Passenger beaten up at Lucknow airport

Lucknow, July 25: Commotion prevailed at the Amausi Airport here this morning, when a passenger deboarding an Oman Airlines flight was beaten up by some people claiming to be customs department officials.

Police sources here said that Brij Kishore Tewari, a resident of Gopalganj Bihar, who had deboarded Oman airlines flight WY865 was stopped by some people claiming to be customs department officials for checking.

Four die after drinking hooch in Assam

Jorhat, July 25: Four persons were killed and over 10 others fell seriously ill today after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in upper Assam”s Jorhat district, official sources said. The country-made ”poisoned liquor” was allegedly served in two hooch dens at Sobaibandha and Chokihat areas in the heart of Jorhat town, from where the deaths are being reported since midnight, the sources said.

Man arrested in connection with Bangalore blasts was a guitarist in Kerala

Bangalore, July 25: The 57-year-old man arrested for last year’s serial blasts was once a guitarist and a music teacher.

Edapana Thodika Zainuddin alias Abdul Sattar alias Abdul Salam Alias Saleem, who made the bombs used in the Bangalore and Ahmedabad blasts, told the police that he had been a small-time electronics repairman at Kondotty in Kerala’s Malappuram district. He has also worked in Hyderabad, Ajmer and Saudi Arabia.

Mass Destruction: On July 25, 2008, 10 bombs exploded in Bangalore that killed two and injured 20 people.

Major quake hits off Papua New Guinea

America, July 25: A powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale rattled Bougainville island of Papua New Guinea Saturday morning but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualty, seismologists said.

The quake, which struck at 11:42 a.m. (01:42 GMT), was about 80 km west of Arawa city at a depth of 65 km, according the US Geological Survey.

‘At this stage we have not received any reports of any damage,’ a spokesman for Papua New Guinea’s national earthquakes centre said.

Policeman arrested in murder for Mayawati bash

Lucknow, July 25: Sub-inspector Hoshiar Singh, one of the 11 suspects in PWD engineer Manoj Gupta’s murder, was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya district Saturday after absconding for seven months, police said. Gupta had reportedly been killed as he refused to raise money for Chief Minister’s Mayawati’s birthday party.

“Of the 11 accused in the murder case, Singh was the only one who was absconding. He was arrested from Auraiya this (Saturday) morning,” Additional Superintendent of Police Rajendra Kumar told IANS on phone. Auraiya is about 250 km from state capital Lucknow.

Minor girl gangraped in Mumbai

Mumbai, July 25: In a shocking incident, a minor girl was gangraped here today, sources said.
According to the sources, the mishap took place in Andheri locality of the city.

The girl was admitted to nearby hospital in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the police have registered an FIR against the culprits and investigation is on.

Further details are awaited.

–Agencies

Maharashtra police intensify hunt for SIMI

Mumbai, July 25: Maharashtra police intensified the hunt for more activists of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in Vidarbha region on Friday.

The extensive search has picked up pace after the police arrested eight out of the 30 members who had gathered for a meeting at a village named Mana in Akola district on Sunday.

Initially, four members were arrested by the police at Murtizapur when they were returning from the meeting in Mana.

Later four more activists were tracked down and arrested from different locations.

First accident on Bandra-Worli sea link, two injured

Mumbai, July 25: Two persons were injured when a vehicle collided with a taxi and a car on Friday night on the recently inaugurated Bandra-Worli Sealink. It is the first accident on the bridge after it was thrown open to the public, police said.

A north-bound vehicle hit a taxi and a Honda City car coming from opposite direction, injuring two persons, police said adding that the injured were rushed to nearby hospital.

The vehicles were removed and paved way smooth flow of traffic immediately on the bridge, police said adding that further investigation was on.

