3 dead as wildfire explodes in Northern California
Oroville (US): Three people have died in a Northern California wildfire that has forced thousands from their homes, authorities have said.
Two people were found dead in one location and a third person was discovered elsewhere, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea announced on Wednesday..
He didn't provide details but California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Draper tells the Bay Area News Group that one person was found in a car and apparently had been trying to escape the flames.
The fire northeast of San Francisco is threatening several communities. Stoked by high winds, it's burned a 25-mile path through mountainous terrain and parched foothills.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings are believed to have been damaged or destroyed, fire officials said at an evening news conference.
The fire even threatened the town of Paradise that was devastated just two years ago by the deadliest blaze in state history, causing a panic that led to a traffic jam as residents tried to escape.
The North Complex fire was one of more than two dozen in the state, including three of the five largest ever as wildfires burned across parts of the West amid gusty, dry conditions.
Forecasters said some weather relief was in sight that could help firefighters overwhelmed by the blazes.
In Washington, more acres burned in a single day than firefighters usually see all year. Fires also forced people to flee homes in Oregon and Idaho. A blast of polar air helped slow wildfires in Colorado and Montana.
Since the middle of August, fires in California have killed eight people, destroyed more than 3,600 structures, burned old growth redwoods, charred chaparral and forced evacuations in communities near the coast, in wine country and along the Sierra Nevada.
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Odisha Police arrests key accused in Rs 40-crore investment fraud
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Odisha Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested the prime accused in a Rs 40-crore trading fraud, an officer said on Friday.
The accused, identified as Amit Mandal of West Bengal's Bankura, was arrested from his home district on December 31, the officer said.
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After producing him in a local court there, Mandal was brought to Odisha on Friday, the EOW officer said.
The arrest was made in connection with a case registered on December 29 at the EOW police station on the basis of a complaint lodged by Sushant Kumar Das of Khurda district.
The complainant alleged that Mandal and his associates induced him to invest in share trading by promising high monthly returns ranging from 3.5 to 7 per cent per month.
Das had reportedly deposited Rs 8.5 lakh during 2022–2024.
According to police, Mandal induced around 500 depositors from Odisha and 100 from West Bengal between 2020 and 2024 and collected over Rs 120 crore, of which over Rs 40 crore is yet to be returned to investors.
"Initially, he paid monthly returns of depositors. However during 2023, Mandal failed to pay the returns and falsely assured the depositors that their money will be re-invested in his newly formed company. But suddenly he went missing before being arrested in Bankura district," the official said.
According to the EOW, the accused had been collecting deposits in his personal bank accounts maintained with two banks. "Scrutiny of one bank account revealed transactions amounting to Rs 122 crore. Other accounts are under verification," the officer said.
