Labourer dies of suffocation as mud caves

Unnao, Jan 3: The Uttar Pradesh Police has submitted a charge sheet in a court here in connection with the death of a 23-year-old Unnao rape victim, who was allegedly set ablaze by five men.

Additional Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Pandey, who is heading a Special Investigation Team in the case, said the charge sheet was submitted on Wednesday.

"There is ample proof against the five accused persons, and the charge sheet was prepared based on those evidences," he said on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Unnao rape victim, who was airlifted to Delhi and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital with 90 per cent burns after being set on fire, died following a cardiac arrest on December 6, 2019.

The woman was set afire by five men, including two of her alleged rapists, on December 5 morning when she was going to Rae Bareli to attend a court hearing in the rape case filed by her.

In her statement to Sub Divisional Magistrate Dayashankar Pathak, the woman had said she was attacked when she reached Gaura turn near her home on her way to the court.

She had specifically named Harishankar Trivedi, Ram Kishore Trivedi, Umesh Bajpai, Shivam Trivedi and Shubham Trivedi as the persons who set her on fire.

The woman had also alleged that Shivam and Shubham Trivedi had abducted and raped her in December 2018.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: One man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad district here, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said on Friday.

"One accused identified as Wilson has been arrested in connection with the case. More people are involved. The process to arrest all the accused is underway. Strict action will be taken in the matter to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future," Raju told reporters here.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

Raju said that the forest department has appointed three teams to probe the matter, and added that police are also investigating the incident as explosives were used.

"There may be some type of crackers inside the fruit. In such cases, blast occurs and the animal can not even drink water. The primary post mortem reports said that this case is like that. Let it be investigated," he said.

"Man and animal conflict is natural in our state as people residing close to the forests. The government gives compensation for farmers, Rs 10 lakhs compensation if a person dies in an animal attack," the Minister added.

The death of the pregnant elephant has sparked a controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan terming the unfortunate death as "a painful thing" and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that the Centre has taken a "serious note" of the incident.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, the immediate cause of the death of the female elephant was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

New Delhi, Jan 2: A 20-year-old man set his motorcycle on fire after he was challaned by the traffic police in south Delhi's Greater Kailash area on Wednesday, police said.

Vikas, a resident of Sangam Vihar, was challaned by the traffic police for riding the motorcycle without helmet, a senior police official said.

The traffic police challaned him and impounded the motorcycle, following which Vikas set the bike on fire, the officer said.

A case has been registered and the accused arrested, the officer added.