Four CRPF personnel killed as Naxals blow up bullet-proof bunker vehicle in Chhattisgarh
Raipur, Oct 27: Four personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and two injured after Naxals blew up a bullet-proof bunker (BPB) vehicle in poll-bound Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred around 4 pm near Murdanda camp of the CRPF under Awapalli police station limits, when its 168th battalion was out on "area domination" operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.
When the BPB vehicle carrying six security personnel was around one km away from the camp, ultras triggered a powerful land mine blast, he said.
"Four CRPF men -- Assistant Sub-Inspector Mir Maitur Rehman (50), Head Constable and driver B M Behra (43) and Constables C H Praveen (21) and Shreenu Kumar (26) died on the spot and two others Head Constable Baburao Siddheshwar and Constable Parmar Hardik were injured in the blast," he said.
The explosion was followed by exchange of fire between Naxals and the security personnel who were following the BPB vehicle, he said.
Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured were shifted to a local, the official said, adding that the bodies of the slain were retrieved from the site of explosion.
Later, the injured were airlifted to Raipur, he said.
The attack took place on a day when Chief Minister Raman Singh launched the ruling BJP's campaign for the first phase of polls on November 12 in neighbouring Sukma district.
The first phase of election will cover 18 constituencies in eight Naxal-affected districts -- Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon, which will be held on November 12. The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20.
Naxals had recently put up posters in parts of Bastar calling for boycott of the polls.
On March 13 this year, nine CRPF jawans had died when Naxals blew up a mine-protected-vehicle in Sukma district.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
