Mumbai : At least 18 labourers were killed and 15 others injured when a speeding truck overturned in western Maharashtra’s Satara district in the early hours on Tuesday, a police official said.

The condition of three of the injured labourers was reported to be critical, he said.
The police suspect that the driver “dozed off” and lost control of the vehicle while managing a difficult turn, leading to the accident.

The truck, carrying construction labourers from Bijapur district in Karnataka, was going towards Pune when it met with the accident around 4.30 am on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway passing through the district, around 250 km from here, Satara’s Superintendent of Police Sandeep Patil said.

“After crossing the Khambatki ghat section, there is a difficult turning of ‘S’ shape. It is an accident-prone spot. The truck driver probably dozed off and lost control over the vehicle, as a result of which the vehicle hit a barricade and overturned,” he said.
At least 18 labourers died, while 15 others sustained injuries, he said.

The labourers, carrying heavy and sharp equipment, were heading to a construction site in Pune, Patil said.

“They were carrying some sharp and heavy equipment in the truck. When the vehicle overturned, the equipment fell on the labourers. Many of them died due to head injuries caused by the equipment,” the SP said.

On being informed, the Khandala police rushed to the spot and took all the victims to the Satara Civil Hospital, he said.

Three of the injured labourers were reported to be in a critical condition, he said.
The bodies were sent for post-mortem and the process to identify the deceased was on, the police added.

Rohtak : Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced several sops for traders, including a free-of-cost accidental insurance cover, a scheme to compensate traders for the loss of stock or building, ownership right for legally occupied shops and rebate on collector rate for the registry of shops.

He made the announcement at a state-level convention here.

Under the free insurance scheme, the family of the trader will get Rs5 lakh in the event of his death in an accident. The insurance premium will be paid by the Traders Welfare Board and the state government. The traders, who get themselves registered with the board, will benefit from the scheme. District-level committees will be constituted under the board.

Khattar said traders would also be compensated for their losses of stock and buildings ranging from Rs5 lakh to Rs25 lakh. “Shopkeepers legally occupying shops for more than 20 years will get registered ownership of the units.”

A rebate of 20 per cent would be given to traders for the registry of their shops, he said, adding CCTV cameras would be installed at all market as well as mandis across the state.

Firing salvos at the previous governments in the state, the Chief Minister pointed out that traders were threatened and money was extorted from them at the behest of criminals lodged in jails under the patronage of then ruling parties, while the BJP government had created a trade-friendly environment in the state.

Khattar said that unlike the previous (Congress) government, when corrupt practices were rampant in the grant of change of land use (CLU) permissions, the power to grant CLUs had been decentralised by his government.

“Haryana was at number 14 in the ease of doing business when the BJP assumed power in 2014. In 2016, it jumped to the sixth position. At present, it is at number two. The government is striving for the top position,” he said.

Traders Welfare Board chairman Gopal Sharan Garg apprised the Chief Minister of the demands of the trading community.

Unnao : The father of a woman, who had alleged that she was raped by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and his accomplices, died in police custody, on Monday.
The woman's father was arrested on Sunday after the family attempted suicide outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Lucknow residence.

"The man was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night after he complained of abdominal pain and vomiting. He passed away early on Monday. He was admitted to the hospital by the police,” said Dr Atul, District hospital, Unnao.

However, the relatives alleged that he was murdered in the jail by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the BJP MLA from Unnao named as accused by the rape victim.

The woman and her family alleged that she was raped by the BJP MLA and his fellow accomplices, but no action was taken.

The victim also said that she and her family were threatened after they had filed an FIR, which the Police had registered after stalling it for a year.

The family alleged that the MLA's brother had thrashed the woman's father on April 3 for refusing to cancel the FIR, but the police booked the father instead, and locked him up for a period of one year.

When contacted, Sengar refuted the allegations against him and said, "It is a conspiracy hatched by my political opponents to tarnish my image and damage my reputation...I have no problem with any probe. Let a probe be conducted, and the guilty be given the stringent punishment. If I am found guilty in the probe, I am ready to face punishment." 

Meanwhile, six police personnel have been suspended and four accused were arrested for allegedly beating up a rape victim's father here.

“Two police officers and four constables have been suspended, while four accused of beating the rape victim's father have been arrested,” said Unnao Superintendent of Police (SP), Pushpanjali Devi.

New Delhi : The Congress's day-long hunger-strike at Rajghat to highlight alleged atrocities against Dalits, tribes and minorities in the country began on a controversial note on Monday with 1984-riot accused leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar leaving the stage before party President Rahul Gandhi joined the event.

Tytler and Kumar were seen leaving the Mahatma Gandhi's memorial soon after their arrival for the Congress' anti-government protest, apparently after being told to leave with their alleged links to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi continuing to haunt them.
Tytler, who was later seen in the crowd, has been long accused of instigating rioters against Sikh following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh security guards. Kumar, who left the venue, is also accused of his involvement in two cases related to riots.  The charges have been proved against neither.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Maken, however, clarified that the two leaders were not asked to leave.  He said the stage and its enclosure at the venue were reserved for some Congress office-bearers.

"We are praying for togetherness and for brotherhood, for all religions and castes in the country so that we can send out a message that all Indian are one and there is no division on caste basis," Maken said.

The Congress said its leaders were fasting to "promote communal harmony" and protesting against the government's anti-Dalit policy.

Congress units across the country will also observe a fast that came days after Dalit groups called a "Bharat Bandh" against a Supreme Court order diluting a law aimed at to prevent atrocities against Dalits and tribes.

The government has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking review of its order.

Bhubaneswar : Seven railway men were suspended for lapses after 22 coaches of an express train with passengers on board travelled a few kilometres without an engine in Odisha, a railway spokesman said on Sunday.
A possible disaster was averted after staff put stones on the track and brought the Ahmedabad-Puri Express to a halt on Saturday night, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) spokesman said, adding all passengers were safe. While two railway personnel were suspended soon after the coaches of the train rolled down the track at Titlagarh in Balangir district after detachment of the engine, five others were placed under suspension on Sunday, he said.
They included two engine drivers, three carriage repairing staff and two operating department employees, he said. The coaches travelled from Titlagarh station towards Kesinga in Kalahandi district after the engine was detached for attachment at the other end, the spokesman said, adding the section from Titlagarh towards Kesinga had a downward slope.