At least 44 killed in north India floods

NEW DELHI, India - At least 44 people were killed and thousands moved to relief camps because of flooding caused by torrential rains in northern India's Uttar Pradesh state, officials told AFP Saturday.

Densely populated regions on the banks of two main rivers in the state, which are overflowing because of incessant rainfall in the last 24 to 48 hours, are among the worst hit.

"We had confirmed 44 deaths till late yesterday night. The authorities are focusing on rescue and relief work in the affected regions," Ravindra Pratap Sahi, vice chairman of the state disaster management authority, told AFP.

"We have moved thousands to relief shelters as there is forecast of heavy rains in the next 48 hours in most of the affected districts of the state," Sahi said.

Officials and local media reports said most people lost their lives for a variety of reasons including wall collapses, drowning, lightning and snake bites.

Flash floods after heavy rains killed at least 17 people in western India's Maharashtra state earlier this week.

Monsoon rains are crucial to replenishing water supplies in drought-stricken India, but they kill hundreds of people across the country every year.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mother and daughter allege gang-rape in India

NEW DELHI, India - A mother and her teenage daughter were allegedly gang-raped in a field after being dragged from their car outside New Delhi, police said on Sunday, India's latest brutal sexual attack.

A gang of robbers allegedly stopped the family's car along a busy highway early on Saturday, said additional director general of police Daljeet Chaudhary.

The mother has told officers that she and her 14-year-old daughter were pulled from the vehicle and raped by six men.

The family's four male members have said they were tied up with ropes and their belongings stolen while the attack took place, Chaudhary told AFP.

Police detained 16 people on Sunday and were still searching for the main suspect in the attack, which took place in Uttar Pradesh state, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of the capital.

"The main suspect has been identified. We are trying to arrest him as soon as possible and send him to jail under stringent sections of the law," Chaudhary said.

India toughened punishments for rapists following the fatal gang rape of a student in Delhi in 2012 that shone a global spotlight on frightening levels of violence against women in the country.

But rape and sexual assault occur regularly, with attacks hitting the headlines on an almost daily basis.

The most recent official figures show 36,735 rapes were reported across the country in 2014. But activists say the true number is likely much higher as many women do not speak out because of the social stigma attached to sexual crimes.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com