Ambala woman kills shopkeeper saying goddess demanded human sacrifice in dream
Ambala, Apr 12: A shopkeeper was allegedly murdered here by a woman who said that a goddess appeared to her in a dream demanding a human sacrifice.
The body of Mahesh Gupta (44) was found at the home of Priya, described by police as the main accused late Wednesday evening. The victim was known to her who had worked at his store previously.
Police on Friday arrested three persons for the murder – Priya, her brother Hemant and sister-in-law Preeti.
Gupta, a resident of Kacha Bazaar Ambala Cantt and owner of a shopping store here, had injuries in his legs and behind the ears, they said.
Police said interrogating the accused revealed that the shopkeeper was murdered as a human sacrifice.
Priya told the police that for the last four to five days, a goddess was appearing in her dreams demanding human sacrifice.
The victim’s brother, in his complaint, said Gupta considered Priya as his sister and had gone to deliver some items from his store to her residence on Wednesday.
When he failed to return and did not answer phone calls, the family searched for him and approached the police.
Later, Gupta's scooter was spotted near Priya's house and they came to know about the murder.
Gupta’s brother said when he and some others knocked on the door of Priya's house, there was no response.
When they forced open the door, they saw that Priya, Preeti and Hemant were trying to drag Gupta who was unconscious on the floor, with a scarf tied to his neck, the complainant said.
Gupta was sent to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. Police reached the spot later and registered a case against all three accused.
Dilip Kumar, SHO of Padav Police Station, said that the accused will be produced in a court and their custody will be sought to recover some items related to the crime.
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AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
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With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
