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Rajasthan: Government school principal rapes 8 minor female students after watching pornographic movies, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Government school principal rapes 8 minor female students after watching pornographic movies, arrested

A government school principal named Ramesh Chandra Katara is accused of sexually assaulting eight minor girl students in Rajasthan after watching pornographic movies on his phone. The incident happened in a public school under the jurisdiction of Sadar police station in Dungarpur district. The accused principal has been arrested by the police.

During his interrogation by police, the accused revealed startling information. He admitted to authorities that he was a porn addict and that he physically abused the girls by luring them using various means after watching the same.

The principal reportedly threatened any girls who refused him after trying multiple tactics to entice them. He became emboldened and raped 8 girls in a year because the victims did not speak out against their sexual harassment for a long time. However, later the girls came forward to reveal the crimes of the principal. The victimized girl students said that the principal of the school raped minor girl students in school rooms and by taking them to his home. 

He is charged with violating the girls not just on the school premises but also at home and in his own car. Following the conclusion of his police remand, he was presented in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court where he has been sent to police custody for two more days.

Dungarpur Superintended of Police Kundan Kanwariya informed, “We had asked for additional two days of police remand keeping in view the heinous nature of the crime. Police have also seized the vehicle of the accused.”

Following the revelation, accused Principal Ramesh Chandra Katara has been terminated from his job by the Joint Director of School Education of Udaipur division.

Gujarat High Court denies bail to ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad in fabrication of evidence case, orders her to surrender immediately

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat High Court denies bail to ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad in fabrication of evidence case, orders her to surrender immediately

On Saturday, July 1, the Gujarat High Court rejected the regular bail application of ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad and ordered her to “surrender immediately.” The Gujarat High Court ruling came with regard to the alleged fabrication of evidence and tutoring of witnesses in cases concerning the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Setalvad has been shielded from arrest thus far by interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in September last year, after which she was released from judicial custody. Following this, she applied for regular bail at the Gujarat High Court, but the court denied the same.

Senior Advocate Mihir Thakore appeared for Setalvad and requested the single bench of Justice Nirzar Desai to stay the verdict for 30 days. However, the court denied the request and ordered Setalvad to surrender before the police immediately.

On June 21, Justice Desai concluded the hearing on her regular bail and reserved the order. During the hearing, the state government argued that Setalvad was a “tool of a politician” tasked with defaming and destabilising the then-state government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The State’s prosecution, represented by Public Prosecutor Mitesh Amin, highlighted her potential to tamper with evidence in the case related to the 2002 riots, as he strongly opposed her bail plea

Referring to the deceased Congress leader Ahmed Patel, Mitesh Amin, also submitted before the court of Justice Nirzar Desai that Teesta Setalvad was a “tool in the hands of certain politicians of certain political party.”

Mitesh Amin has also asserted that Setalvad had used two police officers, namely retired DGP RB Sreekumar and her co-accused former IPS Sanjiv Bhatt, as “tools” in order to “see (to it) that the existing establishment (in 2002, when Gujarat CM was Narendra Modi) is unseated, faces problems, and their image in the society is tarnished.”

The arrest of Teesta Setalvad in fabricated evidence case linked to Gujarat Riots 2002

Teesta Setalvad, the self-proclaimed ‘activist’ was arrested by the Gujarat ATS in June 2022 in a case of forgery, influencing witnesses, and the investigation of the Gujarat riots in 2002 that occurred in the aftermath of the Godhra Train burning incident, when 59 Hindus were burned to death after a Muslim mob set ablaze a Sabarmati Express bogey carrying passengers from Ayodhya. Teesta Setalvad is accused of coaching witnesses and making ridiculous accusations in several cases related to the Gujarat riots in 2002.

The case against Setalvad was filed after the Supreme Court gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Modi in the 2002 Gujarat Riots case. Teesta was granted bail on September 2 by the Supreme Court.

Twitter blocks unregistered people from accessing tweets, Elon Musk calls it a “temporary emergency measure” to prevent data pillage

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter blocks unregistered people from accessing tweets, Elon Musk calls it a “temporary emergency measure” to prevent data pillage

On Saturday, Twitter started blocking unregistered users from browsing through the social media platform. The move came without any prior announcement, initially causing confusion if it was an intentional update or some technical glitch. However, Twitter owner Elon Musk confirmed in reply to a tweet that it is a “temporary emergency measure” as he claimed that data pillaging is degrading the service for all users. 

