Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Police dig for remains after murder claims at Indian children's home

POLICE in eastern India were Monday (23) digging up the grounds of a state-run children's home after allegations that more than 40 girls were sexually assaulted and one was killed there.

Police secured a court order to excavate the grounds of the home for destitute girls in the city of Muzaffarpur in Bihar state after one of the victims said she had seen staff beat an inmate to death.


"We are searching the premises to locate the remains," police Inspector General Sunil Kumar told a news source.

Kumar said forensic experts and police were overseeing the digging by earthmover machines around spots identified by the witness.

The scandal came to light in May after a Mumbai-based social institute released a report detailing serial abuse and exploitation at the home.

The report cited interviews with the victims in which they narrated horrific treatment at the hands of their caregivers.

Medical examinations of the girls have confirmed the rape of at least 29 of them aged between seven and 17. The reports of the remainder are awaited.

Some of the girls said they were forced to sleep naked with the head of the shelter and abused by her over a period of months.

Ten people, including female staff members and district child welfare officers, have been arrested so far, Muzaffarpur police chief Harpreet Singh told a news source.

The exploitation of girls at the state-run home has caused outrage and demands for better security and facilities.

Sexual and physical abuse at government homes are not uncommon across the country.

Last year police in New Delhi charged officials with injecting the growth hormone oxytocin in at least 10 girls and molesting them at a home.

And more than 100 women and girls alleged abuse by their caretakers in the northern state of Haryana in 2012.

AFP

More For You

Diwali

This year’s Diwali event will still see Belgrave Road continue to host what is left of the festival. (Representational image)

Major changes announced for Leicester’s Diwali celebrations amid safety fears

LDRS

THIS year’s annual Diwali celebrations will be stripped back amid public safety fears. Leicester City Council has said there will be no fireworks or stage entertainment as part of major changes announced for the event.

Cossington Street Recreation Ground will also not be used for the festivities, the council has revealed. The green space previously was the location for the main stage and the Diwali Village with its food stalls, funfair rides, fashion and arts. The annual fire garden display was also based there, offering “a peaceful oasis amid the festive excitement”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Corbyn- Zarah Sultana

Zarah Sultana with Jeremy Corbyn during a protest outside Downing Street demanding the UK government to stop all arms sales to Israel. (Photo: X/@zarahsultana)

X/@zarahsultana

Zarah Sultana leaves Labour, plans new party with Corbyn and independents

FORMER Labour MP Zarah Sultana has announced her resignation from the party and plans to launch a new political party alongside ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other independent MPs and activists.

Sultana, who represents Coventry South, lost the Labour whip last year for supporting the removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hasmukh Shah

The certificate was presented to Shah at the Welsh parliament by Anita Bailey, Home Office Director Windrush Unit.

Hasmukh Shah receives UK minister’s certificate of appreciation

A prominent Asian doctor has been recognised for his services to the community. Prof Hasmukh Shah has received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution and services to the United Kingdom.

The certificate was issued by Seema Malhotra MP, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, as part of the Windrush Cymru Elders and Race Council Cymru’s Windrush work in Wales.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai-Lama-Getty

Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on June 30, 2025.(Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

India says Dalai Lama alone can decide successor

A SENIOR Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has established have the authority to decide his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The comment runs contrary to China’s long-standing position on the matter.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that after his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader, and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He had earlier said that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan’s ‘killer mountain’ claims Czech climber’s life

FILE PHOTO: Foreign tourists and their guides trek down from Nanga Parbat base camp. (Photo by AMELIE HERENSTEIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan’s ‘killer mountain’ claims Czech climber’s life

A CZECH mountaineer fell to her death on the world's ninth-highest peak, Pakistan officials said Friday (4), becoming the first casualty of the summer climbing season in the country.

Klara Kolouchova, 46, the first Czech woman to summit the world's two highest mountains, died on Thursday (3) after falling on the lower slopes of Nanga Parbat.

Keep ReadingShow less