Magisterial probe ordered into death of four 'coal thieves' in J'khand
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): A magisterial probe was ordered into the death of four alleged coal thieves in a "gunfight" with CISF personnel in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, a senior official said on Monday.
The investigation was ordered after villagers alleged that no gunfight took place and the four locals were killed in "unprovoked firing" by personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The deceased were identified as Pritam Nonia (29), Ataul Ansari alias Atul Ansari (26), Shahzad Khan (32) and Shamim Ansari (25).
Raja Khan, the elder brother of Ataul Ansari, claimed that his brother was innocent and he was only passing by a coal siding path when CISF personnel shot him dead.
Nonia's maternal uncle Prakash leveled similar allegations, saying he was killed in "unprovoked firing by CISF".
A notification issued by Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Sandip Singh late on Sunday stated that the magisterial probe will be headed by Additional District Magistrate (law and order) Nand Kishore Gupta.
CISF claimed that a "gunfight" took place with alleged coal thieves at Denidih coal siding in Baghmara area, around 200 km from state capital Ranchi, on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
The paramilitary force said that four "coal thieves" were killed and two others injured in the incident. They are being treated at a Ranchi hospital.
"The magisterial probe was ordered after receiving the reports about the incident from CISF Deputy Inspector General Vinay Kajla and Dhanbad's Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Kumar for further detailed investigation into the case," the DC said.
Earlier, the SSP announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would be constituted to investigate the incident.
The CISF DIG, after his preliminary investigation into the incident, claimed that CISF personnel resorted to firing in self-defense as coal thieves attacked them in large numbers when the jawans tried to stop them from coal theft.
He said two CISF jawans also suffered injuries and they are undergoing treatment at a hospital.
CISF and Dhanbad Police seized 21 motorcycles from the spot.
Police claimed that the alleged coal thieves had come on motorcycles to pilfer coal from the siding but they escaped following the clash.
CISF claimed that there are bullet marks on its jeep from shots fired by the alleged coal thieves.
The paramilitary force has also lodged an FIR with Baghmara police station against 100 unknown people for attacking the jawans at the coal siding.
Sources said that the villagers are also in the process of registering a police complaint with their allegations.
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Melinda French Gates resigns as Gates Foundation co-chair, 3 years after her divorce from Bill Gates
New York, May 13: Melinda French Gates will step down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit she and her ex-husband Bill Gates founded and built into one of the world's largest philanthropic organisations over the past 20 years.
“This is not a decision I came to lightly,” French Gates posted on the X platform on Monday. “I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”
She praised the foundation's CEO, Mark Suzman, and the foundation's board of trustees, which was significantly expanded after the couple announced their divorce in May 2021.
“The time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy,” French Gates wrote in her statement. She organises some of her investments and philanthropic gifts through her organisation, Pivotal Ventures, which is not a nonprofit.
Bill Gates thanked French Gates for her “critical” contributions to the foundations in a statement, saying, “I am sorry to see her leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work.”
French Gates will receive $12.5 billion as part of her agreement with Gates, which she said would commit to future work focused on women and families.
The Gates Foundation did not immediately return a request for comment about whether those assets would come from the foundation itself. In an emailed statement, the foundation said that Suzman announced the decision to employees on Monday.
“After a difficult few years watching women's rights rolled back in the US and around the world, she wants to use this next chapter to focus specifically on altering that trajectory,” Suzman said of French Gates.
Suzman said he knew many had joined the foundation in part because of their admiration for her advocacy, especially around gender equity.
“I know how beloved Melinda is here,” Suzman wrote.
The Gates Foundation holds $75.2 billion in its endowment as of December 2023, and announced in January, it planned to spend $8.6 billion through the course of its work in 2024.
The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce from Pivotal Ventures.
