Monday morning Delhi temblor due to in-situ material heterogeneity: Scientist
New Delhi (PTI): The temblor that jolted the national capital early Monday was a result of naturally occurring variation in the geological features of the region and not due to plate tectonics, a senior scientist said.
The 4.0 magnitude earthquake had its epicentre at Jheel Park region near Dhaula Kuan and the shallow focal depth made citizens in nearby areas hear loud sounds as the earth shifted slightly this morning.
Delhi region in northern India experiences frequent tremors due to both far-field and near-field earthquakes from the Himalayan and local sources, respectively.
The Dhaula Kuan region had experienced a 4.6 magnitude earthquake in 2007. However, its impact was not as strongly felt as Monday's temblor because it took place at a depth of 10 km, National Centre for Seismology Director O P Mishra said.
Delhi is placed in seismic zone IV in the seismic zoning map of India, the second highest in the country.
The national capital region is exposed to moderate to high risk seismic activity due to Himalayan earthquakes such as the 7.5 magnitude Garhwal Himalaya quake in 1803, 6.8 magnitude Uttarkashi earthquake in 1991, 6.6 magnitude Chamoli earthquake in 1999, 7.8 magnitude Gorkha earthquake in 2015 and a few moderate earthquakes from the Hindukush region.
Local earthquakes recorded in the region include 6.5 magnitude Delhi earthquake in 1720, 5 magnitude Mathura earthquake in 1842, 6.7 magnitude Bulandshahar earthquake in 1956 and 5.8 magnitude Moradabad earthquake in 1966.
"The epicentre of Monday's earthquake was at Jheel Park in Dhaula Kuan, it was a 4.0 magnitude earthquake. It was in the depth of 5 km, it is called shallow depth, hence people felt the effect," Mishra said.
Earthquakes have happened earlier in the region and seismologically, it is not new region
"Earlier, there was a 4.6 magnitude earthquake in 6 km periphery, but it was deeper, with 10 km depth. There is a difference. It was not a plate tectonic earthquake, it was due to in-situ material heterogeneity, it was due to local effect," Mishra said.
In-situ material heterogeneity means it occurred due to variation in geological features in the region.
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UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
