Wearing life jackets mandatory in Chilika Lake: Minister
Bhubaneswar, June 23: The Odisha government on Saturday decided to make the wearing of life jackets mandatory and install GPS in boats operating in the Chilika lake, Asia's largest brackish water lagoon.
The state government took the decision after a boat capsized last week, claiming six lives.
"Wearing of life jackets by the boat passengers will be made mandatory and GPS will also be installed in the boats. The inquiry report submitted by the Directorate of Ports and Inland Water Transport has also proposed so," informed Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu.
District collectors have been directed to appoint surveyors to ensure the provision of lifebuoys, life jackets and fire extinguishers for boats, said Sahu.
Informing on the boat capsize incident, the Minister said though the boatman was provided with lifebuoys, 20 life jackets, they were not used during the mishap.
"As we had provided an adequate number of life jackets and lifebuoys to every boat, probe into the tragedy has found that the passengers didn't use the life jackets even though they were available," said Sahu.
Reviewing the management and safety measures in boats, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said life jackets will be made mandatory for persons travelling in boats while all boats operating in Chilika will be registered.
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.
Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
