Strong earthquake shakes Indonesia's main island, killing 1 and damaging dozens of homes
Yogyakarta (Indonesia) (AP): A strong undersea earthquake shook parts of Indonesia's densely populated main island of Java, causing panic as it killed at least one person, injured two others and damaged dozens of houses.
The US Geological Survey said Friday's magnitude 5.8 quake was centred 84 kilometres southwest of Bambanglipuro, a village in Bantul regency of the special province of Yogyakarta. It occurred at a depth of 86 kilometres.
Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, said a 67-year-old woman in Bantul died when she fell while fleeing in panic and at least two other residents were injured.
The quake damaged at least 93 houses as well as other buildings, such as schools, health centres, houses of worship and government facilities, in Yogyakarta and its neighbouring provinces of Central Java and East Java, Muhari said.
Television reports showed local residents in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces panicking as houses and buildings swayed for several seconds. Some places ordered evacuations, sending streams of people into the streets.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks. The agency measured a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 for the quake. Variations in early measurements of quakes are common.
Yogyakarta is an ancient centre of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties going back centuries. It is home to the ninth century Borobudur nine stone tiers stacked like a wedding cake and adorned with hundreds of Buddha statues and relief panels and the towering Hindu temple complex of Prambanan, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Mount Merapi, the country's most active volcano, is also in the province.
In 2006, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Yogyakarta killed more than 6,200 people and injured more than 130,000, but caused only minor damage to the two temples.
The country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin known as the "Ring of Fire".
In 2004, an extremely powerful Indian Ocean quake set off a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.
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'Contract killing' plot busted in Thane; victim's brother among four held
Thane (PTI): The Thane police have uncovered a "contract killing" plot and arrested four persons, including the victim's younger brother, who allegedly hired the assailants and lodged the complaint to mislead investigators and hide his role in the murder, officials said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Paresh Tolaram Patil (40), was hacked to death on May 12 over a property dispute, and his brother allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh to the contract killers, an official said.
The same day, Naresh Tolaram Patil (37), an auto-rickshaw driver residing in the Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra's Thane district, lodged a police complaint alleging that his elder brother Paresh had been murdered by unidentified persons.
According to Naresh, his brother was riding his motorcycle to work at Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district when the unidentified assailants intercepted him and assaulted him with sharp weapons, in-charge Superintendent of Police Anmol Mittal said.
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Following the complaint, the Ganeshpuri police registered a case of murder on May 13.
The investigation teams examined several CCTV recordings along the suspected escape routes and used advanced technical surveillance.
The police then traced the registration plate of a vehicle allegedly used by the assailants, leading to the arrest of three alleged contract killers -- Rakesh Bhagwan Patil (37), Premjit Madhukar Gharat (38), and Daksh Bhanukant Bhoir (24) -- from Palghar, the official said.
"During intense interrogation, the three persons confessed to their involvement in the killing. They revealed that the plot was masterminded by the victim's brother, Naresh Patil, who had lodged the initial police complaint to misguide the law enforcement agencies," he said.
According to the official, Naresh Patil confessed to hatching the conspiracy due to an ongoing property dispute with his elder brother and that he had offered Rs 10 lakh to the three accused to eliminate Paresh.
Naresh Patil has also been arrested, and a further probe is underway into the case, they added.
