Parents adopt new methods to kill baby girls

A man posed as Superintendent of Police (SP), called up a subordinate police official and asked him to get his mobile phone repaired or face the consequences. But, his bluff was later called and the man landed in lockup.

Azamgarh SP Triveni Singh said the 23-year-old youth, Shubham Upadhyay, is the son of a farmer. He was preparing for competitive exams when his phone developed a snag on Saturday. He tried to reach out to local mechanics, but they were unavailable to fix it due to the lockdown.

Upadhyay used a free caller identification app to call up the in-charge of the Kotwali police station, K. K. Gupta, and threatened to shunt him out, if he failed to swiftly get the work done. Gupta grew suspicious and eventually caught the youth.

n his statement to the police, Shubham Upadhyay said, "On Sunday noon, I tried to breach the district borders to reach Lucknow to repair my phone, but since there was heavy police presence and barricading, I returned home. Later, I installed a free caller identification app in my handset and mentioned the name as SP Azamgarh and even uploaded a photo of the cop to appear genuine."

He first called SHO, Kotwali to get the phone repaired and was told the handset would be picked up from the SP office in an hour. Then, he called a businessman to bring his SUV and hand over his mobile to the SHO.

But when Upadhyay called the police again to suggest a separate meeting point, he raised suspicion. When the SHO tried to confirm the venue, Upadhyay got hesitant and said he would send a peon.

"I suddenly realised something was fishy and rang up the public relation officer of SP Azamgarh, who denied any such order from the SP. When the caller's number was scanned, it displayed the name of SP Azamgarh," said SHO Gupta.

A trap was laid and when the SHO reached the venue, he found one Praveen Shukla sitting in the vehicle. Police got the address of the accused from Shukla and reached Upadhyay's home in Bilariya locality and arrested him.

Upadhyay has been booked under IT Act and for threatening a public servant.

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.