New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) About a dozen students of the KKM college in Jharkhand’s Pakud district suffered injuries as the state police thrashed them inside the hostel premises, allegedly over a proposed protest march against the Bangladeshi intruders on Saturday.

Reacting to the incident, state BJP chief Babulal Marandi tore into the Hemant Soren government for “police excesses” on the hostel students and shared the “disturbing” pictures.

More than ten students are said to have been admitted to Pakud Sadar Hospital for treatment.

Student leader Kamal Murmu said the cops reached the hostel around 10.30 p.m. on Friday and warned the students against organising any protest rally.

When the students refused to obey the order, a posse of police force reached the hostel and started thrashing them, Murmu said.

“Students were pulled out of their rooms and then beaten with sticks,” he said.

However, the police claimed that they reached the hostel premises while looking for a criminal. As they reached the hostel using mobile location technology, they were attacked by a bunch of students, the police claimed.

“We acted in self-defence and retaliated against the assaulters,” the police said.

Pakud police station in-charge Anoop Roshan Bhengra, termed the incident as “police action” against assaulters.

Bhengra said that the hostel residents tried to give cover to a criminal linked with abduction and this resulted in the flare-up and subsequent police action.

Meanwhile, Marandi accused the Hemant Soren government of unleashing its police force to crush the voice of people against Bangladeshi intruders.

Notably, the BJP also raised the issue of Bangladeshi intruders altering the population dynamics in the Parliament recently and also highlighted the fact that how it was posing a risk to the local demography.

Taking to social media platform X, Marandi said that the students were raising their voices against the infiltrators and their motive is only to secure the sanctity and identity of their region.

“Hemant ji, what is the reason behind torturing young students who raise their voice against infiltration to protect their mothers and sisters and showering so much love on outsiders?” he asked.

“Bangladeshi infiltrators are a threat to the identity and existence of Jharkhand. By giving them protection, you are playing with the security of the three-and-a-half crore people of the state,” he said further.

The BJP leader also demanded strict action against all the police personnel involved in this incident.

— IANS

mr/svn

Gurugram, July 27 (IANS) Several members of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of BPTP Park Screen residential society expressed their outrage against its management in connection with a five-year-old boy who drowned in a swimming pool in the society.

The child drowned on Wednesday evening.

The residents in huge numbers approached Gurugram Police Commissioner’s office and demanded action against BPTP management including Managing Director Kabul Chawla on Saturday.

They accused the lifeguard and the maintenance agency of gross negligence, demanding accountability and immediate action.

“The five-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a residential society in Gurugram on Wednesday evening, allegedly in the presence of lifeguards,” police said.

The child, identified as Mevansh Singla, was found floating in a four-foot deep pool at BPTP Park Serene in Sector 37D.

However, the police have arrested two lifeguards — Durg (30) from Madhya Pradesh and Akash (21) from Bihar — for their negligence while on duty.

The boy’s relatives and the RWA alleged the lifeguards failed to notice the boy moving to the prohibited four-foot-deep pool as they were playing on their phones at the time.

Hemant Kumar Pal, the RWA vice president, said that they have had several issues with the builder and BPMS, the management agency responsible for dealing with the maintenance, over the past few years.

“When the incident took place on Wednesday, the lifeguards were not even aware of it as they were engrossed in their phones. It was gross negligence on the part of the BPTP management as well,” Pal claimed.

–IANS

str/kvd

Patna, July 27 (IANS) Cyber cheats defrauded a Muzaffarpur businessman of Rs 89.90 lakh by alleging his involvement in a money laundering case, an official said on Saturday.

The complainant has lodged an FIR in the Muzaffarpur cyber police station and the matter is under investigation by Bihar Police’s cyber cell.

As per the FIR, the victim said that he received a call from an unknown number and the caller who posed as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) official told him that his phone number would be disconnected within two hours.

The caller informed the victim that another mobile number (8945392862) was active and his Aadhaar number had been given in the documentation. The caller said this number had been used to send illegal messages.

He stated that an FIR had been registered in Tilak Nagar Police Station in Mumbai and the victim had to appear before the officers.

The caller transferred the victim’s call to another number (+91 7453951616) and a person wearing a police uniform interacted with him via a video call.

“That man in the police uniform claimed to be an officer of the Tilak Nagar Police Station and he took the victim’s statement.

