Author: Indmedia

Udupi: Kundapur Rural police arrested a father-son duo Thursday for allegedly obstructing a village administrative officer (VAO), threatening him, and abusing him with caste-based slurs inside the Gulvadi gram panchayat office.According to police, the incident occurred on Wednesday when Prakash Naik was on duty at the VAO office. Gulvadi residents Palli Suleman and his son Shafi entered the office to submit an SIR form and stood near the complainant’s table. When asked to hand over the form, the accused allegedly verbally abused the officer, threatened him and made casteist remarks.A case has been registered at Kundapur Rural Police Station under…

Mysuru/Chikkamagaluru: The Karnataka Hakki Pikki Tribal Organisation has approached Chikkamagaluru police alleging that a young woman from the community was sold in Senegal, West Africa, by her parents and is now seeking govt assistance to return to India.The organisation president Puneeth Kumar R told TOI that the woman travelled to Senegal with her parents four months ago, to sell herbal products. “The couple allegedly sold their daughter to a local resident there. She later contacted me seeking help,” he said.He claimed the woman is currently stranded in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, and appealed to the Union govt to facilitate her return.…

Noida: A 26-year-old woman, Sneha Srivastava, who was among the two dead in the Mamura paying guest (PG) accommodation fire on Wednesday, had shifted to the city from Moradabad after she bagged a campus placement at a BPO in Sector 62 about two-and-a-half months ago on completing BBA.On Wednesday, she had called in sick at her workplace and stayed back at the PG. Hours later, a massive fire engulfed the building, claiming her life.“Had she gone to the office that day, she might have been alive,” her colleague and next-door neighbour Danish told TOI, while recalling Sneha as a cheerful…

Pune: Four unidentified armed men allegedly robbed two tourists of valuables worth Rs 41,000 near a waterfall at Ambegaon village in Maval taluka on Tuesday. A 27-year-old Moshi resident lodged a complaint with the Lonavla Rural police on Wednesday.According to the police, the complainant, who works for a private company in Pimpri Chinchwad, had gone to Ambegaon with a friend for an outing. While they were near the waterfall, four men armed with sharp weapons approached them and threatened to kill them.The accused allegedly snatched the complainant’s gold ring and his friend’s silver chain and Rs 5,000 in cash before…

Panaji: The Bombay high court on Thursday set aside a sessions court verdict and acquitted Arjuna Kazidoni in the 2020 Fatorda double murder case, granting him the benefit of doubt in the deaths of Ravi Badiger and Bhimsi Gasti.Kazidoni had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Oct 2024 for allegedly killing the two men with empty liquor bottles and laterite stones after consuming alcohol.Counsel Rohan Desai said the prosecution’s case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, and noted that a witness died while the trial was pending.A South Goa additional sessions court had earlier held Kazidoni guilty of murdering Badiger and…

Chandigarh: In a move aimed at addressing the shortage of doctors in govt hospitals, the Punjab govt has extended the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) scheme to medical officers appointed on or after July 17, 2020, bringing all govt doctors under a uniform career progression framework.The decision is expected to make govt service more attractive for young doctors, a category the state has struggled to recruit and retain.The finance department has approved the implementation of the scheme for doctors recruited on or after July 17, 2020. Under the MACP, medical officers will receive financial upgradations after 5, 10 and 15…

Lucknow: There are 17 common facility centres (CFCs) operational in the state under the one district-one product scheme. While 13 are under construction, approval has been given to 11 projects, , said a govt spokesperson.On Thursday, chief secretary SP Goyal held a review meeting on the development of CFCs. . To enhance the utility of CFCs, he said, a comprehensive publicity campaign should be conducted. “An active presence should be maintained on various digital and social media platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp, to ensure that the reach of CFCs extends to the maximum number of beneficiaries. Door-to-door awareness campaigns in…

Patna: In a major initiative to preserve and promote Bihar’s rich folk heritage, the state govt is planning to establish a dedicated museum in Saran district to study, research and teach the folk theatre traditions pioneered by Bhojpuri artist Bhikhari Thakur.The proposed museum will showcase the life, works and cultural contributions of the iconic artiste, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest figures in Bhojpuri literature and folk theatre.Art and culture minister Pramod Kumar said the museum is being planned with the objective of taking Bhikhari Thakur’s creative legacy to future generations. He noted that Thakur was not…

Jaipur: The Rajasthan forest department has kept the transfer and posting of 13 deputy conservators of forests (DCFs) of the Rajasthan Forest Service (RFS) in abeyance, days after issuing a transfer list for 39 officers.The revised order follows a review of the posting of RFS officers against positions held by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers.The department issued transfer orders for 39 DCFs on July 10. However, a subsequent order has put the transfer and posting of 13 officers on hold until further orders.The move has created uncertainty within the department as several of the affected officers already joined their new…

Strays bit the minor’s face repeatedly and disfigured it Amravati: A 10-year-old girl is fighting for her life in ICU after being brutally mauled by stray dogs near Sai Hospital in Rukmini Nagar, Amravati, on Thursday.Sanidi Sachin Kaware, daughter of a private driver, was attacked while in the locality. The stray dogs bit her face repeatedly, leaving her facially disfigured and in a critical condition. She was rushed to hospital and is currently under intensive care.Gory photos of the injured child went viral, sparking massive outrage against the Amravati Municipal Corporation.Corporator Anil Agrawal blamed the AMC directly. “How many more…