Shivamogga, July 10: The body of the schoolgirl who was washed away in the flood water while crossing a footbridge at Kendalubailu near Guddekere in Thirthahalli taluk, was found on Tuesday.

The girl was identified as Ashika (14). The body of the girl was found around one kilometer away from the place where she fell. After the postmortem, the body was handed over to the family.

The deceased girl was studying 9th standard at Guddekere government high school. Because of heavy rains, schools and colleges in the taluk were declared holiday on Monday. Unaware of the holiday, she has gone to the school. After she came to know about the holiday, she was returning home. While going back home, she tried to cross the stream over the footbridge, but slipped into the water and swept away, it is said.

The taluk officials and senior police officers rushed to the spot and began searching operation to trace the body. Because of heavy rains, the searching teams stopped the operation in the evening.

Rs 5 lakh compensation

Deputy Commissioner Dr M Lokesh, ZP CEO Dr Rakesh Kumar, tahsildar Anand Nayak went to the house of the deceased girl and paid their respect. At this time, the DC handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh as compensation to her family members. He also visited the spot where the girl washed away and verified it. He directed the zilla panchayat engineering section to prepare a proposal to construct a bridge across the stream and make safety measures to the foot-bridge.  

The DC also directed the tahsildar to provide required groceries to the family. The DC also visited the Guddekere school where the girl was studying and inspected the basic infrastructure.



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Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.

The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.

The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.

Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.

ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.

When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.

Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.

Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.

The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.

The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.

Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.

The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.

Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.