Lion eats cub in Gujarat’s Gir forest
A four-month-old cub was eaten by an eight-year-old lion in the Gir forest in Junagadh district of Gujarat, IANS reports.

Forest officials said that the  incident, rare since lions don't normally eat their own, occurred on Monday while the cub’s mother was being wooed by two lions. The cub had run away while the two lions were fighting and was trying to come back to its mother when the victorious lion attacked and ate it. Officials added that only the cub's skull and paws were retrieved from the spot.

Panchayat in UP banishes lovers
In yet another case of instant justice, a panchayat in the Jat-dominated Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh ordered that the faces of two lovers be blackened and the two paraded on donkeys, as they were allegedly adamant on marrying each other despite being blood relatives.

According to a DHNS report from Lucknow, Pintoo had fallen in love with the daughter of his maternal uncle while working in a firm in Ghaziabad. When their affair came to light, they eloped to their village, Gadhi Gaon. The panchayat pronounced the punishment on Monday, and later banished the two from the village.

Village panchayats in UP have also, in the past, ordered the hanging of lovers.

Kurukshetra police nab drug smuggler
The Kurukshetra police nabbed Tej Pratap, an inter-state drug smuggler, on Monday night, following a tip-off from an informer, and seized 460 grams of smack and the accused’s car.

According to PTI reports, Tej Pratap has been accused of supplying the contraband drug in Patiala, Chandigarh, Mohali and nearby places to youth.

 He has been evading arrest though at least four criminal cases are already registered against him.

NRI faces charges of sexually abusing stepdaughter
A 37-year-old Indian national is on trial in Singapore on charges of sexually abusing his stepdaughter for two years, starting when she was only 11, DPA reports from Singapore.

The accused, an IT specialist, faces a total of 42 counts. He had admitted to having sex with the girl at least once a month, in statements made to police after his arrest in May 2007. He later, however, denied the allegations.
The prosecution is seeking to admit the man's statements as evidence on the grounds that they amount to a voluntary confession.

The court ordered that the identities of the accused and the girl be kept from the media.

Dalit tortured in Bihar for refusing to work
Suresh Manjhi, a Dalit landless labourer, was allegedly held captive and thrashed for six days in Nalanda by an upper caste man, Abhay Singh, and his accomplices, after he refused to work in their fields, agencies report from Patna.

“My only crime was that I refused to work in their fields as they were giving just one kilogram of foodgrain in return for 10 to 12 hours of toil,” an official quoted Manjhi as saying.

When the local Silao police station turned away Manjhi’s wife, the family approached the special police station for Scheduled Castes in Biharsharif.

Gandhians to protest before Israeli consulate
Armed with roses, Gandhians will hold a novel form of protest before the Israeli consulate on Wednesday, the 60th anniversary of the nation, to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people, agencies report from Mumbai.
Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and convener of the India Palestine People's Solidarity Forum (IPPSF), said, “What we want to highlight is the tragedy–the flight of the common Palestinian people from their homeland."

He also said that the “dehumanisation” of the Jewish people “indicates sickness of the psyche–possibly an affliction that has scarred their souls. That is why we want to demonstrate love and not protest in front of the Israeli consulate.”