Goods vehicle falls into stream in Karnataka killing 7 labourers, grievously injuring 3 others
Belagavi(PTI): Seven labourers were killed on the spot and three others critically injured after a goods vehicle they were travelling in fell into a stream early Sunday morning in a village here, police said.
According to police, these labourers hailing from Akkatangiyara Hala village in Gokak taluk were going to Belagavi when the vehicle fell into the Ballari Nala' at Kanabaragi village in Belagavi.
The labourers were construction workers who were going to Belagavi. The vehicle fell into the stream after the driver lost control over it. While seven people died on the spot, three others sustained grievous injuries, police said.
A police team rushed to the spot upon getting the information and pulled out the victims from beneath the vehicle with the help of local residents.
The injured were rushed to a hospital where their condition is said to be critical.
Belagavi Police Commissioner M B Boralingaiah reached the spot to oversee rescue operations and also console the bereaved family members.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
