One killed in Kerala after drunk man fires shots at crowd
Idukki (Kerala)(PTI): One person was killed and another injured after an inebriated man allegedly fired shots at a crowd from a country-made gun at Moolamattom near here, the police said.
Idukki resident Sanal Babu (33) lost his life in the firing while his friend Pradeep got injured and has been admitted to Kolancherry Medical College near here.
Police arrested Philip Martin (33) for firing at the crowd.
The incident happened late on Saturday night when Martin and his friend came to a wayside eatery and asked for food.
"The duo started abusing the owner of the eatery as there was no food. The people at the eatery objected to it. Enraged, Martin went to his house nearby and came back with a gun and fired in the air," a senior police official told PTI.
The official said after firing in the air, Martin got into the car to leave but came out of the vehicle seeing a crowd gathering and fired shots again.
"However, this time two people who were travelling through the area got hit. One person died and another was injured," the official said.
Later in the night, police arrested Martin and an investigation is on.
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Paper leak mafia thriving under BJP's double-engine governments: Bhagwant Mann
Shimla (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday slammed the Centre over the alleged NEET paper leak and said that such incidents are surfacing in regions governed by the BJP's 'double-engine' and 'triple-engine' governments.
He said the leak and cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance test (NEET) 2026 examination is a major failure on the part of the Union government.
"This is not the first time that a paper leak has happened. Such incidents have surfaced in 2017, 2021, 2024, and now even in 2026 and every time, a CBI inquiry is initiated, arrests are made, yet after a short while, the accused are released on bail," he said.
Mann, who arrived at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium to boost the morale of the Punjab Kings team ahead of their upcoming IPL match, told the media that lakhs of students toil day and night, harbouring dreams of transforming their families' fortunes, but when exams are cancelled due to paper leaks, these students are left heartbroken.
The NEET 2026 paper held on May 3 was cancelled on May 12 after reports of a paper leak in Rajasthan.
He said that the paper leak mafia is predominantly surfacing in regions governed by the BJP's 'double-engine' and 'triple-engine' governments. "Paper leaked, dreams shattered, the country's administrative system is unable to conduct even a single examination properly", he added.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mann said that while Modi imposes various restrictions on the public, he himself continues to embark on foreign tours.
He asserted that the public deserves to know the country's true economic situation.
"The prime minister must disclose the current status of the country's oil reserves, the extent of our gold reserves, and fundamentally why restrictions are being imposed on every single commodity", he said.
No other nation has imposed such restrictions and the ongoing war is being used as a pretext, even though the country's economy is already in a precarious state, Mann added.
Regarding the ongoing campaign against drugs in Punjab, Mann said that the state government is continuously taking action against drug traffickers and asserted that a large number of traffickers are being sent to jail and that Punjab will soon move towards becoming drug-free.
Speaking about the upcoming IPL match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians to be held in Dharamshala, Mann said that he also holds the portfolio of Punjab's sports minister and has arrived in Dharamshala to cheer the team.
