Chamarajanagar(PTI): Karnataka Housing Minister V Somanna was caught up in controversy for allegedly slapping a woman in a village in Gundlupet here when she went with a plea to resolve her grievance.

The minister has not yet reacted to the incident but the woman said Somanna was only consoling her after she tried to prostrate before him with a plea to allot her a government plot.

According to the information received, Somanna, who is the district in-charge minister of Chamarajanagar, had gone to Hangla village in Gundlupet and was taking part in a property document distribution ceremony.

Property documents were given to landless people who were occupying government land for residential purposes but had not secured any ownership of it till now.

During the ceremony, the viral video purportedly showed a woman approaching the minister reportedly pleading him to allot a plot. The minister turned angry after he was shoved due to the unruly crowd and slapped the woman.

However, the minister's office shared a video in which the woman said she only pleaded a plot be granted to her as she was too poor.

"I bowed at his feet with the plea and the minister lifted me consoling me that he would help me but it was publicised that he beat me up," the woman accompanied by her children said in the video.

Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh criticised the minister for his purported conduct.

"What a difference from the way @RahulGandhi began the Karnataka leg of #BharatJodoYatra from the very same Gundlupet on 30th September! This shameless man should be sacked immediately!" Ramesh tweeted.

The Congress MP was referring to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered Karnataka from Gundlupet last month, where the incident occurred on Saturday.

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Patna: A speeding truck rammed into an auto rickshaw carrying passengers near the Pragati Petrol pump within the jurisdiction limits of the Chhabilapur Police Station of Nalanda district on Wednesday, resulting in the death of three people on the spot and three others being grievously injured.

The deceased are identified as Kanchan Devi, Dilip Kumar and Bindi Prasad. The injured individuals, Priyanka Devi, Rinki Devi and Ravi Ranjan Kumar, were initially treated at the Rajgir sub-divisional hospital, but, as their condition was critical, they were shifted to the Pawapuri Medical College and Hospital, as advised by the doctors at the Rajgir hospital. While the medical report states that the condition of all the injured is stable, the incident has caused immense distress among their families.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Sunil Kumar Singh, Sub-divisional Police officer Kumar Omkeshwar, Inspector Sanjay Kumar and Chhabilapur and Rajgir Police Station inspectors visited the hospital and inquired about the three people injured in the accident, reports NDTV, adding that the police are investigating the case.

Sanjay Kumar, SHO of the Chhabilapur Police Station, said that they have registered a case against the driver of the truck for rash and negligent driving. The officer added that the driver was absconding since the accident occurred.

The victims were traveling in an auto rickshaw from Rajgir to Barnaussa on Wednesday, when the accident occurred. The eye-witnesses have called the truck-rickshaw collision as severe, adding that it gave rise to chaos and panic at the accident site.

The accident highlights the persistent problem of reckless driving on Bihar's roads, which frequently results in major casualties, including fatalities. The families of the people affected by the accidents have been urging swift justice and proper support for the victims. The local administration has assured to implement necessary measures to ensure safety of road users and bring those responsible for the accident to justice.