Washington, Dec 18: Chennai-born Indian American teenager Caitlin Sandra Neil has been crowned Miss India USA 2024 at the annual pageant held in New Jersey.

Caitlin, 19, is a second-year student at University of California, Davis.

"I want to leave a positive lasting impact on my community and focus on women's empowerment and literacy," Caitlin was quoted as saying in a media release.

Born in Chennai, India, Caitlin has been living in the USA for the last 14 years. She wants to be a web designer and also pursue a modelling and acting career.

Sanskriti Sharma from Illinois was crowned Mrs. India USA and Arshita Kathpalia from Washington won the Miss Teen India USA in the pageant organised by the India Festival Committee (IFC).

Rijul Maini, Miss India USA 2023 and Sneha Nambiar, Mrs India USA 2023 crowned Caitlin Sandra Neil and Sanskriti Sharma, respectively.

Nirali Desia of Illinois and Manini Patel of New Jersey were declared first runner-up and second runner-up in the Miss India USA competition.

Sapna Mishra of Virginia and Chinmayee Ayachit from Connecticut were named first and second runner-up in the Mrs India USA competition. Dhriti Patel of Rhode Island and Sonali Sharma were declared as first runner-up and second runner-up in the teen category, the press release said.

Forty-seven contestants from 25 states participated in the three categories of the pageant.

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Bengaluru (PTI): A 22-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his uncle following a dispute over vacating a house and attempting to pass off the death as accidental, police said on Wednesday.

The accused has been identified as Masroor Ahmed.

The victim, Inayath Pasha, was living alone on the ground floor of his sister’s house in Austin Town on a lease basis. Police said he had a disability in his left leg due to polio since birth, and earned his livelihood as a two-wheeler mechanic.

According to the complaint, on the evening of March 1, Pasha’s son visited him at home and found him lying unresponsive.

On checking, he discovered that his father had died. A case of unnatural death was initially registered at the Viveknagar police station.

During further investigation, police questioned Pasha’s sister, her son, and other relatives.

A relative raised suspicion about the circumstances of the death, following which a murder case was registered, a senior police officer said.

During interrogation, it emerged that an argument had taken place on March 1 between Pasha and his nephew, Ahmed, over vacating the house.

Police said that during the altercation, Ahmed allegedly assaulted Pasha, causing him to lose consciousness and collapse.

The accused then placed him on the bed and left the scene, police added.