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Indian-American student dies after falling from Bahamas hotel balcony

Indian-American student dies after falling from Bahamas hotel balcony

India Today14-05-2025

A college trip to the Bahamas turned tragic for an Indian-origin US student, Gaurav Jaisingh, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in the island country just six days before his graduation. The 25-year-old was on an annual Bentley University senior class trip when he fell to his death. The incident took place on the night of May 11 at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Casino, according to media reports.advertisementGaurav, originally from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, US, was involved in Delta Sigma Pi fraternity and was also active in the South Asian Students Association at his school.Bentley University's undergraduate commencement ceremony was scheduled for Saturday. He studied finance with a minor in computer information systems at Bentley.
According to a report in The Daily Mail, for two decades, the school has offered the graduating class a five-day, four-night trip to the Bahamas during the week between finals and commencement.Bentley is a small private university located in Waltham, about 12 miles outside of Boston. The annual tuition fee is $87,820 (approximately Rs 73 lakh).HE FOUND UNRESPONSIVE AFTER BALCONY FALL: POLICEThe Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed that an American man fell from an upper-level balcony while he was inside his hotel room with several roommates.advertisementHe was found unresponsive on a lower floor, ABC News reported, citing the police.Emergency services responded and transported him to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries while being taken to the hospital, according to the police.The police said the investigation into the death is still on.VARSITY OFFERS CONDOLENCES OVER GAURAV'S DEATH"We share our deepest condolences with Gaurav's family, friends, and loved ones. While local authorities are investigating, it appears Gaurav accidentally fell from a balcony," Bentley University said in a statement to ABC News."We will share more information when available while respecting his family's privacy," the varsity added."This is an enormous tragedy for our community. Bentley is providing resources for those who are impacted and encourages anyone who needs support to reach out to the university's counseling center," it read.HE WAS SET TO START HIS CAREER AS CONSULTANT The 25-year-old student served as the fraternity pledge coordinator from January 2024 to August 2024 and was also involved in the university's new student programs as an orientation leader and tour guide, The Daily Mail reported.After graduation, he was set to start his career as a consultant in New York City, according to The Daily Mail.

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Odisha IAS officer Dhiman Chakma caught accepting ₹10 lakh bribe
Odisha IAS officer Dhiman Chakma caught accepting ₹10 lakh bribe

Hindustan Times

time29 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Odisha IAS officer Dhiman Chakma caught accepting ₹10 lakh bribe

