Top Stories on 3rd August in a capsule

Kerala Rape case: Witness retracts statement, tells sex with priest was consensual

In a major twist to the Kerala rape case involving a priest, the victim retracted her statement saying that she had consensual sex with the accused, Robin Vadakkuncheril whom she had once accused of rape. The complainant also told the court that she was not a minor at the time of the incident, which took place in 2016. The complainant added that she wants to marry Vadakkuncheril. Earlier, the complainant’s father had claimed that he had raped his own daughter. However, he later changed his statement. The prosecution has filed a charge sheet against Vadakkuncheril and nine others in the case. The alleged rape took place in May 2016 at St Sebastian’s Church in Kottiyoor village of Kannur district.

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NRC: Assam’s only woman CM left out of list

The controversy surrounding the National Registry of Citizens list refused to die after it came to light on Friday that the state’s lone woman chief minister Anwara Taimur's name was missing. She was the first Muslim woman to occupy the top post in any state. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh clarified in Parliament on Friday that the draft is not final and the government would not take coercive action against anyone. Taimur is presently in Australia with her son. Speaking on the issue, her son told, "We requested one of our relatives to submit the application for our family's inclusion in NRC. We will reply and submit forms again."
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UIDAI denies pushing '1947' number in phone contacts

After outrage over reports about the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) toll-free helpline number appearing in people’s phonebooks by default, the UIDAI on Friday issued a clarification saying that it didn’t ask any manufacturer or service provider to push the number. The issue got murkier after it came to light that the helpline number 1800-300-1947 was taken off as the Aadhaar helpline number two years ago. Earlier, there were reports that thousands of smartphone users in India were left puzzled when they found UIDAI toll-free helpline number saved in their phonebooks by default. There were no prior messages seeking permission regarding the same, but the number automatically appeared in the contact list.
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‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ director held for GST fraud

Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, the director of Anupam Kher starrer, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, and son of sugar baron Ratnakar Gutte, has been arrested for alleged GST fraud to the tune of Rs 34 crore. Gutte's firm, VRG Digital Corp, has been indicted for taking 'fake invoices' under GST amounting to at least Rs 34 crore for animation and manpower services from Horizon Outsource Solutions Pvt Ltd. The latter is also under government vigilance after committing a GST fraud of more than Rs 170 crore. The officials collected an invoice which was raised by Kher from the premises of Bombay Casting Talent Management Pvt Ltd (BCTMPL), which is part of Bohra Bors Group Company, asking for initial fee payment as an evidence against Gutte. According to the report, Gutte is not co-operating with the authorities and has been sent to judicial custody at Arthur Road jail till 14 August. Several media reports have clarified that Actor Anupam Kher is not involved in the case.

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Bihar shelter home rape case shameful: CM Nitish Kumar

Under Opposition attack on a government-run shelter home in Bihar where over 30 girls were raped and tortured, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence and described the case as "shameful", promising strict, uncompromising action. "All those guilty will be severely punished," he said while addressing the media on Friday. "There is systemic flaw and we have to investigate it," he said. "We have to strengthen the system so that such incidents are not repeated. I want to make sure that such incidents are not to be swept under the carpet." On Thursday, Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said he 'will force CM Nitish Kumar to break his silence on the incident'. The case came to light a while back, which saw at least 34 girls alleging sexual assault at the children's home. Since then, this is the first time that Nitish Kumar spoke about it.

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