A mob indulged in arson in a school to protest a dance performance by a schoolgirl on a ‘Padmaavat’ movie song during its annual day celebrations, after which four accused were held, police said on Monday.

Around three-four hours after the ‘ghoomar’ performance by the girl, a mob of 20-25 persons went to the Saint Paul School around 1.30 p.m. and began indulging in arson, while shouting slogans in favour of Sri Karni Sena, Jawra police station incharge M.P. Parihar said.

Four persons were arrested while a manhunt has been launched for other suspects, police said.

A group of around 50 VHP workers on Monday created a ruckus at a police station in Ahmedabad, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, have arrested their President Pravin Togadia in connection with a 10-year-old murder case.

Alleging that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP’s international acting president from the Paldi area-located headquarters in Ahmedabad, the workers created a ruckus at the Sola Police Station there.

“We are pretty sure that the Rajasthan Police has arrested our leader Pravin Togadia at 10:30-11:00 in the morning. They were in the state searching for Togadia in connection with the case of a 10-year-old’s murder in Rajasthan.

“We demand that the Gujarat Police give us his (Togadia’s) whereabouts if he has not been arrested, as they are claiming,” said Raju Patel, Ahmedabad city VHP General Secretary.

“We fear that Togadia might be killed by the police in a fake encounter. The way Pravin Togadia has been voicing against the government’s attitude towards many issues… towards their poll promises and regarding Ram Mandir, many in the government do not like it and they would want to silence him,” said Gandhinagar VHP General Secretary.

The angry VHP workers also tried to block traffic on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, a busy road in western Ahmedabad.

Meanwhile, the police in Ahmedabad maintained that although the Rajasthan Police was present in the city in the morning looking for him, they left the city without making an arrest.

“The Rajasthan Police had a search warrant for Pravin Togadia, but no arrests were made and they returned to Rajasthan without making an arrest. If the VHP workers are alleging that Togadia is missing then we will look into that matter,” said Sola Police Station Inspector G.S. Patel.

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Monday launched the Khelo India Anthem, a spirited composition which resonates with the vision of the programme of nurturing a rich sporting culture in the country.

The anthem is conceptualised by Ogilvy, composed by Louis Bank and the film has been produced by Nirvana Films.

Managing Director of Star India Sanjay Gupta was also present at the event here.

Starting on January 31, the Khelo India School Games will be the first programme to mark the beginning of Khelo India, a category defining holistic sports development programme.

The Games will be held at multiple venues across Delhi, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Karni Singh Shooting Range and Dr. SPM Swimming Complex.

The school games encompass 16 sports disciplines — archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, shooting, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.

“Khelo India is a unique programme which is focussed on building a strong sport ecosystem and is committed to long-term professional development of athletes. We aim to take this initiative to as many sportspersons and aspirants across the country as possible,” Rathore said.

“The Khelo India School Games will play a pivotal role in this movement, by encouraging participation among youngsters. For the first time, the games will be broadcast, on Star Sports, which will inspire more youngsters to become a part of this sporting revolution in the years to come,” he added.

Neil Nitin Mukesh, who started career in 2007 with Sriram Raghavan’s Johnny Gaddar, has turned 36 on Monday. Here are some of the interesting facts about the actor:

Neil, as an actor, is best known for his negative roles in Hindi movies. His important films include Wazir, Prem Ratan Dhan Pao, 7 Khoon Maaf, Player, David and many others.

He received appreciation for his work in the movie New York, which was a blockbuster.

Not only this, Neil received nominations for the role in six different award shows in different categories for his debut movie Johnny Gaddar and won two awards.

Later, he also received few nominations for his roles in the movie like 7 Khoon Maaf and New York.

Being close to the Indian music industry, Neil was named after the famous astronaut Neil Armstrong by none other than the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who has worked with his grandfather, veteran singer Mukesh.

His father, Nitin Mukesh, is a singer, while his grandfather Mukesh along with Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, and Kishore Kumar was one of the most popular singers of his era.

Many of us don’t know but apart from being an actor, Neil is also a singer — thanks to his family genes which have a musical essence in their blood.

