THE WEEK morning brief: Second autopsy of Hyderabad rape accused by AIIMS team today

A look at the headlines today:

1. Hyderabad vet rape: Second autopsy of 4 accused to be done by AIIMS team today

AIIMS has formed a team of three forensic doctors to conduct the second autopsy on the bodies of four men accused of gang-rape and murder of a woman veterinarian near Hyderabad, who were killed in an alleged encounter on December 6. The team will depart for Telangana and conduct the second autopsy at the mortuary of state-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad today at 9am. The medical board is led by Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of forensic at AIIMS, and has Dr Adarsh Kumar and Dr Abhishek Yadav as members. Dr Varun Chandra will assist the team in the post-mortem examination. The Telangana High Court had directed authorities to conduct a second postmortem on the bodies of the four accused. The bodies have been kept at Gandhi Hospital as per an earlier order of the high court, after pleas were filed alleging extra-judicial killing of the men and claiming it was a fake encounter.

2. National Film Awards to be presented today

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will present the National Film Awards to the winners today. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar will be attending the ceremony. Traditionally, the National Awards are handed out to the winners by the president of India. President Ram Nath Kovind will host high tea for the winners later. Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday said he is giving the ceremony a miss as he is "down with fever". The 77-year-old actor, who was set to be honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2018 at the ceremony to be held on Monday in New Delhi, shared the news on Twitter. "Down with fever .. ! Not allowed to travel .. will not be able to attend National Award tomorrow in Delhi .. so unfortunate .. my regrets ..," Bachchan wrote. The award, named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke who is revered as the father of Indian cinema, was instituted in 1969, the year Bachchan made his debut in Hindi film industry with Saat Hindustani.

3. Jharkhand election results to be declared today

The elections to the recently concluded Jharkhand assembly will be announced today. In the present assembly, the BJP has 43 members, JMM 19, Congress eight, AJSU Party three, JVM(P) two, CPI(ML) Liberation one, MCC one and others two. Two MLAs Geeta Koda (Independent) and AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Choudhary resigned after being elected to Lok Sabha. The five-phase election was held between November 30 and December 20. Most exit polls telecast by news channels soon after voting ended for the fifth and final phase of the Jharkhand elections on Friday indicated a hung assembly.

4. OIC expresses concern over CAA; says 'closely' following developments

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it was "closely" following the recent developments "affecting" Muslims in India as it voiced concern over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the verdict in the Ayodhya case. The OIC is a 57-member grouping of Muslim majority nations, including Pakistan. The body has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with Islamabad in its disputes with India. "The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has been closely following recent developments affecting Muslim minority in India," the OIC said in a brief statement. The body "expresses its concern over the recent developments pertaining to both the issue of citizenship rights and the Babri Masjid case," the statement said. The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed by the Parliament and signed into law by the President this month. According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship.

5. 18 Indians abducted from Hong Kong-flagged vessel released

Eighteen Indians, who were kidnapped by pirates from a Hong Kong-flagged vessel near the Nigerian coast, have been released. According to ARX Maritime, a global agency tracking maritime developments in the region, 19 people were kidnapped from the ship on December 3 after the ship was taken over by pirates. Out of them, 18 were Indians. "Nigerian Navy @NigerianNavy and Shipping Company have confirmed release of 18 Indian nationals, taken hostage from MT Nave Constallation on 3 December. Thank all stake holders involved in their safe release," the Indian High Commission tweeted. Official sources said following the reports of kidnapping of the Indians that the country's mission in Nigeria approached the African nation's authorities for help to ascertain the details and rescue the abducted Indians. 

6. Kohli soars, Shardul roars as India clinch ODI series

The nerveless Shardul Thakur did what the peerless Virat Kohli could not, his most defining cameo powering India to a series-clinching four-wicket victory over the West Indies in the third ODI here on Sunday. India's top three—Rohit Sharma (63), K.L. Rahul (77) and Kohli (85)—fired in unison in a 316-run chase but it got slippery in the end when the Indian captain left the scene with 30 required off 23 balls. It was then that Thakur, in the company of a composed Ravindra Jadeja (39 not out), smashed 17 runs off six balls with the help of a six and four off Sheldon Cottrell to seal the issue in his team's favour with eight balls to spare. This was India's 10th successive series win over the West Indies. Displaying panache and patience in equal measure, Kohli made 85 off 81 balls, but got out to an innocuous Keemo Paul delivery with India someway off the target.

7. Premier League: Man Utd implode against feisty Watford

Manchester United collapsed to a humiliating 2-0 defeat against Premier League bottom side Watford on Sunday after a David de Gea howler, bringing their recent revival to a shuddering halt. Not even the returning Paul Pogba, on as a second-half substitute, could save his misfiring team, who again struggled to impose themselves against one of the league's lesser lights. The key moment in the match came in the 50th minute when De Gea somehow allowed a tame, spinning effort from Ismaila Sarr to creep through his hands and in at the near post. Watford doubled their lead four minutes later when Troy Deeney fired home from the penalty spot after the otherwise impressive Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought down Sarr with a misjudged sliding tackle. Nigel Pearson coaxed a battling performance from Watford in his first home game in charge and they deservedly won just their second league match of the season to give themselves hope of survival. There was no hint of the drama to come in a largely uneventful first half. 

8. Expansion of Maharashtra cabinet likely today

The expansion of the newly-formed Maharashtra Cabinet and allocation of portfolios is likely to happen today. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had held a meeting of the party legislators in the past week in Nagpur, where the winter session of the state legislature is currently underway. At the meeting, Pawar indicated that he will meet Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and that the expansion of the Cabinet could take place within two days after the session ends on December 21. "Ministers will be alloted portfolios so that they can start working," Pawar was quoted as saying. The NCP is a part of the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government which also comprises the Congress. Before Malik, NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad told reporters that the meeting was just a general discussion since Pawar is visiting Nagpur during the time of the winter session after many years. 

-Inputs from PTI