India

Ahmedabad, Oct 4 (IANS) An Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation officer, responsible for keeping roads free from stray cattle in Naroda area, has been booked in culpable homicide in a fatal accident.

In a criminal complaint, one Prashant Patel alleged that since the Municipal Corporation officer failed to discharge his duty, his younger brother Bhavin died after his two-wheeler hit a cow sitting in the middle of the road.

He also demanded action against the owner of the cows.

On Monday, while hearing a PIL on stray cattle menace, the chief justice directed the state government the government to fix responsibility and compensation amount for the kin of the youth K.B. Patel, who died in an accident a few days ago.

During the hearing, the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association submitted that due to cattle on road, 42 persons died in road accidents in 2020, in 2021 (61) and 2022 till date 60 persons have lost their lives in the state.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Oct 4 (IANS) Actor Amit Sadh, who is known for his work in 'Kai Po Che!: Brothers...For Life' and the streaming series 'Breathe', recently made Golden Globe Award winning Hollywood actor Jeremy Samuel Piven during his ongoing holiday in the USA. Amit is quite inspired and influenced by the American actor-comedian-producer.

The actor even shared a picture of himself with Jeremy on his Instagram and also penned down his experience of interacting with him.

Amit wrote in the caption: "Jeremy Piven's portrayal of Ari Gold (Entourage) is one of the first few performances that inspired me when I started my acting career. It continues even today after meeting him, I find him bold, and he has the fortitude and courage to push through life's ordeals. He has greatly influenced me so much that it helped me to understand that there is a great message under the mess we come across in our life (sic)."

Expressing his gratitude, he further mentioned: "Thank you brother for opening up to me. I cherish the stories of your life, which you shared with me. I look forward to your next film and can't wait to see you tap dancing. This friendship shall continue. @borncarioca Thank you for making this happen - and for the shadow that lurks on this image, says it all."

Jeremy is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the popular comedy series 'Entourage', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards.

Meanwhile, Amit, who recently completed shooting for season 3 of 'Breathe', will be portraying a photojournalist in his forthcoming short film titled 'Ghuspaith - Beyond Borders'.

--IANS
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Jammu, Oct 4 (IANS) Authorities have suspended mobile Internet services on Tuesday in parts of Jammu and Rajouri districts.

Official sources said mobile Internet services in these areas will remain suspended till 5 p.m.

The same has been done for preventing miscreants from creating a law and order situation by misusing the service.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a three-day visit to J&K and he is addressing a historic public rally in Rajouri district.

The decision to suspend the mobile Internet service was part of the elaborate security arrangements made for the protection of the home minister, sources said.

--IANS
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Surat (Gujarat), Oct 4 (IANS) Bajrang Dal activists and bouncers from the minority community clashed here during a garba event here.

The incident happened on Monday night and one bouncer was injured, who was treated at a hospital.

As the police reached on time the situation was controlled and the garba event resumed soon after.

The Bajrang Dal activists during their surprise checking on Sunday night had found that Thakor Vadi garba organiser had hired a security team, which had Muslims bouncers. The activists had asked the organiser to cancel the security service and ensure that no Muslim bouncer was on duty, even though on Monday night Muslim bouncers were at the security gate of the event, when activists asked their name, they gave false identity with Hindu names which led to the clash, said a local activist of Bajrang Dal.

"Some clash was reported at Thakorji vadi garba event to the police, a team was dispatched and the situation was brought under control. One person is said to be injured, police don't have detailed information, investigation is going on, whosoever is responsible, will be arrested," assured Sagar Bagmar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Surat.

"Bajrang Dal has in advance instructed the garba organisers to ensure that no security person is hired from the minority community, because they have mala fide intention of luring Hindu girls. If any organizer has hired Muslim security bouncers and Bajrang Dal workers come to know about it, such clash will happen," claims Hitendrasinh Rajput, spokesman of Bajrang Dal and VHP Gujarat.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram chided the BJP over its election process for president's post in response to the ruling party's criticism on Congress presidential poll.

Chidambaram tweeted on Tuesday, "By the way, I am trying to find out when Mr Nadda filed his 'nomination papers' and before which 'election authority'?"

