Preparations in full swing for PM Modi's Varanasi visit; to flag off 4 Vande Bharat trains
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Varanasi (UP) (PTI): Elaborate security and administrative arrangements have been made in Varanasi ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency beginning Friday evening.
During this visit, he will flag off four new Vande Bharat Express trains connecting key cities across the country.
According to officials, the prime minister will arrive at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Babatpur around 5 pm on Friday, from where he will travel by road to Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), where he will stay overnight.
On Saturday morning, at around 8.15 am, Modi will flag off four Vande Bharat Express trains from the Banaras railway station. These new semi-high-speed trains will operate on the Banaras-Khajuraho, Lucknow-Saharanpur, Firozpur-Delhi, and Ernakulam-Bengaluru routes.
The Banaras-Khajuraho Vande Bharat will connect prominent cultural and religious destinations, including Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Chitrakoot, officials said.
After the flagging-off ceremony, Modi will travel by helicopter to Babatpur Airport and depart for Darbhanga, Bihar, around 9.15 am.
Meanwhile, the city has been adorned to welcome the prime minister. According to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries, arrangements have been made for his grand reception at several locations along his route, including Sant Atulanand Bypass, near JP Mehta, the BLW FCI godown, and near the BLW gate.
Commissioner of Police Mohit Agarwal said a three-tier security system has been put in place for the prime minister's visit. The entire route has been declared a 'no-flying zone', and CCTV surveillance and drone monitoring will ensure real-time vigilance.
All police personnel deployed on duty have been instructed to carry their identity cards at all times. No vehicles will be allowed to halt on the prime minister's route, and rooftop security deployment has also been made, Agarwal said, adding that entry at the venue will be permitted only after thorough security checks.
Separate arrangements have been made for the frisking of women by women police officers, and officials on duty have been directed to carry loudspeakers and public address systems to manage the crowd efficiently.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
