Famous folk dancer Queen Harish, three other artists died in SUV-truck collision near Jodhpur
Jodhpur: World fame dancer Queen Harish and three other folk artists were killed and five others injured in a road accident near Jodhpur in Rajasthan on Sunday morning.
The mishap occurred near Kaparda village on a highway in Jodhpur when the victims were on their way towards Ajmer from Jaisalmer in a SUV (Special Utility Vehicle).
"Their vehicle rammed into a stationary truck which left Harish, Ravindra, Bhikhe Khan and Latif Khan dead. Five others were injured in the mishap," Sitaram Khoja, SHO of Bilara police station said.
Their family members have arrived. Primary investigation reveals that Harish along with his team of folk artists was travelling in connection with an event, the SHO added.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot has condoled the deaths of the artists.
"The death of four persons including the famous artist Queen Harish in a road accident in Jodhpur is very sad. Dedicated to the folk art and culture of Rajasthan, Harish gave a new identity to Jaisalmer with his different dance style. His death is a big loss to the field of folk art," Gehlot said.
A native of Jaisalmer, Harish Kumar was popularly known as Queen Harish and his shows comprising of various folk dance forms like Ghoomar, Kalbelia, Chang, Bhawai, Chari among others were very popular.
He had gained worldwide recognition for his folk dance skills.
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3 Assam Congress MLAs join ruling BJP ahead of assembly polls
Guwahati (PTI): Three Congress MLAs – Kamalakhya De Purakayastha, Sashikanta Das and Basanta Das – on Thursday joined the ruling BJP in Assam, along with two others, ahead of the assembly polls.
All of them were inducted into the party by state BJP president Dilip Saikia in the presence of Union minister Pabitra Margherita at a function here.
The development comes close on the heels of former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah joining the saffron party.
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Elections to the 126-member Assam assembly are likely to be held in April.
Purakayastha represents Karimganj (North), while Sashikanta and Basanta are sitting MLAs from the Raha and Mangaldoi (SC) constituencies, respectively.
The two others who joined the BJP are former Congress joint secretary Parsha Bob Kalita and former Trinamool Congress general secretary Kangkan Nath.
The three MLAs, reported to be close to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had openly supported the BJP for the past few years, with Sasikanta Das announcing his support to the ruling party's policies in 2021.
The Congress had suffered a jolt, with Borah joining the BJP on February 22, while two other MLAs Abdul Rashid Mondal and Sherman Ali Ahmed switching over to the Raijor Dal last month.
Both Mondal and Ahmed are three-time legislators from Goalpara (West) and Baghbar, respectively.
