2 dead in Uttarakhand cloudburst
Dehradun, July 20 : Two persons have died and three others have been buried in rubble on a hillside after a cloud burst triggered heavy rains in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, an official said on Friday.
The downpour late on Thursday followed the cloud burst at Malari that led to a major chunk of a hill to collapse. Five labourers involved in some civil project, sleeping by the hillside were trapped in it.
Two of the bodies have been extracted while search continues for three more. A team of experts belonging to the State Disaster Management Department has been rushed to the site.
The heavy rains and inclement weather have also disrupted the Char Dham pilgrimage, the official told IANS. The Badrinath-Lambagad highway has been block, and also the Gangotri National Highway between Therang and Gangnani, near Nagdevta due to debris coming down on the road.
"Owing to some landslides and the subsequent debris falling on the highway traffic has been halted at Gangotri, Gangnani, Bhatwadi and Uttarkashi," he added.
Labourers of the Border Road Organization (BRO) are working to clear the road as their is a long queue of vehicles that are part of the annual 'Char Dham' (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath) pilgrimage.
The Hemkund pilgrimage continues uninterrupted.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Badlapur accused Akshay Shinde shot dead: Lawyer of minor girls calls it 'killing of justice'
Mumbai (PTI): The gunning down of Badlapur case accused Akshay Shinde on Monday was the "killing of justice", said Asim Sarode, lawyer for the two minor girls he allegedly sexually assaulted.
Shinde was killed near Mumbra Bypass around 6:15pm when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was being ferried in a police vehicle as part of a probe into a case registered on the complaint of his former wife.
After he shot and injured an API, another personnel from the escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at a nearby hospital.
"While representing the two minor girls, I noticed it was becoming uncomfortable for the local politics of the Thane district and even for the educational institution where Akshay Shinde was working. Shinde's death in such a manner is killing of justice," Sarode told a regional news channel.
"Now, the case of sexual assault of the two minor girls will get sidelined. The case of these two minor girls was becoming difficult for the educational institute, as it is affiliated with a certain political family. Such a practice would lower the confidence of people in police and the judiciary," he claimed.
Sarode said he will be filing a plea before the Bombay High Court demanding thorough inquiry into the firing incident.
"Shinde's case could have brought up certain aspects that would have been negative politically for the government. I wonder how Shinde could access the gun and how he could unlock it when his hands were tied. This is political murder and is absolutely wrong," he said.
