Parents kill newborn fearing mockery by family members
Jalpaiguri: Fear of ridicule from family members allegedly prompted a daily wage labourer and his wife to kill their newborn baby, their sixth offspring, in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, a police officer said. The parents with three daughters, two sons and several grandchildren, have killed the girl child for the fear of being taunted by their children and grandchildren, Inspector-in-Charge of Maynaguri police station, Nandakumar Dutta said. The 47-year-old man told the police that he and his wife had come to his cousin’s house at Saptibari village under Maynaguri police station, where his wife delivered the baby on Saturday. The police said that the couple strangulated their baby and threw the body in a pond near their relative’s house on Sunday. Locals informed the gram panchayat after finding the body of a child floating in the pond. After the newborn was identified by their relative, the gram panchayat lodged an FIR with the police on the basis of which which the man and his 38-year-old wife were arrested on Monday, the police said. The man and his wife, residents of Coochbehar district, were produced in a court on Tuesday, which sent them to three days of police custody. (PTI)
8 Maoists killed in encounter with security forces in C’garh
Raipur: Security forces on Thursday killed at least eight naxals, including four women, in a fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday, a senior police official said. A cache of firearms, including two Insas rifles, was recovered from the encounter site. The gunbattle took place around 6 am in a forest area near Timinar and Pusnar villages along the boundary of Bijapur and Dantewada districts, Deputy Inspector General of Police (anti-naxal operations) Sundarraj P told PTI. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the District Reserve Guard and the Special Task Force launched the operation from Dantewada yesterday in the forest area, he said. While the security men were cordoning off the forest areas in Timinar and Pusnar villages in Bijapur, around 450 km from the state capital Raipur, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides on Thursday, he said. The gunbattle lasted for about two hours, following which naxals fled into the core forest area, the DIG said. “After guns fell silent, bodies of seven naxals, including three women, were initially recovered from the spot,” he said. Later, one more body of a woman naxal was found, he said. Two Insas rifles, two .303 rifles, a 12 bore gun and a few muzzle loading guns were also recovered, the DIG said. More details would be known when security forces return to their camp, he added. (PTI)
FIR against Cong leaders for revealing victim’s identity
Panaji: A case has been filed against Goa Congress’ women’s wing chief, her deputy and three other persons for allegedly revealing the identity of a molestation victim, the police said on Thursday. Shiv Sena’s Goa unit vice president Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik had filed a complaint against them for revealing the identity of a 17-year-old girl, who was allegedly molested by a man at Netravali village in South Goa district. The Goa Women Police Station today filed an FIR against state Congress’ women’s wing president Pratima Coutinho, its vice president Savitri Kavlekar, Netravali village panchayat’s deputy sarpanch Abhijit Desai and panch members Vitthal Gaonkar and Prakash Bhagat. A copy of the FIR is with PTI. The five persons have been booked under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Juvenile Justice Act, according to the FIR. Coutinho, who along with others visited the victim at her home in South Goa earlier this month, had posted a picture with the girl’s mother on social media, and also mentioned the mother’s name, the complaint said. Revealing a minor victim’s identity is an offence under the POCSO Act. (PTI)
14 killed, 17 injured as bus falls into gorge in U’khand
New Tehri: Fourteen people were killed and 17 injured when the state-run bus they were travelling in fell into a deep gorge around 15 km from Chamba in Tehri district of Uttarakhand on Thursday. The accident occurred near Kirgani village on Chamba-Uttarkashi highway around 8.20 am. The Haridwar-bound Uttarakhand Roadways bus plunged into a 250-metre deep gorge, killing thirteen people on the spot and leaving eighteen injured, Tehri District Magistrate Sonika said. One of the injured persons died at the hospital during treatment, she said. Eleven seriously injured were flown in choppers to AIIMS, Rishikesh while the rest were undergoing treatment at district hospital Baurari and Masihi hospital Chamba, she said. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed deep grief at the loss of lives in the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 for those injured. (PTI)