Agartala, July 3 (IANS) A couple died and their two minor children were critically injured after their mud house in West Tripura collapsed while they were asleep, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said that due to the incessant rain during the last three days, a part of the mud house collapsed causing the death of Rajen Tanti (35) and his wife Jhuma Tanti (26) at Meghli Para village in West Tripura district late on Tuesday night.

The victims’ four-month and nine-year-old daughters received critical injuries and have been admitted to a hospital.

Senior officials including West Tripura District Magistrate Vishal Kumar and Panchayat Samiti members visited the spot.

Meanwhile, 430 people from 100 families have been sheltered in 8 relief camps in Kumarghat in Unakoti district since Tuesday after flood water submerged their homes and localities following heavy rain.

Over 122 houses have been damaged in the heavy downpour till Wednesday.

The water level in most rivers of the state is below the expected floor level but parts of Manu river in Unakoti district had crossed the warning level by Wednesday evening as per a report of the water resource department.

–IANS

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Noida, July 3 (IANS) Two women from Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district are among the 121 people who were killed after a stampede broke out at a ‘Satsang’ in Hathras on Tuesday, an official said on Wednesday.

The deceased have been identified as Sumanna Devi (69) and Premwati (73) — both hailing from Dadri.

Besides, three other women — Babita, Anita, and Kamlesh, also from Dadri — were injured in the stampede and are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sector 39 here.

One of the injured — Kamlesh — is the daughter of Premwati who died in the stampede.

According to a family member, Kamlesh somehow managed to crawl out of the commotion.

At least 121 people died in the stampede during a ‘Satsang’ (religious congregation) of Sakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba towards the concluding phase of the programme after his ‘followers’ rushed to seek blessings from him.

The self-styled godman is currently absconding.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a probe into the incident.

–IANS

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Ranchi, July 3 (IANS) With the buzz over JMM President Hemant Soren returning as Jharkhand Chief Minister getting louder on Wednesday, his close aide Champai Soren resigned as the CM barely five months after taking oath.

Hemant Soren is presently out on bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

Champai Soren submitted his resignation to Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, following which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Hemant Soren handed over a Letter of Support to the Governor, staking claim to form the new government.

Congress’ Jharkhand in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir was also present along with the JMM leaders.

After handing over his resignation, Champai Soren said, “When the leadership had changed, I was given responsibility. You know the sequence of events. After Hemant Soren came back, we (the coalition partners) picked him as our leader. I have now resigned. I am following the decision taken by the coalition.”

Champai Soren was sworn in on February 2, just two days after two-time Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the land scam case.

Earlier on Wednesday during a meeting of the JMM-led coalition’s legislators and leaders at Hemant Soren’s residence here, Champai Soren offered to quit the Chief Minister and proposed Hemant Soren’s name, which was agreed to by those present at the meeting.

Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur, and prominent leaders of all JMM allies attended the meeting.

The political scenario in the state changed on June 28 when Hemant Soren secured bail from the Jharkhand High Court in the land scam case.

It was also decided at the meeting that the coalition will be led by Hemant Soren in the run-up to the Assembly polls scheduled in Jharkhand later this year.

–IANS

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Chandigarh, July 3 (IANS) The Punjab Police’s Cyber Crime Division has arrested two travel agents for trafficking people from the state to Cambodia and other South East Asian countries, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Amarjeet Singh, owner of Visa Palace Immigration in Mohali, and his accomplice Gurjodh Singh.

As per information, the arrested travel agents were sending people from Punjab to Cambodia, promising them data entry jobs. On arrival at Siam Reap in Cambodia, their passports were taken away from them and they were forced or tortured to work in cyber scamming call centres to target people to commit financial fraud.

DGP Yadav said following the information from a victim, who managed to escape from Cambodia after getting in touch with the Indian Embassy, the state Cyber Crime Police Station had registered a first information report and started investigations in this case.

He said preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused have fraudulently sent many people to Cambodia and other South East Asian countries, where they are forcibly made to work at centres engaged in cyber scamming Indians.

The details of the people, who are in cyber slavery, are being obtained and contacts are being established with them and their families, he added.

Sharing details, ADGP (Cyber Crime) V. Neeraja said police teams led by Inspector Deepak Bhatia conducted a raid at the office of Visa Palace and arrested both the accused.

She said the accused have revealed that they were carrying on these illegal activities in connivance with other agents belonging to different states.

She exhorted the people to be aware of such fraudulent immigration activities and not fall prey to the fake promises of travel agents offering lucrative job opportunities abroad.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has set up an Overseas Workers Resource Centre as a single-window facilitation centre to provide support services to people desirous of going abroad for employment.

–IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, July 3 (IANS) While Kerala’s ruling Left takes pride in the quality of education in the schools in the state, a cutting remark by Culture Minister Saji Cherian on the prevailing academic standards has left his cabinet colleague and Education Minister V. Sivankutty fuming and trying to control the damage.

With the new academic year just a few weeks old, Cherian, who is known for being outspoken – which saw him quitting as state minister a few years back over a remark on the Constitution before he was reinstated, left many, especially Sivankutty in a spot of bother, when he said many students who pass Class 10 examinations in the state do not even know to read or write. He further said that in the past to get the minimum pass mark of 210 marks in Class 10 public examinations was difficult, but now it’s all pass and any drop in the pass percentage is seen as a reflection of poor governance of the state government.

Cherian’s remark created ripples and a cornered Sivankutty on Wednesday took potshots at his colleague by citing his present illness.

“You all know Cherian as due to his remarks, he has run into trouble. So now he is down with fever, we will give him time to correct himself as what he said is not sure,” Sivankutty said.

A look into the 2024 SSLC Class 10 results, showed of the 4,26,892 students who appeared, 4,25,565 students became eligible for higher studies, with the pass percentage recording a high of 99.69 per cent. The pass percentage, about three to four decades back, was between 55 to 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, according to the grapevine, the dispute between the two ministers relates to their past differences as both rose from student organisations and while Sivankutty was the state chief, Cherian was a district leader and they had some issues then.

–IANS

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