15 killed as landslide hits bus in Himachal's Bilaspur, several trapped; rescue operation on
Shimla (PTI): At least 15 passengers were killed when a private bus was struck by a massive landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The accident took place in Bhalughat area in Jhandutta assembly segment around 6:30 pm, they said, adding the bus carrying 25-30 passengers was on its way from Marotan to Ghumarwin.
Several people are believed to be trapped under the debris while three have been rescued, the officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of each deceased while the injured would be given Rs 50,000.
"Saddened by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured," Modi wrote on X.
Intermittent rains have been lashing the area since Monday.
So far 15 people including the driver and the conductor of the bus have died while three rescued alive were sent to hospital, BJP MLA from Jhandutta J R Katwal, who was on the spot, told PTI over the phone.
Police and district administration officials are at the spot and rescue operations are going on in full swing, said Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Sandeep Dhawal, maintaining that 15 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
Whole mountain came crashing down on the bus, said an eyewitness engaged in the rescue operations.
Union health minister J P Nadda, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri have expressed grief over the accident.
CM Sukhu directed the officials to expedite the rescue operations, an official statement said.
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Dalit outfits call state-wide hartal over dental student’s death
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Various Dalit organisations on Monday announced a state-wide hartal seeking justice in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj.
The hartal will be observed on Tuesday from 6 am to 6 pm.
As many as 52 Dalit organisations, including Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, have announced the strike.
Organisations requesting cooperation for the strike said that no vehicles will be forcibly stopped and that all essential services are exempted.
Raj, a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakkandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case against two faculty members on charges of abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following allegations by the student’s family that he was subjected to caste- and complexion-based harassment.
Kerala Pinnokka Samudaya Munnani (KPSM), one of the organisations supporting the hartal, alleged in a statement that police had shown apathy in the investigation and were attempting to protect the accused in the case.
KPSM state president K V Padmanabhan and general secretary S Anwar alleged that the probe into Raj’s death was being deliberately misdirected and delayed.
While the family has firmly alleged that caste discrimination and mental harassment by faculty members led to the student’s death, police were attempting to divert the investigation towards loan app borrowings, they claimed.
The organisation alleged that this was a planned move to shield the real accused.
KPSM further alleged that by deliberately delaying the arrest of the accused teachers, police enabled them to secure anticipatory bail.
They said there was no confidence in the present police investigation and demanded that the case be handed over to an independent agency at the earliest.