"The election to the post of Congress President has generated enormous public and media interest. That is a good augury for the Congress party I suppose it is next only to the 'unanimous election by popular vote' of Mr J P Nadda as the BJP President in January 2020!" he added

The Congress presidential poll is on October 17 and counting is on October 19.

The central election authority (CEA) of the Congress has issued guidelines to all the state presidents to extend courtesy to both Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge who are contesting for the party presidential poll.

The guidelines says that Pradesh Returning Officers (PRO) will be the Polling Officers of their respective state Congress committees and shall be responsible for keeping order at the polling stations and also to see that the election is fairly conducted.

--IANS
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Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Oct 4 (IANS) Eight students of the Jhansi Government Polytechnic have been awarded life imprisonment till death for raping a minor girl two years ago.

Besides imprisonment, the special POCSO court also slapped a total fine of Rs 30,000 on other counts on each of the accused, half of which will be given to the rape survivor.

Special public prosecutor POCSO Act, Vijay Kumar Kushwaha, said that all the eight accused have been found guilty of the heinous crime.

"They were tried under 11 sections, including sections 5/6, 9/10 of POCSO Act," he added.

"All the accused have been awarded life imprisonment 'till their last breath' for this heinous crime," he added.

The accused who have been sentenced are the main accused Rohit Saini, Bharat Kumar and Sanjay Kushwaha, Dharmendra Sen, Monu Parya and Mayank Shivhare, Shailendra Nath Pathak and Vipin Tiwari.

The trial was conducted in the court of special judge Nitendra Kumar Singh (ADJ 9 Rape and POCSO Act) in which 12 witnesses, including the survivor, her friend and a sub-inspector were heard.

The SI, who happened to pass by during the crime, had saved the girl from being further harassed by the accused.

The DNA sample of main accused Rohit Saini got matched and also helped as major evidence.

The incident took place on October 11, 2020, during the Covid pandemic when the minor girl was going to tuition with her friend. As they passed by the polytechnic on Gwalior Road, the accused who were all hostellers, caught the duo and dragged them inside the hostel which was largely vacant those days.

They raped the survivor and also thrashed her friend.

During the incident, sub-inspector Vikrant Singh, then posted at Gwalior Road police outpost, happened to pass from there. He heard the screams of the girl, rushed to her rescue and saved her from further humiliation.

The police lodged a case and got the accused identified through photographs on polytechnic admission forms. The accused were caught and sent to jail and were also denied bail.

As per Kushwaha, the charge sheet was submitted within a month by the investigating officer (IO), Arvind Singh.

Charges were framed in February 2022 and the evidence was completed by August during regular hearing.

On the other hand, the parents of the survivor said that their daughter was going through severe depression and had stopped stepping out of the house due to trauma after the incident.

--IANS
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Jammu, Oct 4 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a historic public rally in J&K's Rajouri town on Tuesday where he is expected to announce ST reservation for the Pahari community.

Over enthusiastic members of the Pahari community from different parts of Rajouri and the neighbouring Poonch district have started reaching Rajouri town where high security is being maintained in and around the venue at the town's bus stand.

In the evening on Monday, Shah met delegations of Paharis, Gujjars/Bakarwals, Dogras and Sikhs at the Raj Bhavan where he spent the night.

He reached Jammu around 8 p.m. Monday.

On reaching Jammu, Shah tweeted, "Reached Jammu and Kashmir on a three-day tour. Through the medium of different programmes, I'm eager to have dialogue with the people of J&K".

In another comment he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Government holiday on the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh keeping in view his role in making Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of the country".

Before flying to Rajouri, the Union home minister will pay obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district.

He is scheduled to inaugurate 14 Urban Development Projects, 48 roads totaling 269.41 kilometres, eight bridges and 10 power distribution/transmission projects in J&K.

He will also lay the foundation stone of 41 Water Supply Schemes under Jal Jeevan Mission.

He will generate distribution of Land Pass Books and launch 225 Citizens Centric Online Services, 1000 Cooperatives and second edition of District Good Governance Index Financial Year 2021-22.

Shah will have a meeting with the senior BJP leaders at 3.30 p.m. today at Jammu Convention Centre.

At the same venue, he will launch developmental projects at 4.30 p.m.

The BJP leaders are expected to brief Shah about the likely impact the grant of ST status to Paharis will have on the electoral prospects of the party.

