Coonoor(TN)(PTI): A case was registered by the police on Thursday in connection with the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash near here on December 8 that killed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others, and initiated a probe into the matter.
The Nilgiris district police registered the FIR under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and ADSP Muthumanikam was appointed as the investigation officer, official sources said. A probe is underway.
Police were using drone camera near the crash site as part of the investigation.
An IAF helicopter crashed at Katteri-Nanjappanchathram near here on Wednesday, killing India's first CDS, General Rawat, his wife and 11 other military personnel, with only one of the 14 passengers in the copter surviving the crash.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told Parliament that a tri-services inquiry led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has started investigation into the crash.
Meanwhile, two minor accidents were reported when the bodies of the crash victims were being transported to Coimbatore, from where they would be flown to New Delhi.
In one of the incidents in Karamadai, on the outskirts of Coimbatore, an ambulance carrying the body of one of the deceased hit another moving in the front.
As a result, the vehicle got stuck and the mortal remains were shifted to another ambulance to be taken to the Sulur Air base in the city for the onward journey to the national capital, officials said.
Earlier, a police vehicle, escorting the ambulances carrying the bodies, met with an accident near Barliar. A few policemen sustained minor injuries, they said.
Meanwhile, in order to pay homage and as a mark of respect to the crash victims, shops, commercial establishments and hotels in Udhagamandalam in the Nilgiris decided to down shutters on Friday.
Udhagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty, is 17 km away from the crash site and is a sought-after tourist destination.
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Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said that more than 350 unauthorised religious sites, including madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs, have been identified and subjected to sealing or demolition in recent days, an official statement issued here said.
Acting on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's clear directive that no religious encroachment will be tolerated, the administration in districts such as Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj has launched a sweeping campaign, it said.
The authorities have systematically identified illegal structures and taken strict action, continuing operations even on Sunday.
The chief minister has made it clear that encroachment in the name of any religion will not be allowed and all violators, especially those running unrecognised religious institutions, will face legal consequences, the statement said.
On May 10 and 11, 104 madrasas, one mosque, five mazars and two Eidgahs built illegally on public and private land were identified in Shravasti. All were issued notices and sealed, it said.
One illegal madrasa on public land was demolished and two unrecognized madrasas on private land were sealed, the statement added.
In Bahraich, officials identified 13 madrasas, eight mosques, two mazars and one Eidgah illegally constructed on government land.
After issuing notices, five were sealed and 11 were demolished, including eight madrasas, two mosques and one mazar, the statement said.
In Siddharthnagar, the authorities identified four mosques and 18 madrasas and one more madrasa for illegal construction. Notices were issued to these structures. Five madrasas were sealed and nine were demolished. In total, action was taken against 23 illegal structures in the district, it said.
In Maharajganj’s Nautanwa tehsil, Parsamalik village, an unrecognized madrasa operating on Maktab land was shut down based on a report submitted by the District Minority Welfare Officer.
The building’s keys were handed over to the local police station in-charge. So far, 29 madrasas and five mazars constructed through encroachment on public and private land have been demolished in the district.
In past two days in Lakhimpur Kheri, two mosques, one Eidgah on public land along with eight madrasas on private land were found to be illegally constructed.
Of the 13 structures identified, one was served a notice, nine were sealed and three have been demolished so far, the statement said.
The district authorities in Pilibhit have identified an illegal mosque built on public land in Bharatpur village, covering an area of 0.0310 hectares.
According to the district magistrate, a notice has been issued to the parties involved, seeking a response within 15 days. Action against the illegal construction will be taken after the notice period ends, it said.
On Sunday, an under-construction madrasa on public land in Virpur Semra village, Tulsipur tehsil, was demolished in Balrampur. So far, 30 madrasas, 10 mazars and one Eidgah have been demolished in the district.
Ten of them were built illegally on public land, while 20 were constructed without authorization on private land, the statement said.