Fire in IOC refinery in Panipat kills one; two others injured
Chandigarh: One worker was killed and two others sustained serious burn injuries following a major fire at the Indian Oil Corp’s Panipat refinery in Haryana, police said on Sunday. The fire started on Saturday night. Fire tenders were rushed to control the flames in the refinery belonging to the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). The 22-year-old victim, Mohan Lal, who hailed from Sonipat district and was engaged by a contractor of the refinery, was trapped in the vacuum distillation unit. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, officials said. Sources said the incident took place when unit was being tested on Saturday night after an earlier shutdown. Gas began to leaked during the testing, leading to a fire. Mohan Lal and another worker, Deepak, received serious burn injuries as they were trapped in the unit. Their supervisor, M.S. Kherkar, was also injured in the incident. An internal probe has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire. This is not the first incident at the refinery in the recent past. Two people died on January 22, 2018, following a fire at the catalyst storage site of the refinery. The Panipat refinery is IOCL’s technically most advanced public sector unit. It is spread in an area of around 4,222 acres and consists of a refinery and petrochemical complex. It caters to the demand of petroleum products in Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, and parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. (IANS)
Kashmiri trader assaulted, looted
Kolkata: A 28-year-old Kashmiri shawl trader was assaulted and looted in West Bengal’s Kolkata. The accused has been arrested, police said on Sunday. Shakur Ahmed Shah was attacked on Friday near the railway track in Park Circus area and Rs 1.95 lakh were snatched from him. A man named Hasimuddin has been arrested, police said, adding that they are trying to recover the money. The victim alleged that while he was walking “some people asked him if he was a Kashmiri and getting an affirmation they started beating him up”. Later, he was rescued by his friends. “I was also stabbed with a knife. I am feeling very scared,” Shah said. However, police said “no such statement was made by the victim” in his complaint. A police officer said that the “accused person is a local miscreant following the same faith, so it is nothing close to a hate crime”. (IANS)
Suicides over curbs on mobile, tv
Hyderabad: Two teenage girls allegedly committed suicide in separate incidents here after reportedly being told by their family members to not use the cellphone excessively and cut down on TV viewing in view of annual exams, police said on Sunday. An 18-year-old girl hanged herself in her house Saturday afternoon, the police said. Elders in the family had reportedly told her not to use the cellphone much as exams were approaching, they said. In the other incident, a 13-year-old girl, studying class VII,jumped to death from the sixth floor of their residential building Friday night, the police said. She was asked by family members not to watch TV and use cellphone much, police said. (PTI)
Man dies while cleaning pipeline
Mumbai: A 45-year-old man cleaning a water pipeline in Grant Road area of south Mumbai died reportedly due to suffocation, police said on Sunday. Four others who were with the deceased suffered shortness of breath and had to be rushed to civic-run Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central after being rescued by a Fire Brigade team, the official added. The incident happened late Saturday night near August Kranti Maidan at Nana Chowk, under Gamdevi police station limits, the official said. “The deceased has been identified as Rakesh Nizab. The BMC pipeline was being cleaned when the incident happened. His body has been sent for post mortem to ascertain the cause of death,” the Gamdvei police station official informed. An accidental death report has been registered at Gamdevi police station and a probe was underway, he added. (PTI)
Video of police assault goes viral
New Delhi: A purported video showing the station house officer and two constables of Sarita Vihar Police Station assaulting a 44-year-old shopkeeper in Jasola Vihar has gone viral on social media. The incident allegedly took place on Thursday at about 11:45 pm, when the victim, identified as Mohammad Ibrahim, was closing his food joint, officials said. According to the victim, SHO Ajab Singh and his two constables arrived and started beating him without any reason following which he sustained multiple injuries. The policemen were drunk and when Ibrahim asked them the reason for the assault, they threatened him, the victim said. Other shopkeepers who witnessed the assault fled the scene, he said. The victim has filed a complaint at the Sarita Vihar police station. Officials said they are probing the allegations and were yet to register an FIR in the matter. (PTI)
Ragged students commit suicide
Madurai: Upset over being ragged by a senior, two students of a private arts and science college here allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison, police said Sunday. The students, both pursuing their first year BA Economics course, had taken the poison on March 2, following which they were hospitalised. While one of them died Saturday, the other had succumbed four days ago, police said. They said the duo were not able to put up with the ragging and so decided to take the extreme step. Police are on the lookout for one Jaisakthi, who allegedly ragged the students. The college authorities said they were investigating the incident. (PTI)