Teenage girl hangs herself in school; principal held after suicide note claims molestation
Jashpur (PTI): A 15-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself in the study room of a private school after accusing the principal of molesting and sexually harassing her in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, officials said on Monday.
The principal was arrested after the class 9 student allegedly used a saree to hang herself from a rod of the ceiling on Sunday evening.
The school is located in a village under the Bagicha police station limits, Jashpur Senior Superintendent of Police Shashimohan Singh said, adding that the deceased was a resident of the Sitapur area in neighbouring Surguja district.
Police found a suicide note at the spot, which accused the school principal, Kuldipan Topno, of molestation and sexual harassment, following which he was arrested, the police officer said.
A case was registered, and further investigation is underway, he added.o
A joint team comprising officials of the education, tribal, and police departments conducted an inquiry following the incident.
Preliminary findings revealed that the hostel on the school campus was unauthorised, officials said.
"Of the 124 students enrolled from classes 6 to 12 in the school, a total of 22 boys and 11 girls were staying in the hostel, which was allegedly being operated without mandatory permissions. All relevant documents have been seized," said Assistant Commissioner of the Tribal Department, Sanjay Singh.
A magisterial inquiry has been ordered. The exact cause behind the incident will be ascertained only after the investigation, said Bagicha Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pradeep Rathiya.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
