Girl watches lover die as suicide stunt goes wrong

Guna (MP),  Jun 27: A 20-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly eloping with her minor partner and "marrying" her at Guna town in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

The matter came to light, when a resident of Budhe Balaji area approached the Kotwali police station on Monday with a complaint that his 17-year-old daughter had gone missing, additional superintendent of police T S Baghel said.

On investigation, it was found that a relative from a village Shivpuri district, who was living with the family, was also missing, he said.

A team was sent to the village and the duo was caught on Friday, the official said, adding that the woman had married the minor, who claimed that she had eloped of her own volition.

The woman was arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while the minor was sent back to her family after counselling.

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.

Kochi, Jun 22: A 54-day-old baby suffered brain damage after she was allegedly slapped and thrown on a cot at home by his father in Angamaly municipality of Ernakulam district, police said.

Doctor Sojan Ipe of MOSC Medical College Hospital at Kolenchery said that the damage caused to the brain is serious. The child was admitted with bleeding in the brain on Friday.

On Saturday, 40-year-old pastor Shaiju Thomas, who is the child's father was arrested by the Angamaly police in connection with the incident. He is currently lodged at the Covid first-line treatment centre at Angamaly.

Shaiju has been charged with IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder) and under the Juvenile Justice Act.

According to Angamaly Police, ''the accused was always doubtful of his wife and raised questions over the parenthood of the child. He had slapped the child on multiple occasions. She fell unconscious on Thursday night after a similar attack and was taken to the hospital. We have so far received enough evidence against the accused.''