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Tamil Nadu, Jul 12: An alleged attempt by a 19-year-old man to "open a branch of the State Bank of India" at Panruti near Tamil Nadu was scuttled and he was arrested for forgery, police said on Saturday.

The man, son of retired SBI employees, had readied fake seals and challans of the public sector lender, and had other paraphernalia like a cash counting machine needed "to run a bank branch," on an upper floor of his residence at Panruti, about 25 km from Tamil Nadu.

He had not, however, put up any signboard. The SBI Panruti branch manager lodged a complaint with police seeking action following a tip-off by a customer that the man was "opening an SBI branch and has challans as well."

A printer who printed the challans and another who had made fake seals were held for similar offences and abetment.

They were produced before a magistrate court and enlarged on bail.

Asked if the man had cheated people by soliciting deposits or facilitating loans, Panruti police inspector K Ambethkar said, "no..we have not received any such complaint so far."

The man's late father had worked for SBI and his mother had retired from the same bank some time back, he said.

To a question, the police inspector said the man's mother, who has mobility issues, and another woman a relative living in the same house had no clue about his "idea."

Investigations revealed that he aspired to work for a bank and since he had closely watched banking operations for long he was "very knowledgeable" about it.

On the suspected motive, he said several of his replies were incomprehensible, childish, and strange notwithstanding his excellent understanding of the banking processes.

"He even calmly told us that he awaited approval from Mumbai to open the (SBI) branch and that he was about to put up a signboard," the inspector said, adding that the man had tried unsuccessfully to get employment on compassionate grounds in the SBI following the death of his father in harness.

Mumbai, May 28: Twenty four doctors and three others staying in a south Mumbai hotel were rescued after a major fire broke out in the five-storey building, officials said on Thursday.

The BMC has arranged temporary accommodation for emergency and essential service staffers, including doctors and nurses, in various hotels and lodges in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hotel is one such facility.

The fire broke out at Hotel Fortune near Metro Cinema late Wednesday night and was brought under control after nearly three hours early Thursday, fire brigade officials said.

“The fire spread from the first to the third floor of the hotel, a fire brigade official told PTI. It was a level-2 fire and eight fire engines were rushed to the spot, he added.

The fire was confined to the electric wiring and cables in the electrical duct, false ceiling in the lobby and the common passages on the first, second and third floors of the hotel, he said.

The 24 rescued were resident doctors at a local hospital who were provided temporary accommodation in the hotel, while the three others were guests of the hotel, he said.

The fire broke out at 11 am and wasbrought under control at 1.40 am, the official said. Cooling operation is underway at the hotel, he added.

Five doctors were rescued using fire brigade ladders and breathing apparatus sets, the official said.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, the fire brigade official said.

On April 21, a major fire broke out in a lodging room of Hotel Ripon near Mumbai Central, which was being used as a quarantine facility by the civic body.

Bijnor, May 24: A man died after he was attacked by his cousins, allegedly for not getting tested for the Coronavirus after his return from Delhi.

The incident took place in Malakpur village in Bijnor district.

Manjeet Singh (23) died on Friday during treatment in Meerut.

A FIR has now been registered against Manjeet's cousins, Kapil and Manoj, their mother Puniya and Manoj's wife Dolly at the Nahtaur police station on a complaint filed by the father of the deceased Kalyan Singh on Sunday.
SHO, Nahtaur police station, Satya Prakash Singh said that no arrests have been made yet.

According to reports, Manjeet died due to head injuries.
His sample was not collected for a Coronavirus test by doctors during treatment.
Additional SP, Bijnor, Sanjay Kumar said, he underwent thermal screening when he reached Bijnor on May 19 from Delhi. The report was negative so his sample was not collected.

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SHO Satya Prakash Singh said, "Since his return, Kapil and Manoj were regularly asking Manjeet to get his test done. On Thursday, the cousins again asked Manjeet to get his test done after which an argument ensued between them."

"The accused brought sticks and started hitting Manjeet. He suffered injuries on the head and shoulder. When Manjeet fell unconscious, he was rushed to government hospital by his parents where he succumbed to injuries a day later," said Singh.

Chief Medical Officer, Bijnor, Dr Vijay Yadav said he has "no information" about the matter.