Five wrestlers among six killed in Maharashtra road accident

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: One man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad district here, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said on Friday.

"One accused identified as Wilson has been arrested in connection with the case. More people are involved. The process to arrest all the accused is underway. Strict action will be taken in the matter to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future," Raju told reporters here.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

Raju said that the forest department has appointed three teams to probe the matter, and added that police are also investigating the incident as explosives were used.

"There may be some type of crackers inside the fruit. In such cases, blast occurs and the animal can not even drink water. The primary post mortem reports said that this case is like that. Let it be investigated," he said.

"Man and animal conflict is natural in our state as people residing close to the forests. The government gives compensation for farmers, Rs 10 lakhs compensation if a person dies in an animal attack," the Minister added.

The death of the pregnant elephant has sparked a controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan terming the unfortunate death as "a painful thing" and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that the Centre has taken a "serious note" of the incident.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, the immediate cause of the death of the female elephant was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

Bareilly (UP), May 19: Samajwadi leader Chhotelal Diwakar and his son, Sunil Diwakar, were shot dead in broad daylight in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. The entire incident was caught on camera.

The murder was apparently a fallout of a dispute over laying of a road under MGNREGA.

Chhotelal Diwakar had contested the 2017 assembly elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

Superintendent of Police, (SP), Sambhal, Yamuna Prasad, said, "Some work was being carried out under MGNREGA due to which some dispute happened. Two people have been shot dead. We will reach the spot of the incident to find more details."

According to his family members, Diwakar and his son had gone for a walk in the fields when the assailants came on a motorbike and after a brief altercation, shot them dead. They fled on foot, leaving their motorbike behind.

A large number of SP workers reached the village soon after the news of the double murder spread.

SP Yamuna Prasad who reached the spot that falls under Behjoi police station, soon after the murders, said that a manhunt has been launched for the assailants. He said that further investigations were underway and the bodies have been sent for post mortem.

New Delhi, Jul 19: At least six people were killed and 20 injured when a bus overturned after colliding with a private vehicle at Agra - Lucknow Expressway in the wee hours of Sunday. According to initial reports, the bus carrying around 40 passengers toppled after hitting a stranded SUV at around 5 am, 122 km from Lucknow.

A police team reached the spot within a few minutes of the accident and rescued the injured with the help of locals. They were rushed to a nearby hospital. “Five passengers were killed on the spot while another died minutes after reaching the hospital,” Hindustan Times quoted Kannauj DSP Amarendra PD Singh as saying.

Around 20 other passengers have also sustained injuries who were admitted to the hospital, the police said. The bus had started from Bihar's Darbhanga and was en route to Delhi. "The private bus was coming from Darbangha and going to Delhi when it hit a car. Both the vehicles came down from the highway," a senior police official told news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, authorities are trying to ascertain the identity of the deceased. UP CM Yogi Adityanath expressed over the loss of lives and directed officials to ensure all help to the victims.