Kochi woman, sons killed in Australia house fire

June 2, 2012

KochI/Melbourne, June 2: A woman from Thevara, Ernakulam, and her two sons were charred to death in a house fire at their Clayton South home in Melbourne early on Friday.

The bodies of Anitha (37), wife of George Philip, and her sons Philip George (Unni) (10) and Mathew George (6), were found in a back room of the house in Clayton South suburb. Australian media reported that the incident could be a case of murder-suicide, since detectivies have found a note, purportedly written by the woman, from the family's car. It was earlier suspected that a short-circuit could have sparked the blaze.

Anitha's neighbours tried to break into the house on seeing the fire around 1 am, but were unsuccessful. Firefighters entered the house after dousing the blaze 40 minutes later, and found the bodies.

Police were now investigating whether the house fire was deliberately lit. Arson and explosives chemists and crime scene detectives inspected the scene.

The woman's husband, George Philip, who was on a vacation at his home near Mundakkayam, had left for Australia on Friday morning from Nedumabassery airport, unaware of the tragedy.

Anitha's father C K Mathew of Chellapilliyil House in Thevara was informed who said he received a call on Friday morning from the Australian police, apprising him of the incident. They asked him to mail the photographs of the deceased.

"We don't know what had happened. But we couldn't believe the news. Officials from Australian police and other departments spoke to us over phone. They asked us to send a photo of my daughter and two grandchildren," said Mathew. He would be going to Melbourne to attend the funeral services of his daughter and grandsons.

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.

George Philip has been working as an IT consultant for the past seven years. The family was in Canada before shifting to Australia. The boys, Philip and Mathew, were in Preparatory and Class IV, respectively, in Cleyton South's St Peter's Primary School. where 260 students gathered for a prayer service for the departed souls on Friday morning.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Etawah, Jul 9: Another aide of the Kanpur encounter accused Vikas Dubey, Bahua Dubey, died in an encounter with the police, here on Thursday.

"Today at around 4.30 AM, in an encounter with the Etawah Police, one person has died. from him, a rifle and a pistol too has been recovered. When we shared the information with the Kanpur Police, they identified him as Bahua Dubey," said SSP Etawah Akash Tomar.

"He was involved in the Kanpur encounter alongside Vikas Dubey and there was a bounty of Rs 50,000 on him," he added.

"Around 3 AM on the highway near Mahewa Police Station Bakewar, a Swift Dzire car was looted by four armed assailants on a Scorpio. Around 4:30 AM, they were intercepted at Kachaura road under Police Station Civil lines by the police. When police parties chased them, the car collided with a tree, and criminals started firing at the police," he further said.

Dubey sustained injuries during the encounter and was pronounced dead when taken to the hospital. However, the other three managed to escape. One pistol, a double-barrel gun, and several cartridges have been recovered, he informed further.

Earlier today, Prabhat Mishra, also an aide of the main accused, died after being shot at by the police.

Mishra had sustained an injury on the leg after being shot at by the police and was rushed to a hospital before being pronounced dead.

Vikas Dubey is the main accused in the encounter that took place in Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.

A search operation is currently underway to nab Dubey.

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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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News Network
January 19,2020

Belagavi, Jan 19: Miscreants have murdered a couple and their son at Dodwad Village, about 50 km from here, in the wee hours on Sunday.

The victims were identified as Shvananda Basavanthappa Andanashetty, his wife Shanthavva and their son Vinod.

Senior Police officials visited the spot and a case was registered at Dodwad Police Station.

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