2 pilots among 3 killed as helicopter crashes, bursts into flames in Pune
Pune (PTI): Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.
The helicopter belonging to the Delhi-based Heritage Aviation, a private firm, took off from the Oxford County Golf Course helipad here and was heading to Juhu in Mumbai when it crashed at 7.40 am, they said.
The incident took place near a hilly terrain in Bavdhan area, which is close to the gold course, according to police
"Three persons have died in the helicopter crash. Our teams along with fire department vehicles have reached the spot," Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinaykumar Choubey said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Gaikwad said the helicopter, belonging to Heritage Aviation, took off from the helipad of Oxford County Golf Course and crashed near Bavdhan in the hilly terrain, killing two pilots and an engineer onboard the chopper.
An official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also said the incident took place at 7.40 am and confirmed that the Agusta 109 helicopter which crashed belonged to the Heritage Aviation.
After the crash, the chopper caught fire, police said.
Fire tenders and water tankers were rushed to the spot, according to fire officials.
"The deceased have been identified as Girish Kumar, Pritam Singh Bhardwaj and Paramjeet Singh," Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's fire officer Anil Dimle said.
The helicopter took off from the helipad of the Oxford County Gold Course at around 7.30 am, Pimpri Chinchwad's Joint Commissioner of Police Shashikant Mahavarkar said.
Primary information suggested that fog in the area led to the accident of the helicopter.
"A detailed investigation will ascertain the exact cause of the crash," he said.
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Hyderabad retired professor in coma left without pension; family struggles to pay Rs 25 lakh bills
Hyderabad: A 64-year-old retired professor from Osmania University, Mohammad Ansari, is battling for life in a coma while his family struggles to meet mounting medical expenses due to an unresolved pension dispute.
According to The Times of India, Prof. Ansari, a former linguistics teacher, fell critically ill about 10 days ago due to kidney and lung complications and slipped into a coma.
His family has already spent nearly Rs 25 lakh on treatment, with daily hospital expenses ranging between Rs 30,000 and 40,000.
"We have spent about Rs 25 lakh so far. The hospital is charging between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 daily. We don't have any money left. We can only afford a rehabilitation centre," said Fayyaz Ansari, brother of the retired Osmania University professor. He said that his brother had been running from pillar to post since 1996 to clear the anomalies in his service, but failed in his efforts.
Though he began working with the university in 1997 as part-time faculty and later became regular staff, the university reportedly agreed to consider his pension eligibility only from 2003, which he contested.
The family claims that despite court directions and intervention by an Assembly committee, the university did not recognise his service from 1996 for pension benefits.
"Despite selection, he was not given joining orders. He was forced to work as a part-time faculty. In 2003, after approaching the minority commission, the HC and the assembly, he finally got orders to join as full-time faculty," Fayyaz said.
Incidentally, even the LIC-linked pension, which was offered to those not eligible under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), was denied to him despite premiums being deducted for close to 15 years on the grounds that he already has OPS. The total amount paid towards the pension was returned in 2018.
Students and well-wishers have begun crowdfunding to support his treatment. Members of the Osmania University Students’ Joint Action (JAC) Committee urged authorities to intervene and release his pending benefits or arrange financial assistance.
The issue was also raised in the Assembly by CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao.
However, university officials maintain that pension from 1996 cannot be granted. Registrar G. Naresh Reddy said, "He was not on the varsity rolls then. How can it be considered? In fact, this issue was placed before the executive council and the govt multiple times and it was rejected."
He said that when it comes to the LIC-linked pension, it is the govt that has kept it in abeyance and that, along with Ansari, 10 other faculty members, who joined between 2001 and 2004, were waiting for it to be resolved.
