Five charred to death as bus catches fire in Chitradurga
CHITRADURGA: Five people were burnt alive after a bus they were traveling caught fire on the highway in the early hours of Wednesday, August 12.
The incident took place when the bus was plying from Vijayapura to Bengaluru.
The private bus was said to be carrying 32 passengers when it caught fire on National Highway 4 at KR Halli in Hiriyur taluk of the district. Among the dead are two children and a woman.
The deceased have been identified as Sheela (33), Sparsh (08), Samruddhi (05), Kavita (29) and Nishchita (03). All the deceased are said to be members of same family.
The bus is said to have caught fire after it developed some engine trouble. Hiriyur SP Radhika visited the site of the accident. The injured have been shifted to a district government hospital.
According to reports, Bengaluru bound private bus, 'Kukkeshree' caught fire at around 4:30 am. The eyewitness say that the bus was engulfed in flames. Several of them began rushing out to save their lives. Some nine persons are said to be injured who are being admitted in different hospitals of Chitradurga district.
The bodies were kept in morgue of District Government Hospital Chitradurga.
Hiriyur Police have registered an case in this regard and further investigations are on.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
