Nation Briefs

BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia dies at 68

Bhubaneswar: BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, who was suffering from kidney-related ailments, died at a hospital in Chennai on Monday. He was 68. The senior BJD leader was a four-time MLA from Nuapada seat, having been elected to the state Assembly in 2004, 2009, 2019 and 2024. He was a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet from 2022 to 2024. Dholakia had won the seat by a margin of 10,881 votes in the 2024 polls. With his death, the number of BJD MLAs in the state Assembly has come down to 50. Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum over the MLA’s death. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in a post on X, said, “Deeply saddened to learn about the demise of MLA and former minister Rajendra Dholakia. I convey my condolences to the bereaved family and pray to Lord Shri Jagannath for the peaceful soul of the departed. Om Shanti.”

UP court awards death penalty to man for raping 3-year-old girl

Banda: A special POCSO court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district on Monday sentenced a man to death for raping a three-year-old girl and leaving her in a critical condition in a forest, officials said. The 24-year-old convict has also been fined Rs 65,000, with the order coming within 100 days of the crime. Government counsel Vijay Bahadur Singh Parihar said the court of Special Judge (POCSO) Pradeep Kumar Mishra delivered the verdict after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence. On June 3, the minor was abducted from Chilla police station area, sexually assaulted, and later abandoned in a forest.