New Delhi, May 24: The sale of online tickets for the forthcoming Hero Intercontinental Cup which kicks-off at the Mumbai Football Arena from June 1 has started, All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Thursday.

India begin their campaign on the opening day itself when they take on a resurgent Chinese Taipei with Kenya and New Zealand, the other two teams taking on each other the following day.

Thus the Intercontinental Cup will have representation in the form of New Zealand from the Oceania region, Kenya from CAF and Chinese Taipei from the AFC region.

All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said: "The support from the Indian Football fans in Mumbai has always been awesome. It will be a football fest for all."

National coach Stephen Constantine said: "Come, everyone. I appreciate the support and love of all the fans from Blue Pilgrims, The West Block Blues and all other fan groups. It's your time to stand up for Indian Football."



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Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court on Monday upheld the death sentence given by a sessions court to the perpetrator, Ameerul Islam, in the 2016 rape and murder of a 30-year-old Dalit law student in the state.

A division bench of the high court upheld the death penalty, dismissing the appeal filed by the convict challenging the sessions court verdict. The confirmation of the capital punishment was also made based on the death sentence reference from the sessions court.

Islam was charged with raping and murdering the woman at Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016.

He brutally assaulted the woman, who hailed from a poor family, using sharp-edged weapons before murdering her at her house.

In 2017, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions court awarded the death penalty to Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam, for committing the murder.

Islam was found guilty by the sessions court under various sections of the IPC, including 449 (house trespass to commit an offence punishable with death), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 302 (murder), 376 (rape), and 376 (A) (causing death or causing the woman to be in a persistent vegetative state while committing rape).

The Special Investigation Team that probed the case used DNA technology and verification of call record details to prove Islam's role in the crime.

Islam, who had left Perumbavoor soon after committing the crime, was arrested from Kancheepuram in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, 50 days after he committed the gruesome crime.

More than 100 police personnel questioned over 1,500 people in the case.

Fingerprints of over 5,000 people were also examined by the SIT personnel, who went through over 20 lakh telephonic conversations before tracing Islam.