Smugglers try to mow down IPS officer

New Delhi, Apr 14: A 35-year-old man has been booked by the police for refusing to eat food at a quarantine centre on the ground that it had been cooked by a Dalit.

Reports said Siraj Ahmad, a native of Bhujouli Khurd village under Khadda police station in Kushinagar district, had returned from Delhi on March 29, and was staying at the quarantine centre at the village primary school along with other four people.

On Friday, village head, Lilawati Devi, in absence of the cook, prepared food in the quarantine centre for all the five people but Siraj refused to eat it.

Police, after conducting investigation, registered a FIR against him under the SC/ST Act on Monday.

The village head had lodged a written complaint with the police on Friday and also informed sub-divisional magistrate Desh Deepak Singh and block development officer Ramakant.

SHO Khadda police station, R.K. Yadav said that a case against Siraj was registered under the SC/ST Act.

Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, Vijay Dubey, the local BJP MLA, went to the house of village head and asked her to serve him food cooked by her.

"Untouchability is a social evil that cannot be tolerated at any cost," he said.

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.

Gorakhpur, Feb 16: Two unidentified policemen allegedly raped a 20-year-old woman in a hotel room near a railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur.

The incident took place on Thursday after which the woman informed her family members. The FIR was registered in the matter on Friday, police said.

A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including gang rape has been registered against two unidentified police men at the Gorakhnath police station, they said.

No arrests have been made so far in this connection, the police added.

Members of various political parties including Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP and Purvanchal Sena staged a sit-in demonstration at the office of the district magistrate (DM) demanding suspension of all staff members of the Gorakhnath police station as well as a magisterial probe into the matter.

"The girl is undergoing treatment at the district hospital. She has made serious allegation of rape by two policemen. During investigation we found that the hotel has CCTV footage and also took the statement of guard," SSP Gorakhpur, Sunil Kumar Gupta said.

"Prima facie, the woman went to the hotel room willingly with some men. However, a probe is underway and culprits won't be spared," he said.

The woman told media that both the policemen thrashed her and accused her of being involved in prostitution.

She claimed that she requested them to leave her but they beat her and raped her. Later, they asked her to go home in an autorickshaw.

The survivor also told media and investigating policemen that she will be able to identify the hotel room where the crime took place as well as the two policemen who allegedly raped her.

The woman said she runs coaching classes at her home and her father is a labourer.