Elephant goes berserk during religious ceremony in Kerala, 23 injured
Malappuram: Twenty-three people were injured when a captive elephant ran amok during a religious ceremony at a mosque near Tirur on Wednesday. Of the injured, one person is in critical condition after being picked up and tossed by the elephant, police said.
The remaining 22 individuals suffered minor injuries in the stampede caused by panic-stricken people following the elephant's attack at around 12.30 am, an official at the Tirur police station said.
According to visuals of the incident, of the five elephants lined up for the ceremony, one became violent and charged toward the crowd of people gathered in front of it.
The elephant picked up one man with its tusk, twirled him around, and then tossed him away. The elephant was eventually pacified and calmed down by its mahouts after some effort.
Police confirmed that the mosque had the necessary permissions to use elephants for the ceremony.
In a viral video from #Puthiyangadi annual 'nercha' at the #BPAngadi annual festival at a mosque in #Kerala's #Malappuram district late on Tuesday night, one of the five elephants turned violent and picked up a man with its trunk, swung him wildly and threw him at a distance.… pic.twitter.com/N8dVrpVtn9
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