It is believed that the grant of ST status to Paharis can affect the electoral results in around a dozen Assembly constituencies, including Poonch, Mendhar, Surankote, Kalakote, Nowshera, Rajouri, Thanna Mandi, Budhal and Sunderbani in Jammu division and Uri, Karnah, Gurez and Trehgam in Kashmir division.

Besides, the Paharis have sizeable population in Pahalgam, Shopian, Kupwara, Lolab and Baramulla Assembly constituencies of Kashmir division.

He will leave for Srinagar around 6 p.m. today where he has an equally busy schedule.

--IANS
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Etawah, Oct 4 (IANS) A day after the fire at a puja pandal in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi, a major fire broke out in a Ramlila pandal at Bharthana town in Etawah, police said.

The incident took place on Monday evening. The fire was caused by a short circuit and reduced the pandal to ashes. However, no one was injured.

According to Kotwali Station House Officer, Mansoor Ahmed, the incident took place when the Ramlila stage was being prepared.

Fortunately, fire tenders rushed to the spot and managed to contain the fire within 20 minutes. No one sustained any major injury in the blaze, the police added.

The pandal was erected on the grounds of a government school. Prima facie, the fire started at the upper part of the pandal, which was being decorated with fancy electrical lights.

Within minutes, the flames spread as the pandal was set up with wooden scaffolds and synthetic cloth.

Following the incident, the staging of Ram Leela was postponed.

The incident comes just a day after a major fire breakout at a Durga Puja pandal in Bhadohi claimed five lives and left 64 others injured.

--IANS
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Palghar, Oct 3 (IANS) In a double tragedy on Navratri, a 35-year-old man collapsed and died while playing 'garba' at a marquee in Virar town here, and upon hearing of the incident, his father also died due to the shock, officials said.

The incident happened late on Saturday night when Manish Narpat Sonigra was playing garba at the Global City housing complex in Evershine Nagar and suddenly crashed on the ground.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital but declared dead on arrival late that night, said a relative.

Upon learning this, his stunned father Narpat Harakchand Sonigra, 66, also collapsed the breathed his last, plunging the entire locality into gloom.

Narpat Sonigra's son Rahul and brother Nagraj Harakchand Sonigra said that the family hailed from Marudhar in Rajasthan and belonged to the Godwad Oswal Jain community.

The funeral rites of the deceased father-son duo were performed in Virar town on Sunday evening, while the police have lodged an accidental death report case in the matter.

--IANS
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Mysuru, Oct 3 (IANS) Congress President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi are likely to join the Rahul Gandhi led - Bharat Jodo yatra, which entered day four in the southern district of Karnataka on Monday.

According to sources, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are scheduled to reach Mysuru city at noon and proceed to Mandakalli airport in Mysuru by a special flight.

Both the leaders would visit the Chamundeshwari hills and seek the Goddess's blessings. Later, they would leave by helicopter for hill station Kodagu where they will rest for a couple of days.

Rahul Gandhi will also join them in Kodagu and spend some time with them there. Against the backdrop of the Vijaya Dashami (Navratri) festivities in Karnataka, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will be halted for two days --Tuesday and Wednesday.

Party leaders say that Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi would take part in padayatra when it resumes on October 6. Priyank Kharge, Congress MLA and chairman of KPCC Media Cell stated that Priyanka Gandhi would take part in the padayatra on Thursday in Melukote town in Mandya district.

He further stated that if health permits, Sonia Gandhi would also join the padayatra on that day.

Senior party leader A.S. Ponnanna has been given responsibility of monitoring the visit for top Congress leaders. Gandhis would stay at the Coorg Wilderness Resort in Megeri village of Madikeri taluk. The CRPF personnel are providing security for the resort.

After covering Chamarajanagar and Mysuru districts, the yatra entered Mandya district this morning.

Rahul Gandhi visited Ajam Mosque with local Congress MLA Tanveer Sait and also paid a visit to the historical Saint Philomena's Church.

On Monday, Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "After the downpour of last night created iconic images, day 26 of Bharat Jodo Yatra started at 6.30 am from the heart of historic Mysuru."

Rahul Gandhi and padayatris will be walking 22 kilometers at a fast clip today (Monday) to reach the end point 3 hours before the usual schedule of 4.30 p.m."

--IANS
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