Dhiman Chakma, a Sub-Collector of Dharamgarh in Odisha's Kalahandi district, was caught on Monday allegedly accepting a ₹10 lakh bribe from a local businessman, according to the Odisha Vigilance Department. M Radhakrishna, SP (Vigilance), said that Chakma was presented before the special vigilance court in Bhawanipatna, which denied his bail request and sent him to 14 days of judicial custody. Following the arrest, officials conducted searches at Chakma's government residence, where an additional ₹47 lakh in cash was recovered. Investigations are ongoing, the department said in a release. 'During the search, ₹47 lakh in cash was found from his quarters at Dharamgarh. As he could not give any satisfactory explanation regarding such huge cash, the same was seized,' Radhakrishna said. According to the Vigilance Department, Chakma, a 2021-batch IAS officer, allegedly demanded a total bribe of ₹20 lakh and threatened to take action against the businessman's enterprise if payment was not made. The Vigilance Department wrote on X: 'Today, Sri Dhiman Chakma, IAS (2021 batch), Sub-Collector, Dharamgarh, #Kalahandi, has been nabbed while taking a bribe of Rs. 10 Lakh from a businessman, threatening to act against his business otherwise. Further, ₹47 lakh cash was recovered during the search at his government's residence.' It further added: 'The overall bribe demanded was ₹20 lakh, & this was the 1st instalment. In this connection, Vigilance Cell PS Case No. 6 /2025 U/s 7 P. C. Act, 1988 as amended by P. C. (Amd) Act, 2018 has been registered. Investigation continues.' A video shared by the vigilance department showed currency notes recovered from Chakma's residence spread out on a bed as officials continued their search. Chakma called the complainant to his official residence According to a vigilance statement, 2021-batch IAS officer Dhiman Chakma allegedly threatened a local businessman, demanding ₹20 lakh to avoid action against him. The businessman reported the demand to Vigilance authorities, prompting officials to lay a trap on the night of June 8, 2025. 'Based on the complaint, a trap was laid on June 8, 2025, night, wherein accused Dhiman Chakma was nabbed by a team of Odisha Vigilance in his government quarters at Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district,' the statement said. It added that Chakma was caught red-handed accepting ₹10 lakh — the first instalment of the bribe — which was recovered from his possession in the presence of witnesses. The IAS officer was caught "red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10 lakh from a local businessman," the department said in the release. The accused Sub-Collector called the complainant to his official government residence at Dharamgarh, received the bribe amount, verified the '26 number of 100-note bundles of different denominations with both his hands, and kept the same inside his residence office table drawer.' Both hand wash and table drawer wash 'gave a positive chemical reaction,' the release said. A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018). More details are awaited as the probe continues. The SP said a case has been registered against IAS officer Dhiman Chakma under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018. Chakma initially joined the Odisha cadre as a 2019-batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer. After completing his training, he served as Additional Chief Conservator at Baripada in Mayurbhanj from June 2021. He later cleared the civil services examination in 2021, was appointed as an IAS officer, and assigned to the Odisha cadre. Following training, Chakma took charge as Sub-Collector of Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district in January 2024, the official added. (With PTI, ANI inputs)

Handcuffed, pinned to floor: The row over Indian student's ordeal at US airport
Handcuffed, pinned to floor: The row over Indian student's ordeal at US airport

