‘Poll will be a battle between communalism & secularism’: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah believes that the Assembly election in the State on May 12 is a battle between communalism and secularism, and will set the agenda for 2019.
In an interview, he said the Congress returning to power in Karnataka is imperative for the national political scene to change.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to make a series of visits to Karnataka in the last leg of the campaign, will not be able to sway the voters, he said.
“You cannot wave a magic wand and change things in an election,” he said, predicting a Congress victory and ruling out the possibility of a hung Assembly.
Accusing both Mr. Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah of making corruption allegations without substance, he said a slew of welfare programmes by his government would see his party through.
The Chief Minister — who is expected to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru district and is toying with the idea of also contesting from Badami in Bagalkot district — said the 2018 Assembly poll would be his last battle.
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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.
