NEW DELHI: Parliament was rocked today over reports that Shiv Sena MPs allegedly forced a fasting Muslim worker to eat in the new Maharashtra Sadan, but government dismissed the allegations as "unsubstantiated" and said they need to be verified first lest they raise communal passions.

The issue was raised in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha by the Opposition members who demanded action against the Shiv Sena MPs who vociferously denied the reports.

After uproar by the Opposition, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed brief adjournments as agitated members wanted to raise the issue which was staunchly opposed by the Shiv Sena. The Lok Sabha also witnessed a walkout by the Congress, NCP, Left, PDP and AIMIM.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a storm as a BJP member Ramesh Biduri rushed to the Well telling some in the Opposition that "this is India. Those ... go out".

The member later apologised after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu disapproved his conduct.

"We are dealing with a sensitive issue ... don't try to raise communal passions. Nobody knows the truth. Whether the incident has happened or not, we are not sure," Naidu said seeking to douse flared passions.

He said the the government is in no way connected with the "unsavoury" incident. "We need to enquire ... let us not send wrong signals to the country." 

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Congress member M I Shanavas described the incident as "shocking" and said it is "cutting at the root of secularism. MPs who should be role models have become bad models ... the faith of minorities has been tarnished. The House should condemn it." He also quoted reported statements made by Arshad, the employee concerned.

Defending the Shiv Sena MPs, Union Minister Anant Geete said "those who want to respect the month of Ramzan should not make false statement in the House", triggering sharp protests from the Opposition.

"Whatever the report has appeared is totally false and Congress is trying to tarnish the image of the Narendra Modi government," Geete said.

In the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javadekar said "It is an unsubstantiated report. We should not take it to the next level. Let it be ascertained. There are sensitivities involved."

Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha after Zero Hour, but Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said he will allow him after those who have given notices for mentions speak.

Ansari was supported by Congress members and as he rushed to the Well amid sharp exchanges between Treasury Benches and Opposition, Kurien adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

Later, Ansari said the incident is an insult to the Constitution which respects all religions and demanded action against the MPs.

"Forcing roti into the mouth of a person observing fast is against the dignity of a person," he said.

As the uproar continued, Kurien said, "It has to be ascertained whether it is fact or not. The government has assured that it will ascertain the issue and then come back to the House. Whatever the action to be taken under the law, the government will take after that." 

In the Lok Sabha, Geete said Shiv Sena MPs staying at the new Maharashtra Sadan had gone to meet the Resident Commissioner to lodge their complaint against mismanagement there, but they could not meet him.

As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, several Opposition members raised the issue and termed it as violation of religious beliefs.

Members from Congress, RJD, Trinamool Congress and AIMIM were on their feet raising the issue. PDP members too were seen waiving a paper but they could not be heard in the din.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House when the issue was raised.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wanted the issue to be referred to the Ethics Committee.

After the storm over Biduri's remarks, RJD member Pappu Yadav and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi also rushed into the well.

Shiv Sena members also rushed towards the Well but stopped in the aisle and some BJP members, including Kirit Somaiya, were seen pacifying them. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned briefly.

Disapproving the conduct of Biduri, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Naidu said there is "need for maintaining decency and decorum of the House ... we should respect each other".

It was reported that a group of around 11 Shiv Sena MPs, apparently angry over not being served Maharashtrian food, allegedly forced a Muslim catering superviser who was fasting for Ramzan to eat a chapati at new Maharashtra Sadan in the national capital last week. — PTI

BANGALORE: Chairman of the city school, where a six-year old girl was allegedly raped, evoking public outrage and triggering protests, has been arrested.

Rustom Kerawalla, chairman of Vibgyor High School, was arrested under various sections of IPC, Juvenile Justice Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Bangalore Police Commissioner M N Reddi told reporters here.

The police have invoked section 201 of IPC (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) against Kerawalla, he said.

This is the second arrest after that of Mustafa, skating instructor as the main accused, on Sunday.

The delay in nabbing the culprits and taking action against the school management had evoked widespread criticism, leading to protests in the city and elsewhere in the last one week.

The incident had happened on July 2 and the complaint was lodged on July 14, while the first arrest came six days later.

As public anger grew, the government had effected a reshuffle at the top police echelon on Monday, transferring Raghavendra Auradkar and bringing in Reddi in his place as Police Commissioner.

The main accused was sacked at a school earlier for "gross misconduct" with girls, the institution had disclosed, with Vibgyor High School coming in for criticism for not checking the background of its staffer.

Mustafa, who joined Vibgyor High School in 2011, was arrested on Sunday, with police saying they had found pornographic content relating to children in the laptop recovered from him.

The Karnataka government has also written to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations Board to derecognise the school. — PTI

Kharkiv: A Dutch air force transport plane carrying the first 16 coffins with the remains of victims of the downed Malaysian airliner took off on Wednesday from an airport in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv for the Netherlands.

Honorary guards placed wooden coffins on the plane after a short and sombre ceremony held on the tarmac before it took off.

All 298 people on board the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 perished when it was brought down last Thursday over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, where Kiev is struggling to quell a pro-Russian separatist rebellion.

Many of the victims were Dutch and the Netherlands will carry out their identification.

At the ceremony, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said the downing of the plane was an "inhumane terrorist act" carried out with help from Russia.

Kiev will do everything in its power to bring those guilty to justice, he added.

A Canadian military transport plane is due to leave Kharkiv with 24 more coffins later on Wednesday.

