Heavy rains in Thane and Palghar; building catches fire in lightning strike
Thane/Palghar (PTI): A building in Maharashtra's Thane district caught fire on Sunday morning due to lightning strike after heavy rains lashed many parts of Thane and neighbouring Palghar district in the early hours, officials said.
The plastic roof of the building located at Durgesh Park locality in Kalher area of Bhiwandi town in Thane caught fire at around 6.45 am, Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell officer Sakhib Kharbe said.
No person was injured in the incident, he said, adding the fire damaged the building's plastic roof.
After receiving information, a fire engine was rushed to the spot and the blaze was put out, he said.
In Palghar, there were reports of some motorbike accidents following rains.
A person was killed in one such incident under Kelve police station limits, an official from the Palghar district rural control room said.
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
