Dubai bus crash: 11 Indian victims' bodies flown home, one cremated in UAE
Dubai: The mortal remains of 11 Indians killed in a horrific road accident in Dubai were repatriated on Sunday while the body of a 22-year-old Indian was cremated here in the Gulf emirate, an official said.
Twelve Indians were among 17 people killed in Dubai Thursday when a bus, mostly with Eid vacationers coming from Oman, entered a restricted lane and rammed into a low-clearance sign.
The repatriation of 11 Indians was complete when the last three bodies were flown to Mumbai on an Air India flight, the official who was making arrangements for the flights was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.
The flight departed at 3.39am Sunday.
"All mortal remains were moved as scheduled. The procedures were completed by 11.45pm," he said.
Meanwhile, Roshni Moolchandani, the youngest Indian victim killed in the crash, was cremated here on Saturday at the Jebel Ali crematorium. Her final rites were completed by her family who came over from India, said a social worker, who was assisting the family.
Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told the paper Saturday that the mortal remains of the Indian victims would be repatriated free of cost by Air India in cases where employers were not bearing expenses.
The consulate had issued travel documents for free and also offered to bear the cost of embalming in cases where the families needed support.
The bus, belonging to the Omani bus transport company Mwasalat, carrying 31 passengers, crashed into a height barrier that cut the left side of the bus and killed passengers sitting on that side.
Dubai Police blamed the Omani driver, who was moderately injured, for the accident, saying "at times a small mistake or negligence can lead to adverse consequences".
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
