Regional

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 7 (IANS) The Kerala Police on Wednesday said that the kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy from his house near Kollam, was carried out on the behest of a relative to recover Rs one million loaned to the family.

The incident occurred on Monday evening when a nine-member gang from neighbouring Tamil Nadu executed the crime.

According to police, the gang had arrived two days ago and conducted a recc of the place and the movements of the family members.

On Monday late evening, when the boy's parents had gone out, the gang forcefully took him away but not before assaulting a boy who resisted the crime.

The boy's home is located about 70 kms from the state capital and the gang travelled in a car and travelled with the boy to the Tamil Nadu border.

But on being alerted, the Kerala police swung into action and outsmarted the gang when they were just 100 metres away from the neighbouring state.

In the standoff with the kidnappers, the police managed to take into custody the kingpin of the gang who hails from Tamil Nadu.

The boy was found unconscious as he was sedated.

During interrogation, the gang leader revealed that the boy's family had taken a loan of Rs one million from one of their relatives.

Despite several requests, the boy's father failed to return the money and a gang was entrusted to kidnap the boy and were promised Rs one lakh for it.

The person in custody said they were asked to bring the boy to Marthandam near Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu to be handed over to the "relative" who would have demanded the money back.

The car used for commissioning the crime has been seized and a manhunt has been launched to nab the other members of the gang.

Of the nine, only one person is from Kerala.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Sep 7 (IANS) The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted continuous rainfall in Bengaluru for next five days. Yellow alert was issued on Wednesday.

Sources said that the people will have to bear with the present condition for a few more days and they be ready for the worst in the coming days in view of the more rail alert. The authorities are crossing their fingers as the staff are working day and night to respond to the flood-affected people.

Those living in ground floors in the rain-affected areas have been forced to shift to their relatives and friends' houses. The people, who are living on the first floor and above are forced to commute on tractors and boats for emergencies. They are also facing the problem of shortage of drinking water. The situation is likely to turn serious with more rainfall in the coming days.

According to official statistics, 85 regions and 2,000 houses in Bengaluru have been inundated due to heavy rain. A total of 1,500 sheds have also come under water, forcing the labourers to shift to safer places. 22,000 vehicles have been damaged and 30 apartments have been surrounded by the flood water.

The two zones in Bengaluru's East, Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli, which house major IT companies, have been affected the most. Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali stated that all the water from the city flows through Mahadevapura resulting in the present situation. Encroachments were being removed to allow water to flow out of residential localities on a war footing basis, he stated.

Bengaluru has received 135 mm of rainfall between August 31 and September 6. Normally the city received 34 mm of rainfall in this period. From September 5, usually, 6 mm of rainfall is received in 24 hours, but this time 34 mm rains have been received. The south west Monsoon brought 130 mm of rainfall till September 6, however, 317 mm of rainfall has been received, according to statistics released by authorities.

The state has recorded nine deaths till date due to the rain related tragedies. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who took up rounds in the rain-affected areas of Bengaluru on Monday night, appreciated the efforts of MLA and officials for working day and night for three days to give relief to the flood-affected people.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 7 (IANS) The urban development department of the Uttar Pradesh government will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) to bring down pollution levels.

The Delhi-based research organisation will guide the local bodies in the coming months on ways to bring down air and water pollution.

According to the government spokesman, local bodies in industrial towns such as Ghaziabad, Agra, Kanpur, Moradabad and Aligarh, among others, will be asked to work closely with the organisation to suggest measures that can be taken up to mitigate effluents and waste water.

Among the 734 cities and towns that are governed by the local bodies, only 31 have partial sewerage system coverage that can tackle 40 per cent of the waste among these towns, reveals data maintained by the central pollution control board.

A member of the programme support unit of the organisation said that best practices being followed in Odisha will be shared with the government officials.

Principal secretary of the department, Amrit Abhijat said, "Since the programme and workshop is extremely important, executive heads of more than 200 local bodies have been asked to remain present while the remaining ones will join the proceedings virtually on Wednesday."

After signing the MoU, the daylong workshop scheduled on Wednesday will focus on improving the urban schemes being provided in the state.

Representatives of Deloitte have been called to brief the executive heads on the expectations from the urban development department in achieving the US $1 trillion economy by 2027.

The grievances redressal system through Sambhav portal that was launched by Uttar Pradesh minister A.K. Sharma will also be reviewed. Minimising air pollution before the onset of the winter season and Diwali festivities will be another agenda that will be taken up in the workshop.

Similarly, the progress being made on the schemes and projects announced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and urban development minister A.K. Sharma will also be done.

