Indian-origin woman, Indian national stabbed to death in separate incidents in UK
London, Jun 14: An Indian-origin woman and an Indian woman from Hyderabad were stabbed to death in separate incidents in Britain, police said on Wednesday.
Grace O'Malley Kumar, 19, was reportedly with fellow University of Nottingham student cricketer friend - Barnaby Webber, also 19 - when the as-yet-unnamed attacker is said to have fatally stabbed the duo in the early hours of Tuesday on the streets of Nottingham, central England.
Nottinghamshire Police said the 31-year-old suspect, who remains in custody, then went on to stab a man in his 60s to death and also attempted to run over three people - still in hospital - with a van stolen from that man.
"I know the whole house will want to thank the emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham yesterday. Our thoughts are with those injured and with the families of those who lost their lives," said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the start of the House of Commons session on Wednesday.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman later made a statement to update Parliament on the "horrific events" and confirmed that it is not being treated as a terrorist attack at this stage.
"I can tell the House that the police are working flat out to establish the full facts and provide support to everyone affected. They are currently keeping an open mind as to the motives behind these attacks but I can confirm Nottinghamshire police are being assisted in their inquiries by counter-terror police. Though, this does not mean that it is currently being treated as a terrorist attack," said Braverman.
Tracing some of the details, the minister said a knife was used in the attacks, two of the victims were students at Nottingham University and the third victim a local school caretaker Ian Coates in his 60s was the owner of the van that police believe the suspect stole and was used to run down three pedestrians who remain in hospital.
"We are keeping an open mind' and are working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing to establish the facts as we would normally do in these types of circumstances," Kate Meynell, Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, said in a statement.
"A dedicated team of detectives is investigating the circumstances surrounding these incidents and will continue to gather evidence over the coming days," she said.
Grace Kumar is the daughter of a London-based doctor of Indian origin, Dr Sanjoy Kumar. He is being dubbed a "hero" doctor who saved the lives of some teenage stab victims in his local surgery back in 2009.
Tributes have been pouring in for Grace, who played for the England under-18s hockey team and was also a cricketer.
"We are all deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of Grace Kumar in Nottingham on Tuesday," England Hockey, the sport's governing body, said in its tribute.
In a separate incident, a 27-year-old Indian woman from Hyderabad was stabbed to death on Tuesday at a residential property in Neeld Crescent, Wembley in north London.
Scotland Yard on Wednesday said that two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of Tejaswini Kontham from Hyderabad in India.
"An investigation was launched after police were called at 09:59hrs on Tuesday, 13 June to reports of a stabbing at a residential property in Neeld Crescent, Wembley. Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service and found Tejaswini and another woman, aged 28, suffering from knife injuries," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
"Despite the efforts of emergency services, Tejaswini sadly died at the scene," it said.
Her family has been informed, it said.
The results of a post-mortem examination scheduled at Northwick Park mortuary in London are expected to confirm the cause of death, which occurred on at a flat in Wembley area of London on Tuesday.
"We came to know about the incident today morning. We don't know when it happened. We got the information that she is serious and in hospital," Tejaswini's father told a news channel in India on Wednesday.
She had gone to London three years ago and had completed her MS course there, he said.
She came to Hyderabad in August last year and returned to London the next month. She was supposed to fly down here in May this year, he said.
"We were planning to conduct her marriage. She said she will return after the alliance is finalised. She had resigned from her temporary job and said she will come back after working for another month," he said.
The victim's uncle requested the government to make necessary arrangements to bring her body from the UK to Hyderabad.
The Metropolitan Police had earlier released an image of Brazilian national Keven Antonio Lourenco De Morais to seek the public's help in tracing the suspect behind the attack on Tuesday morning.
The 23-year-old has now been arrested from Harrow, near the crime scene.
A second woman, aged 28 and also unnamed, was taken to hospital with stab injuries that were later assessed as not life-threatening.
Two other people, a 24-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. While the man remains in custody, the woman has been released without further action, the police said.
"This has been a fast-moving investigation and I would like to thank the public for sharing our appeal for information about this man. He is now in custody," said Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, from the Met's Specialist Crime Command.
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BJP accuses CM Siddaramaiah of 'misleading' public on govt job figures
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of "misleading" the public on government recruitment figures and "failing" to address the concerns of unemployed youth in the state.
In a detailed post on his X handle, Vijayendra alleged that the Congress-led government was attempting to deflect accountability by blaming the previous BJP administration instead of initiating concrete steps to fill vacant posts.
“Chief Minister, please refrain from misleading the people. Do not attempt to shift the blame for all your shortcomings onto the BJP and evade responsibility. Your administration has earned a reputation for arrogance, corruption and mismanagement,” Vijayendra said, adding that students and youth were not naïve enough to be swayed by what he termed as "exaggerated claims".
Vijayendra's response came following Siddaramaiah's statement on Tuesday blaming BJP for the huge backlog of government job vacancies.
The CM had said that when Congress assumed office in 2023, over 2.64 lakh government posts were vacant.
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The backlog resulted from prolonged inaction under the previous BJP government, which failed to initiate timely recruitment or create a structured roadmap, he said.
As thousands of government job aspirants staged a massive protests in Dharwad on Tuesday demanding filling the vacant posts immediately, Siddaramaiah accused BJP leaders of "misleading students for political gains" and said recruitment irregularities and alleged corruption between 2019 and 2023 had eroded trust in the system, leading to the current crisis.
Questioning the government’s public statements on employment generation, Vijayendra referred to figures tabled in the Legislative Assembly.
“According to the official figures presented by your own government in the Legislative Assembly, only 8,157 government recruitments have been completed during your three years in office. Yet publicly claiming that 40,000 posts have been filled raises serious concerns. Does this not amount to misleading the unemployed youth of the state?” the Shikaripura MLA asked.
The BJP leader also raised the issue of large-scale vacancies in government departments, claiming that lakhs of posts remained unfilled even after the Congress came to power.
According to him, the state was struggling financially and questioned the delay in initiating fresh recruitment drives despite what he described as legal clarity on proceeding under the existing reservation framework.
Vijayendra further criticised the government for prioritising the accommodation of party workers and disgruntled MLAs in state-run corporations with ministerial rank and perks, while unemployed youth continued to wait for job opportunities.
“At the very least, please stop making claims that do not align with facts. Youth unrest in the state is mounting. Before matters escalate further, act with sincerity — or consider stepping down and seeking the people’s forgiveness,” the BJP state chief said.
Noting that frustration among students and job aspirants was intensifying, Vijayendra urged the CM to immediately expedite pending recruitment processes and ensure transparency in appointments.
He warned that the government would be held accountable for any fallout arising out of growing youth discontent.
