Kolkata, July 30 (IANS) Amid the Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail accident in Jharkhand on Tuesday, more long-distance trains from the Howrah division have been cancelled.

Two long trains from Howrah, namely Howrah Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express and Kantabanji Ispat Express, which were supposed to depart from Howrah Station in the morning, were cancelled.

As per the latest information available five more long-distance trains during the day have been cancelled including Asansol Tatanagar Express and Kharagpur Dhanbad Express among others.

Meanwhile, relatives of the passengers of the Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail were increasingly gathering at the helpdesk centre opened at Howrah station, seeking information about their near ones travelling by that train.

Many of them said since the time they got the information about the accident, they had been constantly trying to contact their relatives and friends travelling by that train. However, they claimed, most of them were unreachable.

Meanwhile, West Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose has issued a statement expressing condolences over those killed in the accident.

“HG has expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes fast recovery of those injured in the Howrah-CSMT Express train derailment near Jharkhand’s Chakradharpur today,” read the message posted on the official X handle of the Raj Bhavan Media Cell.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also issued a statement launching a scathing attack against the Railways Ministry on the recurrence of rail accidents.

–IANS

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Navi Mumbai, July 30 (IANS) Navi Mumbai Additional Commissioner of Police Deepak Sakore said that the prime suspect – nabbed from Karnataka for the murder of a 22-year-old Belapur girl – has confessed to committing the crime, here on Tuesday.

Sakore said that the suspect, Dawood M. Shaikh was nabbed by a Navi Mumbai police team from Shahapur hills in Gulbarga district, is being brought to Mumbai for further investigations soon.

“As per the preliminary questioning by the police, he has admitted to killing the girl… More details including the motive, shall emerge after we properly interrogate him here,” Sakore told media persons.

The Navi Mumbai Police, deploying tech intel, tracked and arrested Shaikh, a professional driver early on Tuesday, for the gruesome killing of Yashashri Shinde, whose mutilated body was found late on the night of July 26 in the bushes near the Uran railway station.

As the incident snowballed into a huge political row, the Navi Mumbai Police formed eight probe teams which were hot on Shaikh’s trail, though he had gone incommunicado for the past three days after fleeing from here to Karnataka.

Sakore said that from the preliminary autopsy, it has been concluded that the victim died of multiple stab wounds, but her face may have been disfigured by dogs or some other animals in the vicinity.

On July 25, Yashashri left her home in Belapur ostensibly to meet a friend but failed to return, after which her family lodged a missing complaint.

According to Sakore, the victim had gone to meet Shaikh, who lived in Uran for the past several years, and they had been friends for 3-4 years, so the kidnap angle is ruled out.

On July 26 night, her body was found in a mutilated state with multiple injuries and the family immediately accused Shaikh, and the Navi Mumbai lodged a FIR early on July 27, he said.

On Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Ambadas Danve and Kishori Pednekar, besides the ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party’s leaders Kirit Somaiya and MLA Mahesh Baldi, called on the family of Yashashri Shinde to express solidarity and assure justice for their daughter; while MLA Nitesh Raut will visit today.

Shaikh has a previous criminal record, including a 2019 complaint by the deceased girl for molestation, and a crime under the POCSO Act, for which he was out on bail.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on Wednesday a PIL seeking the constitution of a high-level committee to inquire into the city’s Rajinder Nagar coaching centre incident wherein three UPSC aspirants died in a basement following heavy rain.

Acting Chief Justice Manmohan assured advocate Rudra Vikram Singh, who appeared on behalf of the PIL litigant and mentioned the plea for an urgent hearing, that the matter will be listed on Wednesday.

The PIL said that due to “huge corruption” in public departments many people have been losing their lives for years and the national capital has faced many terrible and scary incidents in the past few years.

“In Delhi, more than 50 per cent of the commercial buildings are running in an illegal manner and many of them are running in residential areas that too without having any proper approval and clearances, and the respondents (authorities) are well aware of their illegal functioning but are allowing them just for the sake of some bribery amount,” it said.

The plea said that the right to die with dignity is also a fundamental right like as right to life with dignity as provided by Article 21 of the Constitution of India, however, the Delhi authorities failed to provide life with dignity or at least the right to die with dignity to the citizens and people are dying because of their “negligence”.

It may be recalled that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday formed a committee to inquire about the incident claiming three lives in the national capital on Saturday

In a post on X, the MHA said, “We have constituted a committee to inquire about the unfortunate incident at a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar in New Delhi. The committee will inquire into the reasons, fix responsibility, suggest measures, and recommend policy changes.”

