Mumbai (PTI): Curfew has been imposed at a village in north Maharashtra's Jalgaon district following clashes over a trivial dispute involving the driver of a minister's car and a group of locals, officials said on Wednesday morning.

Seven persons have been arrested so far as several shops were set on fire and public property was damaged during the violence at Palthi village, a senior police official said. There was a heated exchange between a group of locals and the driver of state minister Gulabrao Patil's car in Kasaiwada area of the village late Tuesday night when the driver honked and asked them to give way, he said.

Patil, a Shiv Sena leader and the minister for water supply and sanitation, was not present, but a member of his family was riding in the car. While the altercation ended at the spot, some persons from the locality later went to a village square and protested, the official said. Another group then arrived there, leading to clashes till early in the morning. Several shops in the village were burnt, the official said.

Additional police personnel, State Reserve Police Force and Riot Control Police teams alongside fire brigade vehicles were deployed in the village, he said, adding that the situation was now under control.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.

The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.

The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.

“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.

“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.

Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.

Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.

“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.