Ambulance with patient blocked, driver attacked by three men in Kerala's Kollam
Kollam (PTI): An ambulance carrying a patient was blocked, the driver beaten up and the vehicle damaged by three men claiming that their two-wheeler was hit by the emergency service vehicle in this district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at Kottiyam at around 8.45 pm on Tuesday, they added.
The ambulance was going to a private hospital here with a patient from Pathanapuram when the three men blocked it, claiming that the vehicle hit their motorbike, an officer of Kottiyam police station said.
Visuals of the incident aired on TV channels showed the men breaking a side-view mirror of the ambulance, opening its door to attack the driver and hitting the vehicle several times.
They allowed the ambulance to leave only after locals intervened, police said, adding that the patient is fine. The officer said that one of the three men was identified based on the registration number of the two-wheeler.
"But, according to his current mobile tower location, he is outside the state. The other two men with him are unidentified," he said.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
