Gujarat: Six killed, 176 injured in kite flying incidents during Uttarayan
Ahmedabad (PTI): At least six persons, among them three children, were killed after their necks were slit by kite strings and 176 were injured due to cuts and falls while flying kites during Uttarayan festival in Gujarat, police said on Monday.
The incidents were reported over the weekend when people came out in large numbers to fly kites on terraces and rooftops during the festivities.
In several cases, revellers used sharp strings to fly kites that ended up getting entangled around the necks of the victims and slitting them in such a way that they bled to death, officials said.
A kite string cut the neck of two-year-old Kirti who was riding with her father on his two-wheeler in Bhavnagar city, and she died during treatment at a hospital on Sunday, an official from Bortalav police station said.
In another incident, Kismat, 3, was walking home with her mother in Visnagar town on Saturday when a thread slit her neck. The girl was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead, a Visnagar police official said.
Similarly, seven-year-old Rishabh Verma was riding with his parents on a two-wheeler after buying a kite when his neck was slit by a string in Rakjot, an official from Aji Dam police station said.
According to the police, similar incidents were reported in Vadodara, Kutch and Gandhinagar districts, where three men lost their lives when their necks were slit by kite strings while they were travelling on their two-wheelers.
Swamiji Yadav, 35, died after his neck was slit by a thread while he was riding his two-wheeler on a bridge, while Narendra Vaghela, 20, was killed in a similar manner in Gandhidham city of Kutch district, Ashwin Gadhvi in Kalol town of Gandhinagar, they said.
As per the data compiled by 108-EMS emergency ambulance service, a total 130 people sustained cuts and 46 were injured after falling from a height while flying kites on Saturday and Sunday.
There was also a spurt in the number of road accidents, with 461 cases on January 15 and 820 on January 14, the data revealed.
Among districts, Ahmedabad recorded the highest number of 59 cases of kite string injuries and 10 cases of falls, the 108-EMS stated in a release.
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Three men arrested in Karnataka's Hubballi over rape, circulation of videos
Hubballi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 35-year-old woman was allegedly raped by two men here, and photos and videos of the incident were circulated on a messaging platform, police said on Sunday.
Two men accused of raping the woman and a third person who circulated videos of the incident have been arrested and will be produced in court, police said.
The woman is stable and undergoing medical examination, police said.
Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said the incident occurred between 11.30 pm and midnight on January 9, when the woman was allegedly taken in an auto-rickshaw from Ambedkar Ground.
"The two men misbehaved with her, made physical contact, and allegedly forced her to consume alcohol. They took photos and videos before dropping her back at Ambedkar Ground," he said.
Police said they learned of the incident after members of the public received the photos and videos and alerted authorities. The woman was later traced in Hubballi city.
"Her identity was initially not known. Inquiry revealed she had been staying near temples in different parts of the city for the past one-and-a-half months and was eating at Siddharoodha Math," the commissioner said.
Police initially registered a case on their own, and a formal complaint was recorded after the woman was traced, he said.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered for rape and, under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, for recording and circulating the photos and videos.
The commissioner stated that the woman had arrived in Hubballi approximately one and a half months prior from another district, following a dispute with her husband.
The man was arrested in connection with that incident and is currently lodged in Shivamogga jail.
Police identified Shivanand and Ganesh as the accused in the alleged rape, and Pradeep as the accused of circulating the videos. All three worked as labourers, he said.
Police said some residents in the Old Hubballi area allegedly assaulted and tonsured Shivanand and Ganesh after learning of their involvement.
A separate case was registered after Shivanand filed a complaint, and four people were taken into custody, police said.
The commissioner said officials have been directed to identify homeless women and children near public places and place them in rescue and rehabilitation centres.
