Doc kept under 'digital arrest', loses Rs 3 crore
MUMBAI: A 70-year-old doctor was cheated by cyber criminals of Rs 3 crore and kept under "digital arrest" for eight days after being accused of involvement in a non-existent money laundering scam, a Mumbai police official said on Saturday.
In the month of May, the victim got a call from a person identifying himself as telecom department staffer Amit Kumar, who told her a SIM card had been bought with her personal details for use in criminal activities. "She then got a call from another person who identified himself as Crime Branch officer Samadhan Pawar. He told the victim that her bank account and debit card details were found in a raid at the residence of an airline company owner who was earlier arrested for money laundering and is currently out on medical bail," the official said.
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Hans India
43 minutes ago
- Hans India
3 killed, 50 hurt in Puri Rath Yatra stampede
Puri: Atleast three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Odisha's Puri on Sunday during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities, officials said. The incident took place around 4.20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple, they said. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, and the condition of six people is stated to be critical. The Gundicha Temple, located around 3km from the 12th century shrine, is the aunt's house of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra. During Rath Yatra, the deities visit their aunt's home, stay there for seven days, and then return to their main abode — the Jagannath Temple. According to police, chaos ensued after two trucks carrying materials for rituals reportedly entered the crowded spot near the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities. The deities were seated on the chariots when the stampede took place. "Thousands of devotees had assembled outside the temple since the early hours to catch a glimpse of the deities when the 'Pahuda' (cloth) covering the front portion of the chariots was to be removed, as part of the rituals, the officials said. The deceased were identified as Basanti Sahu (36) from Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty (80) and Pravati Das (42) from Balipatna. Their bodies have been handed over to family members, and the cremation will take place at 'Swargadwar' in Puri. In a punitive measure following the stampede, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi ordered the transfer of District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and SP Vineet Agrawal. Majhi also announced the suspension of two police officers – DCP Bishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi – an official release said. He ordered an administrative inquiry into the matter to be carried out under the supervision of the development commissioner. In another order, senior bureaucrat Saswata Mishra was appointed principal secretary to the CM in addition to his current responsibilities. The 1996-batch IAS officer is presently posted as principal secretary in finance department with additional charge of chairman, IDCO. The Odisha government will provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, the release added. Another notification issued by the General Administration Department stated that senior bureaucrat Aravind Agarwal has been appointed as in-charge of the overall supervision of Rath Yatra. Earlier in a post on X, Majhi sought forgiveness from devotees of Lord Jagannath for the stampede and tendered an apology on behalf of his government for the incident.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Puri Rath Yatra stampede kills 3 as crowd swells to 20k outside temple
Bhubaneswar: A pre-dawn stampede during Rath Yatra festivities in Odisha's temple town Puri left three devotees dead and dozens injured Sunday as over 20,000 people crowded into a space meant for less than a third of that number. The dead were identified as Premakanta Mohanty, 78, a retired state govt employee from Bhubaneswar; homemaker Basanti Sahu, 42, from Khurda; and Prabhati Das, 52, of Balianta in Bhubaneswar. They had come with families for "darshan" of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra atop chariots before the sibling deities entered Gundicha temple on the third day of the annual festival. The chariots were parked outside the temple, drawing massive crowds that overwhelmed barriers. Eyewitnesses attributed the chaos to poor planning and inadequate crowd control measures. They said the surge began as two trucks carrying wooden ladders for the chariots entered the dense crowd around 4am. "The narrow congregation site, combined with insufficient police presence and scattered palm log ladders near the chariots, resulted in the stampede," eyewitness Chinmay Patra said. CM Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a probe led by development commissioner Anu Garg and announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh for each victim's family. He called the lapses "unforgivable" and