Fire destroys parked school buses in Thiruvananthapuram, sabotage suspected
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A major fire broke out at a school ground near here in the small hours of Monday, destroying three parked school buses, police said here.
The incident occurred at around 2.45 am at the ground of a Higher Secondary School at Thundathil under Kazhakkoottam police station limits.
Three school buses were completely gutted in the fire, while another bus was partially damaged, police said.
Fire and rescue teams rushed to the area and brought the blaze under control after an operation that lasted about 30 minutes.
A tempo traveller was found close to the buses, raising suspicion of foul play, officials said.
However, it is not yet clear who drove the vehicle or how it reached the area where the buses were parked.
The school authorities and locals suspect that the fire may not have been accidental.
Police said they have begun an investigation to find out the exact cause of the fire.
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Jharkhand civic polls: 12 pc voter turnout recorded in 48 ULBs till 9 am
Ranchi (PTI): Around 12 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am in the civic polls to 48 urban local bodies in Jharkhand on Monday, an election official said.
Voting, which commenced at 7 am, is underway amid tight security. It will continue till 5 pm, he said.
"Voter turnout of 12 per cent was recorded till 9 am. Polling is underway peacefully," State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad said.
Over 43 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of 6,000-plus candidates.
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State Election Commissioner (SEC) Alka Tiwari exercised her franchise at ward number 40 in Ranchi.
"Polling is underway peacefully across the state and reports are so far good from every ULB. I would like to appeal to the voters to exercise their franchise," Tiwari told reporters.
Prasad said the elections are underway for the posts of mayor and chairperson in 48 ULBs, and councillors in 1,042 wards across nine municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads and 19 nagar panchayats.
As many as 562 candidates, including 235 women, are in the fray for the posts of mayor and chairperson, while 5,562 candidates, including 2,727 women, are contesting the posts of ward councillors.
Prasad said adequate security arrangements have been made in all the booths.
A total of 4,307 polling booths have been set up for the elections. Of these, 896 have been identified as hyper-sensitive and 2,445 as sensitive.
