Army officer missing in Congo found dead
New Delhi: An Indian Army officer, who went missing five days ago during a kayaking trip in Congo’s Lake Kivu, was found dead in Lake Kivu on Thursday, officials said. Lt Col Gaurav Solanki was deputed as a military observer in a UN mission in the Central African nation. An Army official said Solanki’s body was retrieved on Thursday from Lake Kivu where he had gone kayaking. Solanki had accompanied a group to the lake, located near Tchegera Island, on the border between Congo and Rwanda on last Sunday. “Everyone had returned except Solanki following the kayaking trip. A massive search and rescue operation was launched with speed boats and helicopters to search for the missing officer. His dead body was retrieved around 11 a.m. on Thursday,” said an officer. Solanki’s body was found at a distance of a kilometre from Tchegera Island. (IANS)
Ready to retrieve PoK: Army chief
New Delhi: Indian Army Chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat said on Thursday that the army is prepared for an operation to retrieve Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) from the clutches of Pakistan, if the government wants so. Rawat was replying to a media query on Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s statement who said that the next agenda of the government is retrieving PoK and making it a part of India. ‘All actions are decided upon by the central government. Agencies working under the government have to act in accordance with its directions… the Army remains always prepared for any kind of action,’ Rawat told the media. Earlier, Singh, who is Minister of State in PMO and also holds independent charge of the DONER ministry, had made the statement on PoK while talking about achievements of the Modi government after 100 days of its formation. (IANS)
Mamata protests against NRC
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday took out a rally in north Kolkata to protest against NRC in Assam. The TMC supremo along with her party colleagues began her march from Sinthee More in the northern fringes of the city around 3 pm. The rally will culminate at Shyambazar five-point crossing, 5 km away. The Trinamool Congress leadership, which has been one of the vociferous critics of the NRC, has accused the BJP of trying to divide people through the exercise. The party had on September 7 and 8 taken out rallies in other parts of the state to oppose the exercise to update citizenship register. Over 19 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants in Assam did not find a place in the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was published on August 31. (PTI)
Political tussle over traffic rules
Panaji: A political tussle has broken out in Goa over the delayed implementation of the amended Motor Vehicle Act (MVA), which recommends hefty fines for traffic violations. While Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho has sought time until January 2020 for implementation the new MVA rules, the Congress has claimed that infighting among central BJP leadership has led to delayed implementation, especially in BJP-ruled states. “The decision of the Goa government to delay the implementation of the amended Motor Vehicle Act, is a fallout of a tussle between central BJP leaders,” Congress spokesperson Trajano D’Mello told IANS on Thursday. Goa’s Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho had earlier said, that the state government would need time to implement the provision of the Act, which prescribe a steep hike in fines for traffic violations like drunken driving, overspeeding, driving without licence, etc and that the actual enforcement may begin by January next year. (IANS)
Woman sits on snakes, bitten
Gorakhpur: In a bizarre incident, a woman while talking on the phone sat down on a pair of snakes, got bitten and died minutes later. The incident took place in Riyanv village in Gorakhpur on Wednesday. Gita, wife of Jai Singh Yadav who works in Thailand, was talking to her husband on phone. A pair of snakes had entered the house and was playing on the bed which had a printed bed cover. Gita walked into the room while talking on phone and without seeing the snakes, she sat down on the bed. The snakes bit her and within minutes, she fell unconscious. Other family members rushed her to a nearby hospital where she died during treatment. When the family members and neighbours returned to her room, the snakes were still playing on the bed. Angry neighbours beat the snakes to death. Veterinary experts said that the snakes were apparently mating when the woman sat on them. (IANS)
Explosion in petroleum plant
Unnao: An explosion in a petroleum tanker at the Hindustan Petroleum plant in UP’s Unnao district led to a major fire in the area on Thursday. The explosion was caused by a leak in a valve. Fire tenders have been rushed to the plant to douse the flames and additional forces have also been deployed in the area. Though no casualty has been reported as yet in the incident, several villages located near the plant have been evacuated and all roads leading to the site have been closed to the public. “We have put the area in a five kilometre-radius on high alert,” said a senior official. (IANS)