Shimla (PTI): Six people died after a huge tree fell on several vehicles following a landslide near Gurudwara Manikarn Sahib in Himachal's Kullu district on Sunday, officials said.

A tree on the mountain opposite the gurudwara got uprooted following a storm and landslide. It fell on some vehicles parked on the road, killing six and injuring three others, they said.

The injured have been sent to Jari Hospital for treatment, the officials added.

Medical teams, police and revenue officials are present at the spot and coordinating rescue and relief operations, said Kullu's Sub Divisional Magistrate Vikas Shukla told reporters at the spot.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur have expressed deep grief over the incident.

CM Sukhu has directed the district administration to extend all possible assistance to the victims and their families.

He has also instructed officers to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured.

This is a developing story. Further details are awaited.

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.



Bengaluru (PTI): A pre-school principal and her two associates were arrested for allegedly extorting money from the father of a five-year-old student with whom she had an affair, police said on Wednesday.

The woman allegedly blackmailed the 34-year-old man by threatening to leak his private pictures on social media if he did not pay her Rs 20 lakh, they added.

The man became friends with the woman after enrolling his daughter in her pre-school in 2023 and later got into a relationship with her, police said.

According to a senior police officer, the man used a separate phone to communicate with her. Over time, she extorted Rs 4 lakh from him under various pretexts.

Later, she demanded that they live together, and when his family was away, she visited his home and borrowed Rs 50,000 from him, he said.

When he refused, she allegedly intimidated him, claiming she had contacts in the police.

As a result, he began distancing himself from her. Facing financial difficulties, he decided to withdraw his daughter from the pre-school and relocate his family to his native place in Gujarat, police said.

At the principal’s behest, her two male associates allegedly demanded Rs 20 lakh from him to delete his private videos and photos.

To protect his reputation, he agreed to pay Rs 15 lakh and initially transferred Rs 1.9 lakh, police added.

However, when he failed to pay the remaining amount, they continued to harass him, prompting him to approach the police last month, police said.

"Based on the complaint, we arrested all three on Monday and sent them to judicial custody," police added.