-Agencies

Mistaking him for a thief, mob kills mentally-challenged man

Ahmedabas, July 25: The CID Crime from Vadodara is yet to investigate the killing of the three suspected thieves from Itwada in Pavi Jetpur taluka of Vadodara district, even as villagers in neighbouring Panchmahals have lynched to death a mentally-challenged man from Natanpura in the tribal-dominated Morwa Hadaf taluka, suspecting him to be a thief.

According to Sub-Inspector K B Kotwal, Takhtsinh Khant (32), the victim, had left his village on Thursday evening and had reached Natapura where some of the villagers, suspicious of his movement, killed him on the spot.

Four boys rape 8-yr-old

Phoenix, July 25: Officers responding to a report of hysterical screams found an 8-year-old girl partially clothed and four boys, barely in their teens, running from an empty shed.

The boys, ages 9 to 14, face charges ranging from sexual assault to kidnapping. Authorities in Phoenix say it’s one of the most horrific cases they’ve ever seen.

The boys lured the girl to an empty shed on July 16 under the pretense of offering her gum.

5 infants die in hospital, docs say strike not a reason

Ahmedabad, july 25: The ongoing statewide strike of resident doctors has started taking its toll on human lives, with five infants dying at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Sir Sayajirao General (SSG) Hospital in the last 24 hours.

The five infants had been were shifted to the NICU in the last two days. According to doctors, all five deaths were due to different medical reasons. It may be mentioned here that at present, the paediatric department of the hospital is working with half the staff strength.

Mysterious death of man turns out to be murder by wife, lover

Ludhiana, July 25: The mysterious death of a 57-year-old man at Phullanwal village on July 18 has turned out to be a case of murder, involving the deceased’s wife and her alleged lover.

With the arrest of the accused — Paramjit Kaur (37) and Jagtar Singh— who have confessed to the crime, the Sadar police claim to have solved the case.

Stripping of woman in public to be probed

Patna, July 25: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered state police chief DN Gautam to inquire into the alleged assault and stripping of a woman by a Activists demonstrate in Patna in protest against beating and stripping of a woman in full public view.

Officials said the chief minister ordered Gautam to undertake the probe on Thursday night although the police headquarters had already asked Inspector General (Patna zone) Sunil Kumar to look into the incident.

Convicted pastor says he’s ‘one of the prophets’

Taxarkana, July 25: Tony Alamo, a one-time street preacher who built a multimillion-dollar ministry and became an outfitter of the stars, was convicted Friday of taking girls as young as 9 across state lines for sex.

Alamo stood silently as the verdict was read, a contrast to his occasional mutterings during testimony. His five victims sat looking forward in the gallery. One, a woman he “married” at age 8, wiped away a tear.

Naked, unmarried girls plough the fields to embarrass the gods into sending rain

New Delhi, July 24: Farmers in drought-stricken Bihar have asked their unmarried daughters to embarrass the weather gods into sending the badly needed monsoon rains by ploughing the fields naked.

According to witnesses, with a little help from elderly female relatives, the naked girls ploughed the fields and, after sunset, chanted ancient hymns to invoke the gods, reports the China Daily.

Priest, wife arrested with four human skulls

Lucknow, July 24: A priest and his wife have been arrested after four human skulls were found in their house in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, the police said Friday.

The skulls were recovered from the roof of the Kabir temple in the Vijaynagar locality in Kanpur, about 80 km from Lucknow.

According to police, the priest, Shyamlal, and his wife, Rajkumari, have confessed that they used human skulls to make “medicines for sex-related problems”. The couple said they had brought the skulls from Bithore locality in Kanpur and were using them to make medicines.

Priest, wife arrested with four human skulls

Lucknow, July 24: A priest and his wife have been arrested after four human skulls were found in their house in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, the police said Friday.

The skulls were recovered from the roof of the Kabir temple in the Vijaynagar locality in Kanpur, about 80 km from Lucknow.

According to police, the priest, Shyamlal, and his wife, Rajkumari, have confessed that they used human skulls to make “medicines for sex-related problems”. The couple said they had brought the skulls from Bithore locality in Kanpur and were using them to make medicines.

