Four school students drown at Murudeshwar Beach, CM Siddaramaiah announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia
Karwar, Karnataka: Four class nine girl students from a residential school drowned in the sea at Murudeshwar in Uttara Kannada district, during an educational tour, police said on Wednesday.
A group of 46 students and six teachers from Morarji Desai Residential School, Mulabagilu in Kolar district visited Murudeshwar on Tuesday as part of their school trip.
According to the police, around 5.30 pm, the teachers, along with the students went to the beach.
Despite warnings from lifeguards, seven students ventured into the sea. The sea was rough, and three girls were swept away by the current, while another girl died on the spot.
The remaining three students were rescued with the help of lifeguards and other agencies. They were immediately taken to the hospital and are now reported to be out of danger, a senior police officer said.
A search operation involving lifeguards, home guards, fishermen, and police recovered the bodies of the three girls feared drowned on Wednesday morning.
"We have registered a case under Section 106 (Causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and arrested all six teachers in connection with the incident," said Narayana M, Superintendent of Police, Uttara Kannada.
The teachers were later released on station bail, he added.
The deceased girls, aged 15, have been identified as Shravanti, Deeksha, Lavanya, and Lipika. Police confirmed that post-mortem examinations were completed, and arrangements are being made to send the bodies to their hometowns.
Expressing his condolence to the bereaved parents, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased students.
Taking to the social media platform 'X', he said, "The families of the four students who died in the accident will be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each by the state government. I have spoken to the Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada district and suggested making arrangements to transport the bodies to their hometowns."
He emphasised the need for greater caution by teachers during trips. "Children should be supervised while visiting dangerous places. I understand the pain of parents who have lost their children. I pray such incidents never happen again," he added.
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Gujarat to amend marriage registration rules, cites 'misuse' of existing norms
Gandhinagar (PTI): The Gujarat government on Friday announced it plans to amend rules framed under the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, saying the move is aimed at plugging loopholes in the existing system.
Speaking in the assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi stressed the need for new norms, alleging that “innocent girls are being trapped” and such practices were spreading “like termites” in society.
He said several people and social organisations had urged the government to amend the marriage registration rules to prevent misuse of procedural gaps.
Referring to what he termed “love jihad”, Sanghavi said it amounted to a “cultural invasion” and asserted that the BJP government could no longer ignore the issue. He said the amendments are aimed at strengthening safeguards in the registration process.
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He said objections and suggestions on the proposed amendments are now invited from the public for 30 days.
“People and organisations can register their suggestions and objections on the Health and Family Welfare Department’s website. The new rules will be implemented after considering these suggestions and objections received by the department,” he said.
Later, the minister’s office shared a document detailing the proposed procedure for marriage registration under the amended rules.
As per the proposed rules, every marriage registration application will need to be submitted before the Assistant Registrar, while applicants must attach a declaration stating whether the bride and groom have informed their parents about the marriage.
Moreover, the bride and groom will have to provide the names, addresses, Aadhaar and contact details of their parents in the application.
The parents of the bride and groom will be informed within ten working days as soon as the Assistant Registrar is satisfied, according to the proposed rules.
The Assistant Registrar will forward the application to the Registrar of the district or taluka concerned. The marriage will be registered 30 days after the Registrar is satisfied that the requirements specified in sub-rules have been met.
The Registrar will upload all these details to an online portal to be created by the government, say the proposed rules.
AAP MLA Hemant Ahir, who had on Thursday introduced a private member's Bill in this regard, and BJP MLA Lavingji Thakor congratulated the deputy CM in the House, saying the proposed changes were the need of the hour.
They said innocent girls were being lured by anti-social elements who exploited loopholes in the existing system to solemnise and register marriages.
