Crime and Accident

Salem, August 16: Sleuths from Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) today arrested Thanjavore district Special Deputy Collector after carrying out simultaneous raids at his houses in Salem district, police said.

They recovered 670 gm of gold, 84 sovereigns of gold coins and Rs 1.56 in cash and several documents regarding property deals from his houses at Johnsonpett and Kondalampatti in the district this morning, police said.

He was arrested under Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

—Agencies

Patiala, August 16: Police registered a case of murder and hatching a criminal conspiracy against Manjit Singh of Chandigarh along with five of his accomplices.

Sahil Sharma, of Pancham Society, Mohali had gone for an outing on August 10 near a canal at Rajpura, near Gandakheri, with his six friends, all 19-21 years of age, police said today.

In the evening, Sahil’s friends informed police in Rajpura that he accidentally slipped into the Bhakra canal and was washed away by the heavy flow of water.

Moscow, August 16: Two heavy Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter jets collided mid-air during an aerobatics drill over the Russian town of Zhukovski, ahead of an international aero-space show to be inaugurated there on Tuesday.

The jets belonging to Russian Knights aerobatic group of the Russian Air Force were part of a joint drill with another aerobatic group of MiG-29 fighters ‘Strizhi’ (Larks).

Both the pilots bailed out safely, Vesti FM radio said.

The debris of the planes fell on a small countryside cooperative of cottages causing fire on the ground, it said.

Dehradun, August 16: An under-construction bridge here collapsed due to an avalanche burying 40 labourers who were later rescued by the Indo-Tibet Border Police(ITBP).

The labourers were working on the bridge being built by the PWD department on Angargad, a rivulet in the upper hills of Uttarkashi district, when an avalanche struck burying them, official sources said.

After the incident, ITBP personnel, posted at the nearby Sonam post rushed to the spot and rescued the trapped workers.

All the labourers are safe, the sources said.

–Agencies

Kannauj, August 16: A 4-year-old boy and two infants died and 35 others were taken ill after allegedly consuming sweets distributed during Independence Day celebrations here, police said today.

Akash (4), Sugam (9 months) and another unidentified infant died after consuming ‘boondi’ at a function held at a school in Paindabad village here yesterday, Chief Medical Officer R C Agarawal said.

Those who took ill were admitted to hospital where their condition was stated to be stable.

District Magistrate Govind Raju N S visited the village and took stock of the situation.

—Agencies

Jajpur, August 16: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped by a youth from Sankhachila, about 40 km from here, police said today.

In a complaint lodged with the local police, the father of the girl alleged that his daughter, a student of class X in Sankhachila High School, was kidnapped while going to school by one Umasankar Guru of the same village, they said.

Her father B C Sahu lodged the complaint alleging that his minor daughter had been kidnapped, they said.

Patna, August 16: The mutilated body of a seven-year-old girl who had gone missing two days ago has been found in Motihari district of Bihar, police said Sunday, adding that it looked like a case of human sacrifice. Two people, including a witch doctor, have been arrested.

A villager found the body of Gudia Saturday. She was a resident of Khagni village in Motihari and had gone missing two days ago.

The family alleged that the girl was sacrificed to appease a Hindu god.

Dhar, August 16: Three persons, including two school children and a teacher, were killed and 32 others injured when a bus carrying them plunged into a valley near Mandu town, police said.

The incident occured when the school bus, which was on its way to Mandu, about 35 kilometers from here, from Sardarpur town, they said.

About 32 persons of which majority of them school chi

—Agencies

Mohali, August 16: Six youths have been booked for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy and murdering their 19-year-old friend during a picnic outing in Mohali district of Punjab, police said Sunday.

A police officer said Sahil Sharma, a Mohali resident, had gone for an outing Aug 10 near a canal in this Punjab town with his six friends, all 19-21 years of age. In the evening, Sahil’s friends informed the police in Rajpura in Mohali that he accidentally slipped into the Bhakra canal and was washed away by the heavy flow of water.

Muzaffarnagar, August 16: Two brothers, aged 10 and 12, were killed after being hit by a train in Khatoli town of the district in Uttar Pradesh.

Zahid and Salman were knocked down by the train when they were trying to cross a railway bridge over Ganga canal yesterday, police said.

In another incident, 12 girl students onboard a mini-bus got injured when it fell into the Yamuna canal on Kiwana Prasoli Road in the district yesterday.

They were students of an inter college and on way to attend a function on the Independence Day, police said.

Kuwait, August 16: A fire at a wedding tent in Kuwait killed at least 41 women and children guests and injured 76 others, authorities said.

The official Kuwait News Agency quotes the fire department chief, Brigadier General Jassem al-Mansouri, as saying 41 bodies have been recovered from the scene in Jahra, a tribal area west of Kuwait City. KUNA said 76 people have been taken to hospital with burns.

Bangalore, August 15: A 16-year-old girl was killed when she was hit by a lorry while crossing the road to attend Independence Day celebrations at her school in Nelamangala taluk, about 40 km from here today, police said.

The deceased identified as Asha was a student of Chikkabidarikallu Government School, the police said.

The vehicle has been seized and hunt is on for the driver.

Students blocked the road for sometime protesting over the death.

