The Ministry of External Affairs has rejected reports claiming that atleast 20 Indians were killed in a Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen.

MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “Out of 20 crew members, 13 are alive and 7 are reported to be missing. We have ascertained that two boats came under aerial bombardment, boats were carrying a total of 20 Indian crew members.”

“No other information is currently available regarding the identity of the Indian nationals,” Swarup said, adding that: Indian embassy in Djibouti is in touch with local contacts to get further information on the matter.

India does not have embassy in Yemen, which was shut down in April after evacuation of its nationals.

Yesterday, local residents and fishermen said planes from the Saudi-led alliance struck two boats at al-Khokha, a small port near Hodeidah in western Yemen used by Indians to smuggle badly needed fuel supplies into the country, killing 20 Indians.

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to increase dearness allowance to 119 per cent from 113 per cent, which will potentially benefit over one crore government employees and pensioners.

Earlier in April, the government had hiked DA by 6 per cent to 113 per cent of their basic pay with effect from January. DA is paid as proportion of the basic pay.

The DA hike will take effect from July 1. As per the agreed formula, the DA rate increase is an average of 12-month consumer price index-industrial workers from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

The hike is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission, which will benefit 48 lakh government employees and 55 lakh pensioners.

Last month, the Cabinet had given approval for the extension of the term of the 7th Central Pay Commission by four months up to December 31.

The wife of Narayan Sai, who has been behind the bars in a rape case filed by a Surat-based woman, has alleged that the son of self-styled godman Asaram is a blot on saint community’s escutcheon.

As per a complaint filed by Janaki, her husband had illicit relationships with a number of women and involved in promiscuity.

During a maintenance and domestic violence-related hearing in a family court here on Tuesday, Janaki filed a written complaint, saying she fears for her life from Narayan Sai and his aides.

Seeking security cover for herself, Janaki alleged that she got to know about Narayan Sai’s affairs after her marriage.

Janaki also claimed that Sai has a love child too.

Sai was arrested for repeatedly sexually assaulting one of the two Surat-based sisters, who was the inmate of his ashram here between 2002 and 2005.

In a shocking narrative, a 20-year-old woman from Nepal said she and her 44-year-old mother were sexually abused every day for the last four months by a Saudi diplomat in a flat in Gurgaon.

The diplomat at the Saudi Arabia embassy in New Delhi has been booked for rape while his wife and daughter have been booked for torturing domestic helps in the Millennium City, the Haryana Police said.

The mother-daughter, who were brought to India with the lure of a better future, today claimed they were not being paid wages for the last four months and now wish to go back “home” as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the 20-year-old said: “Last four months were a curse for us. It was so ugly…we thought we were going to die in that house and our families would never even find our bodies,”

The mother and daughter were “rescued” on Monday evening from an apartment on the fifth floor of Ambience Island Caitriona complex here. The victims were “rescued” after the intervention of the Nepalese embassy and with the help of an NGO Maiti Nepal India, police said.

“There were days when seven to eight men — all from Saudi Arabia — would assault us. If we resisted, the diplomat and his family would threaten to kill us and dispose of our bodies in the sewer,” said the older woman.

The duo said that on some days, they would be given no food at all. However, they were allowed to take bath, just before they had to meet the diplomat’s ‘guests’, who would rape and sodomise them, reported the daily.

“We were made to do all the household chores, from morning till late in the night, and then subjected to sexual assault at the end of the day. We were not given food. Sometimes we only survived on biscuits, bread and watery tea. We were never allowed to step out of the house,” said the women.

They also claimed that the diplomat took them to other places, including Nainital and Agra, where they were subjected to further sexual assault by other ‘guests’.

“Right after we were employed, our employer took us to Saudi Arabia for 15 days. There, he did not touch us or misbehave with us. After we returned in May, he asked us to massage him… he then raped us and forced us to have unnatural sex and oral sex. After that he offered us to his friends regularly,” they said.

“They used to keep us in locked rooms and did not let us make any sound. They showed knives and threatened to kill us otherwise,” the older victim told while showing her wounds.

“We were told they he’s a good man with a big house. But we did not know what he does. We were brought for handling domestic chores…But he did horrific things with us,” said the woman.

“We want to go back to Nepal and these people should be jailed as soon as possible,” she added.