Russia has blamed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for the crash because he refused to extend a ceasefire with the separatist fighters. Moscow denies supporting the separatists.

US intelligence officials said on Tuesday Washington believed pro-Russian separatists probably shot the plane down "by mistake," not realising it was a civilian passenger flight.

The black boxes from the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all on board, have been delivered to Britain for expert analysis, the government said Wednesday.

The recorders have been delivered to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch headquarters in Farnborough, southwest of London.

"We can confirm that the two black boxes from MH17 have been delivered by the Dutch Safety Board to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough for download," a Department for Transport spokeswoman told AFP. — AFP

NEW YORK: A US court here has dismissed criminal charges against a Sikh man for carrying a kirpan to a city airport.

The New York City Port Authority Police Department in May had issued a criminal summons in May to Maninder Singh for carrying two kirpans through security checkpoint at the John F Kennedy International airport here.

The summons had charged Singh with violating city federal rules, which prohibit carrying of knives with blade lengths of four inches or more.

Singh had faced a USD 300 fine as well as imprisonment of up to fifteen days.

The Queens Criminal Court dismissed the criminal summons after rights group Sikh Coalition’s staff attorney Gurjot Kaur represented Singh during a hearing at where Kaur explained the religious significance of Singh’s kirpans and the peaceful nature of his religious practice, the Sikh Coalition said in a statement.

Kaur also argued that the law in question provides many secular and recreational exemptions, including exemptions for individuals who carry knives for fishing, hunting and camping purposes and for members of the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts.

Kaur said the law should provide an exemption to Sikhs who carry kirpans as part of their First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion.

She cited a similar case in 1987 where the court had dismissed all criminal kirpan charges against the Sikh defendant.

The court "agreed with the reasoning and dismissed all criminal charges" against Singh, the rights group said, adding that all Sikhs should be encouraged to practice their faith fearlessly. –PTI

Gaza/Jerusalem: Bloodbath in Gaza continued unabated today with Israel and Hamas refusing to back down in the conflict that has killed about 650 Palestinians and 31 Israelis, even as US Secretary of State John Kerry held hectic parleys in Jerusalem to broker a ceasefire.

Several international airlines today halted flights to Israel indefinitely, citing security concerns after a rocket from Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip landed near Israel's biggest airport, Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Kerry flew into Tel Aviv from Cairo despite US warnings over airline safety and held hectic parleys in Jerusalem, also meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"We have certainly made some steps forward, but there is still work to be done," Kerry said.

Kerry, during his whirlwind tour of the region, will also meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

On US President Barack Obama's direction, Kerry yesterday held talks with Egyptian and Arab League officials in Cairo to push for an "immediate cessation of hostilities".

Ban also voiced guarded hope for ending the violence, as efforts to broker a truce in the the 16-day conflict hastened.

"We are now joining our forces in strength to make a ceasefire as soon as possible, but there is still some detailed way which we have to make," he said.

"We do not have much time to wait and lose," Ban said after speaking with Netanyahu in the morning.

The Israeli military said it hit more than 187 targets overnight, most of them in Shaja'ia, a neighborhood east of Gaza City near the border with Israel. The IDF said Hamas uses the residential area as a "fortress for its weapons, rockets, tunnels and command centers."

The death toll mounted as neither side showed any sign of backing down. Palestinian health officials said at least 649 Palestinians had been killed and 4,040 wounded. Some 70 to 80 per cent of them are civilians, according to the UN.

Twenty-nine Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have also been killed in the conflict.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said more than 118,300 Palestinians have now taken refuge in its shelters. It says 43 per cent of Gaza has been affected by evacuation warnings or declared no-go zones.

In the latest incident, Israeli tank fire killed five people, including two children, in southern Gaza. Also, a foreign worker in southern Israel died after being hit by a mortar round fired from the Gaza Strip, police said.

In Geneva, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip could amount to war crimes, while also condemning indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas.

"There seems to be a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes," Pillay told an emergency session on Israel's Gaza offensive at the UN Human Rights Council.

Netanyahu sought Kerry's help in restoring American commercial flights to Israel that had been cancelled amid ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza, Ynet reported.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had yesterday told US carriers to cancel all flights to Israel for 24 hours after a Palestinian rocket struck near Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Hamas' armed wing had last week warned international airlines to stop flying to Israel, threatening to target the airport, but did not deter them from flying to the Jewish state till yesterday.

Over 80 flights, American and European, have been cancelled since the FAA orders were issued yesterday.

Israel heavily depends on revenues generated from inbound tourists and such moves can potentially have a very damaging impact on its tourism sector.

Israel's national carrier El Al has added additional flights to build confidence and make up for the cancelled flights, but a large number of Israelis are still stranded en route to the Jewish state after their flights were diverted and are now grounded in cities from Berlin to Istanbul.

New York's former Jewish Mayor Michael Bloomberg has urged the FAA to "reverse course" and permit US airlines to fly to Israel.

Bloomberg will himself fly on an El Al flight to Tel Aviv in an act of "solidarity with the Israeli people and to demonstrate that it is safe to fly in and out of Israel." "The US flight restrictions are a mistake that hands Hamas an underserved victory and should be lifted immediately," he said.

Delta was the first carrier to halt flights to and from Israel after diverting a flight carrying 273 passengers bound for Ben Gurion airport to Paris.

It was followed by America's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – which has halted all US flights to and from Israel – Air France and Dutch airline KLM. — PTI