Cigarette butt sparked Vizag fishing harbour fire, says AP police; one held
Visakhapatnam, Nov 25: A cigarette butt carelessly discarded on a boat sparked the massive fire in Visakhapatnam jetty, which gutted over 30 fishing vessels, said police on Saturday.
The incident occurred on November 19 night, when Vasupalli Nani (23) was consuming alcohol with his uncle Allipilli Satyam on a boat at the harbour.
"They consumed liquor together. Later, Nani threw a non-extinguished cigarette stub onto the nylon fishing net of an adjacent boat," said Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner A Ravi Shankar at a Press Conference.
The fishing net caught fire and the flames spread to other boats, prompting the duo to flee.
Disregarding the gravity of the situation, Nani and his uncle went home to sleep.
Later, Nani returned to the jetty and realized that it was his act of throwing the stub which caused the fire and warned his uncle not to disclose it to anyone.
After five days of intense investigation, police booked Nani under IPC Sections 437, 428 and 285, altering the case from accidental fire.
According to police, footage of Nani fleeing the jetty, where the fire originated, at 10:08 pm on November 19 through the dry dock gate proved crucial to zero in on him.
Further, a witness corroborating the unique horn sound of the accused's scooter on that fateful night proved to be key, among others.
As many as 30 fishing boats were completely gutted and 18 partially damaged in the blaze.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced that his government would compensate the fishermen up to 80 per cent of the losses they incurred in the fire accident here.
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
