Indian wrestler Antim Panghal refutes rumours of French police arresting her, her sister
New Delhi: Indian wrestler Antim Panghal has refuted rumours of her and her sister Nisha being arrested in Paris for attempting to help her siser illegally enter the Olympic Games village, clarifying that the French police, who wanted to verify her true identity, took her sister to the police station.
After Panghal lost 0-10 to Turkey’s Yetgil Zeynep, there were reports of her attempting to sneak her sister into the games village with the help of her accreditation card but was detained by the French police, NDTV has said. Panghal, in a video clip shared by NNIS Sports on Thursday, clarified that, as she had fallen ill she had visited her sister’s hotel, where the trouble started, as she asked her sister Nisha to get the things she had forgotten at the games village.
She has insisted in the video clip that neither was she nor was her sister arrested, but rumours were being spread as Wednesday ‘was just not my day’, when she first lost badly and then the talks began about her being arrested. She further said that, when Nisha found that Panghal had developed a fever after losing the wrestling match, she wanted to take her to the hotel she was staying in. Panghal’s coaches permitted her to go to the hotel as she wasn’t feeling well.
While she slept at the hotel, her sister went towards the games village to get Panghal’s remaining things. At the games village, when Nisha asked the authorities if she could do so, the authorities snatched away the young wrestler’s accreditation card from her sister and took her to the police station to confirm her identity, said Panghal.
She added that her card was returned by the police officers duly after confirming the identity of the card-holder. The news that Panghal’s coaches had a fight with a cab driver was also fake, said the wrestler, stating that the cab was booked by her. She, however, admitted that a language barrier caused a bit of problem when the coaches journeyed to the hotel to get money.
Finally, in reference to her return from Paris, Panghal said that the flight was booked by the Indian Olympics Federation. She urged people not to spread rumours about her stay in Paris.
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Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