First Post

time33 minutes ago

  • First Post

Handcuffed, pinned to floor: The row over Indian student's ordeal at US airport

A video that has gone viral shows an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned down by officials at Newark Airport in New Jersey, US. The incident came to light after Indian-American entrepreneur Kunal Jain shared the video online. As a witness to the incident, he described the treatment of the man as 'deeply inhumane' and called it a 'human tragedy'. The Indian Embassy in New York has now responded, saying it has reached out to local authorities read more The viral video shows an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned down by officials at a US airport. Image: X A shocking video of an Indian man being handcuffed and held down by officials at Newark Airport in New Jersey has gone viral on social media. The incident came to light after Kunal Jain, an Indian-American entrepreneur, posted the video on social media . He called the way the Indian 'student' was treated 'deeply inhumane' and described it as a 'human tragedy'. Now, the Indian Embassy in New York has responded, saying that they had seen social media posts about an Indian national facing trouble at Newark Liberty International Airport. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What happened during the incident? Do we know why he was being treated the way the video shows? What did the witness, Kunal, say about it? And how did the Indian consulate in New York respond? Let's get you the answers to these questions and more. What happened? The viral video shows an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned down by officials at a US airport. Kunal Jain posted a photo of the student on X, saying he was being deported from Newark Airport last night. According to him, the student was in tears and was treated like a criminal by the authorities. I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night— handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy. @IndianEmbassyUS #immigrationraids — Kunal Jain (@SONOFINDIA) June 8, 2025 'As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy,' Jain wrote on X. Jain, who is the President of HealthBots AI, said the student spoke in Haryanvi. 'I could recognise his accent where he was saying 'I'm not insane, these people are trying to make me look insane',' he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Jain expressed concern over the situation, saying the student was 'crying, treated like a criminal' and had come to the US 'chasing dreams, not causing harm'. Here more videos and @IndianEmbassyUS need to help here. This poor guy was speaking in Haryanvi language. I could recognise his accent where he was saying 'में पागल नहीं हूँ , ये लोग मुझे पागल साबित करने में लगे हुए हे' — Kunal Jain (@SONOFINDIA) June 8, 2025 He also said that similar cases have been happening recently. 'These children get their visas and get on a flight in the morning. For some reason, they are unable to explain the reason for their visit to the immigration authorities and are sent back on the evening flight tied up like criminals. Every day 3-4 such cases are happening. There have been more such cases in the last few days,' he wrote. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He urged the Indian Embassy in the US to look into the incident and help the student. He also tagged the Indian Embassy and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in his post. In an article for The New Indian Express, Jain recalled that the man, who appeared to be a student, said in Hindi, 'Main pagal nahi hoon… yeh log mujhe pagal sabit karna chahte hain' ('I'm not mad… they're trying to prove I'm mentally unstable'). This poor kids parent won't know what's happening to him. @IndianEmbassyUS @DrSJaishankar he was to be boarded last night in the same flight with me but he never got boarded. Someone needs to find out what's going on with him at New Jersey authorities. I found him disoriented. — Kunal Jain (@SONOFINDIA) June 8, 2025 He added that the man looked frightened and confused, and his desperate plea to be understood was deeply disturbing. What was the reason? Here's what the witness said In a conversation with CNN-News18, Jain said that even terrorists are not treated publicly like that in the United States. He said, 'I remember exactly, a pilot came out and said he couldn't take the risk of bringing this boy onto the plane because he might be a threat to other passengers. Now think about it, all of this was happening in his head… I mean, I felt so bad.' Regarding a possible reason why the security forces acted the way they did, Kunal said they believed the student was agitated. 'So they felt that in order to control him, they had to force him down, pin him to the ground. My only point is that there were enough Indians there. They could have called the Indian embassy, they could have provided legal help, they could have brought in a counsellor, or even a linguistic counsellor who could speak his language.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He further said, 'Nowadays, if you don't have a visa, they don't allow you in. So he was allowed at the entry, but probably interviewed there.' After the entire incident, he said, 'I boarded the plane and asked one of the hostesses. She told me, 'We see three to four such cases every day.'' 'If people do not retaliate or become violent, then they are sent back to India. But if, for any reason, they become aggressive, this is what happens,' he said. ALSO READ | Why Trump is offering $1,000 to migrants to 'self-deport' from US How Indian Embassy reacted to the incident The Indian Consulate in New York responded to the incident after the video and posts gained attention online. The consulate confirmed that they had reached out to local authorities. 'We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard,' the Consulate General of India in New York posted on X. We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard. The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals.@MEAIndia… — India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) June 9, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals.' Trump administration's crackdown on international students This incident comes at a time when the US government has stepped up its action against international students , with many visas being cancelled without warning. The reasons behind the deportations have differed, from joining pro-Palestine protests to minor traffic offences, leaving many students caught in legal trouble and uncertainty. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, since Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the US has deported around 1,080 Indian nationals. The latest case has also reminded many of earlier deportations that caused public outrage. In February, a video released by the US Border Patrol showed over 100 Indians being sent back, with their hands cuffed and legs chained.

LIVE news updates: Karnataka HC posts next hearing on Bengaluru stampede to June 12
LIVE news updates: Karnataka HC posts next hearing on Bengaluru stampede to June 12

Business Standard

time37 minutes ago

  • Business Standard

LIVE news updates: Karnataka HC posts next hearing on Bengaluru stampede to June 12

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar are set to meet the Congress high command in New Delhi on Tuesday to deliberate on various matters, including the 4 June stampede in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives. The Congress-led state government has faced strong criticism following the incident, with opposition parties BJP and JD(S) holding both the Chief Minister and his deputy accountable, demanding their resignation. According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, Siddaramaiah will update party leadership in Delhi on the recent developments. The stampede took place on the evening of 4 June outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a massive crowd had gathered to celebrate the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team's IPL victory. 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