Lightning kills seven in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, Sep 1: Seven persons, including five children, were killed on Saturday after being struck by lightning in Uttar Pradesh' Shahjahanpur district, police said.
The incident took place at Shamsherpur village in Kant area. Over a dozen persons have sustained severe burn injuries and are being treated at various medical facilities.
The incident took place when some children had taken their cattle to the fields for grazing and it was drizzling. All of a sudden lightning struck them, killing four children on the spot. The rest succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Another eight-year-old girl Vandana reportedly died after being struck by lightning in Nabeepur village of the same district.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while condoling the loss of lives in the incident, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the families of the deceased.
He also instructed officials to ensure that the injured get prompt and adequate treatment.
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Kerala leader M A Baby elected CPIM general secretary
Madurai(PTI): Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress here on Sunday, sources said.
A section of the party leaders had backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale for the post.
Born to P M Alexander and Lilly Alexander in Kerala's Prakkulam in 1954, Baby's first exposure to politics came when he joined the Kerala Students Federation, the predecessor of the Students Federation of India, during his school days.
He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998.
Baby has been a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the CPI(M), since 2012.
The post of the party general secretary fell vacant following the death of Sitaram Yechury last year, after which Prakash Karat took over as the interim coordinator.
The 24th party congress of the CPI(M) began on April 2 and will end on Sunday.
