Australian police offer record $1 million reward for Indian suspect in murder case
Melbourne (PTI): Police Queensland has announced a record one million dollar reward for the public to catch an Indian nurse who fled to India after allegedly murdering an Australian woman on a beach four years ago in 2018.
Toyah Cordingley, 24, was walking her dog on Wangetti Beach, 40km north of Cairns when she was killed in October 2018, 7news.com reported on Thursday.
Rajwinder Singh, 38, who worked as a nurse in Innisfail, is the key person of interest in the case but fled the country two days after Cordingley was killed, leaving behind his job, wife and three children in Australia, the report added.
Queensland Police is now offering 1 million Australian dollar, the largest ever offered by Queensland police, for information from the public in the ongoing search for Singh, with Detective Acting Superintendent Sonia Smith noting the reward is unique .
We know that Singh departed Cairns on October 22, the day after Toyah was murdered, and then flew from Sydney to India on the 23rd. His arrival in India has been confirmed, she was quoted as saying by 7news.com.
We have confirmed today that the last known location for Singh was India. An investigation centre has also been established in Cairns and police officers from across the state who can speak both Hindi and Punjabi have been flown in, News.com reported.
These officers will be able to receive information from anyone in India who might know Singh's whereabouts via WhatsApp, the report added.
We know that people know this person, they know where this person is and we're asking those people to do the right thing, Police Minister Mark Ryan told reporters on Thursday.
This person is accused of a very heinous crime; a crime which has ripped a family apart.
Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford said in a statement that this was the first time an initial reward of 1 million Australian dollar had been offered in Queensland.
We are very grateful for the Government's support in approving this significant reward which we believe will assist us in tracking down Rajwinder Singh, she said.
It is critical we capture the attention of an international audience to reach this individual.
Police will not give up we remain incredibly determined to find answers for Toyah's family and will do whatever we can to bring them closure.
Cordingley's mother Vanessa Gardiner spoke on Thursday about the reward and her beautiful, spiritual daughter.
Her life was taken way too early. I see her friends and stuff getting married with kids and that now and think of everything she has missed out on in her life, Gardiner said.
She was just about to start her first full-time job on Monday, which never happened.
If you are in #India please use the numbers on these posters pic.twitter.com/eJwLCuPnyI
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) November 3, 2022
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'Made in India' must become symbol of excellence, global competitiveness: PM
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'ease of doing business' and strengthen the services sector to make India a global services giant.
Addressing the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries here, Modi emphasised the need for quality in governance, service delivery and manufacturing, and said the label 'Made in India' must become a symbol of excellence and global competitiveness.
He said India has the potential to become the world's food basket and the country must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries to become a major food exporter.
"Called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and strengthen the services sector. Let us aim to make India a Global Services Giant," Modi said in a series of posts on X.
The theme of the three-day conference, which began on December 26, was 'Human Capital for Viksit Bharat'.
Modi observed that this conference marks another decisive step in strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism and deepening Centre-State partnership to achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
Highlighting India's demographic advantage, he said nearly 70 per cent of the population is in the working-age group, creating a unique historical opportunity which, when combined with economic progress, can significantly accelerate the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat', according to an official statement.
Modi said India has boarded the "Reform Express", driven primarily by the strength of its young population, and empowering this demographic remains the government's key priority.
He noted that the conference is being held at a time when the country is witnessing next-generation reforms and steadily moving towards becoming a major global economic power.
Underlining the need to strengthen 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance), he said India must pursue self-reliance with zero defect in products and minimal environmental impact, making the label 'Made in India' synonymous with quality and strengthening the commitment to "zero effect, zero defect".
The PM urged the Centre and states to jointly identify 100 products for domestic manufacturing to reduce import dependence and strengthen economic resilience in line with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat'.
In higher education, too, he said, there is a need for academia and industry to work together to create high-quality talent.
He highlighted that India has a rich heritage and history with the potential to be among the top global tourist destinations.
Modi urged the states to prepare a roadmap for creating at least one global-level tourist destination and nourishing an entire tourist ecosystem.
He said it is important to align the national sports calendar with the global sports calendar.
"India is working to host the 2036 Olympics. India needs to prepare infrastructure and sports ecosystem at par with global standards," he said.
The prime minister said the next 10 years must be invested in the states, only then will India get the desired results in such sports events.
Every state must give this top priority and create infrastructure to attract global companies, he said.
In the services sector, Modi said, there should be greater emphasis on other areas like healthcare, education, transport, tourism, professional services and artificial intelligence, etc. to make India a global services giant.
He said India will soon be launching the National Manufacturing Mission (NMM).
States should work in tandem with the discussions and decisions emerging from the conferences of both chief secretaries and DGPs to strengthen governance and implementation.
The PM said similar conferences could be replicated at the departmental level to promote a national perspective among officers and improve governance outcomes in pursuit of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
In conclusion, he said every state must create a 10-year actionable plan based on the discussions of this conference with one, two, five and 10-year target timelines wherein technology can be utilised for regular monitoring.
The conference featured a series of special sessions that enabled focused deliberations on cross-cutting and emerging priorities.
It marks another important milestone in strengthening the Centre-State partnership through structured and sustained dialogue on national development priorities, according to the statement.
The PM's principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, members of the NITI Aayog, chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, and domain experts attended the meeting.
Anchored in the prime minister's vision of cooperative federalism, this conference serves as the forum where the Centre and states collaborate, designing a unified roadmap to maximise India's human capital potential and accelerate inclusive, future-ready growth.
It has been organised annually over the past four years.
The first conference was held in Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by subsequent conferences in New Delhi in January 2023, December 2023 and December 2024.
