9 children dead as school van falls into gorge
New Tehri (U'khand): Nine children died and eleven were injured when a van taking them to school fell into a 200-metre-deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal district on Tuesday morning, an official said.
The accident occurred on the Kangsali-Madannegi road near Lambgaon in Pratap Nagar area, around 150 km from Dehradun, Tehri District Magistrate V Shanmugam said.
Nine children died on the spot and eleven were injured. The driver jumped off the vehicle to save himself and fled the spot, Shanmugam said.
Five children who had sustained serious head injuries were airlifted to the AIIMS Rishikesh. Five others are under treatment at a hospital in Bauradi, while one was taken by his parents to Shrinagar in Pauri district, the district magistrate said.
The children, aged between four-13, were going to the Angels International School, Madannegi. They were from Kangsali village in the area.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed grief and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
An official said overloading appeared to have been one of the factors that led to the accident as the van could accommodate only 10 people, but was carrying 21, including the driver.
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7 held in election-related violence in Assam: Police
Guwahati, Apr 9 (PTI) Seven people were held in connection with election-related violence at two places in Assam, officials said on Thursday.
Besides, minor clashes also erupted at several polling booths after voting began in the morning, with people suffering minor injuries, they said.
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Akhilesh Kumar Singh, told PTI that violence took place in Tamulpur and Sivasagar on Wednesday night, hours before polling began for the assembly elections at 7 am.
"We got reports of a clash between two groups at Tamulpur last night. Police reached the spot immediately and tried to control the crowd. When they did not listen, a few rounds were fired in the air to disperse the mob," he said, adding that four people were arrested from the site.
In another incident, two to three members of a political party were attacked in Sivasagar, the IG said.
"We have detained three persons there. The investigation is going on," he said.
Akhil Gogoi, who is seeking re-election from the Sibsagar seat, alleged that BJP nominee Kushal Dowari was behind the incident.
In a series of social media posts, Gogoi claimed two people were injured, and their vehicles were also damaged in the attack.
Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Chief Executive Member Hagrama Mohilary said a detailed enquiry will reveal the cause of the clash in Tamulpur.
"The situation is normal now. We are monitoring it, and there is enough security presence to avoid any untoward incident," he said.
Polling is underway for the 126-member assembly to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates. It will continue till 5 pm, with May 4 scheduled for the counting of votes.
A number of minor clashes have erupted at several polling stations in Sribhumi, Golaghat and Nagaon districts.
"Most of the clashes took place due to heavy rush, with people fighting over breaking the queue," an official said.
At some polling booths in places like Patharkandi, Merapani and Raha, supporters of ruling and opposition parties clashed, he said.
"However, police were already present in those areas, and the situations were handled instantly. The polling is going on uninterrupted," he added.
The BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term in power in these elections, while the Congress is looking to reclaim the state it lost a decade ago.
