Right-wing activist Milind Ekbote beaten up by cow vigilantes in Pune
Ekbote is accused in Bhima Koregaon violence
Pune: Right-wing activist Milind Ekbote has lodged a police complaint alleging that he and his supporters were beaten up by some 'cow vigilantes' over a minor dispute in Maharashtra's Pune district, an official said on Wednesday.
The alleged incident took place at a temple premises in Zendewadi locality of Saswad area here around 10.30 pm on Tuesday when Ekbote, who is an accused in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, went there to attend a programme, he said.
Ekbote, who himself is known to be a supporter of cow vigilantes, lodged the complaint against 40 to 50 people and one Pandit Modak, who runs a 'gaushala' in the area, Saswad police station's inspector Annasaheb Gholap said.
"Ekbote had written a post on his Facebook page against Modak in connection with the functioning of the his gaushala which apparently upset the latter. When Ekbote went to Zendewadi to attend a programme, Modak along with his supporters went there to seek an explanation from him over the post," Gholap said.
"This led to an argument following supporters of both Ekbote and Modak indulged in a scuffle," he said.
Some policemen who were already present in the temple premises immediately intervened and brought the situation under control, the official said.
Later in the night, Ekbote reached the Saswad police station and lodged the complaint against Modak and 40 to 50 other people, Gholap said.
Based on his complaint, the police registered a case against Modak and others under various Indian Penal Code Sections, including 146 (rioting) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), but no arrest has been made so far, he said.
According to police, Ekbote and Modak worked together in the past, but due to some differences they parted ways and started functioning separately.
Ekbote is currently out on bail in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case.
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2 drown, 4 missing after boat capsizes in Yamuna in UP's Hamirpur
Hamirpur (UP) (PTI): Two persons, including a child, drowned and four went missing went missing after a boat capsized in the Yamuna river here, police said on Thursday.
They said the incident took place on Wednesday evening in Kutubpur Patiya hamlet under Bhauli gram panchayat in the Kurara police station area when nine people, not including the boatman, were returning from a river island.
According to police, the boat lost balance in the middle of the river and capsized around 7 pm.
The boatman, Dheeru, managed to rescue three people -- Vishnu, Rinku and Parul.
The remaining six --five children and a woman-- Akanksha (9), Rani (9), Brijrani (25), Labhyansh (5), Mahesh (6), and Aditya (11) -- went missing, police said.
Later on Thursday, rescue teams recovered the bodies of Akanksha and Brijrani (25.
SHO, Brijesh Kumar said that due to heavy rain since the morning, teams are facing difficulties in rescue operation.
District Magistrate Abhishek Goyal said a search for the missing is being conducted by teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force.
Taking cognisance of the incident, Chief Minister Adityanath has directed the district administration to investigate the cause of the accident and put in place effective measures to prevent such incidents in future.
He has directed senior police and administrative officials to immediately reach the spot and ensure relief and rescue operations on a war footing, an official statement said.
Adityanath has called for rescue efforts to be intensified to trace the missing persons at the earliest and warned that any negligence in the matter would not be tolerated, it added.
The chief minister also instructed senior district officials to personally monitor the rescue operations and ensure all possible assistance to the affected families.
BJP MLA from Hamirpur Manoj Prajapati said attempts are on to trace the missing. "We will ensure compensation to the affected families in accordance with the rules and submit a report to the chief minister on the incident," he said.
