RSS activist dies by suicide, after BJP denies local body poll ticket
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): An RSS activist allegedly died by suicide here on Saturday, claiming that he was denied a BJP ticket for the upcoming local body elections, police said.
The deceased, Anand K Thampi of Thrikkannapuram, was found hanging in a shed on his residential premises in the evening.
According to police, Thampi had hoped to contest as the BJP candidate from the Thrikkannapuram ward of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
He became upset after discovering that his name was not included on the BJP's Thiruvananthapuram candidate list, they said.
However, local BJP leaders claimed that he never approached them seeking a ticket, and his death should not be linked to the denial of a ticket.
After he could not find his name in the BJP's candidate list, he announced on social media that he would contest as an independent.
Police said he sent a WhatsApp message to his friends, making allegations against RSS and BJP leaders, and declared that he intended to end his life on Saturday afternoon.
In his message, Thampi claimed he had informed RSS activists of his desire to contest the election.
He alleged that he was denied a ticket due to the interests of some local leaders associated with the sand-smuggling mafia.
He also claimed that after he decided to contest as an independent, his friends began distancing themselves from him, which upset him.
Later, Thampi attempted suicide by hanging in the shed of his house.
After seeing the message, his friends rushed to his residence and took him to a hospital, but he died by evening.
BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he was shocked to learn about the incident.
"I checked with the district president, who said his name was not in the shortlist received from the ward. But we will examine the incident," he said.
BJP leaders in the district denied that Thampi had ever approached them seeking a ticket.
They said Thampi’s death could not be linked to the denial of a seat.
They added that the other allegations he made would be examined.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leaders said that Thampi approached them seeking support to contest in the election after the BJP denied him a ticket.
According to them, the party leaders in the district attended a meeting with Thampi at his hotel on Friday evening.
After the meeting, Thampi decided to take Shiv Sena membership and was engaged in campaigning on Saturday morning. Police have launched an investigation.
A case will be registered based on his relatives' statements, officials said.
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
