Border row: All 145 MSRTC buses carrying 7,000 devotees return to Kolhapur from annual fair in K'tak
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Thursday said all its 145 buses that carried around 7,000 pilgrims from the state to Saundatti in Karnataka for an annual fair at goddess Yellamma temple earlier this week, returned safely to Kolhapur with the devotees this morning amid a simmering border row between the two states.
These devotees had travelled to Saundatti in the buses on Monday to take part in the fair, an MSRTC official said.
Maharashtra and Karnataka are locked in a bitter boundary dispute with leaders from both the states currently trading barbs against each other. The border row spilled onto roads on Tuesday with stones being hurled at vehicles entering Karnataka from Maharashtra near a toll booth at Hirebaugwadi in Belagavi district. Similarly, at least four buses from Karnataka were defaced in Pune district allegedly by activists of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
In view of the situation, the MSRTC suspended from Tuesday afternoon 382 of its 1,156 services operated daily to Karnataka on instruction of local police and district administration.
Talking to PTI, an MSRTC spokesperson said, "All 145 ST buses with repair trucks and inspection teams carrying around 7,000 devotees safely reached Kolhapur from Karnataka early Thursday morning under the protection of the police from the neighbouring state."
A large number of devotees of goddess Yellamma from Kolhapur visit Saundatti fair for three days every year in December.
The MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport bodies in the county with a fleet of around 16,000 buses. More than 65 lakh passengers travel in the buses operated by it.
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.
Young woman from MP who shot to fame during Kumbh found to be minor, case registered against husband
Khargone (MP) (PTI): The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on Friday confirmed that a young woman from Madhya Pradesh who became famous due to her viral videos during the 2025 Maha Kumbh has been found to be a minor after an inquiry.
Citing the findings of an inquiry panel set up by the commission, local BJP leaders alleged that her interfaith marriage in Kerala last month was a case of "love Jihad", and sought legal action.
While the panel had submitted its report in March, ST commission chairman Antar Singh Arya confirmed its findings to the PTI on Friday.
A case for alleged kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has already been registered against her husband, a Muslim man, at Maheshwar on the basis of the inquiry findings, police said.
The girl gained national fame after her videos while selling garlands and rudraksha at the Maha Kumbh went viral on social media and also earned her a role in a film.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes set up an inquiry panel after receiving a complaint on March 17 from Pratham Dubey, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, that she was a minor and was being exploited.
Maheshwar BJP MLA Rajkumar Mev and BJP mandal president Vikram Patel, armed with documents, told reporters on Friday that her marriage in Kerala was a case of "love Jihad" and she should be brought back home.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam.
Police said an investigation is underway, and further action would be taken accordingly.
The girl, who belongs to the nomadic Pardhi community, got married at a temple in Kerala in March. The interfaith marriage drew angry reactions from rightwing Hindu groups.
Her family members and film director Sanoj Mishra -- who had offered her a film role after she became famous -- too alleged that it was 'love Jihad'.
As per the inquiry conducted by the ST commission, records at the Maheshwar government hospital showed the woman's date of birth as December 30, 2009 which meant she was 16 years and two months old at the time of marriage, said Dubey, the complainant.
On a complaint filed by her father, police registered a case against the girl's husband at Maheshwar police station on March 25 for alleged kidnapping and under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police sources said that a separate case was also registered on March 24 under section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (taking a minor from lawful custody of guardian without their consent) based on the the commission's findings.