He was seen singing songs on different platforms like Chote Ustad and at his wedding as well. Neil is soon to make his move in the music industry to take his legacy forward.

Bollywood celebs Twinkle Khanna, Sussanne Khan and Shilpa Shetty were spotted with their kids at a theatre in Mumbai’s Juhu. Twinkle was accompanied by daughter Nitara, Sussanne came with ex-husband Hrithik Roshan and their sons Hrehaan and Hridaan, while Shilpa Shetty and his son Viaan were along with Raj Kundra and Shamita Shetty.

Twinkle was dressed casually in a blue dress while her daughter Nitara looked graceful in a white lace frock with fishtail braid hairstyle.

Twinkle Khanna snapped with Baby Nitara ❤️ post watching a Movie at Pvr , Juhu! @twinklerkhanna . . . #celebritystyle#celebrities#celebrity#celebfam#celebfashion#instyle#fashionpost#allblack#gymwear#gymoholic#fashion#celebrity#bollywood#entertainment#gossipgirl#gossip#blogger#uncensored#uncut#mumbai#sonamkapoor#akshaykumar#padman#radhikaapte#twinklekhanna#aaravbhatia#nitarakumar#pvr#juhu

A post shared by Thebollygurl (@thebollygurl) on Jan 14, 2018 at 10:28pm PST

Sussanne Khan looked perfect with a black top and blue jeans while Shilpa Shetty stole the show with a denim look.

#CelebritiesSpotted With Their Family #HrithikRoshan, #SussanneKhan, #TwinkleKhanna, #ShilpShetty, #RajKundra…………

A post shared by Filmy Guftagoo (@filmyguftagoo) on Jan 15, 2018 at 3:11am PST

Meanwhile, Shilpa Shetty along with family husband Raj Kundra, son Viaan, sister Shamita Shetty and mother went out for lunch.

Shilpa Shetty,Twinkle Khanna and Sussanne Khan were spotted with their children at a theatre in Mumbai’s Juhu! #ShilpaShetty #twinklekhanna #sussannekhan #hrithikroshan #pakistanfashionStories

A post shared by Pakistan Fashion Stories (@pakistanfashionstories) on Jan 15, 2018 at 4:18am PST

Raj Kundra was twinning with her sister Shamita Shetty in a white tee. That definitely seems to have been a fun outing!

It was indeed a fun day for the celebs and their kids.

Facing public rap for sluggish action after three brutal gang rapes were reported in the state, Haryana Police on Monday said raids were on to arrest the culprits.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also said that the police was making all efforts to arrest the accused.

Three cases of rape — including two of minor girls — were reported in the past one week.

A 15-year-old Class 10 student in Kurukshetra district was gang-raped and her private parts mutilated after her murder in adjoining Jind district. The victim was reported missing on January 9 after she left her home for tuition. A Class 12 student has been detained for questioning.

An 11-year-old Dalit girl was raped and murdered allegedly by her two neighbours in Panipat district on Saturday night. Accused Pradeep Kumar, 27, and Sagar, 22, lured the victim away when she went out of her house to throw garbage.

Both accused have been arrested.

On Saturday night, a 22-year-old woman was abducted and gang-raped by four unidentified men in a sport utility vehicle.

Without directly naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called for strong measures against those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorist networks or provide them sanctuaries as their two countries signed nine agreements, including those for cooperation in areas like cybersecurity and oil and gas.

The two leaders are understood to have talked at length on ways to strengthen cooperation between their two nations in strategic areas of defence and counter-terrorism but the details of their discussions have been kept under wraps.

Terrorism posed a grave threat to global peace and security and there could be no justification for acts of terror, the two leaders declared in a joint statement issued at the end of talks between them on the second day of the Israeli PM’s path-breaking visit to India.

Even as he described Modi as a ‘revolutionary leader’, Netanyahu recalled the ‘horrific savagery’ in Mumbai (26//11 terror attacks) in which a Jewish community centre also was targeted. He said India and Israel would never give in to terrorists and would fight back.

Asked why Pakistan had not been named by the two leaders in the context of terrorism in the joint statement, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, said it was not necessary to identify a particular nation in the joint statement. But the sense of what the two leaders had in mind was quite clear, he added.