--IANS
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Firozabad, Sep 7 (IANS) An FIR has been lodged against an upper-caste teacher of a government primary school in Firozabad district for physically assaulting an eight-year-old Dalit student's arm and hurling a 'casteist slur' at her parents when they came to the school to file a complaint.

The FIR was lodged following the orders of sub-divisional magistrate Adesh Kumar Sagar.

The FIR was registered at Pachokhara police station against the accused, Guddu Pandit, posted at Salempur primary school, under IPC section 323 (causing hurt), 325 (grievous hurt), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.

The father of the victim, Sunil Kumar, said, "When my wife and I went to the school to complain about the brutal beating of my child, the accused teacher started abusing us and hurled casteist slurs at us in front of others. He threatened us and asked us to leave."

The incident took place on August 31.

The father said that he made several rounds of the local police station but no action was taken. He eventually filed a complaint at the SDM office on Tuesday, after which an FIR was registered.

"My child's hand has been fractured. She is traumatised and is not eating properly," the father added.

Deputy SP, Hari Mohan Singh, said on Wednesday, "An FIR was registered under relevant sections against the teacher of the student based on Kumar's complaint. The child will be medically examined. The accused teacher has been called for questioning. The entire matter is being probed in detail."

--IANS
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Panaji, Sep 6 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said not a single minister of his Cabinet is involved in the land scam, adding he is ready to conduct a transparent inquiry if the Congress gives the documents to SIT.

Former All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Girish Chodankar on Saturday had claimed that a Cabinet minister in the BJP-led government in Goa is involved in land grabbing and had dared Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to probe the particular case and find out which of his minister is a 'mastermind' behind the illegal practice.

"Unnecessarily, he is levelling allegations on our ministers, instead he should give a case to SIT. Not a single minister is involved in the land scam. Newspapers should verify the facts before publishing," Sawant said.

"Why he (Chodankar) is showing the case papers (complaint to media), he should give it to SIT. Not a single minister is involved in the scam. Girish Chodankar is showing affidavits to the media, he should give it to SIT. I have trust in my ministers and I am ready to conduct a transparent inquiry," Sawant said.

Sawant also said that newspapers should not highlight such "unwanted things".

"I have trust in my ministers. No one (Minister) is involved in land scams. I will tell SIT to investigate if Chodankar gives those papers to SIT," he said.

According to Congress leader Girish Chodakar, a police complaint in this regard was lodged at the Porvorim police station on July 20 by a person named Sales Francisco Fernades, who holds the power of attorney of the said land.

"A complaint was also filed with the vigilance department and the panchayat, but none probed the matter, nor the case was handed over to the SIT," Chodankar had said.

The SIT headed by SP (Crime Branch) Nidhin Valsan was formed in July 2022 to look into complaints with regard to illegal land grabbing and conversion.

Chodankar had said that if the government fails to act on the complaint filed by Fernades, he will be forced to open another case of land grabbing, in which the same minister is allegedly involved.

"The silence of Sawant in this regard is a clear indication that he wants to allow his own 'land-grabber' minister go scot-free," Chodankar had said.

--IANS
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Mysuru, Sep 6 (IANS) With tempers flaring up over the havoc wreaked on Bengaluru by unprecedented rainfall, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called for cutting down the political hyperbole on the issue.

Speaking to mediapersons at Mysuru on Tuesday, Bommai regretted that politics have shadowed the devastating impact of the rain and floods.

He observed that the current situation calls for everyone to work on war-footing unitedly as foul weather does not discriminate between political parties.

"All the tanks across the state are full and there has been record rainfall everywhere. We have launched a war in rain and need to face this challenge united. But it has become a habit to do politics over petty things" Bommai stated.

Bengaluru has suffered the brunt of the record rainfall levels registered in several decades. Copious rainfall since Sunday has literally brought life to a standstill in several parts of the city.

Over the past two days, the opposition Congress party and ruling BJP in the state, have been sparring over the collapse of civic infrastructure in the city.

The state government will provide Rs 300 crore to deal with rain which has been lashing across the state, the chief minister said.

--IANS
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Srinagar, Sep 6 (IANS) After remaining suspended for more than 33 years, the annual Urs of Sufi saint Syed Qamar-ud-Din Bukhari will be observed in J&K's Ganderbal district from Wednesday.

The four-day long Urs has a historical background and it had to be suspended because of opposition from followers of radical Islam.

Despite the strait jacket concept of Islam advocated by the Ahle Hadis school of thought, the iconic Urs at the Sufi's shrine in Ganderbal stands out to prove that Sufism has deeper roots in Kashmir.

Till its suspension, the Urs at Ganderbal would attract hundreds of devotees who would come to pay obeisance at the saint's mausoleum.