“Temporary emergency measure. We were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users!” Musk replied.

He said that hundreds of organizations or more were scraping Twitter data “extremely aggressively”, affecting user experience.

Musk claimed, in response to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney’s tweet complaining about how pay and account walls break the internet, that “several hundred organisations (maybe more) were scraping Twitter data extremely aggressively, to the point where it was affecting the real user experience.”

Before this change, people without accounts had limited access to the platform, such as viewing public tweets and user profiles but not liking or commenting.

Previously, users could view tweets or profiles without requiring to log into the platform. However, after they had scrolled past an unspecified number of tweets, a window used to appear preventing readers from viewing additional posts until they signed in. This allowed limited access to the platform without registering.

However, now all the links to access Twitter, be it the homepage or a direct link to a tweet or profile, the viewer is directed to a sign-in prompt. But tweets embedded in reports seems to be working without requiring sign-in.

Notably, Elon Musk has previously expressed his displeasure with AI companies such as OpenAI that use Twitter data to train their language models. After acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk cut off OpenAI’s access to Twitter’s data, holding that the AI firm was not paying enough for it. However, OpenAI has since released a plugin for its popular ChatGPT AI chatbot that allows users to scrape data from any website, including Twitter.

In the month of June, Musk twice expressed his displeasure with AI companies using Twitter data. On June 14, Musk in response to a tweet pointing at ChatGPT browsing Twitter, wrote, “Interesting, given that OpenAI has no authorised X/Twitter feed.”

In response to a Twitter thread demonstrating how ChatGPT is scrapping Twitter data Musk wrote, “This is very concerning.”

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first product change Musk has made after taking over the social media giant last year. 

In March this year, Twitter started charging for the use of its application programming interface (API). In addition to academic researchers, popular third-party apps such as the now-defunct Tweetbot and Twitterific used Twitter’s API. Customers are now charged $42,000 per month to access only 1% of tweets on Twitter. 

Musk temporarily disabled likes, replies, and retweets in April if a tweet contained a link to Substack, the newsletter platform. Musk later reversed the change in response to complaints.

Delhi: Autorickshaw driver drowns in a ditch dug by PWD for flyover construction, probe on

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Autorickshaw driver drowns in a ditch dug by PWD for flyover construction, probe on

A 51-year-old autorickshaw driver named Ajit Sharma, a resident of Nand Nagri in Delhi, drowned on Friday in northeastern Delhi’s Harsh Vihar neighbourhood after his vehicle reportedly slid into a pothole by accident. The Public Works Department (PWD) dug the pothole to erect a pillar inside of it as part of the construction of a flyover in the area. However, the ditch was filled with water as a result of the recent rainfall in the capital.

An official from the PWD stated that they are investigating the incident’s circumstances. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Joy Tirkey, a private complaint record (PCR) call of an individual drowning in a ditch close to the service road alongside Wazirabad Road was received at around 3.30 PM. The officer claimed that rainwater accumulated in the pothole, which was excavated close to a flyover that was being developed.

“It seems he tried to drive over the ditch without realising how deep it was and drowned accidentally,” the official stated. He added that the automobile was discovered stuck in the ditch, and his body was discovered by a passerby late on the 30th of June after it appeared on the surface. The dead body had been transported to the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital for a post-mortem, and there were no injury marks on it.

Additionally, based on the police reports, no eyewitnesses to Ajit Sharma’s death have been found. They mentioned that the body will be released to the family following the post-mortem examination while a further probe was underway.

Heavy rains have caused waterlogging in several areas of the national capital and resulted in traffic congestions that have inconvenienced commuters around the city. In response to the incident, Virendra Sachdeva, the president of the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party, proclaimed that the majority of the city’s roadways are flooded after rains on Thursday and Friday, despite the Aam Aadmi Party government’s exaggerated promises.

“The situation can be gauged from the fact that the ground floor of the Secretariat of the Delhi government was waterlogged, while an auto driver died by drowning in a roadside ditch in Harsh Vihar near Wazirabad. The news has disturbed the people of Delhi,” Sachdeva noted in a statement.