The committee, comprising the Additional Secretary (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), Principal Secretary (Home) Delhi, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police, Fire Advisor, and the Joint Secretary (MHA), will submit its report within 30 days.

On Saturday evening, three UPSC aspirants lost their lives after heavy rainfall led to waterlogging in the basement of a coaching institute in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area, which was being used illegally as a library.

The incident trapped 17 other students for several hours, highlighting the dire safety issues in these establishments.

The basement of the coaching centre was used as a library in violation of the rules since the space was allowed to be used only for parking and storage purposes.

–IANS

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Bhubaneswar, July 30 (IANS) Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday placed senior IPS officer Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao under suspension on the grounds of grave misconduct.

Uttamrao, a 1970-batch Odisha cadre officer, was posted as the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Fire Services and Home Guards.

Following the directions of CM Majhi, the state home department has issued the suspension order based on a confidential report submitted by the Director General of Police in connection with an incident that occurred in the Capital Police Station area here on July 27 night which lowered the dignity of his position.

“Whereas a disciplinary proceeding against Shri Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, IPS is contemplated on the grounds of grave misconduct as a Member of the Indian Police Service. Now, therefore, the Government of Odisha, in the exercise of powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, hereby places the said Shri Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, IPS under suspension with immediate effect,” reads the order.

The suspended IPS officer has been attached to the State Police Headquarters and has been asked not to leave the said headquarters without obtaining the permission of the DGP.

“It is further ordered that during the period of suspension, the Headquarters of said Shri Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, IPS is fixed at the State Police Headquarters, Odisha, Cuttack and the said Shri Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, IPS shall not leave the said headquarters without obtaining the permission of the D.G. of Police, Odisha, Cuttack,” the order adds.

As per sources, the senior IPS officer was reportedly engaged in a fight with a female police personnel and her husband at the latter’s official residence late July 27 night. The issue came to the fore after it was reported in various media houses.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Several Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs raised the Wayanad tragedy in the House on Tuesday and demanded that it be declared a national disaster.

The demands were raised by Kerala MPs after at least 44 people were killed and over 400 families were isolated in a massive landslide at Churalpara in Kerala’s Wayanad at around 2 A.M. on Tuesday.

Kerala CPI(M) MP, John Brittas, demanded that the central disaster management forces be deployed in Kerala “immediately” to carry out rescue and relief work.

The MPs said that more than 500 families were trapped due to the landslides, the bodies of some victims were being retrieved far from their homes, and in some cases entire families have been wiped out.

The MPs also demanded financial aid of Rs 5,000 crore and called on the Rajya Sabha Chairman to declare the incident a national disaster.

During a discussion in the Rajya Sabha, members expressed their condolences and urged the government to provide full support to the affected area.

Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “The whole House in one voice is with them. The entire country has converged all agencies to help out the people in distress. The PM and CM, everyone is alert and engaged in the activity.”

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said, “I don’t have complete information about the incident. I only learnt about the incident through newspaper reports and phone calls with the authorities. Many people have been killed due to the landslide. Because the incident happened in the night, no one was aware of how many people were killed.”

He urged the Vice President to ask the government to answer the Opposition’s questions about the “forces deployed there, financial help provided and rescue operations that are taking place.”

However, dismissing the LoP’s request for a Kerala Congress MP to be allowed to speak on the issue, Dhankhar said, “We express our condolences and our solidarity…Any disaster in any part of the country is of grave importance to us… I cannot confine tragedy to one state.”

Responding to the concerns, Leader of the House, JP Nadda, emphasised nationwide empathy for the tragedy and said that the “entire country is pained” by the incident.

He assured that the Government of India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is “taking all necessary steps for the rescue operations.”

“Our concerns are understandable, but a standard procedure is followed in incidents like these. Our central agencies have reached the spot to carry out the rescue operations in coordination with the state government,” the Union Minister added.

Nadda further said that the government under the leadership of PM Modi is “proactive and pro-responsive” and that the agitation of Kerala MPs is understandable, but “we have to translate it into action.”

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also addressed allegations that the Centre was not releasing funds, asserting that this was “not the time to play politics.”

Rijiju clarified that funds were provided in advance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), a collaborative resource of the state and central governments for natural disasters.

He assured that all available rescue forces, including the NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, and Air Force, have been mobilised.

Rijiju concluded by promising a detailed report from the Home Ministry “if requested by the House,” stressing the government’s “proactive and coordinated response” to the crisis.

–IANS

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