Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has reshuffled his cabinet. A total of 21 MLAs were sworn in today to replace the ministers who resigned after being asked by the chief minister. The new cabinet, which focuses on youth, will include five women ministers. The new cabinet was formed following the resignation of 20 ministers in Odisha on Saturday.

In the run-up to the 2024 general and assembly elections, the reshuffle was aimed at bringing in new faces and bringing in young and experienced leaders from the BJD into the cabinet. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the new Convention Center at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.

A total of 21 ministers, including 13 cabinet ministers and eight cabinet ministers were sworn in in the state cabinet headed by Naveen Patnaik.

Five women MLAs, including three cabinet ministers, have been included in the cabinet. In the last cabinet, there were only two women in the cabinet.

Prameela Mallik, Usha Devi and Tukuni Sahu are the new women ministers.

Jagannath Saraka, Niranjan Pujari, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Prafulla Kumar Mallik, Pratap Kesari Deb and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak were also sworn in as new ministers among Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs. In addition, Governor Ganesh Lal administered the oath of office to Pradeep Kumar Amat, Naba Kishore Das, Ashok Chandra Panda and Rajendra Dholakia.

Sameer Ranjan Dash, Ashwini Kumar Patra, Preethi Ranjan Gharai, Sreekanta Sahu, Thusharkanthi Behra, Rohit Pujari, Rita Sahu and Basanti Hembram were among the MLAs who were included as ministers (independent charge).

It is reported that ministers out of the cabinet are likely to get important responsibilities next time.

Chennai: Seven girls drowned to death while bathing in a river. The incident took place in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu. The girls drowned while bathing in a river dam. The others were rescued while rescuing two children who were trapped in a vortex near the barrier.

Children between the ages of ten and eighteen died. The deceased have been identified as Monisha (16), R Priyadarshini (15), sister R Divya Darshini (10), M Navneeta (18), and K Priya (18), S Sangavi (16), and M Kumuda (18). Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Hyderabad: Two more people have been arrested in connection with the gang-rape of a minor girl in a car. With this, the number of those arrested in the case has increased to five. Police said all the accused were Plus Two students.

The girl was brutally raped inside the car on May 28. The incident took place at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad. A 17-year-old girl was gang-raped in a car on the pretext of taking her home. Police said a case has been registered against them under various sections including POCSO and the investigation is progressing.

Hyderabad: The son of a TRS leader has been arrested in connection with the gang-rape of a 17-year-old woman inside a car. Saduddin Malik, 18, was arrested. Police said they identified five people. Three of the accused are minors.

The protest was sparked by allegations that the accused included the son of a TRS leader. Police said they could not gather significant information from the victim girl about the culprits and only revealed the name of one person.

The girl was allegedly assaulted in an Innova car on her way home after a college celebration last week. It is clear from the CCTV footage that the girl was standing next to four people who are believed to be the culprits.

Srinagar:  Security forces clash with terrorists in Anantnag, Jammu, and Kashmir. Hizbul senior commander killed in clashes. Weapons and explosives were seized from them. Three soldiers and a local were injured in the encounter.

The injured have been shifted to a hospital in Srinagar. The hospital officials said that their injuries were not serious. Clashes in these areas have continued in recent days.