#MeToo: Court grants bail to scribe Priya Ramani in defamation case by M J Akbar
New Delhi, Feb 25: A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to journalist Priya Ramani, who was summoned as an accused in a defamation case filed by former Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal granted the bail on a bond of Rs 10,000.
The court had earlier directed Ramani to appear before it after noting that the allegations made against Akbar were "prima facie defamatory" and he denied all the accusations as "false and imaginary".
Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. He has denied the accusations.
His name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India last year. Akbar, who resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on October 17, was in Nigeria when his name came up.
Multiple women came out with accounts of alleged sexual harassment by him when he was a journalist.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
