Eleven killed as SUV falls into canal in UP's Gonda
Gonda (UP) (PTI): An SUV fell into the Saryu canal in the district on Sunday, leaving 11 people dead and four others injured, police said.
Station House Officer (SHO), Itiathok police station, Krishn Gopal Rai, said the victims were going from Sihagaon village to offer holy water at the Prithvinath Temple in Khargupur when the accident occurred near Belwa Bahuta.
Rai said the SUV was carrying 15 people, including the driver.
With the help of villagers and rescue teams, 11 bodies were recovered from the submerged vehicle.
The bodies have been sent for postmortem and an investigation into the incident has been initiated, officials added.
Superintendent of Police, Vineet Jaiswal said those killed included six women, two men and three children.
The victims were identified as Beena (35), Kajal (22), Mehak (12), Durgesh, Nandini, Ankit, Shubh, Sanju Verma, Anju, Anasuya and Saumya.
The SP said four people, including the SUV driver, were rescued and sent to a hospital.
Rahul Verma, a resident of Itiyathok and an eyewitness to the accident, said the road was slippery due to rain in the morning.
The SUV was running on the road built next to the canal and when the driver applied the brakes it slipped and fell into the canal, he said.
"We immediately called the police and villagers to the spot and pulled out the SUV with the help of a rope," he said.
A teenage girl, who survived the accident, said, 'We were all going to visit Prithvinath temple. At the time of the incident, the women and girls were singing 'bhajans'".
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased.
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
