Pune businessman who became famous for ‘gold shirt’ murdered
Pune: A 48-year-old businessman from Pune, who shot into the limelight after buying a ‘gold shirt’ worth over Rs one crore some years back, was allegedly bludgeoned to death in front of his son, police said on Friday. Datta Phuge, the businessman from the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad in the district, had become the talk of the town after he presented himself a ‘gold shirt’ weighing about 3.5 kg and worth Rs 1.27 crore in 2012. At least 12 persons attacked Phuge at an open ground in Dighi area here at around 11.30 PM yesterday with stones and a sharp weapon, killing him on the spot. “As per preliminary information, Phuge and his son were invited by one of the suspects, who knew each other, to celebrate a birthday. However, we are investigating how Phuge reached the open ground where he was murdered,” Dighi police station inspector Navnath Ghogare said. Phuge’s 22-year-old son, who too had reached the spot following a similar ‘birthday’ invitation and witnessed his father’s murder, was spared by the attackers, police said. (PTI)
Maha CM launches virtual, digital classrooms
Mumbai: On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday interacted with students of 32 ITIs across Maharashtra after launching the new facilities of virtual and digital classrooms. The facilities will be soon extended to all ITIs which will open the doors of knowledge and bridge the rural, urban gap, he said. The Chief Minister also announced an initiative to make these classrooms and course content 3D enabled and use of simulators to give hands-on training to youths. He also thanked Tata Trusts, Wadhwani Foundation and Valuable Group for their support, a CMO official said. Skill development training turned into human resources will play a significant role in ending unemployment and attribute to growth in diverse sectors, Fadnavis tweeted. “It is my earnest appeal to students to master the apprenticeship of your passion and jobs will come in plenty,” Fadnavis said, adding, “Skill development provides a great level playing field. (PTI)
Kejriwal to interact with people through ‘Talk to AK’
Mumbai: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold an interactive session on July 17, titled Talk to AK, where people from across the country can ask him queries via phone, text message and social media. ‘Our leader (Kejriwal) can be approached via twitter, Facebook, phone calls and text messages wherein people can put their questions. The programme titled is Talk to AK and it starts at 11 AM on July 17,’ Ashutosh Sengar, joint in-charge of AAP Maharashtra unit, told a press conference here today. The programme may last three to four hours depending on the number of people and questions, he said. The Delhi government in this regard has launched a dedicated website through which people can directly ask questions to him, he said. To a query that if this programme is on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s radio show Mann Ki Baat, Senger said ‘Talk to AK’ will be conducted as a conversation not monologue, as the objective of the exercise is to know, learn and understand from each other’s experiences and “not just preach about ones individual views”. (PTI)
Over 3,500 ducks die in TN, test rules out disease outbreak
Vellore (TN): Over 3,500 ducks owned by a poultry farmer have died in a nearby village after consuming suspected polluted water on the Palar riverbed and tests have also ruled out any outbreak of disease for the en-masse deaths of the birds, a top official said here on Friday. Gopinath, a poultry farmer, had been rearing 3,500 ducks at nearby Periya Komeswaram village. The birds were found dead in bunches on June 13 and 14. “The ducks had drunk water stagnant on some stretches of the Palar riverbed. We suspect the water might have been heavily contaminated and toxic,” said a top district animal husbandry official, who did not wish to be named. He said tests carried out to ascertain if the ducks had died of any disease outbreak had confirmed that it was not so. “Test result today confirmed that the deaths are not due to any disease outbreak. It was not due to any disease that affects birds (including ducks),” he told. (PTI)
Youth attempts self-immolation outside Akhilesh’s residence
Lucknow: A young man tried to immolate himself outside the official residence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav here on Friday, police said. As Pankaj, 25, drenched himself with petrol and was about to set himself on fire, the security personnel manning the high-security residence overpowered him, after which he was arrested. He told police that he hails from Aligarh and took the step because he was angry with the police as they were not helping him in a case against some local goons who had attacked him some time back. Pankaj informed police officials that though he had registered an FIR, police refused to pursue the matter. With his life at risk after the goons began to threaten him, he informed senior officials in Aligarh but to no avail. (IANS)
