Poll authorities prevented from discharging duty at Udupi
Udupi: Kundapur assistant commissioner T Bhoobalan and probationary IAS officer Poovitha were stopped from performing their duties and questioned by the owner, employees and customers of a bar and restaurant at Koteshwara late on Monday night.
The assistant commissioner, along with his team, was on duty for checking violations of the election model code of conduct. They were videographing the happenings inside the bar, after they received a complaint that the hotel was selling liquor beyond the deadline.
They were questioned by the customers who were worried that their identities would become public. They were joined by the owner and employees, who questioned the team repeatedly. Despite explaining their responsibilities, the officials were prevented from discharging their duties.
The team rushed to the Kundapur police station and filed a case. Police have arrested Surendra Shetty and Prabhakar Acharya in connection with the incident.
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Will do whatever we can: Iranian official on Nimisha Priya case
New Delhi, Jan 2: Iran will do whatever it can in the case of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, facing a death sentence in Yemen, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday.
Priya, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, has been found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July 2017.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
"We will take up the issue. She seems to have been charged with manslaughter. We will do whatever we can in the case on humanitarian grounds," the Iranian official told a group of journalists in Delhi.
The Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
According to reports, Priya was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi approved the death penalty to Priya a few days ago.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday said India is extending all possible help to explore relevant options in the case.
"We are aware of the sentencing of Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options," Jaiswal said.
"The government is extending all possible help in the matter," he said.
Priya's mother, Prema Kumari, currently in Sana'a, has made an emotional appeal to the Indian government to save her daughter's life.
In a video message from Yemen, Prema Kumari urged the Centre and other authorities to intervene urgently.
"This is my final plea. She has only a few days left. Every member of the action council has worked tirelessly to raise funds. I beg the Centre and the council to do everything possible to save her life," she said.
