New Delhi, July 16: The Centre has raised windfall taxes on exports of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) while lowering the levy on petrol exports, as surging global oil prices driven by the escalating US-Iran conflict boosted refining margins, with the revised rates taking effect from Thursday.

According to a Finance Ministry notification, the export duty on diesel has been increased to Rs 15.5 per litre from Rs 8.5 per litre, while the levy on aviation turbine fuel has been raised to Rs 14.5 per litre from Rs 7.5 per litre.

At the same time, the government has reduced the export duty on petrol to Rs 2.5 per litre from Rs 4 per litre.

The revised rates came into effect from July 16, according to the notification.

The latest revision comes amid a sharp rise in global crude oil prices following an escalation in hostilities between the United States and Iran.

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday before easing slightly after US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports, prompting Iran to launch retaliatory strikes on US infrastructure in the region.

Earlier this month, the government had revised the windfall tax on exports of petroleum products by raising the levy on petrol while reducing the duties on diesel and aviation turbine fuel.

The Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol exports was increased to Rs 4 per litre from Rs 1.5 per litre. At the same time, the export duty on diesel was reduced to Rs 8.5 per litre from Rs 14 per litre, while the levy on ATF exports was cut to Rs 7.5 per litre from Rs 12.5 per litre.

The government reviews windfall taxes on domestically produced crude oil and exports of petroleum products at regular intervals to align the levies with changes in international crude prices and refining margins.

Lalitpur (Uttar Pradesh), July 16: In a shocking incident of betrayal and sexual assault reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Lalitpur district, a 19-year-old woman was abducted by a man who she was allegedly in a relationship for the last four years and gangraped by him and his friends in a moving car, police said on Thursday.

Speaking on the case, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kalu Singh said: “The victim had been in a relationship with the accused, Badal Raja, for the past four years and preliminary investigation suggests she had accompanied him voluntarily.”

According to officials, the victim’s mother lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that her daughter was forcibly taken away in a car by a local resident, Badal Raja, along with two of his associates.

The complainant stated that the distraught victim managed to call her sister during the horrific incident and sought help from her family.

Following the call, her family launched a desperate search for her and found her in a distressed condition near the railway station and took her to the police station.

Based on the complaint, the police registered an FIR and formed a special team to investigate the case.

During the course of investigation, police arrested two of the accused. A third unidentified accused was later apprehended during a police encounter, in which he sustained a bullet injury to his leg. He is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Investigators said to have recovered a .315 bore country-made pistol, one empty cartridge, one live cartridge, a mobile phone, a bottle of liquor, and a car from the accused during the encounter.

The police said the accused will be produced before the court based on the available evidence.

Further investigation in the case is underway.

In yet another crime against girls and women in UP, a seven-year-old girl was found dead in the basement of an under-construction mall in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar Extension.

She had been befriended by one of the accused, who often played with her and her brothers and gave them chocolates, chips and toffees to gain their trust.

The child’s body was recovered during the early hours of Saturday from the basement of the building. A post-mortem examination confirmed that she was raped before her death and died due to a head injury. Police have registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by the family.

Noida, July 15: The massive blaze that engulfed the entire four-storey building in Noida’s Mamura area resulted in the death of two people on Wednesday, both in their twenties.

One of the deceased has been identified as a 22-year-old girl named Sneha Srivastava, a native of Bihar, while the boy, believed to be in his late 20s, has not been identified yet.

According to the police, the deceased man sustained burn injuries on more than 80 per cent of his body, while the girl suffered 40 percent burn.

A detailed investigation into the matter is underway.

Meanwhile, the police have detained the building owner for questioning and are examining as to whether adequate fire safety measures were in place.

The tragic incident started around 11 a.m. when an electric scooter parked in the basement of the four-story building in Sector-66’s Mamura area suddenly exploded while charging.

Preliminary investigations reveal that the fire spread rapidly after the explosion, quickly engulfing the entire building. The inferno which broke out on the ground floor of a residential building spread quickly to nearby vehicles and swept through the residential building in Noida’s Sector-66. A thick plume of smoke was seen billowing out of the building.

At least 30 and 40 bikes parked in the basement were burnt to ashes in the flames.

A large number of people were present in the building at the time of the incident. Residents on upper floors of the house were trapped due to the smoke and fire; however, those on lower floors managed to escape.

Hundreds of locals gathered at the scene upon seeing the fire and plumes of smoke. Seven fire tenders arrived at the scene but faced difficulty reaching the spot due to narrow lanes and heavy crowd. Fire engines used long hoses to douse the blaze, but it took them more than three hours to bring the fire fully under control.

It was the makeshift bridge, erected by the firefighters using ladders, that rescued more than 100 people and helped them evacuate from the deadly trap.

Reports indicate that the four-story building housed approximately 50 rooms, where a large number of working professionals lived with their families.