Chennai police officer adopts boy whose mother’s murder he was probing
Chennai : In a heart-warming gesture, a police officer came forward to help a 12-year-old boy who had been orphaned after his mother was murdered three days ago.
The boy’s mother Parimala, 33, had been living alone in a rented house on Subburayan Street, Nammalvarpet, ever since her husband Govindaraj died a few years ago.
Her only son Karthik, aged 12, was studying at a boarding school in Mylapore. She was murdered on Friday by a 17-year-old boy who was living on the first floor of the building where she lived. M. Balamurugan, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ayanavaram, visited the spot and made enquiries with the Inspector of Police, Secretariat Colony, on whether any relative of the deceased had been informed. He was told that the deceased had a 12-year-old son, who was waiting at the police station. The police had not shared details about his mother’s death with the boy.
Mr. Balamurugan then went to the police station and consoled the boy, and assured him that he had nothing to worry about as the police would extend all possible help.
On returning home, Mr. Balamurugan, who has a daughter and a son, had a discussion with his wife and decided to extend a helping hand to the boy.
Gives undertaking
The next morning, he gave an undertaking to the school where Karthik is studying, offering to be the boy’s guardian. The officer then took the boy home.
“The object of my gesture was that the boy should not be misled and not indulge in a tit-for-tat act. We should ensure the future of boy and help him lead a good life in society,” he said.
Mr. Balamurugan said he would also explore the possibility of adopting the boy through legal means.
courtesy : thehindu.com
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Minor protests reported in Kerala polling over bogus vote allegations
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Assembly polling across Kerala progressed largely peacefully, but protests were reported at several booths on Thursday over allegations of bogus voting.
A minor scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP activists at Manalur in Thrissur district after UDF candidate T N Prathapan arrived in the area.
According to police, BJP activists prevented people accompanying Prathapan from entering the booth premises, leading to the scuffle.
In Wadakkanchery, also in Thrissur district, a voter, Sajeev, was unable to cast his vote after election officials informed him that his vote had already been recorded as a postal ballot.
This triggered protests by BJP activists, prompting police intervention.
Although election officials offered to allow him to cast a tender vote, he declined.
BJP candidate T S Ullas Babu later arrived at the booth and staged a protest.
A similar incident occurred in Kuttiady, Kozhikode district, where a woman was denied the right to vote after it was found that her vote had already been cast as a postal ballot.
At Malampuzha and Shoranur in Palakkad district, Thrikkaripur in Kasaragod, and Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, complaints emerged that votes had been cast in the names of original voters, leading to protests.
The affected voters were later permitted to cast tender votes.
If a voter arrives at the polling station and finds someone has already voted in their name, they can inform the presiding officer. After satisfactorily proving their identity with valid documents, the voter is allowed to cast a tendered ballot instead of using the voting machine.
In Kalpetta, Wayanad, a polling agent was removed after it was found that she was simultaneously working as an ASHA worker.
In a separate incident in Uduma, Kasaragod, a Congress agent was caught using "smart spectacles" inside a polling booth.
At a polling booth in Badaje, Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, a defect was noticed in a voting machine that recorded more votes than were actually polled.
Polling in all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala commenced at 7 am.
The crucial elections will decide whether the ruling LDF will secure a straight third term, whether the UDF will make a comeback, or whether the BJP will spring a surprise in an otherwise bipolar contest.
