Nitish, Lalu launch joint campaign
Hajipur: Bitter foes for almost two decades, former Bihar chief ministers Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad on Monday hugged each other as they launched a joint campaign in support of their alliance candidates for the August 21 Assembly by-polls, and took on ruling BJP at the Centre. Kumar, who had parted ways with Lalu in 1994 and succeeded in dethroning him in Bihar in 2005 in alliance with BJP, said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre knows that it cannot fulfil the tall promises it has made and will resort to spreading religious passion to cling to power. “They can run government. They cannot run the country. Did ‘achchhe din (good days)’ come?” he asked, referring to BJP’s slogan during elections. “Achchhe din will never come. But they have come for some people in BJP. In fact, their ‘apne din (own days)’ have come,” said Kumar, who split with BJP last year over his opposition to Modi’s elevation as Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP, and quit as chief minister after his party JD(U) was routed in the recent Lok Sabha polls. He said his alliance with Lalu, whose party RJD also fared poorly in polls but fetched more votes than JD(U), was the need of the hour as the country was in “danger”. Hitting out at BJP, Kumar said it is for the first time that those leaders are in power who did not spend a single day in jail during freedom struggle. “Our forefathers sacrificed their lives. We all know the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Lohia, Vallabhbhai Patel, Ambedkar… Now those people are in the seat of power who did not spend a day behind bars,” he said, in an apparent attack on the BJP’s ideological mentor RSS, which mostly kept away from political movements during the freedom struggle. (PTI)
19-yr-old youth dies after ‘Dahi-handi’ rehearsal
Mumbai: A 19-year-old youth on Monday died after participating in ‘Dahi-handi’ rehearsals in suburban Jogeshwari here, police said. Rushikesh Sadashiv Patil, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in Behrambaug, participated in the practice session on Saturday, following which he complained of giddiness, police said. He complained of uneasiness while interacting with his team members soon after the human pyramid practice, Senior PI Subhash Vele at Oshiwara Police station said, adding, he was rushed to nearby Cooper Hospital where he was declared dead at about 11.40 pm. Police have registered a case of accidental death in this connection as the cause of death is yet to be ascertained and also because the youth did not sustain any injuries during the ‘Dahi-handi’ practice. “We are awaiting post-mortem report to know the cause of death. Patil had no external injuries and as of now we cannot say that death occurred due to Dahi-handi practice,” Vele said. On Saturday, a 14-year-old Dahi-handi reveller, Kiran Talekar, too succumbed to injuries, almost a week after he fell during rehearsals at Sanpada in Navi Mumbai. Expressing concern over the deaths of children every year during the Dahi-handi festival in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court recently told the government to regulate the height of human pyramids and ban participation of minors in it. Children are often made a part of pyramid-making team, as they are lighter and thus can easily climb to the top. The court also asked the state to ensure that the human pyramids, which try and reach the ‘handi’ (pot) of curd tied high up and break it, do not rise above a certain safe height. This year the festival falls on August 18. (PTI)
Villager bludgeoned to death by brother
Palghar: A 48-year-old villager was bludgeoned to death allegedly by his elder brother over a petty dispute at Boisar here, police said on Monday. The incident took place on Sunday at Shirgaon-Patil Pada here when Tukaram Kathe reached his younger brother Vijay Kathe’s house and picked up a quarrel with his nephew Pramod (23), over an old issue, API Abasaheb Patil of Boisar police station said on Monday. Hearing the commotion, Vijay and his wife Shantabai came to the rescue of their son Pramod and tried to calm down Tukaram while trying to settle the dispute, police said. However, Tukaram refused to relent and allegedly hit Shantabai on her head with a heavy stone and then assaulted her husband Vijay with iron pipes resulting in his death, a complaint filed by her said. In the melee, Tukaram also sustained wounds and has been hospitalised, police added. (PTI)
Four police officials suspended
Raebareli (UP): A police outpost incharge and three constables were suspended on Monday for allegedly beating a truck driver here, police said on Monday. The accused have been identified as Incharge of Gengaso police outpost, Mahendra Pratap Singh, constables Awadhesh Singh, Mahendra Singh and Kamlesh Patel, Superintendent of Police N Kolanchi said. They were suspended after the visuals of them beating a truck driver were aired on few local news channels on Aug 8. The SP has sought a report about the incident from Station officer, Sareni, who prima facie held them guilty of beating the driver. (PTI)