Fire breaks out at footwear godown in Kochi, no casualties
Kochi : A massive fire broke out at a footwear showroom and godown located near the South railway station in Kerala's commercial hub Kochi Wednesday.
Officials said no casualty was reported but firefighters took several hours to bring the blaze, which broke out in the the fourth floor of the six-storeyed building, under control.
Around 50 fire engines rushed to the spot and evacuated people from nearby shops and residential buildings, a fire department official told PTI.
An eyewitness said a large plume of black smoke was seen spreading around the multi-storeyed structure before the fire broke out. Short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the blaze but it cannot be confirmed at the moment, the official said.
"No casualty has been reported as the employees of the godown moved out of the building as soon as the fire broke out.
Now the blaze is under control...we are trying to douse it completely," the official said.
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Udupi: Two men from Belthangady awarded life imprisonment for attempt to murder a woman in 2022
Udupi: Two men from Belthangady have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Udupi for attempting to murder a woman in Manchikumeri in 2022.
The sentenced men, Mithun and Nagesh Poojary, are learned to have attempted to murder Sumathi, wife of Ramanath Rai, a resident of Manchikumeri, who had a Nandini Milk Parlour at Tiger Circle, Manipal.
On February 18, 2022, Sumathi was reportedly alone at home when, at around 7 pm, Mithun, learned to be her nephew, and his friend Poojary came to the house. As Sumathi opened the door, the duo barged in and tried to strangulate her with an intention of murdering her. Sumathi reportedly lost consciousness under the attack.
The men packed her body in a sack and were then putting the sack into a suitcase to carry the body out, when they noticed that Rai and neighbours had arrived. They are learned to have opened the door when Rai knocked the door and then tried to escape. They were, however, caught by the neighbours and handed over to the police.
Further, Sumathi was found by the group in an unconscious state inside the suitcase in the house. She was rushed to the Manipal Hospital and learned to have recovered after a week of medical treatment.
A case had been registered at the Manipal Police Station.
The Udupi Principal District and Sessions Court judge Kiran S Gangannavar, who heard the case, has declared both Mithun and Poojary guilty in the case. He has awarded them life imprisonment, fined them Rs 20,000 each and, under Column 325, sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment of 5 years and fined them Rs 5,000 each.
Judge Gangannavar has directed that, of the fine, Rs 45,000 be handed to the attack victim Sumathi as relief.
Jayarama Shetty represented the government as Public Prosecutor.