Prof Sabharwal son’s aide found dead near Khalsa College

New Delhi, July 24: A close aide of Himanshu Sabharwal, son of Ujjain professor H.S. Sabharwal who died after beatings and assault by students in his college in August 2006, was found stabbed to death in Delhi University, police here said Friday.
The body of Parminder Singh, who worked as accountant with Himanshu, was found lying in the Maurice Nagar area of the campus by a passer-by around 11.30 p.m. Thursday, hours after the two pasted posters in the university for a candlelight march scheduled for Sunday to demand justice in the Sabharwal murder case.

Hong Kong man jailed for stomping on 3-year-old son

Hong Kong, July 24: A father who kicked and stomped his three-year-old son, rupturing his intestines and liver, was jailed for two years by a Hong Kong court, a newspaper reported Friday.

Lo Siu-ting, 24, had previously been convicted of mistreating the boy’s five-year-old brother, the Standard said.

Lo, who pleaded guilty to wounding the three-year-old, said the incident occurred during a dispute with his pregnant 23-year-old wife.

Delhi Metro mishap: HC notice to Gammon India

New Delhi, July 24: In a major set back to Gammon India Ltd, the Delhi High Court today issued notice to leading contractor in Delhi Metro Rail project.
The notice was issued on a petition filed by the family members of victims of the July 12 mishap, seeking compensation.

Posting the matter on August 20 for next hearing, Justice Rewa Khetrapal directed the company to file its response.

12-year-old plane crash survivor leaves hospital

Paris, July 24: The 12-year-old girl who miraculously survived the June 30 crash of a Yeminia Airbus A310 near the Comoros islands has left hospital care in Paris, France Info radio reported Friday.
Bahiya Bakari spent 10 hours clinging to wreckage in the water after the plane plunged into the sea. She suffered a broken collarbone and minor burns.

The other 152 people aboard the aircraft, including her mother, were killed in the crash.

Of Comoran origin, the teenager was travelling to the islands to celebrate her 13th birthday there in August.

Metro accident inquiry report submitted to Sreedharan

New Delhi, July 24: A report by a four-member expert committee probing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) worst accident July 12, which killed six people, has been submitted to DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan, an official said Friday.
“The report was received at 7.30 p.m. yesterday (Thursday). Sreedharan has asked a group of directors of DMRC to examine the report after which he will review it himself,” DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal told IANS.

4 women allegedly slain by own family in possible `honour killing’

Montreal, July 24: Canadian authorities have charged an Afghan immigrant, his wife and their oldest son with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of three Montreal sisters and an older female relative.
Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, and Geeti Shafia, 13, all sisters, were found dead with Rona Amir Mohammed, 50, in a submerged car June 30 in the historic Rideau Canal near Kingston, Ontario.

From the beginning, investigators were baffled how the car managed to negotiate several obstacles to end up in the canal tail first, without leaving any skid marks.

Father, three-year-old son gunned down in Kashmir

Srinagar, July 24: A three-year-old boy and his father were shot dead by suspected guerrillas in a south Kashmir village, police said Thursday. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the murder and challenged the separatists’ silence over it.

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Shopian case: J&K govt opposes bail plea of police officersThe incident occurred Wednesday night in south Kashmir Shopian district that has been on the boil since May 30 after the rape and murder of two women allegedly by security forces.

Muslim man critical after ‘honour attack’ with acid

London, July 24: A Muslim man is in a critical condition in hospital after having acid poured down his throat in an “honour attack” for having a relationship with a married woman.

Police have warned the woman, also a Muslim, that her life is now in danger and are discussing how best to protect her.

The 24-year-old man was attacked with sulphuric acid and stabbed by four men. He was blinded in one eye, suffered severe injuries to his tongue and throat and suffered 50 per cent burns. He was also stabbed twice in the back and attacked with bricks leaving him with fractures to his face.