Manali– A 30-year-old US national alleged that she was gang-raped by three men in this Himachal Pradesh tourist resort, police said.

Police have constituted a special team to investigate. The woman reached Manali, some 250 km from the state capital Shimla, Monday.

The victim lodged a complaint with police that she was picked up by the men, aged between 18 and 25 years, in a commercial vehicle when she was going back to her guest house after visiting a friend early Tuesday, Superintendent of Police Vinod Dhawan told IANS.

He said the accused took the victim, who was on her maiden visit, to a secluded spot and gang-raped her.

Later, the victim was dropped on the outskirts of the town.

“She was medically examined and the report confirmed sexual assault. We have zeroed in on the suspects as per the information provided by the victim,” Dhawan said.

No arrest had been made so far.

In the complaint, the woman reported theft of cash and valuables.

Meanwhile, police chief B. Kamal Kumar told reporters in Shimla that a special investigative team was constituted to speed up the probe.

Earlier, an 18-year-old British volunteer teacher was raped by two cab drivers in Palampur town in Kangra district in 2009.–IANS

New Delhi— A criminal case was registered Tuesday against unknown people who tried to fraudulently claim compensation for 41 people by getting their names added to the list of the dead during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a police source said.

The Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police registered the case almost 10 days after the fraud came to light in a screening committee meeting of the police anti-riot cell and the Delhi government’s revenue department, the source informed.

The government had planned to give compensation to the residents of north Delhi’s Sultanpuri and Mangolpuri area who were killed during 1984 Sikh riots.

The anti-riot cell was instructed to check on the 41 names enlisted among those who were killed in the riots, sources said.

“During investigation, it was found that all the 41 mentioned people were alive. The list of names of these people was submitted after a forged verification letter of anti-riot cell,” said the source.

“As per the anti-riot cell’s record, the number of dead people was 1,553. But, around 2,200 people received compensation,” said a police officer.

The families of those killed in the riots were given Rs.7 lakh each. —IANS

London–A Sikh man has for the first time become the mayor of the town of Warwick in England’s West Midlands region.

Prabhjit Singh Dhillon, who has been elected the 280th mayor of Warwick, described it as a “privilege”, the Coventry Telegraph reported Friday.

“I have become the 280th mayor, a privilege for a local Warwick boy and first Sikh since that time,” Dhillon, a former local schoolboy, was quoted as saying.

“My mayoral year is a mere blip in the last 1,100 years of former mayors in this historic town.”

After being sworn in mayor, Dhillon asked everyone present to observe a minute’s silence in honour of Drummer Lee Rigby, the British soldier who was hacked to death at Woolwich in London May 22.

“I liken my year to the Olympic torch bearers of last year, in that I am picking up the torch of history from the outgoing mayor and carrying it forward, passing it on to the next mayor in a year’s time,” he said.

Dhillon said that this year’s theme is celebrating the town’s rich treasure trove and building a greater sense of community.

Warwick is the county town of the English county of Warwickshire.

Dubai—As Indian prisoners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prepare to get transferred to some Indian jail under a bilateral prisoner exchange agreement, some of them are ashamed to take up the offer due to the nature of their crimes.

Those jailed for immoral crimes like trafficking women and forcing them into prostitution fear that they won’t be able to face their own people when they go to some jail in their own country, The National reported Saturday.

“People caught for immoral activities will not want to show their faces at home,” a prisoner, identified only by his initials BA, was quoted as saying.

He is serving 10 years for murder and hopes to serve his remaining three years in India.

“For people involved in that business, it will be difficult to go back because there is too much shame,” he said.

However, he said that he knew at least 200 Indians jailed in the UAE for murder and all of them want to make the move to a jail back home.

Last month, UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan had ratified a deal that allowed the transfer of prisoners between his country and India.

The decree endorsed an agreement on the transfer of sentenced prisoners signed by the two sides in November 2011.

The agreement was signed to allow the prisoners to serve the rest of their sentences among their own communities

New Delhi believes there are 1,200 Indian prisoners in jails in the UAE.

MUMBAI: The city’s property market may be in a slump but that has not deterred another staggering realty transaction from taking place. In the second most expensive per-square-foot apartment deal in the country, a sea-facing duplex in Worli has been sold at an astoundingRs 43 crore.

A leading glassware manufacturer, Borosil, last week purchased the duplex spread on the ninth and tenth floors of the tony Samudra Mahalbuilding in a deal that works out to roughly Rs 1.18 lakh per sq ft.

The buy outstrips the earlier record of Rs 1.07 lakh per sq ft in the 28-storey marquee building, which is home to many corporate bigwigs, industrialists and erstwhile royalty. But it is still behind the June 2012 sale of a flat in Tahnee Heights on Napean Sea Road; struck at Rs 1.2 lakh per sq ft, that remains the costliest deal for a private apartment in the country.

In an email response, Borosil vice-chairman Pradeep Kheruka confirmed the Samudra Mahal deal, saying the duplex was purchased by the company for investment and after getting the approval of the board of directors. “The purchase is not by the Kheruka family,” he explained.

The four-bedroom apartment—spread over 3,638 sq ft built-up area and with servant quarters—was owned by Sonya Jethmal. Jethmal is reportedly related to the Mulchandani family, which owned the once famous consumer electronics brand Bush. An NRI settled in the US, Jethmal had been trying to sell the apartment for the last five years.

Industry experts said Borosil “was flush with funds and was looking for investment opportunities after selling its 18-acre factory at Andheri (East) for Rs 830 crore in 2010”. In a statement announcing that sale, Kheruka had said the company will “evaluate and deploy the sale proceeds” after considering strategic business opportunities in a manner that will “result in maximisation of shareholder value”.

Nearly half a century old, Borosil is engaged in producing sheet glass, laboratory glassware and microwavable kitchenware. Its main manufacturing operations are in Bharuch, Gujarat.

Experts said the Samudra Mahal transaction is a one-off and does not reflect general market sentiments. “Apartments in such landmark buildings of south Mumbai will continue to fetch premium rates because of their location and upkeep,” said Lakhi Batra, a property dealer in south Mumbai. Apart from servant quarters, building amenities at Samudra Mahal include a swimming pool, health club, children’s play area, and a garden.

“While the movement of luxury penthouses and duplex apartments in landmark buildings is slower in the current environment, supply too is restricted. There are not many buildings of such quality. So, they continue to fetch higher premium than many new developments,” Batra added.

MUMBAI: Global market tides have swept rupee close to an all-time low, raising current account financing and inflation risks, but for now policy makers are more likely to use small-scale intervention and administrative measures to defend the currency.

The rupee fell 4.8 per cent last month, and was the worst performing Asian currency as the dollar rallied broadly on speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin reducing its monetary stimulus later this year.

Trading at 56.65 per dollar on Tuesday, the rupee is not far from a record low of 57.32 hit on June 22, 2012.