Police nab prime suspect in Kerala girl's trolling case
Kochi, July 28 : The Kerala Police on Saturday took into custody a person alleged to have been the key tormentor of a 19-year-old Kerala student, who was trolled on the social media for selling fish after college hours.
Noorudeen Sheikh is being questioned and a First Information Report has been registered against him, a police officer said. He has been booked under various sections of the IT Act, besides provisions attracting non-bailable offences.
Hanan Hamid, a final year graduate student of Chemistry studying in a college near here had attracted attention after it came to light that she was eking out a livelihood by selling fish and also doing odd jobs as a junior artiste in films.
All Hamid was doing was trying to take care of an ailing mother, who has been separated from her husband.
It was Sheikh who had first taken selfies with Hamid when he came to know of her struggles. Later, however, he went hammer and tongs against her and posted the pictures questioning her condition, after she was also seen in a few pictures with superstar Mohanlal.
Soon Sheikh's post went viral and Hamid was slammed as "a fake and doing all she did only to impress to superstar Mohanlal to land a role with his son Pranav Mohanlal in an upcoming film.
Speaking to the media, after hearing his arrest, Hamid said she is very happy to hear the news.
"Now I have realised that with the support I am getting from the government and my college, I have now got so many guardians," said Hamid.
The police, keeping track of the social media posts, have said more people who have abused the college girl would also face consequences.
It was after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Facebook post supporting Hamid on Friday that the police registered a case against the cyber bullies.
On Saturday, Vijayan speaking to reporters here said: "The thump rule for those on the social media is to be careful with their statements."
The Left has also come out in support of Hamid as also the women's commission.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
