Latest news with #Simma
Indian Express
06-07-2025
- Indian Express
Ludhiana: Dalit teen ‘paraded half-naked with blackened face', 1 arrested
A 17-year-old Dalit teenager was allegedly paraded half-naked with his face blackened in the streets of Seeda village in Ludhiana district, after being accused of helping his friend in eloping with a woman. The humiliating act, allegedly carried out by the woman's family, was recorded on video and widely circulated in the area. Police said that the incident was the fallout of a love marriage solemnized by Gurpreet Singh, a resident of the village, who eloped with a young woman on June 19. Suspecting the victim of helping the couple escape and solemnize inter-caste marriage, members of the woman's family humiliated him. The victim said that on July 1 when he was present at a local salon when a group of men—identified as Gurpreet alias Gopa, Simranjeet Singh alias Simma, Sandeep alias Sam, Rajveer, and Ramandeep alias Kaka—barged inside, dragged him out, and assaulted him. They blackened his face, shaved his beard and moustache, tore his clothes, and then marched him semi-naked through the village. The victim added that when he tried to escape the accused chased and thrashed him. The accused made him sit on the road and kept on filming the act. He alleged that caste-based slurs were also hurled at him. The video was also circulated by the accused and it went viral. Police said that an FIR was registered at Meharban police station under the sections of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 351 (criminal Intimidation), as well as under Sections 66A and 67B of the Information and technology Act, and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. One accused has been arrested so far, and police say more arrests are likely as the investigation progresses. 'This is not only a case of physical assault but a grave violation of human dignity,' said a senior police officer, adding that the couple who got married were both adults. 'We are treating the matter with the utmost seriousness,' police said. Inspector Paramdeep Singh, SHO at Meharban Police station said that Simarjeet Singh alias Simma has been arrested and hunt is on to nab the rest.
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘I must have hope': the families waiting for news of loved ones after Bangkok tower collapse
Pluem, 18, had been working for just one month at a construction site in Bangkok's Chatuchak district. It was her first job since leaving her family home. 'She found the work because she wanted to live on her own,' said her mother, Wanpetch Punta, 38. She was hired as an electrician on the 30-storey construction, which was soon to become a new office block for the city's auditor-general. On Friday, when tremors from the earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar reached the Thai capital, the entire block collapsed in an instant. Eleven people are confirmed to have died in the disaster. Rescue workers are frantically searching for 78 people who remain missing. Families, including Pluem's, sit on mats and plastic chairs nearby, clasping phones and waiting desperately for news. A perimeter of metal fencing has been set up to cordon off the search and rescue efforts, but it is not tall enough to mask the towering heap of concrete slabs and twisted metal bars. The floor is covered in dust. Every so often, a boom sounds out as debris is tipped away. Wanpetch has been here since 5am on Saturday morning, waiting. She follows social media for news, and goes back and forth to a nearby tent, to check for updates on the list of bodies rescued or recovered. Pluem, fun and patient, is loved by everyone, she says. 'I must have hope.' Rescue workers have deployed search dogs, thermal imagery drones to search for signs of life. Several countries, including the US, China, and Israel, have sent equipment and expert teams to assist in the search. Officials from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said signs of life had been detected in one area of the site early on Sunday morning. Many of the people missing are migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia. Nai Talee, 19, came to Thailand two years ago, after fleeing the conditions in his home country, Myanmar, which has been gripped by conflict since 2021, when the military seized power in a coup. 'He found work and he is very good at saving money, very hard working,' said Simma, 26, his aunt. He would send money back home to his father and grandmother, and put some towards his savings. The family home in Myanmar survived the earthquake. Nai Talee was working on the 26th floor, according to colleagues who managed to escape. Simma's husband, Komyo, 38, who waits with her at the rescue site, last spoke to his nephew at lunchtime on Friday, just before the earthquake struck. He was happy as usual, and had been napping during his break. For the past two days, Simma has tried to call his phone again and again. It used to ring out, but now is switched off. They're sitting with a friend, also from Myanmar. She is seven months pregnant. Her husband is among the missing. Across from them, Sophorn Chhay, 42, from Cambodia. Her eldest son, Ratana Phalla, 25, is also missing. He was working as an electrician at the site. The last time they'd spoken he had told her that, when he'd finished his contract on 10 April, he would come to stay with her. He'd told her that he needed to earn money first, she said. All families can do is wait, follow news updates on their phones, and watch to see if bodies are carried out. Bangkok authorities said on Sunday evening they 'remained hopeful' and would intensify their work around the clock. The Thai government has ordered an investigation into why the office collapsed. Wanpetch says she is trying to force herself to keep eating. Sometimes she can sleep a little, sometimes she can't, she says. 'I want them to speed up their work. I want to know the result. I don't know what else I can do,' she said.