transferred Puri district collector S S Swain and SP Vinit Agrawal. DCP-ranked officer V P Pati and commandant Ajay Kumar Padhi were suspended for negligence. Cops, govt under fire for crowd-control 'fiasco' Bhubaneswar: Sunday's stampede at Puri in BJP-governed Odisha spotlighted failure of police's crowd control measures. Opposition BJD and Congress attributed the tragedy to govt's incompetence and "favour" shown to BJP workers to gather around the chariots. While there was a delay on Friday due to a crowd surge, the chariot-pulling ceremony eventually went off smoothly that day and Saturday with over 12 lakh devotees. But alleged mismanagement of a smaller gathering of 5,000-6,000 near Gundicha Temple led to the stampede Sunday. "The location in front of Gundicha Temple can accommodate a maximum of 5,000-6,000 devotees. Stampedes can occur when chariots are moving. However, tragedy struck before stationary chariots, a first in history," said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor of Jagannath Temple. Police had announced deployment of 275 AI-enabled cameras and drones for real-time crowd monitoring as part of the security and traffic measures. At least two IPS officers were assigned to oversee 5 companies of RAF, 6 SP-rank officers, 7 ASPs, 24 DSPs, 42 inspectors, 189 SIs/ASIs, 12 havildars, 110 home guards and 52 platoons of state police. Despite this, security experts and devotees criticised police for failing to anticipate the massive weekend crowd. " I suspect the personnel lowered their guard after Friday and Saturday, and did not take any preemptive measure for the remaining days of the festival," said Sahadeb Mohanty, a retired DSP. Leader of opposition and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik posted on X, "While I refrain from accusing govt of criminal negligence, their blatant callousness undeniably contributed to this tragedy." State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das claimed the entire arrangement was "VVIP and BJP worker-centric". Govt pushed back against the allegations, pointing out that action had been taken against negligent officers and more would follow after ongoing inquiries."Senior police officers are on the spot to ensure comprehensive crowd control measures," law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. Incident caused by 'abysmal failure' of crowd mgmt: Naveen Prabhati, one of the victims, had travelled in a group of seven. Her mother Binodini Panda said: 'Thousands pushed through, walking over people. Some people lifted me and some others, but my daughter remained trapped. By the time we managed to reach her, she was gone.' According to Basanti's husband Dilip Kumar Sahu, the crowd surged at dawn. 'People started falling, including us. We were trampled. My wife got trapped. We pulled her out and waited for nearly an hour for an ambulance. She was declared dead at the hospital.' Opposition politicians blamed BJP-led govt for security failures. Former CM Naveen Patnaik of BJD called it an 'abysmal failure' of crowd management. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said 'no lapses in this responsibility are acceptable'. Undeterred, thousands of devotees continued gathering for darshan of the deities through the day. 'We are saddened by the tragedy but not scared. Our faith is stronger than our fear,' said Saudamini Sarangi, 65, from Cuttack. 'There was chaos for about an hour but then normalcy returned quickly. We offered prayers smoothly afterward,' said Sovan Pattnaik of Bhubaneswar. Police deployed reinforcements, set up barricades and implemented multiple queue systems. 'We appealed to people not to spread rumours. Many were taking photos in the crowd, adding to the challenge,' said DGP YB Khurania. The festival continues through July 8.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Nihang attacks police team with sword, injures 2 cops
Mohali: A Nihang and his two women associates allegedly attacked an interstate police team with swords in Kharar in Mohali district on Saturday, injuring two constables before being overpowered. The cops had gone to Chaumajra village in Kharar to arrest the Nihang in a snatching case. The Nihang has been put under arrest while the two women have been detained. The accused, identified as Amandeep Singh Ausan, was on the run after snatching Rs 55,000 from Bhadroia toll plaza in Damtal in Himachal Pradesh, Kharar DSP Karan Singh Sandhu said on Sunday. He allegedly attacked the staff with kirpans when they asked him to stop for toll clearance on the night of June 26-27. Amandeep was dressed in traditional Nihang attire at the time of the offence and was accompanied by the two women, who also allegedly joined in the assault. Himachal police, in coordination with Kharar police, tracked the accused and intercepted him near Chaumajra village. When they moved in to arrest him, Amandeep and the two women allegedly attacked the cops with swords. Constables Sukhmander Singh and Davinder Singh of Kharar City police station were injured, one of them requiring eight to nine stitches on his arm.
