Kerala police officer to face disciplinary action over fatal hit-and-run
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala police have decided to initiate disciplinary action against the Station House Officer (SHO) of Prassala police station after he was found involved in a hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of a 59-year-old man at Kilimanoor on September 7.
The Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police Chief conducted an internal inquiry and submitted a report against SHO P Anil Kumar to the Thiruvananthapuram Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG), who in turn forwarded it to the South Zone Inspector General (IG) for disciplinary action, officials said.
The South Zone IG’s office said the report has been received and that further action will follow.
He would be suspended as part of the internal inquiry and the police probe into the accident, police sources said.
Kumar, who was in Bengaluru as part of an investigation, returned to Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. Sources said Kilimanoor police would summon and formally arrest him after receiving clearance from higher officials.
According to the FIR, between 4 am and 6 am on September 7, a blue Maruti Alto car hit Rajan at Irattachira near Kilimanoor. The driver fled the spot without attending to the victim, who lay injured on the roadside for over an hour before being taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
CCTV footage examined by Kilimanoor police showed that the vehicle belonged to Kumar, and footage from a toll plaza confirmed he was behind the wheel at the time of the accident.
After the incident, Kumar allegedly shifted his car to a workshop in Neyyattinkara, from where it was later recovered by police.
The case has been registered under sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 134(A) and 134(B) of the Kerala Police Act.
“The officer has not yet given an explanation regarding the incident. A report will be filed before the court arraigning him as an accused,” a police official said.
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
