18 die as bus rolls into gorge

in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: At least 18 people were killed on Friday and an equal number injured when a private bus carrying passengers skidded off the road and fell into a 500-foot deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, police said. Eighteen bodies have been recovered, Superintendent of Police Sumedha Diwedi said on phone. The bus was carrying at least 35 passengers on board at the time of the accident, and many have been injured. The police officer said the injured were being treated at hospitals in Rajgarh and Solan towns. The bus, ferrying passengers from Punardhar to Solan town, met with the accident near Bharari village in Sangrah subdivision, some 130 km from district headquarters Nahan. Sirmaur is one of remotest places in the state. Buses plying there have poor frequency, and the scarcity of means of transport often leads of overcrowding of vehicles. (IANS)

Youth gets rigorous lifer

Cuttack: A youth was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by a local court for killing his father in Cuttack city of Odisha. Cuttack District and Sessions Judge Shatrughna Pajahari sentenced Ketan Bhoi to rigorous life imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 for killing his father. Ketan Bhoi of Dahigaan in Cuttack had attacked his father Baja Bhoi on August 4, 2011, with a sharp-edged weapon. Ketan went underground when Baja died of his injuries in the hospital. He was later arrested following complaints filed by Baja’s other son Sanatan. Ketan attacked his father when the latter objected to former’s decision of marrying a girl of their village. (PTI)