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Odisha college student's body creamated in Balasore; Rahul Gandhi slams 'systemic murder'

Odisha college student's body creamated in Balasore; Rahul Gandhi slams 'systemic murder'

NEW DELHI: The body of the college student who set herself ablaze following alleged sexual harassment by a professor reached her village in Odisha's Balasore district on Tuesday.
The student's body was cremated in the presence of her family and other villagers.
Thousands of people thronged the crematorium ground to attend her cremation. Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, district officials and others walked to the crematorium ground from the house of the student.
The 20-year-old second-year B. Ed student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore had accused the Head of Education Department, Samira Kumar Sahu of sexually harassing her.
She set herself on fire on Saturday on the college campus over alleged inaction against the professor and suffered 95 per cent burns.
The woman was first admitted to the Balasore district hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday announced ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh for the family of the student.
Majhi directed officers concerned to conduct a proper investigation into the incident so that all guilty are punished in accordance with the law, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
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Promised US visa, sent via ‘dunki' route: Punjab Police ASI, his brother booked for duping Moga man of Rs 1.40 cr
Promised US visa, sent via ‘dunki' route: Punjab Police ASI, his brother booked for duping Moga man of Rs 1.40 cr

Indian Express

time25 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Promised US visa, sent via ‘dunki' route: Punjab Police ASI, his brother booked for duping Moga man of Rs 1.40 cr

A Punjab Police assistant-sub inspector (ASI), his travel agent brother and their accomplice has been booked for allegedly duping a Moga-based man of Rs 1.40 crore in an alleged US-immigration fraud. According to Akashvir Singh, 38, the ASI and his brother took Rs 1.40 crore from him promising 'legal entry and work permit' in the US, but instead he, along with his wife and two children were sent to the US via 'dunki route', and thereafter they had to return to India on the orders of the US border authorities. Inspector Beant Juneja, incharge, crime branch, Ludhiana Police, said that the Punjab Police ASI identified as Sarabjit Singh has been arrested. 'He is currently serving in Kapurthala Police,' said the inspector. ASI's brother Daljit Singh alias Don, a travel agent, is absconding. The brothers belong to Nadala village of Kapurthala district. Their accomplice Jai Jagat Joshi is also absconding, said police. The FIR in the matter has been registered at Ludhiana's Model Town police station on the complaint of Gurkaran Singh of Ludhiana who had 'loaned' Rs 10 lakh to his friend Akashvir Singh to pay the agents. A purported video in which the accused can be seen counting the bundles of cash has also been submitted to the police with the complaint, says the FIR. Complainant Gurkaran Singh said: 'I am Akashvir's friend. filed the complaint as the deal was finalized and Rs 90 lakh given to the accused at my residence in Ludhiana. One of the accused who collected cash at my house was the ASI.' Asked from where did he arrange Rs 1.40 crore to pay to the agents, Akashvir said: 'I am into agriculture and I own 35 acres of land. I also practise contractual farming on another 80 acres. My family also has a loan of Rs 1.50 crore raised from different sources.' 'Seeing photos of my several friends who have moved abroad, I was also lured to go US' 'I only wanted a better future for my children. Most of my friends and relatives had already moved abroad and I was lured by seeing their photographs. Earlier, I had also applied for study and visitor visa for the US but they were rejected so this time I had contacted agent Daljit Singh alias Don for a work permit,' said Akashvir. Akashvir said that he along with his wife, and two children- a daughter and a son aged 5 and 2- had reached the US illegally via the Mexico border on September 10, 2023 where they were immediately held by the border police. 'For at least a year and half, we kept fighting our case with the US border authorities which ordered us to leave the country. We reached India on June 22 this year and landed at Amritsar airport,' said Akashvir. 'Instead of the promised legal entry and the US work permit, we were sent to the US via an illegal dunki route and my two small children survived on boiled rice. We were made to board a flight for Dubai from Amritsar on August 7, 2023 and further taken to El Salvador. By then, my family back home had already paid Rs 90 lakh to the agent and his brother. Even as the deal was fixed for Rs 90 lakh, the accused then extorted Rs 50 lakh more from my family after reaching El Salvador as they were threatened with dire consequences. Later we were taken to the US-Mexico border and made to cross illegally,' said Akashvir. 'To survive in the US for over a year, I did odd jobs such as working in a store and food delivery. After some days, the US authorities released us and I stayed with my sister in California. Even then I kept calling these agents to arrange for my work permit but they stopped picking my calls. Ultimately we were told to leave the country,' said Akashvir. 'I wanted to go to the US for the better future of my children but the kind of harassment they faced in the past one year cannot be put in words. We demand immediate arrest of Daljit Singh alias Don who extorted money from us impersonating as a travel agent,' said Akashvir. Inspector Juneja said that the arrested cop Sarabjit Singh was being interrogated. 'He has revealed that his brother Daljit is already booked in 7-8 FIRs previously for cheating, assault etc. We are probing the matter. The Kapurthala Police will be informed to initiate departmental action against the ASI,' said the inspector. The FIR in the case has been registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 240 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), 120-B (conspiracy) of IPC and section 13 of Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act at Model Town police station against the trio. Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Punjab. Her interest lies in exploring both news and feature stories, with an effort to reflect human interest at the heart of each piece. She writes on gender issues, education, politics, Sikh diaspora, heritage, the Partition among other subjects. She has also extensively covered issues of minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also explores the legacy of India's partition and distinct stories from both West and East Punjab. She is a gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, the most revered government institute for media studies in India, from where she pursued English Journalism (Print). Her research work on 'Role of micro-blogging platform Twitter in content generation in newspapers' had won accolades at IIMC. She had started her career in print journalism with Hindustan Times before switching to The Indian Express in 2012. Her investigative report in 2019 on gender disparity while treating women drug addicts in Punjab won her the Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2020. She won another Laadli for her ground report on the struggle of two girls who ride a boat to reach their school in the border village of Punjab. ... Read More

