Palakkad: A group of children celebrating Christmas through a carol roadshow was allegedly attacked by BJP workers in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Sunday night.

According to local reports, the incident occurred in Pudussery area of Palakkad, where over 25 children, mostly aged around 13, were moving from house to house singing Christmas carols. Reports state that a BJP worker identified as Ashwin Raj, along with others, allegedly assaulted the children and vandalised their musical equipment.

According to the police and eyewitness accounts, the children were using a band set that belonged to a local CPI(M) office, which had the party’s name written on it.

Allegedly objecting to this, the accused and his associates reportedly lured the children on the pretext of offering them money and then assaulted them. The band set used by the children was also smashed.

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The Town Police have arrested Ashwin Raj, a local BJP worker who has been named as the prime accused in the case. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused who fled the scene.

Speaking to the media, one of the injured children said, “We were using the band just for fun. When they saw that it had CPM written on it, they took us aside and beat us.”

"We had given the band set that was in our office out of love when the children asked for it. The fact that these young children, who do not know the intricacies of politics, were attacked shows the criminal mentality of the BJP workers," local CPIM leaders expressed outrage.

A police officer told PTI that the arrested accused is already booked under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA).

The sections invoked include Section 192 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), police added.

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Tumakuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Police on Thursday announced the arrest of a 56-year-old man from Delhi for allegedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit weight loss powder and spurious Ayurvedic products via e-commerce platforms using duplicate branding.

The accused, identified as Rajeev Khanna, had been operating the business for around one-and-a-half years, police said.

His sons, Himanshu (29) and Manan Khanna (25), have also been named in the case for allegedly assisting their father in running the racket in Delhi. Both are absconding.

The matter came to light after Dhanalakshmi, owner of Jeeni Company in Yaragunte village, Tumakuru district, filed a complaint at Kallambella Police Station on August 14, 2025, police said.

According to the complaint, R K Traders of Delhi was misusing the trademark of Jeeni Company and selling products online under the same brand name.

She also warned that the sale of such counterfeit products could pose health risks to the public, including children.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case against Rajeev Khanna under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

“During the investigation, the team traced the warehouse where the accused was manufacturing counterfeit products. On March 27, police conducted a raid at a godown in Punjabi Mohalla, Shalimar Bagh area of New Delhi,” Tumakuru Superintendent of Police Ashok K V said in a statement.

During the raid, police recovered counterfeit Jeeni Company products, duplicate Ayurvedic tablets, beauty creams, and Ayurvedic powders commonly used by the public.

The accused was allegedly manufacturing and selling these products through R K Traders, M K Traders, and MHK Traders on e-commerce platforms without required safety precautions or regulatory approvals, the SP added.

The matter was also reported to the Drug Controller in Delhi and the local Shalimar Bagh Police authorities.

“With the assistance of his sons, Himanshu and Manan Khanna, along with others, the accused was manufacturing counterfeit products and selling them online for financial gain,” the SP said.

Police said Rajeev Khanna is believed to have cheated Jeeni Company of over Rs 15 lakh and caused losses worth crores of rupees to other companies.

On March 28, Rajeev Khanna was taken into custody in Delhi and brought to Kallambella Police Station, where he was formally arrested. He was later produced before the Sira court and taken into police custody for further investigation, the SP added.

During interrogation, the accused admitted to filling wheat flour into containers and selling them as “Jeeni Slim Powder” with duplicated labels and packaging.

He also confessed to selling wheat flour in containers labelled as genuine Ayurvedic tablets and powders, police said.