In the words of Sachdeva, the Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Delhi government must answer to the public for the water logging on the roads. He also charged that a significant scam occurred during the cleaning of drains in Delhi.

Quran burning in Sweden freedom of expression, offensive but not illegal: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

OpIndia Staff
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Quran burning in Sweden freedom of expression, offensive but not illegal: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

In response to the burning of the Quran in Sweden, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the incident was offensive and objectionable, but not illegal. The NATO chief, however, pushed for a deal on Sweden’s NATO membership despite the event.

“I understand emotion and depth of the feeling. This is offensive and objectionable but not necessarily illegal in the sovereign legal system. We are also seeing protests and I don’t like them but this is part of freedom of expression,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

The NATO Chief has also urged for a compromise over Sweden’s accession to NATO.

The burning of a Quran outside a mosque in Sweden was also criticised by the United States on Thursday, June 29, but it also stressed that granting permission for the demonstration was an affirmation of free speech and not an endorsement of the action.

The Swedish Quran-burning demonstration has been condemned by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicating that it would be another barrier to Sweden’s application for NATO membership.

Erdogan compared those who permitted the ‘crime’ to those who perpetrated the ‘crime’ while addressing members of his Justice and Development Party. After a judge reversed a prohibition on the Quran burning event, Swedish police permitted the protest outside a mosque in central Stockholm on the grounds of freedom of speech.

On Wednesday, June 28, the first day of the Muslim Eid al Adha holidays, an ex-Muslim tore and burned a Quran outside Stockholm’s major mosque, infuriating Turkey, whose support Sweden needs to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller stated at a daily press briefing that Washington considers the demonstration generated “an environment of fear” that inadvertently restricts Muslims’ freedom to practice their religion. Miller stated, “I will say that we do condemn it.” 

“We believe the demonstration created an environment of fear that will impact the ability of Muslims and members of other religious minority groups to freely exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden. We also believe that issuing the permit for this demonstration supports freedom of expression and is not an endorsement of the demonstration’s actions,” he added.

The anti-Quran demonstration was allowed to go ahead with authorization from the Swedish police. Police, however, charged the perpetrator of the burning with agitation against an ethnic or national group. 

After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden applied to join NATO. However, the procedure has been slowed down since Turkey, an alliance member, has demanded the extradition of those it believes to be terrorists from Sweden.

Miller declined to comment on whether the protest and its aftermath might affect Turkey-Sweden relations and, consequently, Sweden’s NATO application, but he reaffirmed Washington’s position that the Nordic nation was prepared to join the alliance.

“It’s time for Sweden to move towards full NATO membership”, he declared. Turkey’s president, Tayyip Erdogan, criticised Sweden for burning a Quran in Stockholm and declared that his country would never bow down to a policy of provocation or threat.

Attack on Gaurakshak in Nanded: Police arrest 5 of 10 accused identified as Salim, Asif, Anis and others, VHP demands strict action on such repetitive attacks

OpIndia Staff
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Attack on Gaurakshak in Nanded: Police arrest 5 of 10 accused identified as Salim, Asif, Anis and others, VHP demands strict action on such repetitive attacks

Following the attack on a gaurakshak in Nanded reported yesterday, the Maharashtra Police have arrested 5 of the 10 accused persons identified as Salim Qureshi, Babu Thekedar, Asif Hasan, Salim Autowala, Anis, Shoaib Sheikh, Ejaz, Sohail Sheikh, Moin, Sanjay Gaikwad.

Nanded Police SP Shreekrishna Kokate confirmed the incident and said that the police have registered the case against 10 people in this matter and have arrested five of them.

The incident happened on June 29 at around 6:30 pm. A gaurakshak identified as Pradyumn Chaudhari alias Sonu was brutally attacked by around 10 people with iron rods and sharp weapons in the Mahur region of the Nanded district. The accused persons also threatened the Hindu activist after he tried to stop the sacrifice of bulls on the occasion of Bakrid.