The bonhomie between the two leaders was again in evidence at a joint press they addressed after their restricted and delegation-level talks, lasting about two hours. ‘’In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with our companies,’’ Modi told the media without elaborating. Sources privy to the talks said the Israeli leader assured India of all possible assistance in meeting this country’s defence needs.

The Israelis are also said to be keen on the revival of talks between the two sides on the $ 500 million anti-tank missile deal which was recently cancelled by New Delhi.

The joint statement said the two PMs also discussed the development pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and reaffirmed their support for an early resumption of peace talks between the two sides for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution all issues, based on mutual recognition and effective arrangements for establishing a just and durable peace in the region. India’s vote at the UN against the US move to shift its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem also figured during the talks.

The two leaders agreed that renewed efforts were required to realise the full potential for bilateral trade and investment. PM Modi emphasised the necessity of an early conclusion of a bilateral investment protection treaty between the two countries. Both PMs urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in the two countries, including through India’s flagship programmes, such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India.

Modi and Netanyahu decided to expedite the conclusion of an agreement on maritime transport that would encourage greater business between the shipping organisations of the two countries and create new opportunities in maritime services and training.

 The Congress on Monday condemned the rape of three girls in Haryana and said the state has become a “crime hub” under the Khattar government.

The Mahila Congress will lead a delegation to Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and also meet other authorities and urge them to ensure that preventive measures are taken and the guilty punished.

“Under the BJP government, Haryana has become a crime hub. Unfortunately, it is ranked No.1 in the country in gangrape.

“In 2016, there have been 1,198 rapes, 191 gangrapes and 4,019 kidnapping cases. Under the (Manohar Lal) Khattar government, every day there are three murders, three rapes and 11 kidnapping cases. They should be shameful,” tweeted Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

“Humanity is ashamed with exploitation of daughters every day… There is no law and order in the state. (The) Khattar government should be changed.”

Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev demanded that stringent action against the guilty and significant preventive measures must be taken.

“Three young girls have been brutally raped in the state of Haryana. It is shocking the way they have been treated and left to die. Although we take many remedial measures, what has the government done to prevent incidents like that,” said Dev in a video message.

“The last NCRB data also shows that crime against women is rising. After the Nirbhaya rape case, many laws were changed, many steps were taken. The primary issue that the (Narendra) Modi government had raised in 2014 was security of women.

“But the data itself shows that the BJP-ruled states and the Government of India have failed to show any concrete steps.

“For instance, the Nirbhaya fund remains under-utilised and it is showing absolutely no signs of being used in the future. Today, an SIT has been formed but I believe we need to be more serious about security of women which clearly this government is not,” Dev said.

She also expressed her deep condolence and “also my deep concern” for the families of the victims.

Actress Jacqueline Fernandez has started shooting for the song “Allah duhai hai”, a track repeated in instalments of the “Race” franchise.

Jacqueline, who was also part of “Race 2”, has started filming for the track for “Race 3”, read a statement.

The actress, who is back after a vacation, is in perfect form to shoot the song as she followed a workout regime even during her holidays.

“Race 3” will feature superstar Salman Khan in the lead role.

Ramesh Taurani also tagged the lead actors of the film like Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol and others, which means the first song will feature all the Race 3 stars.

Also, fans have highlighted Atif Aslam’s songs like Pehli Nazar Mein and Be Intehaan from Race films and are excited about the new one from Race 3.

Produced by Salman Khan Films and Ramesh Taurani under the banner of Tips Films, the film is directed by Remo D’souza and will hit theatres on June 14.

The controversy regarding sexual harassment has been hovering over Hollywood since the last months of 2017. Women stood against sexual abuse on social media and started a trend with hashtag #Metoo. Media moguls such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey were accused of harassing women and had to apologise for that. Recently, James Franco was had same allegations imposed on him.

The actors attended the Golden Globes award in black to support the victims. Men wore #timesup pin to send a message to sexual predators. Recently, in an interview with BBC news, Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin confessed why such a movement can never happen in Indian film industry. The actress has always been outspoken about her experiences and came in support for others. Have a look at the interview.

