted Jitendra Khushwaha for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl who had gone missing from a wedding function in Amkho area on June 20. Her body was found the next day in Kensar Pahadia area.
The trial of the case in the fast-track court of Special Judge Sangeeta Singh was concluded in 13 days through videoconferencing. The trial had concluded on Tuesday, during which 33 witnesses were examined. DNA proof nailed the convict.
Katni Additional District and Sessions Judge Madhuri Raj Lal convicted auto-rickshaw driver Raj Kumar Kol and handed him a death sentence after a trial that concluded in five days.
Additional District Attorney D.D. Taran told the media that Raj Kumar had sexually assaulted the five-year-old child whom he used to drop at school.
He was booked after the child's father lodged an FIR on July 7.
In December, 2017, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly had unanimously passed a bill to amend the Indian Penal Code to enable awarding of death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 and below.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