Sweetmeat sellers, fruit sellers, garment stalls and entertainment avenues for children would be the other highlights of the Urs.

The water transport from Srinagar through Jhelum and Sindh stream would enable scores of people who would come in 'Dongas' (non-luxury houseboats) to attend the Urs.

These Dongas would remain stationed on the Sindh stream for around a week when people from Srinagar would spend sometime away from city's hustle and bustle.

Authorities have made arrangements this year to facilitate the movement of Dongas to revive this important aspect of the Urs.

People living in villages close to the shrine would invite relatives and friends on this annual Urs while family get togethers gave an important value addition to the devotees' prayers.

The Urs formally begins Wednesday evening with nightlong prayers and chanting of 'Doruds' (prayers of the Holy Prophet).

"We had to restrict the Urs for the last 33 years because of turmoil. We would, however, perform the nightlong prayers at the shrine during all those years.

"This year, the grandeur and gaiety for which Syed Qamar-Ud-Din Bukhari's Urs is known throughout the Valley is again returning to Ganderbal," said a member of the shrine's management committee.

One significant highlight of this Urs in the past used to be the participation of Kashmiri Pandits alongside their Muslim brethren.

While it is not known from where the saint came to this village, folklore has it that the entire area would get devastated because of the annual floods in the Sindh stream.

"Locals implored the saint to save them from the vagaries of annual floods and after this the saint started praying by the banks of the Sindh stream (where the shrine is located today).

"After he stationed himself by the banks of the stream, there were no annual floods. Pleased with the saint's blessings, locals decided to celebrate the Urs at the shrine each year," said the management committee member.

Whether the saint's miracle or the extensive flood protection works undertaken by the government after Independence prevented the annual floods in the Sindh stream, the fact remains that the reverence for the saint has withstood all tides of fundamentalism and radicalisation in Kashmir.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 6 (IANS) Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK is set to celebrate September as a Dravidian month.

The party has taken the decision in line as the ideologues of the Dravidian movement, E.V. Ramaswamy Periyar and C.N. Anandurai were born this month and the anniversary of the DMK's launch is also takes place in September.

A walkathon will be conducted through Robinson park, Chennai, where the party was launched.

The DMK IT wing has also planned a series of online programmes, including Twitter discussions with the second-rung leaders of the party.

Senior functionaries of the IT Wing said that the party needs to reintroduce the ideals of the former leaders and clarity of organisational thoughts as several youths were getting influenced by the right-wing campaigns.

The IT wWing is creating a Twitter space to enter into discussions with like-minded people. The second rung of leaders of the party will take part in ideological discussions on this platform and will explain the need for a progressive Dravidian movement in the present scenario through which the country is moving ahead.

It will also be showcasing past leaders of the party and their struggles through short documentaries. This includes the fights these leaders had carried out for social justice and social equality.

Several leaders of the party with ideological moorings will also take classes on the Dravidian thoughts and how progressive the society could be taken forward through this movement and the ideological clarity it offers.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 5 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin launched the 'Pudhumai Pen' scheme here on Monday while his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal unveiled 26 schools of excellence and 15 model schools, opened by the state government emulating the schools set up by his Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi.

Under the Moovalur Ramamritham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance or "Pudhumai Pen" scheme, girl students who studied from Class 5 to Class 12 in state government schools would be provided a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 till they complete their graduation or diploma.

Kejriwal, in his inaugural address said: "We might be belonging to different political parties, but there is so much good work that each government in each state is doing. It is extremely important that we learn from each other."

He also said that it has to be the right of every child in the country to have a good and free education and it was the duty of each government to provide free education with high quality to the children.

The Delhi Chief Minister also said that if all the state governments start programmes like what Tamil Nadu and Delhi have done, and with the support of Central government, all the government schools in the country can provide the best quality education.

Stalin, in his address, underlined the reforms initiated by the Dravidian movement as also the various schemes launched by the DMK governments for the welfare of women and children.

He also announced that 25 schools run by Municipal corporations in the state would be elevated as Schools of Excellence in the first phase at a cost of Rs 171 crore.

Stalin also said that the classrooms in these Schools of Excellence would be upgraded and modernised, and art, literature, music, dance, and sports would be promoted among the students.

He also called upon the students to pursue education at the highest levels and not to stop with one degree.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 5 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday ordered a joint probe by the Divisional Commissioner and police Commissioner of Lucknow into the hotel fire incident.

The injured will be given proper and free treatment, he added.

A major fire broke out in the Levana hotel in Hazratganj area of the state capital this morning.

More than 20 persons have been shifted to a hospital in an unconscious state, sources said.

--IANS
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