Thane: A 37-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly molesting an eight-year-old girl in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Thursday.

The alleged incident took place in the Bhiwandi area on October 15, which was the child’s birthday.

Citing the FIR, an official said the girl was playing outside her house when accused Dineshkumar Sharma told her he would buy her a birthday gift and asked her to accompany him. The child got scared and ran into her house.

Sharma allegedly later accosted the minor when she was playing with her friends.

“The accused touched her inappropriately. When she raised an alarm, Sharma warned her of dire consequences if she talked about the incident with anyone,” said the official, citing the FIR.

The girl’s father approached the Bhiwandi police on Wednesday (October 22), prompting the cops to arrest Sharma under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The police did not explain why the girl’s father approached them late.

Guwahati, Oct 23: Train services were thrown out of gear after a powerful explosion ripped through a section of railway track between Kokrajhar and Salakati stations in Assam’s Kokrajhar district, officials said on Thursday.

The incident happened in the early hours of Thursday, according to officials.

As per the preliminary information, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated around five kilometres east of Kokrajhar railway station, causing extensive damage to the track and forcing the suspension of train movement on both up and down lines.

Railway authorities immediately halted traffic as a precautionary measure, stranding several trains at nearby stations and leaving hundreds of passengers stuck for hours.

Panic and confusion gripped travellers as news of the explosion spread, while emergency announcements advised passengers to remain calm and await further instructions.

Teams from the railway department, security agencies, and bomb disposal units rushed to the spot shortly after the blast. The site was cordoned off as experts examined the cratered track and collected forensic evidence.

Senior police and railway officials also reached the area to supervise repair work and oversee the investigation.

While no casualties have been reported so far, the impact of the explosion severely disrupted train schedules along the busy route.

Authorities have not yet identified those responsible for the incident.

Security has been intensified across Kokrajhar and adjoining districts, with patrols stepped up on key railway stretches as investigators work to trace the perpetrators and determine the motive behind the blast.

A senior police official said, “There was a blast on the railway tracks, which caused disruption in the train services. At least one metre of track suffered damage due to the blast. The track has been repaired and train services have resumed on the route. We have launched a probe to find the details behind this incident. At this point, we can not conclude anything about the blast, whether it was an IED or not. Once we complete the investigation, we will be able to provide further information.”

Athens, Oct 23: The Greek police have arrested 37 people in a nationwide operation targeting a criminal network accused of defrauding the European Union’s (EU) agricultural subsidy system, authorities said.

According to the Hellenic Police on Wednesday, the operation was carried out by the Organised Crime Division in Thessaloniki, Pella, Ioannina, Attica, and Crete.

The suspects allegedly obtained EU farm subsidies through false declarations submitted to OPEKEPE, a public agency responsible for managing and disbursing agricultural aid schemes funded by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), in the course of the preliminary investigation, 324 individuals were identified as subsidy recipients, causing an estimated cost of more than €19.6 million to the EU budget.

Of these, 42 are believed to be involved in this case and are considered current members of the criminal group, the EPPO said.

Investigators estimate that the network illegally acquired between 5 million euros ($5.8 million) and 10 million euros out of more than 20 million euros in total subsidies.

Most suspects are not connected to farming, and the core group is believed to consist of about 10 individuals, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which began investigating the case about 18 months ago, the report added. (1 euro = 1.16 US dollar)

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, under pressure due to his family’s political ties in Crete, vowed to imprison those guilty and recover the misappropriated funds.

He claimed the fraud began in 2016, before his 2019 tenure, and warned that Greece’s EU subsidies could be at risk if the issue isn’t resolved.

“Whatever the political cost, I am not backing down,” Mitsotakis told Skai radio.

Government Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis echoed the sentiment, stressing that public resources must not be embezzled for personal gain.

Several Ministers and Deputy Ministers have resigned over their alleged involvement in the scandal.

The EU has already fined Athens €400 million after finding evidence of systemic failings in the handling of farm subsidies from 2016 through to 2023.

Greece also risks losing its EU farm subsidies unless it provides an improved action plan on how it will stop funds being siphoned off into corruption.

The original deadline was October 2, but this has now been pushed back to November 4.