Truck hits convoy of ex-Union minister Ahir; 2 killed
Chandrapur: Two people, including a CRPF jawan, were killed after a vehicle in the security convoy of former Union minister Hansraj Ahir was hit by a truck in Maharashtra's Wardha district on Thursday, an official said.
Five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans also received injuries in the mishap, he said. Ahir escaped unhurt as he was not in the ill-fated vehicle, he said.
The former minister was heading towards Nagpur along with his security convoy in four vehicles when the mishap took place at Jam village on Chandrapur-Nagpur road, around 233 km from here.
When the truck driver took a sharp turn to save a monkey crossing the road, it hit a vehicle of Ahir's convoy in which security personnel were travelling, he said.
CRPF jawan Phalji Patel and the vehicle driver Vinod Zade received serious injuries in the mishap and were rushed to a hospital where they died while undergoing treatment, Ahir's personal assistant Ravi Chawre said.
The five other injured CRPF jawans were admitted to the Orange City Hospital in Nagpur, he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Madras HC strikes down TN order limiting maternity leave for third child
Chennai: The Madras High Court has set aside a Tamil Nadu government order restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks, holding the move to be contrary to established legal principles.
A division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar and N Senthil Kumar ruled that there was no justification to treat third pregnancies differently from the first two, observing that the physical and medical requirements of childbirth remain the same irrespective of the number of pregnancies, as reported by The News Minute.
According to a report published by Live Law, the court was hearing a petition filed by Shayee Nisha, a staff member of the district judiciary in Villupuram, whose request for maternity leave from February 2026 to February 2027 had been curtailed to three months by authorities citing the March 13, 2026 government order.
Quashing the decision of the Principal District Judge and related directions asking her to resume duty, the bench directed that she be granted maternity leave on par with that provided for earlier pregnancies, allowing up to 365 days.
The court noted that both the Supreme Court of India and earlier rulings of the High Court had consistently held that maternity benefits cannot be denied for a third child. Holding the restriction to be unsustainable, the court directed authorities to process maternity leave applications without discrimination based on the number of pregnancies.
It also pointed out that a similar issue had been addressed by a division bench earlier this year, which had disapproved denial of maternity leave in such cases and directed that its ruling be circulated among judicial officers. Despite this, the state issued the impugned order, the bench observed.
