At least 2 Indians found dead in Australia house fire

June 1, 2012

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Melbourne, Jun 1: At least two members of an Indian family were found dead today after a fire tore through their Melbourne house, an incident suspected by police as a case of murder-suicide.

The bodies of the victims were found together in a back room of the home. Police are not yet able to give exact number of the deceased but said the house was home to four people.

Detectives said three people of Indian descent were known to be living in the house located in the suburb of Clayton South. At the time of fire it is believed that two boys aged five and 10 and their 37-year-old mother were there.

But police were yet to identify the bodies or determine exactly how many were dead, detective Geoff Maher said.

Police are also investigating whether the house fire was deliberately lit. Arson and explosives chemists and crime scene detectives were inspecting the scene.

Maher said police were considering the possibility of a murder-suicide.

"I'm not going to confirm that at this point in time," he said, adding "I'm keeping an open mind and so will the investigators."

He said police were trying to contact the woman's husband, who is believed to in India.

Police spokesman Adam West said emergency service officers found human remains after the fire was extinguished at 1.30am.

"Detectives believe that four people usually reside in the home and they are yet to be accounted for," he said.

Firefighters were called to the house just before 1am (local time) yesterday and found it well alight, the MFB said in a statement. The fire was brought under control within 40 minutes and firefighters then were able to gain entry to the house where they found two bodies.

"We have a number of deceased in the house but we're trying to piece the jigsaw together," Maher said, adding "We're unsure of what exactly we've got at this point in time and the DVI (disaster victim identification) process and the crime scene examination will take a while."

Neighbours made a desperate bid to get to the home's occupants, using an axe to try to break through the roller shutters and reach those inside, however they were unsuccessful.

Media reports quoted a close friend Jeanette Pereira as saying that the community was shocked at the incident.

"She was a very good lady, a very good mother. The children were very quiet. She looked after them well," she said.

She said the family had migrated to Australia from Canada.



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Agencies
February 11,2020

Mumbai, Feb 11: A 65-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband over debt and illness in suburban Powai here, police said on Tuesday.

The incident came to light when Sheela Ajit Lad was found dead by her neighbours at Sukh Shanti Co-operative Society at around 9.30 pm on Monday, an official said.

The victim was allegedly killed by her husband Ajit Lad, who hit her on the head with a heavy object, slit her wrists and strangled her to death, he said.

The accused absconded at around 7.30 pm, leaving a note at the crime scene, saying he was going to commit suicide and had killed his wife because he was heavily in debt and she was suffering from an ailment, the official said.

The childless couple lived alone in the apartment, he added.

"On the basis of the note, we have registered a case of murder against Ajit Lad and have launched a manhunt for him. We have not traced him or found his body as he had mentioned suicide in the note," deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Zone X Ankit Goyal said.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Surat, Jul 16: Woman police constable Sunita Yadav, who had a confrontation with a minister's son over lockdown violation which led to his arrest here in Gujarat, claimed she has resigned from service. However, a senior police official has denied it.

Prakash Kanani, the son of Gujarat Minister of State for Health Kumar Kanani, and his two friends were arrested on Sunday for allegedly violating the lockdown and night curfew orders in Surat, a COVID-19 hotspot, a senior police official earlier said.

Yadav, who is being hailed on social media for taking action against the minister's son, told news channels on Wednesday that she had put in her papers.

"I have resigned because I did not receive support from my superior officers. I was only doing my duty as a constable. It's the fault of our system that these people (like the minister's son) think they are VVIPs (very very important persons)," she said.

However, a senior police official here denied that she has resigned.

"She has not given her resignation. The inquiry is still on and technically she cannot resign at this juncture," Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt said.

Yadav's action had led to the registration of an FIR and arrest of Prakash Kanani and two of his friends for alleged violation of lockdown and curfew norms in Surat city.

The arrests came after a video of a heated exchange between them and Yadav, who pulled up the trio for violation of curfew, surfaced on social media. The trio was later released on bail.

Since the incident, Yadav is being hailed on social media.

While some social media users called her "Lady Singham" (referring to the tough cop in the Hindi film "Singham"), some suggested she contest the 2022 state Assembly polls against Kumar Kanani, who represents Varachha constituency in Surat district.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

New Delhi, Jan 6: A blind student who is pursuing research in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was also attacked by the mob that perpetrated violence in the University yesterday.

"I thought that the mob which came yesterday would disperse after raising a few slogans but they indulged in violence. They were targeting ABVP students. They beat me with sticks and rods. When I went to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, I came to know that there are many other injured students there," Surya Prakash, the blind student pursuing research in the University told ANI.

"I talked to my family members. They are really worried about the situation here. I qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) last year but I want to study and hence I am continuing research in JNU. How can we do anything in this atmosphere of fear? I am receiving calls from anonymous numbers threatening me not to come in front of the media. They are saying that as I am blind, I would become the face of this case," he added.

Another PhD student, Santosh Bhagat recounted his experience.

"In the evening at around 7 pm, many masked men entered the hostel. They had rods and sticks in their hands. We tried to go out but the attackers had entered the premises by then. I locked my room from inside but the attackers broke the door and entered my room and attacked me. They pushed me from the first floor and I fell down and sustained an injury. Later, I took shelter at one of the Professor's flat. Later, I was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Cantre," Bhagat said.

On Sunday evening, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, were injured and were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the JNU and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods.

The JNU administration and political leaders, cutting across political lines, condemned the attack on students and urged the police to take action against the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the situation remained tense but peaceful outside JNU on Monday morning as the university guards maintained a strict vigil at the gate, checking I-cards of all those entering the university.

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