One of the first woman journalists, Rekha Duggal, burnt to death by servant in Delhi

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July 9, 2014

Rekha DuggalNew Delhi, Jul 9: One of the first woman journalists, Rekha Duggal, was allegedly murdered by her domestic help at her Greater Kailash-II residence here on Monday night. She was 81.

According to the police, Duggal was allegedly strangulated by the help, Neeraj, who later set her body on fire to prevent it from being identified.

The 81-year-old widow of a former journalist with a reputed news agency was found burnt to death inside her flat here in Delhi, police said on Tuesday. The victim's servant has been arrested for the suspected murder.

Rekha Duggal's body was recovered around 9.30 p.m. on Monday from the second-floor flat of her four-storey building in south Delhi's posh Greater Kailash area.

Duggal's younger sister and son-in-law along with the accused servant Neeraj, in his 20s, found her body.

The woman's son-in-law, Manmohan, also a former journalist, said, "My wife got a call from a neighbour, Saroj Prakash, around 9 p.m. on Monday that her mother (Duggal) was missing."

"We reached the house and found her body from the second floor. When we entered the floor, it was full of smoke and my mother-in-law's body was burning in the bedroom."

"We made a call to the fire service, and firefighters took out the body. In the meantime, police also reached there," Manmohan said.

"Duggal's post-mortem examination report revealed that she was strangulated with a dupatta, beaten up and later set on fire," said a police official.

The officer said the servant, Neeraj, who was employed seven months ago at Duggal's home, has been arrested but police were yet to find out his motive.

An investigating officer said the victim, as per initial information, would go for a walk around 6 p.m. and come back around 7 p.m.

A reason for the servant's arrest was that the woman was staying alone in the flat along with him, the police official said.

Rekha Duggal, whose husband K.K. Duggal - a journalist with the UNI news agency - died in 2005, was staying on the first floor of her house, which she had gifted to her elder sister residing in the US.

The second floor was gifted to her younger sister while the third and the fourth floors were given on rent to other people.

Duggal hailed from pre-independence Pakistan's Gujranwala area. She later shifted to Karnal in Haryana.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: The fear of contracting COVID-19 infection allegedly forced a 65-year-old man to commit suicide in Maharashtra's Beed district, police said on Friday.

The incident occurred at Mangewadi in Patoda on Thursday, when a passerby found the body of Asaram Pote hanging from a tree in his farm, an official said.

The police were immediately alerted and Pote's body was brought down in the presence of his relatives and locals, he said.

A suicide note was found on the deceased's person, in which he said that he had taken the extreme step as he was scared of contracting COVID-19 infection and no one should be held responsible for his death, the official said.

A case of accidental death was registered in this regard and further probe was underway, he added.

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News Network
May 12,2020

May 12: A Madhya Pradesh Police sub-inspector was fined Rs 5,000 after he performed a daredevil act of balancing himself on two moving cars, copying the famous stunt from Ajay Devgn-starrer 'Singham'.

Manoj Yadav, the in-charge of Narsinghgarh police post in Damoh district, was also warned against any such daredevilry in future, police sources said on Monday.

Sporting shades as the hero of the cop drama film and wearing his police uniform, Yadav got the entire episode video-graphed, they said.

As the video of the stunt went viral on social media, senior police officials took serious note of it as it will send wrong signals to youngsters, the sources said.

Inspector General, Sagar range, Anil Sharma directed Damoh Superintendent of Police Hemant Chauhan to probe the matter.

After an investigation, Chauhan imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the sub-inspector and warned him not to repeat such mistakes.

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Agencies
May 28,2020

Mumbai, May 28: Twenty four doctors and three others staying in a south Mumbai hotel were rescued after a major fire broke out in the five-storey building, officials said on Thursday.

The BMC has arranged temporary accommodation for emergency and essential service staffers, including doctors and nurses, in various hotels and lodges in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hotel is one such facility.

The fire broke out at Hotel Fortune near Metro Cinema late Wednesday night and was brought under control after nearly three hours early Thursday, fire brigade officials said.

“The fire spread from the first to the third floor of the hotel, a fire brigade official told PTI. It was a level-2 fire and eight fire engines were rushed to the spot, he added.

The fire was confined to the electric wiring and cables in the electrical duct, false ceiling in the lobby and the common passages on the first, second and third floors of the hotel, he said.

The 24 rescued were resident doctors at a local hospital who were provided temporary accommodation in the hotel, while the three others were guests of the hotel, he said.

The fire broke out at 11 am and wasbrought under control at 1.40 am, the official said. Cooling operation is underway at the hotel, he added.

Five doctors were rescued using fire brigade ladders and breathing apparatus sets, the official said.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, the fire brigade official said.

On April 21, a major fire broke out in a lodging room of Hotel Ripon near Mumbai Central, which was being used as a quarantine facility by the civic body.

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