Kasaragod: Rahul consoles families of three slain Youth Congress workers
Kasaragod/Kannur, Mar 14: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday met with the family members of three slain Youth Congress activists allegedly killed by CPI-M workers and assured they will get justice.
Gandhi visited the homes of Kripesh and Sarath Lal, who were hacked to death last month in Kasaragod district, and met with the family members and consoled them.
"My promise to them is no matter what happens, they will get justice. We will ensure that whoever has done this will be punished. I understand the situation right now.
Let me assure those people who had done this, that justice is going to come to them," Gandhi told the media after visiting Kripesh's house at Kalyot in Kasaragod district.
Kripesh's father said Gandhi had assured them that a CBI probe would be ordered into their deaths.
According to sources, during his visit to Sarath Lal's family, Gandhi reportedly told the family that the All India Congress Committee has been viewing the incident seriously and promised all possible help to them.
The Youth Congress workers were allegedly hacked to death by assailants on February 17 as they were returning after a function.
Earlier, Gandhi spent around half an hour with the parents and sisters of slain activist Shuhaib at the Kannur international airport and extended the party's support to them, party sources said.
Senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran were among those present during the meeting.
Party sources said the Congress chief, who arrived on a day's visit to the state to officially kick start the party's Lok Sabha poll campaign, wanted to meet the family of Shuhaib, an alleged victim of political rivalry, despite his hectic schedule.
An active party man hailing from Mattannur near Kannur, Shuhaib, 29, had served as the Mattannur block Youth Congress secretary. He was hacked to death on the night of February 12 last year allegedly by CPI(M) activists.
A number of ruling party activists were arrested later in connection with the murder.
The opposition Congress-led UDF and Subhaib's family members had demanded a CBI inquiry into the killing.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