She even featured in AIB’s video ‘It’s your fault’ which talked about rape and how it is women’s mistake. Kalki has again opened up about Bollywood and the whole dynamic which prevents women to talk about sexual misconduct.

A cross-LoC (Line of Control) bus service between Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir and Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir was suspended on Monday due to security reasons, an official said.

The suspension of the bus service followed a statement by the Pakistan Army that four of their soldiers had been killed in Indian mortar fire in the Jankrot sector of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Two dozen people were scheduled to cross the LoC on Monday using the bus service.

The passengers were told by Muhammad Tanveer, custodian of the LoC trade and travel at Chakan Da Bagh, that the bus service had been suspended.

Despite losing their first two matches, rising Indian star Ritu Phogat is confident that her team Veer Marathas will bounce back in the ongoing third season of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL).

“We have lost two matches, yet we are still in the game and will bounce back for sure,” Ritu said in a statement on Monday.

The Marathas were crushed 2-5 in their first match by Haryana Hammers and were edged out in last few seconds in a thrilling encounter by defending champions Punjab Royals in their second match.

While icon player of Veer Marathas Vasilisa Marzaliuk of Belarus, 76 kg category, has won both her matches, Ritu, a strong contender in the women’s 50 kilogram category, had been blocked by the Haryana Hammers.

A silver medallist at the 2017 Asian Championship, Ritu was eager to register her first win of this season and she managed to beat her senior Nirmala Devi 9-7 after recovering from an initial scare.

Talking on the Marathas’ strategy, Ritu said that her team will put up an aggressive show in their remaining matches.

“We have shown our grit and commitment against Punjab Royals and the only option we have now is to make a bang on the mat with rightly put strategy and planning,” she said.

“Besides Vasilisa Marzaliuk we have some strong players like Marwa Amri, Georgi Ketoev, Levan Berianidze and Amit Dhankar enabling us as a stronger team with a potential to win,” she added.

Italian super sports car maker Lamborghini has launched its first super sports utility vehicle ‘Urus’ in the country, priced at Rs. 3 crore.

The Lamborghini Urus SUV claims to be world’s fastest SUV with top-speed of 305 kmph. The car can accommodate 5 passengers and offering all the comfort and entertainment features you need. It also gets many sports car functions like – adaptive air suspension, active damping, four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering among others.

The SUV comes with ample boot space of 616 litres with all the seats up, and about 1600 litres with the rear seats down. With the launch of a new model, Lamborghini expects its volumes to surge 2.5-3 times, company said.

“India as a market is playing a very interesting role step by step into the overall sales globally. Urus will change the game for Lamborghini in India in terms of volumes and we expect to grow our volumes 2.5-3 times,” Lamborghini General Manager for Asia Pacific Andrea Baldi said.

Stating that India is a strategic market for the company’s further growth, Lamborghini India head Sharad Agarwal said given the preference for SUV cars among Indians, “we believe that Urus is going to be an exciting and important product and will open up a completely new segment of customers
for us in India.”

“Since its global launch on 4th of December at Sant’Agata Bolognese in 2017, the response has been very phenomenal for the Urus. In fact, since we had announced the Urus concept, a lot of customers had been waiting for this car and for us to formally announce that ‘yes, we can accept orders now’. We have got a phenomenal response in India, we are almost sold out of what has been allocated for 2018 and now are accepting orders for early 2019 deliveries,” Agarwal added.

(Written with inputs from PTI)

Indian skipper Virat Kohli led from the front and countered the South African bowling, scoring score 153 runs that took India to 307 runs in the first innings of the second Test at Centurion on Monday.

Earlier, when the Indian batting line up was rattled by the Proteas, Kohli held the fort from one end, playing strokes that spoke volumes of his confidence and when he went past the score of 150, he celebrated the milestone with a sweet gesture towards his wife Anushka Sharma by kissing his wedding ring.

#Virat Kohli kisses his wedding ring after scoring 150 runs. #IndvSA #kohli pic.x.com/5pc8ro7Jbw

— The Daily Digest (@TheDailyDigest1) January 15, 2018

This is for all those morons who used to blame only Anushka for His failures. pic.x.com/txnSXluNyL

— Virat Kohli (@RoyalViratian) January 15, 2018

Earlier, Virat was spotted wearing his wedding ring in his neck during the game and different practice sessions.

