Death toll rises to 3 in helium cylinder blast near Mysuru Palace
Mysuru (PTI): The death toll in the helium cylinder blast that occurred near the Mysuru Palace has risen to three, police said on Saturday.
Lakshmi (29), a resident of Kamakshipalya in Bengaluru, succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment in KR Hospital, taking the toll to three, late on Friday, police officials said.
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She had suffered grievous injuries in the blast, including severe abdominal trauma, and despite intensive treatment, she could not be saved," a senior police officer said.
Lakshmi was the wife of Rajesh, an auto-rickshaw driver in Bengaluru. Rajesh is originally a resident of Hosahalli village in Mandya district.
Police said the couple had come to Mysuru on Thursday and were staying at their relatives' house in Belavadi when the incident took place.
Earlier, Saleem, the helium balloon seller, was killed on the spot on December 25. On Friday, another injured woman, identified as Manjula, also died while undergoing treatment at KR Hospital.
Police said Saleem was a native of Uttar Pradesh and had been staying at Lashkar Mohalla in Mysuru along with two others. He was making a living by selling balloons.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also joined the probe and is collecting information related to the incident.
Police said further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