“He also informed him that a bank account had been opened in Canara Bank using his Aadhaar number and that account was used in the money laundering case of one Naresh Goyal with illegal transactions to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore,” said Seema Devi, DSP of cyber cell Muzaffarpur.

“He further informed the victim that an arrest warrant had been issued by the Supreme Court and asked him to appear at the Tilak Nagar Police Station. When the victim expressed his inability to reach Mumbai on such a short notice, the caller asked him to upload the details of the source of his earnings on the website of the Supreme Court. That caller also gave him a link http://www.main-scoi.in/,” the officer said.

“When the victim opened the link, an arrest warrant was shown in his name. Hence, he uploaded his bank details on that website. Soon after, the cyber conmen withdrew Rs 89.90 lakh from his account. The victim lodged an FIR on July 24 and we are investigating the matter,” she said.

The DSP did not reveal the name of the victim and said that four other FIRs had been registered in Muzaffarpur where fraudsters had used the same modus operandi to dupe people.

–IANS

ajk/rad

Bengaluru, July 27 (IANS) Social activist TJ Abraham on Saturday accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s office of gathering information on him.

TJ Abraham alleged that this was being done to tarnish his image as he had submitted a petition against the CM in connection with the irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot seeking consent for prosecution.

“Let CM Siddaramaiah also know that such efforts will not scare me. In fact, it emboldens me to move with more vigour,” he stated.

Abraham, President of the Anti-Graft/Corruption and Environmental Forum claimed, “It has come to my knowledge that the Chief Minister’s Office through the Intelligence department is trying to collect details of a fine imposed on me by the Supreme Court of India.

“The Intelligence department officials have also been making queries with several media houses and representatives, to gather details. The aim is understandable, to tarnish my image, because I am pursuing the MUDA case against the CM’s family relentlessly.”

“I would like to convey to the Chief Minister through the media, that there was a fine of Rs 25 lakh slapped against me by the Supreme Court in July 2017 over a Public Interest Litigation, which was filed against CM Siddaramaiah’s decision overruling reports and decisions of officers, regarding the construction of a mini Vidhana Soudha, in Kalaburagi District. The matter was widely published in the media all over the country,” Abraham said.

“Ponnanna the Legal Advisor of the Chief Minister is well aware of the issue and he has used it effectively to his advantage, before the Karnataka High Court, too,” he stated.

“Let the Chief Minister also note that I had in-person argued before the Supreme Court and got the fine slashed, which was not reported. The Intelligence department sleuths are free to come to my residence and seek any clarification, regarding anything and any issue that they would like to know, which shall be provided to them, without any hesitation,” Abraham stated.

–IANS

mka/rad

New Delhi/Kolkata, July 27 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Saturday, walked out of the Niti Aayog meeting, claiming that she walked out in protest as her microphone was switched off in the middle of her speech.

“I was not allowed to even speak for five minutes. I was insulted as my microphone was switched off after I had spoken just for about five minutes,” the Chief Minister told media persons after coming out of the meeting.

Mamata Banerjee was the only chief minister from any non-BJP-ruled state to attend the meeting on Saturday which is being chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Friday, before leaving for New Delhi, she said at Kolkata airport that her counterpart from Jharkhand Hemant Soren would be attending the Niti Aayog meeting but the latter did not turn up on Saturday.

Speaking to the media persons, she also alleged that she was not allowed to speak for more than five minutes when chief ministers of certain states were allowed to speak even for 20 minutes. “So I walked out of the meeting protesting against such favouritism,” Mamata Banerjee said.

Claiming that she was the sole representative from the Opposition bloc at the meeting, Mamata Banerjee said that she intended to say something on certain issues. “But my microphone was switched off before I could say that. In future, I will not be attending any meeting of Niti Aayog,” she said.

In fact, the possibility of her walking out of the meeting was hinted at by her on Friday only before leaving Kolkata, when she said that she would try to highlight in the meeting the twin issues of West Bengal being financially deprived and the reported attempts to divide the state.

“All the opposition-ruled states have been deprived in the last budget proposals. I cannot accept such favouritism. So I will be raising my voice on behalf of all at the meeting. All sorts of financial and geographical conspiracies are going on to divide the state. Messages are being spread to divide Bengal. Division of Bengal means a division of the country. We cannot accept this. In such a situation, I will be there at the meeting for some time. If I am allowed to get my voice recorded, I will do that. Otherwise, I will walk out in protest,” the Chief Minister said on Saturday.

–IANS

src/uk