Kohli, Chanu conferred Khel Ratna; Neeraj, Hima get Arjuna award
New Delhi, Sep 25: Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu were conferred with the country's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award -- by President Ram Nath Kovind at the annual National Sports Awards ceremony here on Tuesday.
This year's award ceremony was postponed to September 25 from the usual August 29 National Sports Day event due to the clash of dates with the Asian Games in Indonesia.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is given for a 'spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years'. Both Kohli and Chanu received a medal, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh.
Besides the Khel Ratna, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, sprinter Hima Das, table tennis star Manika Batra were among the 20 recipients of the prestigious Arjuna award.
The other Arjuna awardees were long distance runner Jinson Johnson, shuttler N.Sikki Reddy, boxer Satish Kumar, woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana, golfer Shubhankar Sharma, hockey stars Manpreet Singh and Savita Punia, Col. Ravi Rathore (Polo), shooters Rahi Sarnobat, Ankur Mittal, Shreyasi Singh, paddler G. Sathiyan, tennis player Rohan Bopanna, wrestler Sumit, Pooja Kadian (Wushu).
Para athlete Ankur Dhama and para shuttler Manoj Sarkar were also conferred with the Arjuna award, that included statuettes, certificates and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.
The President also gave away the Dronacharya awards to C.A. Kuttappa (Boxing), Vijay Sharma (Weightlifting), A. Srinivasa Rao (Table Tennis), Sukhdev Singh Pannu (Athletics).
Among the Dronacharya awardees for lifetime achievement were Clarence Lobo (Hockey), Tarak Sinha (Cricket), Jiwan Kumar Sharma (Judo) and V.R. Beedu (Athletics). The Dronacharya awardees were also given statuettes, certificates and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.
The Dhyan Chand award, that also includes statuettes, certificates and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each were given to Satyadev Prasad (Archery), Bharat Kumar Chhetri (Hockey), Bobby Aloysius (Athletics) and Chougule Dadu Dattatray (Wrestling).
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BJP councillor dies by suicide after being threatened by youths following party's bypoll win
Agartala (PTI): A BJP councillor of Dharmanagar Municipal Council (DMC) in North Tripura died by suicide on Tuesday after he was allegedly threatened and humiliated by a group of youth following the saffron party's victory in the Dharmanagar bypoll, police said.
Rahul Kishore Roy, who was also the BJP's Yuva Morcha mandal president, took the extreme step a day after BJP candidate Jahar Chakraborti won the bypoll for the Dharmagar Assembly constituency by a massive margin.
Chief Minister Manik Saha expressed shock over the youth leader's death and assured an impartial inquiry into the allegations brought by the deceased’s wife, Ananya Bhattacharjee.
"I am shocked by the untimely death of Rahul Kishore Roy. May his soul rest in peace, and also offer my sympathy to the bereaved family. I also assured that an impartial inquiry will be conducted following the complaint of the deceased's wife", the CM wrote on Facebook.
Roy's wife has lodged a complaint with the local police station, holding seven persons responsible for her husband's death.
"Soon after the announcement of the results of the bypoll to the Dharmagnar Assembly bypoll, six to seven youths attacked our residence at Chandrapur at 3 pm and started hurling abuses at my husband. They also assaulted me to hand over my husband to them," she stated in the complaint.
Ananya said, "The same gang returned late at night again, attacked our house and hurled two or three bombs. They also threatened to eliminate my husband whenever he is found at Dharmanagar."
Deeply upset by the attacks and threats, my husband committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling early Tuesday morning. I urge the Officer in Charge (OC), Dharmanagar police station, to investigate against these people for justice, she said.
"Based on a specific complaint, we have registered a case, and an investigation is underway. No one has been arrested yet," SP, North Tripura, Avinash Kumar Rai said.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
