Avigon attacker killed by French Police belonged to extreme-right group
Authorities confirm he was not shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’
Paris: A man shot and killed by police in the French city of Avignon claimed allegiance to an anti-immigrant group and had assaulted a merchant of North African descent, authorities have said.
The incident in Avignon on Thursday followed a gruesome knife attack by a man in the southern city of Nice. At least three people died in the stabbings, which took place at church, prompting fears of copycat attacks.
The man in Avignon had a firearm and was shot and killed by police after he refused to drop his weapon and a warning shot failed to stop him, according to a national police official. French media was quick to report that he has been shouting "Allahu Akbar" or God is great but officials later clarified he was not affiliated with Islam but a far-right group instead.
One official said the man claimed to belong to the extreme-right group Generation Identity and had assaulted a local merchant.
Avignon Prosecutor Philippe Guemas told broadcaster France Bleu that the assailant was a 33-year-old born in France “who had nothing to do with the Muslim religion” and appeared to be “psychologically unstable”.
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
