Malegaon blast accused Sameer Kulkarni gets police security
Pune: Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, was on Wednesday provided an armed police guard for protection at his residence in Maharashtra's Pune district.
Kulkarni, who is currently out on bail, told PTI that he wrote to the state government in May this year seeking protection, but he might have been provided the security now in the wake of the killing of former Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow.
"Except a letter acknowledging that my application has been received, I did not receive any communication from the state government after I sought protection," said Kulkarni, who resides in Pune's Chinchwad area.
However, on Tuesday he got a call from the Pimpri Chinchwad police, informing that an armed guard of constable rank was assigned to him, he said.
"I did seek protection then (in May)...the security might have provided now in the wake of Tiwari's killing," he said.
Tiwari, who was earlier associated with a faction of the Hindu Mahasabha, was killed at his home in Naka Hindola area of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on October 18.
Kulkrani, who was released on bail in 2017, also said that he might have been given protection since he is one of the accused in the Malegaon blast, which is a sensitive case.
He said while seeking security, he had categorically told the government he would not be able to bear the police protection expenses, and that the government will have to bear the cost.
He said BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, who are also accused in the Malegaon blast case, have also been provided security.
Six people were killed and nearly 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town of Maharashtra's Nashik district on September 29, 2008.
The trial in the case began in October last year after a special court in Mumbai framed charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Thakur and others.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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