SC quashes 'False' FIR against elderly women, fines Hyderabad man Rs 10 Lakh
SC quashes 'False' FIR against elderly women, fines Hyderabad man Rs 10 Lakh

Indian Express

time25 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

SC quashes 'False' FIR against elderly women, fines Hyderabad man Rs 10 Lakh

Quashing a criminal case against a 70-year-old widow of a retired Army Major General, and her 50-year-old daughter, the Supreme Court criticised the 'absolute pedantic approach' of the Telangana High Court in disposing of a quashing petition in 'a cryptic manner' without addressing the merits of the matter. The SC also rapped the Telangana Police, stating that there was 'no justification' for registering the 'frivolous' First Information Report (FIR) and that it should have directed the complainant to the civil court. The apex court, in its order dated July 18 (Friday), also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the complainant, P Srujan Sen and M/s Sandhya Constructions and Estates Pvt Ltd. The case stems from an FIR registered against Mala Choudhury and daughter Puttagunta Revathi Choudhury by one P Srujan Sen of Sandhya Constructions and Estates Pvt Ltd, alleging criminal breach of trust and cheating. He claimed an oral agreement to purchase a 500-square-yard plot in Gachibowli, Telangana, and a farmhouse in New Delhi, for a total consideration of Rs 5 crore. He alleged paying Rs 75 lakh in cash and Rs 4.05 crore via RTGS and cheques. The mother-daughter duo contended that the oral agreement was solely for the Telangana plot, with varying sale prices depending on the payment timeline, starting from Rs 5.75 crore. They asserted that they only received Rs 4.05 crore through banking channels and even offered to return the same if the civil suit against them is withdrawn, but the complainant refused, demanding interest. During the proceedings, the Supreme Court highlighted the 'drastic variance' between the allegations in the FIR and the subsequent civil suit filed, particularly regarding the total consideration and the inclusion of the Delhi farmhouse and an adjoining plot. Justice Sandeep Mehta, delivering the judgment, highlighted that the complainant not only manipulated and distorted the facts and used influence to get the FIR registered, but also that a 70-year-old was arrested 'in connection with this false and frivolous FIR and had to remain in custody for almost eight days.' The Supreme Court deemed this a 'classic case' of misuse of police investigation by an influential complainant. 'On a bare reading of the FIR, it is clear that a plain and simple dispute involving non-execution of a registered sale deed in terms of so-called oral agreement to sell has been given the cloak of a criminal case by misusing the criminal machinery,' the order reads. Besides quashing the FIR and all related proceedings, the SC directed the Superintendent of Police/Commissioner of Police in Hyderabad/Telangana to provide appropriate security to the petitioners whenever they visit for property management. The imposed cost of Rs 10 lakh is to be transferred to the petitioners' account within 30 days.

Fake Parivahan App: Two nabbed from Varanasi by Kerala Cyber Police
Fake Parivahan App: Two nabbed from Varanasi by Kerala Cyber Police

United News of India

timean hour ago

  • United News of India

Fake Parivahan App: Two nabbed from Varanasi by Kerala Cyber Police

Kochi, July 21 (UNI) A nationwide cyber fraud gang that operated through a fake "Parivahan" mobile application has been arrested by the Kochi Cyber Police from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The fraudsters tricked victims by sending fake APK files via WhatsApp under the pretext of paying vehicle fines through Parivahan, a digital platform created by the Union Ministry of Transport to provide various transportation-related services to citizens of India. The arrested individuals have been identified as Atul Kumar Singh (32) and Manish Yadav (24), both residents of Uttar Pradesh. The gang collected vehicle information using a Telegram bot. The brain behind the fake application was a 16-year-old relative of Manish Yadav. An Ernakulam native had registered a complaint on the NCRP (National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal) stating that Rs 85,000 was defrauded through a fake Parivahan link. Based on this complaint, Kochi Cyber Police registered an FIR and arrested the accused with the help of digital evidence. The investigation team included Inspector Shameer Khan and police officers Arun, Ajith Raj, Nikhil George, Alfit Andrews, and Sharafudheen. The accused were found in possession of data related to over 2,700 vehicles from Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. In case of similar online financial frauds, the public is advised to immediately contact the toll-free cybercrime helpline 1930 or report via the official portal: UNI DS RKM

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