Uttar Pradesh: Four arrested for running over Dalit woman for objecting to rash driving
Bulandshahr: The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested four men for allegedly running their SUV over a group of Dalits, who objected to their rash driving in Bulandshahr.
A woman, Sheela Devi, was killed and four others were injured in the incident, which took place this week, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
According to the FIR, the Dalit family was resting outside their home when a group of men from the Thakur community drove past them.
“There was no electricity that night and we had laid out charpai right outside the house. It’s not as if they were in the middle of the road,” Bhupendra Kumar, Sheela Devi’s son, was quoted as saying by TIE.
Kumar recalled that he, his mother and three relatives were sitting outside their home when a car allegedly rushed past them very close. He said that he had asked the driver to drive slower. “The car barely missed our feet and a few of our animals that were on the road,” he added.
The car stopped and two men who were in the vehicle allegedly made casteist remarks at Kumar and then left from the spot.
According to the FIR, six armed men returned in an SUV and ran over the people gathered in the area. “They drove at full-speed; the car stopped after running over my mother and then it reversed in high-speed over her again,” alleged Bhupendra.
While Sheela Devi died on the spot, Bhupendra and his relatives were relatively unharmed and were treated in the district hospital, added the report.
Police have arrested Priyanshu Thakur, Atul Thakur, Manav Thakur, Krishna Thakur, and the car’s driver. Three suspects — Tapesh Thakur, Varun Singh and Ashu — remain absconding.
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IMF approves USD 206 million emergency funding for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka's recovery
Colombo (PTI): The IMF has approved an emergency funding of USD 206 million under its rapid finance instrument to help Sri Lanka “address the urgent needs arising from the catastrophic Cyclone Ditwah and preserve macroeconomic stability”.
The cyclone caused widespread destruction in the island nation and left over 643 people dead.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the disaster has created urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs, generating significant fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments needs.
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The emergency financial support provided by the IMF under the rapid finance instrument will help address these pressures, it said.
The IMF added that the cyclone devastation hit when the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s USD 2.9 billion bailout was nearing completion.
“Given the time needed to assess the economic impact of the cyclone and examine how an IMF-supported programme can best support Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction efforts while preserving objectives and policy priorities, the Fifth Review has been deferred," it said.
"An IMF mission team will visit Sri Lanka in early 2026 to resume discussions,” it added.
The 48-month extended fund facility deal with the IMF in March 2023 carried hard reforms to Sri Lanka's welfare-based governance.
It was signed after Sri Lanka plunged into an unprecedented economic meltdown with its first-ever sovereign default.
Several hours before the IMF decision, the parliament here approved without a vote a supplementary estimate of LKR 500 billion, which the government said was required to restore the livelihoods of those affected by the disaster.
