Jammu: Over a dozen out of hundreds of protesting Amarnath pilgrims were injured in a cane charge by Jammu and Kashmir police to disperse them at Patnitop on Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Saturday. The pilgrims were trying to disrupt traffic when they were halted due to bad weather and crowding near the cave shrine in the Kashmir Valley, an official said. Police stopped the vehicles carrying pilgrims at Patnitop, around 100 km north of Jammu ‘due to bad weather ahead and overcrowding of pilgrims at base camps’. “At this the pilgrims got agitated and blocked the national highway, alleging that there was no proper facility and arrangement at the point where they were stopped,” the police official said. “Police resorted to mild cane charge to disperse the pilgrims for smooth flow of traffic on the highway,” said the official. He said over a dozen pilgrims were injured in the cane charge. (IANS)
IIM-A prof missing after pilgrimage
New Tehri: An Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad Professor, who had gone missing while returning from the ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage near Dev Prayag, could not be traced for the third day on Saturday. Superintendent of Police, Tehri Rajeev Swaroop on Saturday said multiple search operations undertaken till late evening in forests and in the Ganga river as well, had proved futile so far and would be resumed on Sunday morning. Pratap Oberoi, the 40-year-old professor, who had been nominated to be the first director of the IIM Uttarakhand, had gone missing on June 30. The search for the professor in IIM Ahmedabad’s marketing department, began after his nephews, who were accompanying him during the pilgrimage, lodged a missing person report in the local police station. A team of expert divers had also been engaged to look for the Professor in the Ganga river as there were apprehensions that he might have jumped into the waters. (UNI)
Cop held on attempt to rape charge
Puri: Railway police on Saturday arrested a police officer on the charge of attempt to rape a minor girl in a running train. GRP sources here said the incident occured when SK Mullick, the accused was on his way to Puri from Cuttack by Howrah-Puri Jagannath express to attend Rath Yatra duty. He was arrested after the parents of the girl lodged a complaint with the GRP, Puri. The accused was later forwarded to GRP Khurdha road. The accused police officer also allegedly attacked the cameraman of a news channel and damaged his camera while he was taking visuals. As per the complainants, a family was going to Puri in a reserve compartment of the Howrah- Puri Jagannath express. The accused officer in plain dress boarded the train at Cuttack and allegedly molested a girl passenger and tried to rape her inside a toilet. The passengers and the parents of the girl caught hold of the accused after the girl raised alarm and screamed. On arrival at Puri, a complaint was filed by the parents of the victim. However, the police officer said he was innocent and filed a complaint that he was beaten by the passengers. (UNI)
8 killed in collision in Rajasthan
Jaipur: Eight people were killed and 11 others injured in a collision between a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) bus and a car on the outskirts of Fatehpur town in Sikar district of Rajasthan on Saturday. Police sources said the accident occurred when Thorasi (Sikar) – bound car rammed into the bus which was proceeding from Jaipur to Bhadra town in Hanumangarh district. The collision was so powerful that the eight occupants of the car died on the spot and their vehicle badly damaged. The rescuers worked hard to retrieve the bodies from the wreckage. The injured passengers of the bus were admitted to a hospital in Fatehpur, sources added. (UNI)
Official caught on camera taking bribe
Thiruvananthapuram: A sales tax official, who was caught on camera accepting a bribe, was on Saturday suspended by Kerala Revenue Minister KM Mani. In a sting operation by a private TV channel, P Santhosh Kumar, intelligence inspector at Vazhikkadavu checkpost in Malappuram, was caught on hidden camera taking bribe from a mediator to allow the channel’s vehicle to pass without checking. As the channel aired the visuals, Mani ordered an inquiry by the Tax Commissioner, Suman Billa, who found Kumar was prima facie guilty of the charge, an official release said. He was immediately placed under suspension. (PTI)
Elephant rescued from septic tank
Madikeri: A pachyderm, straying into an estate house, fell into a septic tank at Kutta Village, near here, last night. The 14-year-old elephant entered the estate belonging to Cheppudira N Kaverappa and fell into a septic tank. The cement cover of the tank collapsed as the elephant stepped over it. Falling inside, the elephant began to trumpet. Family members had a shock of their life to witness the incident. They informed the Forest Department on Saturday. ACF Durgegowda and RFO Mandanna visited the spot and the elephant was rescued. The gathered people received a rude shock as two more wild elephants appeared from the estate bushes as the pachyderm was being lifted. However the tension eased as the duo disappeared in the estate along with the rescued animal after it was freed. (UNI)