When it comes to Make in India, and even more, the co-development of high-technology defence systems, France is on board. Defence cooperation between India and France will now include working together on futuristic technologies

All this was decided during the strategic dialogue co-chaired by Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron and India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. That both sides are ready to work together to develop high-tech weaponry, whether it is “critical” or “emerging” technology is clear. The French, it is understood, are ready to offer the Safran aircraft engine to India.

Bonne and Doval spoke of a stable and secure Indo-Pacific (a reference to China), and a rules-based international order. There will be close cooperation between the two countries in the southwestern Indian Ocean region and the Indo-Pacific. This is particularly so, keeping in mind the “volatile global security environment.”

The security situation in Afghanistan, particularly with the Taliban in power came up during the discussions as did Southeast Asia, Africa and “Eurasia,”— possibly a reference to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Cooperation in areas like nuclear energy, cyber security and space also came up for discussion.

Bengaluru police have registered a case against an official of the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in the Amruthahalli locality for allegedly thrashing and dragging a woman outside the premises, a video of which has gone viral on social media, officials said on Friday.

In the viral video, a man is seen pulling the woman by her hair across the temple floor. As she resists, the man lunges for her dupatta and continues to push her out the temple door. Two men, including a priest, are seen witnessing the incident but offering no help. As the woman resists, the man starts to slap her and then reaches out for a rod to thrash her, according to the video. HT can verify the authenticity of the video.

Following the incident, the victim, Hemavathi, lodged a complaint with Amruthahalli police station stating that the said incident occurred on December 21 and the accused is Munikrishna, a ‘dharamdarshi’ of the temple in Amruthahalli locality, police said on Friday.

Anoop Shetty, the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), north-east, said the case was registered on Thursday.

“We have registered the case on charging of assault and outraging the modesty of a woman based on the complaint. The incident took place on December 21, but the complaint was lodged only Wednesday. We are probing the case. We are yet to arrest the accused in the case. The matter is being investigated,” he said.

The DCP said police did not register a case under the SC/ST act as the complaint didn’t identify the victim as a member of any scheduled case or tribe,

Meanwhile, Munikrishna told police that the woman claimed that Lord Venkateshwara was her husband and wanted to sit next to the idol in the sanctum sanctorum. When her demand was rejected, she spitted on the priest, after which she was asked to leave. As the woman did not listen, she was beaten and dragged out, he told the police.