Nine killed, around 40 injured as private bus falls into 500-feet deep gorge in Himachal's Sirmaur
Nahan (HP) (PTI): Nine people died while about 40 others were injured after a private bus fell into a 500-feet deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district on Friday afternoon, police said.
The accident occurred when the bus en route from Shimla to Kupvi via Rajgarh veered off the road and plunged into the gorge down the road and landed upside down near Haripurdhar village, around 95 kilometres from the district headquarters, Nahan.
Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sangrah, Sunil Kayath, who is at the spot supervising the rescue operation, told PTI that nine bus passengers have died while about 40 are injured.
He said the rescue operation is going on war footing and all the injured and dead were being rushed to nearby Sangrah and Dadahu hospitals.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives in the accident, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a statement issued here, directed the district authorities to provide all possible assistance to the next of kin of those killed in the accident and ensure the best medical care to the injured.
Industry Minister and local MLA from the Shallai assembly segment, Harshwardhan Chauhan, said the district administration has been put on alert, and medical teams and doctors at Dadahu, Sangrah and Nahan hospital are prepared for emergency.
He said the cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained and expressed condolences on the incident.
Locals on the spot suspect that the bus driver might have lost control of the vehicle, following which it skidded off the road due to frost accumulation.
In videos circulating on social media, a large crowd is seen helping in the rescue operations, trying to get the injured out of the wreckage of the bus.
Locals rushed for rescue and informed the police after the accident. Officials of the district administration, police and others are also at work.
Balbir Chauhan, a resident of Haripurdhar and member of the BJP state working committee, said that the locals have done remarkable work in rescuing the passengers from the deep gorge in the difficult conditions.
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Man chased, brutally stabbed inside public toilet in northwest Delhi; one arrested; juvenile held
New Delhi (PTI): An alleged road rage incident took a fatal turn when a 27-year-old factory worker was chased down by assailants and stabbed multiple times inside a public toilet in northwest Delhi's Ashok Vihar area, police said on Thursday.
According to police, the incident took place on Wednesday night, when witnesses saw the victim, Santosh Kumar, running into a public toilet in a desperate bid to save his life, with his attackers hot on his heels.
"A PCR call was received at 6:23 pm on April 8 regarding a man being stabbed inside the compound of a Sulabh Sauchalaya located at the fish market in Wazirpur Industrial Area," a senior police officer said.
A police team rushed to the spot and found the victim lying in a pool of blood inside the toilet premises. The victim, originally from Nepal, was residing in Macchi Market area, the official said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the incident stemmed from an altercation between the victim and a motorcycle rider. The verbal spat soon escalated into a physical scuffle, during which the accused, along with an associate, allegedly attacked Santosh with a knife.
Police sources said in a desperate attempt to save himself, the injured victim ran towards the nearby public toilet and tried to latch the door from inside. Eyewitness accounts suggest he tried to take refuge inside the public toilet and shut the door to prevent his attackers from entering. However, he was chased down, overpowered, and stabbed multiple times.
Santosh collapsed on the spot, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.
A case under sections 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (common intentions) was registered at Ashok Vihar police station and an investigation was taken up.
During the probe, police arrested one accused identified as Tanish (19), a resident of CSA Colony in Macchi Market area, and apprehended a juvenile allegedly involved in the incident.
Police said the motorcycle used by the accused, which they had abandoned while fleeing after the attack, was recovered near the crime scene.
Family members and acquaintances of the deceased expressed shock over the killing. Santosh's uncle, who reached the spot after being informed, recounted the scene.
"When I came here, I saw him lying on the floor, dead. I noticed that he had been stabbed twice. I am not aware of what exactly happened. He was just 27 years old and used to work in a steel company with me. I don't know how many people were involved in the attack. We are from Nepal, and I have been working here for 15 years. I think he was stabbed outside and later came inside the toilet to save himself. There was a bike outside which I think belonged to the attackers," he said.
Police said the motive behind the crime appears to be road rage -- a sudden and heated altercation on the road that spiralled into a violent assault resulting in the victim's death.
Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend any other persons involved in the attack. Police teams are analysing CCTV footage from the surrounding area and examining local witnesses to piece together the sequence of events.