As per SP Shreekrishna Kokate, Sonu works for a Hindu organisation and is also a cow vigilante in Nanded. “There were some issues over his Facebook post also. On June 29, he saw a person named Sanjay Gaikwad going with two bulls. Sonu sought documents from Gaikwad to know about the actual owner of the bulls. Gaikwad then happened to call Salim Qureshi who called other of his friends from his community. Sonu was also with his three more friends out of which two of them left from the spot to call the police. Salim with a group of his associates then attacked Sonu. The police reached the spot immediately after being informed but till then the accused had fled away. Sonu has attained some serious head injuries. He was shifted to the hospital and is out of danger now,” the SP was quoted as saying.

The police have also asked the people to maintain communal harmony and peace. It has asked the activists to not take the law in their hands against the smugglers and allow the police to take action. “I request people if you get any inputs of any wrongdoing please do not take the law in hand and inform the police. Specifically the cow vigilante, we request them not to take any action against any smugglers inform police first and allow police to take action,” Kokate said.

One of the VHP leaders Sriraj Nair commented on the issue and said that the Hindu activists are constantly attacked in Nanded for saving the cows. “We have been taking up this with several governments. We request the current govt to take serious action against those who are involved in the killings and attacks on cow vigilantes, we have lost several cow vigilantes in Nanded, and there is continuous smuggling that happens in Nanded. The cows are smuggled from Nanded to Telangana. If the govt doesn’t take action, we will keep losing our VHP and Bajrang dal gaurakshak members,” Nair said while talking to Republic TV.

Earlier, a similar case was reported from Kinwat taluka in Maharashtra’s Nanded district where around 8 gaurakshaks were brutally attacked by Muslims with sharp weapons and sticks on the night of June 19 killing one and injuring five. The accused had been booked under sections 302, 307, 143, 147, 148, 159, and 427 of the IPC and sections 4 and 7 of the Arms Act.

The victims were attacked while they stopped a car on suspicion of beef transport. Around 15-20 Muslims got down the car and then attacked the Hindu activists. Later the police arrested Sheikh Isaak Sheikh Chand (38), Sheikh Amer Sheikh Alim (30), Sheikh Mujahid Sheikh Isak (22) and Sheikh Mujemir Sheikh Fayaz (23) in the case.

The accused persons then were supposed to be associated to the Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang in Nanded. It was reported that Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob has a huge hold on illegal guthka trade in the city and around the Shivni area. He also is said to be associated with the PFI organization which has been banned by the Indian government. 

In the given case, the police has arrested 5 persons and has booked around 10 of them under section 307, 395 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 5A, 5B of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976 and also under section 11(1)(d) of the Animal Cruelty Act, 1960.

India is our closest ally, trusted neighbour: Maldivian govt condemns its opposition for mocking PM Modi, carrying out anti-India demonstration

OpIndia Staff
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India is our closest ally, trusted neighbour: Maldivian govt condemns its opposition for mocking PM Modi, carrying out anti-India demonstration

On Friday (June 30), the government of Maldives denounced the country’s Opposition for carrying out anti-India demonstrations and mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a statement, it said, “Such dishonourable acts by the opposition regarding one of Maldives’ key bilateral partners and its leadership during Eid Al- Adha festivities, a time of peace joy and harmony, does not only provoke hatred, but also promote hostility with the objective of tarnishing the country’s long-standing cordial ties with India.”

The Maldivian government added, “The strong bilateral relationship between the Maldives and India is based on shared historical and cultural ties, matched by dynamic people to people contact. India has always been the Maldives’ closest ally and trusted neighbour, extending constant and consistent support to the people of Maldives on all fronts.”

It highlighted the long-standing ties between both nations and hailed PM Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and expressed its commitment to ‘India First’ policy.

“The Government of Maldives urges all parties to act responsibly and refrain from such disrespectful acts and spreading false information that undermines the country’s relations with its neighbours and the international community,” it concluded.

The development came a day after the Opposition carried out an anti-India demonstration in the country and raised the contentious ‘India out’ slogans. On Thursday (June 29), a march was conducted in Maldives wherein protestors were seen wearing masks of PM Modi, alongside a garland of slippers.

The Background of the ‘India Out’ controversy

The so-called ‘India Out’ campaign began in 2020 as on-ground protests, which later shifted to social media as a ‘hashtag campaign’. Besides the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), one of the frontrunners of this anti-India campaign has been a news outlet by the name of Dhiyares.

While speaking to The Indian Express, Dhiyares co-founder Shifxan Ahmed alleged, “We are just protesting military presence in the country. We are not calling for a violent clash against India or Indians in the Maldives.”

