Four die as north India continues to burn

Kanpur, Jul 8: The Special Task Force (STF) shot dead Amar Dubey in an encounter in Maudaha on Wednesday morning. Amar, a right hand man of gangster Vikas Dubey, who shot dead eight police personnel on Friday last, figured prominently in the list of wanted persons released by the Kanpur police on Tuesday.

He was a named accused in the massacre.

According to STF sources, the police team had received a tip off about Amar's presence in the district and when they tried to close in on him, the criminal opened fire on them, He was killed in retaliatory firing around 6.30.a.m,

Amar was reportedly heading towards the house of one of his relatives in Maudaha area.

"We asked him to surrender but he opened fire at us and was killed when we returned the fire," said an STF official.

Earlier, he had been hiding in Faridabad but moved out after police pressure increased there.

Amar Dubey was a trusted accomplice of Vikas Dubey and the police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on him after the Kanpur massacre.

Incidentally, reports claim that Vikas Dubey was also seen at a hotel in Faridabad on Tuesday night but fled before the police could close in on him.

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.

Lucknow, Jun 7: From Anamika Shukla to Anamika Singh and finally Priya. The primary school teacher who was found to be teaching simultaneously in 25 schools, not only has multiple jobs but also multiple identities.

Anamika was arrested on Saturday from Kasganj district when she went to submit her resignation after she was served a show cause notice by the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), Anjali Agarwal.

Agarwal informed the police and Anamika was arrested.

According to the Kasganj BSA, Anamika Shukla, originally a resident of Kaimganj in Farukhabad is currently doing her B.Ed from the Raghukul Degree College in Gonda. Her other documents are also from the same college.

During interrogation, Anamika Shukla said that she was actually Anamika Singh but as questioning proceeded, it turned out that she was Priya from Farrukhabad.

She has been booked for cheating and forgery under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc.) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating).

According to the police, the woman claimed that she had paid Rs five lakh to a Mainpuri-based man to get this job.

She used Anamika Shukla's credentials to get the job while her real name is Priya, daughter of Mahipal, a resident of the Lakhanpur village of the Kayamganj police circle in Farrukhabad district.

Soron station house officer (SHO) Ripudaman Singh said, "During interrogation, the accused initially claimed to be Anamika Singh, daughter of Subhas Singh. However, her documents are in the name of Anamika Shukla, daughter of Subhas Chandra Shukla."

The accused claimed that she paid the hefty amount to Raj, a Mainpuri-based man for the job and was posted in Faridpur Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) since August 2018.

The police are now trying to zero in on the man who got her the job.

The police also believe that it could be possible that multiple candidates used credentials and 'eligibility' of Anamika Shukla - the real one still remains elusive.

According to the Uttar Pradesh government, five more Anamika Shuklas have been found working in KGBVs in Ambedkar Nagar, Baghpat, Aligarh, Saharanpur and Prayagraj districts. She has reportedly drawn a combined salary of Rs one crore in the past one year.

Teachers in KGBV, a residential setup for girls from weaker sections of the society, are appointed on contract and are paid approximately Rs 30,000 per month. Each block in a district has one Kasturba Gandhi school.

Basic Education Minister Satish Dwivedi said that the incident was 'shocking' and the police would unravel the entire racket in the case. "No officer, employee who connived with this teacher in providing her job at KGBV and subsequently hiding it, will be spared," he said.