African footballer found dead on rail tracks in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: An African footballer was found dead on railway tracks on the Mumbai-Howrah route in Janjgir- Champa district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Monday.
The deceased, Diomande Aboubacar, hailed from Ivory Coast, a West African country, Sub-divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Champa area Udyan Behar told PTI.
His mutilated body was recovered from the tracks near Baradwar railway station, around 200km from here, on August 9 night, he said. According to the officer, a cellphone in his pocket helped police establish his identity.
The images of documents related to him were found in his mobile phone, he said.
Initial investigation suggests Aboubacar was granted a visa in July for playing football in India. He most probably landed in Mumbai on August 8 and was on way to join his teammates in Kolkata by a train, the officer said.
The 31-year-old played as a mid-fielder for a club based in Abidjan.
The officer said prima facie it appears Aboubacar died after falling off the train but more details would be known after investigation is completed.
Also, it was not clear by which train he was travelling, Behar said.
The police had contacted Railway officers in Howrah to enquire about recovery of any missing bags in Mumbai-Howarh trains, but so far no inputs have been received in this regard, he said.
"We have contacted his friends in Delhi and have also spoken to his brother and informed him about the incident," the SDOP said, adding so far nobody has come to claim his body, which has been kept in a morgue of Baradwar.
The district police have also informed the Ivory Coast Embassy in New Delhi, but they were yet to respond, he added.
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