According to one research analyst, Dr Gulbin Sultana, the ‘India out’ campaign is led by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Sultana added that it is not a civil society movement anymore but rather a political movement.

Owing to the anti-India sentiments fuelled by the divisive campaign, Indian teachers had been at the receiving end of harassment from protestors. ‘India Out’ campaigners had targeted 2 Indian teachers on two different islands under the garb of protests. They were asked to leave the country.

The cases were confirmed by the Education Ministry of Maldives. The island nation is of strategic importance for both India and China, with the Communist regime trying to exert its influence in the Indian Ocean. To counter this, India has invested large sums of money in the Maldives and has now become of the largest investors in the country. 

Congress spokesperson spreads fake news, says PM Modi just interacted with BJP workers inside Metro, later deletes tweet

OpIndia Staff
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Congress spokesperson spreads fake news, says PM Modi just interacted with BJP workers inside Metro, later deletes tweet

On Friday, June 30, the Congress spokesperson posted a tweet on PM Modi’s ride in a Delhi Metro, spreading fake news that he performed a ‘stunt’ by showing that he communicated with the youth. The Congress spokeswoman Supriya Shrinate claimed that the youth PM Modi talked to were BJP workers and not common citizens. However, later she deleted the tweet knowing that she had messed and wrongly accused the BJP and PM Modi of performing some ‘stunt’.

Shrinate was exposed by a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) member Diksha Verma who said that the former journalist was so deep into lying that she had forgotten to differentiate between ‘Dream’ and ‘Dream come true’.

The saga began on June 30 first when Diksha posted a photo of PM Modi talking to a girl in Delhi metro. She captioned the image as, “Dream,” indicating that it is her dream to meet PM Modi some day and talk to him.

Tweet posted by Shrinate now stands deleted

Shrinate deleted the tweet after knowing the truth

Congress’s Shrinate quoted the tweet wrongly assuming that the girl in the image posted was Diksha herself. Diksha being a BJYM member, Shrinate further connected the wrong dots to spread fake news saying that the party had sent the BJYM youths to the Delhi Metro for some PR stunt. She also said that it was easy for PM Modi to talk to ‘BJP youths’ as the youth not associated with politics would have asked ‘real’ questions regarding education and unemployment.

To note, the students with whom PM Modi communicated in the Delhi metro were not associated with BJP, as claimed by Congress. Shrinate, on knowing the truth, deleted the tweet. However, the screenshot of her tweet is going viral over the internet.

Diksha responded to Shrinate’s act of spreading fake news and said, “Madam Supriya Shrinate was always ill-mannered but didn’t know she is also illiterate. Learn the difference between ‘dream’ and ‘dream come true’ congressi.”

Congress’ Rahul Gandhi had staged a meeting with a ‘common’ truck driver when in the US

Interestingly, the Congress party has staged such an event in the past when its leader Rahul Gandhi had recently visited the United States. On May 17, the Congress furthered a tweet saying that Rahul Gandhi was offered a truck ride by a random Indian who drove the leader from Washington, DC, to New York. The Congress claimed that the Indian identified as Taljinder Singh Vicky Gill was a former BJP supporter and had left India as the party and PM Modi failed to generate jobs. The Congress also claimed that BJP was ‘thriving on communal politics’ as told by Taljinder to Gandhi.

However, later it was discovered that Taljinder Singh Vicky Gill was the vice president of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) from the Dakha village in Punjab. NSUI is the student wing of the Indian National Congress which was established on April 9, 1971. Later, Gill also served as the Indian Overseas Congress’s (IOC) Youth President in America. IOC promotes the idea of Congress in the USA and other foreign countries.

Image obtained from Onlyfact.in

In the given case, Shrinate claimed that PM Modi had staged his ride in the Delhi Metro and talked to students who were allegedly from BJYM, just like Gandhi had actually done in the US on May 17. However, she deleted the tweet after being exposed to the truth by a BJYM member.

PM Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation stone of three buildings at Delhi University, on Friday took a ride on the Delhi Metro to reach the university. He was seen interacting with commuters on his way to the varsity. He discussed many topics, including OTT and new series, with the students.

