Woman raped on agri university campus in Jabalpur; two held
Jabalpur (PTI): A 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a clerk of a state government-run university on the campus on the pretext of providing her a job at the facility in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur city, police said on Saturday.
The police on Thursday arrested Durga Shankar Singerha (58), an upper division clerk (UDC), and Mukesh Sen, a peon, in connection with the assault that took place on the campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University.
The survivor, a resident of the Tilwara area, came across information on social media about contractual vacancies at the university around 20 days ago, Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar told reporters.
He said that while searching for contact details, the woman found a telephone number for the vice-chancellor's office, and Singerha received her call, allegedly informed her about the vacancies and asked her to come to the university with documents.
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She reached the university with documents the very next day and met Singerha, who assured her that he could get her a job after speaking to the vice-chancellor and asked her to stay in touch, the officer said.
According to the police, Singerha continued to meet the woman several times in the city, kept assuring her that the recruitment process was underway and that an interview would be held soon.
The accused allegedly called her to the university on Thursday afternoon, claiming that an interview would be scheduled shortly, they said.
He asked the survivor to come to Sen's house situated on the university campus, and after a chat, the accused peon left the room, bolting the door from outside.
"The woman, in her complaint, alleged that Singerha raped her despite her protests," the official said.
Following the assault, the accused duo dropped her outside the university campus and threatened her with defamation if she spoke about the incident, and said she would get a job if she kept mum, police said.
The woman later informed her family and lodged a complaint at Adhartal police station, following which both accused were arrested from their homes within hours, the ASP said.
The duo was produced before a court on Friday and were remanded in judicial custody, he added.
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Gujarat to amend marriage registration rules, cites 'misuse' of existing norms
Gandhinagar (PTI): The Gujarat government on Friday announced it plans to amend rules framed under the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, saying the move is aimed at plugging loopholes in the existing system.
Speaking in the assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi stressed the need for new norms, alleging that “innocent girls are being trapped” and such practices were spreading “like termites” in society.
He said several people and social organisations had urged the government to amend the marriage registration rules to prevent misuse of procedural gaps.
Referring to what he termed “love jihad”, Sanghavi said it amounted to a “cultural invasion” and asserted that the BJP government could no longer ignore the issue. He said the amendments are aimed at strengthening safeguards in the registration process.
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He said objections and suggestions on the proposed amendments are now invited from the public for 30 days.
“People and organisations can register their suggestions and objections on the Health and Family Welfare Department’s website. The new rules will be implemented after considering these suggestions and objections received by the department,” he said.
Later, the minister’s office shared a document detailing the proposed procedure for marriage registration under the amended rules.
As per the proposed rules, every marriage registration application will need to be submitted before the Assistant Registrar, while applicants must attach a declaration stating whether the bride and groom have informed their parents about the marriage.
Moreover, the bride and groom will have to provide the names, addresses, Aadhaar and contact details of their parents in the application.
The parents of the bride and groom will be informed within ten working days as soon as the Assistant Registrar is satisfied, according to the proposed rules.
The Assistant Registrar will forward the application to the Registrar of the district or taluka concerned. The marriage will be registered 30 days after the Registrar is satisfied that the requirements specified in sub-rules have been met.
The Registrar will upload all these details to an online portal to be created by the government, say the proposed rules.
AAP MLA Hemant Ahir, who had on Thursday introduced a private member's Bill in this regard, and BJP MLA Lavingji Thakor congratulated the deputy CM in the House, saying the proposed changes were the need of the hour.
They said innocent girls were being lured by anti-social elements who exploited loopholes in the existing system to solemnise and register marriages.