One of the most celebrated couples of India, Bollywood star Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli had created a sensation with their wedding in Italy on 11 December.

Meanwhile, in the second session of third day, Virat completed his third half century in style with a boundary off fast bowler Morne Morkel. The visitors were bowled out for 307 runs and captain Kohli was the highest scorer from visitors’ side.

Apart from Virat, only Murali Vijay and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was able to leave a mark with their batting as Ashwin scored 38 runs and Vijay made a valuable 46.

Earlier, resuming the game from second day’s play at 183 for five, Kohli and Pandya took on to the crease, but soon Pandya was sent back for 15 runs. After Pandya, Ashwin joined Kohli on the strike and scored 38 runs for India.

The three-match series is dominated by South Africa for 1-0.

Having started their campaign with a rousing win over strong title contenders Australia, an upbeat India will aim to continue the momentum when they face minnows Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a Group B match of the ICC U19 World Cup here on Tuesday.

The two teams had totally contrasting starts to their respective campaigns.

While India enjoyed an explosive start with a 100-run win over Australia, PNG suffered a 10-wicket loss to Zimbabwe, which means that they must win on Tuesday in order to keep alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

The Indians will be boosted by the performance of the pace trio of Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Ishan Porel, who clocked over 145 km per hour during their spells in Sunday’s campaign opener.

However, there is uncertainty over Porel’s availability for the PNG match. The fast bowler injured his ankle after slipping in his delivery stride on Sunday.

Porel is scheduled to undergo a scan on Monday. But even if he is fit for the PNG clash, the Indian coaching staff may well decide to give him a rest.

PNG, on the other hand, have been poor at best. They were unbeaten in the qualifiers, but have struggled in the main tournament.

They were skittled out for a meagre 95 by Zimbabwe who then went on to clinch the encounter by 10 wickets.

Malayalam superstar and BJP MP Suresh Gopi were on Monday arrested on charges of giving a fake address and released on bail, police said.

The Rajya Sabha member presented himself before police, which recorded his arrest. He was released on bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties, said Inspector General of Police S. Sreejith.

“Actress Amala Paul was also questioned by our team for a few hours on Monday but let off. We will submit information against her to the court,” Sreejith said.

Actor Fahad Fazil is currently out on bail in the case.

The three are accused of getting their luxury cars registered in Puducherry on the basis of fake addresses.

“The probe is progressing in the right direction and the court is being kept informed by police of developments,” the officer said.

The Regional Transport Commissioner’s Office here has cracked down on a thriving racket of Kerala residents getting their high-end cars registered in Puducherry to take advantage of low taxes there.

A probe into the Puducherry addresses furnished by some beneficiaries revealed that some were only one-room houses and those living there had no clue how their addresses were used for the registration of vehicles.

Since Kerala Police began probing the case, tax collection vis-a-vis vehicle registration has shot up by 22 per cent, informed sources said.

“I am not a racist,” US President Donald Trump has said as he sought to steer clear of the controversy surrounding his reported derogatory remarks against immigrants from Haiti and Africa.

A row broke out last week over Trump’s alleged use of the word “shithole” to describe African nations.

Trump reportedly used the word to describe African countries during an Oval Office meeting on Thursday with a bipartisan group of six senators on immigration reform.

People briefed on the conversation also say that during the meeting the president also questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US.

“No No I’m not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,” Trump told reporters in Florida when entering Trump International Golf Course for a dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

“Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments?” he said. “They weren’t made.”

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who attended the lawmakers’ meeting, said that “shithole” was the “exact word used by the President, not just once but repeatedly”.

“He said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly,” Durbin said.

On Friday, the African Union expressed “dismay and outrage” at the reports and demanded that Trump apologise.

At least four Democratic lawmakers said that they were boycotting the State of the Union Address of the president to protest against his alleged remarks.

However, one of the Republican Senators who attended the meeting on Sunday claimed that Trump never used that word.

Trump has himself denied having used that word but has admitted using “tough” language in the meeting.