Delhi: One Azeem arrested for dumping severed head of buffalo near Hindu temple. Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: One Azeem arrested for dumping severed head of buffalo near Hindu temple. Here is what happened

On Friday (June 30) evening, the severed head of a buffalo was found near a Hindu temple on Nala Road in the West Gorakh Park area of Northeast Delhi.

As per reports, the Welcome police station received a phone call on Friday at 5:30 pm about the presence of animal remains near a Hanuman temple. In a video that has now surfaced on social media, the severed head of a buffalo could be seen lying on the road near the temple premises.

A large crowd of Hindus were also seen standing outside the temple and discussing the matter. One man from the crowd was seen removing the dead remains from the road using a newspaper.

The Welcome police initiated a probe into the matter and found that two miscreants on a scooter dumped the buffalo’s head near the temple. The cops have now arrested a 27-year-old Azeem and a 16-year-old minor in connection to the case.

Both the accused are said to be residents of the Baburpur area of Delhi. They were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 34 (common intention), 153A (promoting enmity between different religions), 295A (malicious act to outrage religious feelings) and 429 (mischief by killing cattle).

In a statement, the police said, “Acting swiftly on the information that a severed head of a buffalo was found on a roadside under Welcome police station, the police of North East district have arrested two accused.”

“People are urged to help the police in maintaining peace in the area. And don’t spread any kind of rumours,” the statement further added. The Welcome Police later took possession of the severed head of the buffalo.

Maharashtra: 26 dead after a bus caught fire on Samruddhi Expressway, CM Eknath Shinde announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia amount for the deceased

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: 26 dead after a bus caught fire on Samruddhi Expressway, CM Eknath Shinde announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia amount for the deceased

On Saturday, July 1, in a tragic incident, a bus burst into flames on the Samruddhi Mahamarg Motorway in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district, killing at least 26 people. The accident occurred around 1:30 AM early morning on Saturday, while the bus was traveling from Yavatmal to Pune. According to police, the injured are receiving treatment at Buldhana Civil Hospital.

“Around 25 people are feared dead and several others injured after a bus carrying 32 passengers burst into flames on Buldhana’s Samruddhi Mahamarg motorway. The injured are being taken to Buldhana Civil Hospital,” Baburao Mahamuni, Buldhana’s Deputy Superintendent of Police said.

According to the police, the bus was carrying wedding guests when it crashed due to the rainy conditions. According to police, the bus’s diesel tank burst and caught fire.

According to Buldhana SP Sunil Kadasane, the bus driver is safe, SP Kadasane said, that the bus driver has claimed that the bus overturned when a tyre burst. He added that the tyre burst led to a fire inside the bus.

“A total of 33 people were on the bus, with 26 of them passing away and 7 others being injured.” The bus driver also survived and stated that the bus overturned after a tyre burst, resulting in flames inside the bus,” said Buldhana SP Sunil Kadasane.

“The bus was travelling from Nagpur to Pune when it met with an accident at around 1:30 AM. The driver said that the accident took place after a tyre burst, leading to flames in the bus. Later the diesel tank of the vehicle caught fire. There are 3 children among those who died and the rest are adults. The exact reason for the accident has not yet been ascertained,” SP Kadasane added.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed grief over the tragic accident and announced ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Taking to Twitter, the Maharashtra CM’s office informed that CM Shinde has ordered an inquiry into the matter. 

“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed deep grief over the horrific accident of a private bus on the Samriddhi highway near Sindkhedaraja in Buldhana district. Expressing condolences to the deceased and their families, the Chief Minister has announced an aid of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the relatives of the deceased in this unfortunate incident. Expressing that he is distressed by this terrible accident, the Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident,” CMO Maharashtra’s tweet read in Marathi.

The tweet further stated that CM Shinde talked to Buldhana SP and Collector over the phone immediately after receiving the information about the accident. He instructed the authorities to take necessary measures to help the victims.

“As soon as the information about the accident came, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde contacted the Collector and Superintendent of Police of Buldhana on the phone and took information about the incident. While giving instructions to provide immediate help to the accident victims, the Chief Minister also directed to provide immediate medical treatment to the injured at government’s expense. As soon as the information about the accident came to light, the emergency medical service team deployed for the highway as well as the fire brigade reached the spot and started the rescue operation. The injured passengers were admitted to the hospital,” CMO Maharashtra tweeted.

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