RTI activist dies mysteriously, family says he was murdered

May 9, 2012

RTI_Murderd


New Delhi, May 9: The death of RTI activist Ravinder Balwani after a mysterious hit-and-run incident in the capital last month has sparked allegations of murder, with his family saying the 61-year-old was killed after repeated threats and that police were writing it off as an accident.

Balwani, an aide of RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and a member of his NGO, Parivartan, was hit by a car on April 23 and died of head injuries three days later. No arrests have been made and police claim there were no witnesses to the incident in Vasant Kunj market. Vasant Kunj (North) police said there was enough evidence that it was an accident, but they were ready to "reinvestigate" if the family sent a petition.

Balwani's daughter, Sonia, said her father had been filing RTI queries since 2001. After he retired from Delhi Transco in 2010 as a manager, he had levelled graft charges against senior government officials and politicians. "This earned him enemies. Before that, in 2009, he had complained to the Indraprastha police station SHO on getting threat calls,'' said Sonia, a physiotherapist. "He was receiving so many threats that he stopped sharing them with us in the past year."


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News Network
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: A 44-year-old man allegedly killed his daughter and son before ending his life by jumping in front of a Delhi metro train at Haiderpur Badli Mor station on Sunday, police said.

No suicide note has been recovered, but police claimed that the man, Madhur Malani, was depressed since his sandpaper-manufacturing factory was closed some six months ago due to financial crunch leaving him jobless. Madhur's parents had been supporting his family financially since then.

He used to stay with his wife Rupali, daughter Samiksha (14) and six-year-old son Shraiyans at a rented house in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area, they said.

Rupali was not at home when Madhur strangled their children. He might have also smothered their daughter but the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem reports arrive, a police official said.

After killing his two children, he jumped in front of an approaching train at Haiderpur Badli Mor Metro station following which he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him 'brought dead', the official said.

Metro services on the Yellow Line were briefly delayed due to the incident.

"Delay in services from Samaypur Badli to GTB Nagar due to a passenger on track at Haiderpur Badli Mor," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

After about 15 minutes, it again tweeted that normal services have been restored. The Delhi Metro's Yellow Line connects Samaypur Badli in Delhi to HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon.

The suicide was reported to the police around 5.40 pm while the Shalimar Bagh Police station received a call about the killings around 6.50 pm.

On reaching the house, police found bodies of the children lying in beds in two rooms. During enquiry, it was learnt that their father has left the house, a senior police officer said.

While police were trying to trace Madhur, they learnt about a suicide at the metro station. On verifying the details, it surfaced that Madhur committed suicide after killing his children, the officer said.

Rupali told police that she had gone to a nearby market around 3 pm and on returning home she found the bodies of her children while her husband was missing.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered and investigation was underway, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

Vijayawada, Aug 9: The number of those killed in the fire at a hotel being used as a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada rose to 10 on Sunday, said Vikrant Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government announced Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia each to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.

According to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also ordered an in-depth probe into the accident and directed authorities to take steps to ensure better medical services to the victims of the accident.

"The hotel was taken on lease and run by Ramesh Hospitals, a private hospital where COVID-19 patients were being treated. 40 patients and 10 medical staff were at the hotel at the time of the incident. 

Officials were directed to launch immediate rescue measures," said Mekathoti Sucharitha, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the loss of the lives in the fire mishap and spoke to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy over the phone and enquired about the accident.

The mishap took place in hotel Swarna Palace which was taken on lease and run by a private hospital for COVID patients.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Moradabad, Jun 17: Two children died after they accidentally got locked inside a car while playing in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, the police said.

Four children, aged between 4 and 7 years, locked themselves inside the car while playing and were found unconscious soon after, the police added.

"All four children were found unconscious in a car and they were taken to the hospital. Two of them died and the other two are undergoing treatment at the hospital," said Amit Kumar Anand, superintendent of police (city) Moradabad.

The children were related to each other, the police said.

The man who owns the car said the children had locked themselves inside. "When we reached, the children were in an unconscious state. Two of the four children died. The incident occurred around 8 am."

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