—Agencies

Bhubaneswar, August 15: Anti-corruption wing of Orissa Police will interrogate director of mines R N Sahoo in connection with smuggling of manganese worth Rs 110 crore from Keonjhar district.

“Our sleuths went to Sahoo’s office yesterday but he was not available as he had gone to Cuttack for some official work but he will probably be interrogated tomorrow,” Anup Kumar Patnaik, director of vigilance, said after submitting action taken report on the investigation into the scam.

Kashipur, August 15: Two children were electrocuted after coming in contact with a high-tension wire at Kashipur area of Udhamsingh Nagar district, police said here today.

Bhupendra (13) and Ram Murti (10), both brothers, were trying to pluck fruits from a tree when they came in contact with the high-tension wire yesterday, they said.

Both the brothers died on the spot, they added.

—Agencies

Firozabad, August 15: Five people were today killed and another seriously injured in two separate road accidents on the national highway in the district, police said.

Both the accidents occurred on the National Highway- 2.

Four people were killed when the SUV in which they were travelling collided with a truck near Nautehra village in Shikohabad police station area.

In the other accident, one person was killed and another seriously injured in a collision between a motorcycle and a tractor in Tundla police station area, police said.

Shimla, August 15: A Delhi metropolitan magistrate was killed when his car collided with an oil tanker in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, police said Saturday.

Special Metropolitan Magistrate Varinder Kumar Sharma, 57, was on his way to Manali with his family when the accident took place near Sundernagar town Friday, Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar told IANS by phone.

“Sharma’s wife Jyoti, his son Vikas and daughter-in-law Shivani were seriously injured in the accident. They have been referred to the Post-Graduate Institute and Hospital in Chandigarh,” Kumar said.

Jammu, August 15: Four terrorists have been killed in a gun battle with the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence official said Saturday.

The army raided the militants’ hideout in the forested area of Mahore, 175 km from here, Thursday. The terrorists were killed Friday night, the source said.

“The gun battle is still on,” the official told IANS.

Early this week, security forces had gunned down four militants, three of them of the Hizbul Mujahadeen outfit, in the same area.

–IANS

Chandigarh, August 15: Punjab Police claimed to have busted a drug racket with the arrest of three Punjab residents and a non-resident Indian (NRI) here Friday. Police also seized 1.8 kg of heroin from their possession.

District police chief Rakesh Aggarwal told IANS: ‘On a tip-off, police have arrested four smugglers who also have strong international links. We also seized 1.8 kg heroin, worth Rs.9 crore (Rs. 90 million) in the international market, from their possession.’

Guwahati, August 14: A group of women militant bombers have managed to sneak into Assam’s main city of Guwahati to strike terror ahead of Independence Day, officials said today.

Sonepat, August 13: A local court sentenced five persons to life imprisonment and acquitted nine for lack of evidence in a dowry case here in the district.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar yesterday convicted five persons, including husband and mother-in-law, of the deceased Rekha and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each.

The convicted persons are Joginder (husband), Kanta (mother-in-law), Partap (father-in-law), Surjeet and Deepak.

Guwahati, August 13: In what is seen as the first direct instance of separatists in Assam using kids to carry out extortions, two street urchins were caught by police commandos minutes after they collected the extortion amount from a businessman in Guwahati.

A police spokesperson said two eight-year-old children, Ganesh Das and Babu Chetri, were late Wednesday lured by militants of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) to collect an extortion amount from a businessman in the Ganeshguri area of Guwahati.

Lincoln, August 13: Police arrested a woman twice in one night in two different cars for driving drunk. Police spokeswoman Katie Flood said the woman was pulled over at 1:13 a.m. Wednesday after she allegedly made an illegal turn and was spotted swerving down a south Lincoln street.

The officer who stopped her said her blood-alcohol level was .19. That’s more than twice the legal limit. The woman was cited on suspicion of driving under the influence and negligent driving and taken to a detoxification center.

Mohali, August 13: A principal and two teachers of a nursing college were waylaid and robbed of cash and mobile phones at gunpoint near Mohali on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident took place around 3 pm when Kiran Batra, principal of the Silver Oaks Nursing College in Abhipur village, Mohali, was heading back home in Sector 48, Chandigarh.

Two college teachers, Inder Dhillon and Manju Chandel, were accompanying Batra in her Mahindra Scorpio driven by driver Harjeet Singh.

Lucknow, August 13: Tension prevailed in the Azamgarh district on Wednesday afternoon after a youth died and three others suffered gunshot injuries in a clash with local BJP parliamentarian Ramakant Yadav and his men. The MP and his men had allegedly opened fire in Phoolpur after his cavalcade got involved in a road accident.

The president of the Rashtriya Ulema Council, Amir Rashadi, on whose complaint an FIR of murder was lodgerd against the MP and his men, claimed that the accused had fired at him and the victims were members of his party.

New Delhi, August 13: A student was injured on Wednesday during a scuffle between him and a shopkeeper at a north Delhi locality here which sparked off tension in the area.

During the incident, which was reported from Mukherjee Nagar, the victim was allegedly beaten up by the shopkeeper’s son after a heated argument.

After sometime, the shopkeeper and some locals also allegedly joined in roughing up the student.

Later, some students gathered at the spot which led to tension in the area and police was called to contain the situation.