24 people arrested in connection with multiple blasts in Sri Lanka
Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities have arrested 24 people from the minority Muslim community in connection with the multiple blasts that rocked the island nation on Sunday, killing over 290 people.
A string of eight powerful blasts, including suicide attacks, struck churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing over 290 people, including five Indians, and shattering a decade of peace in the island nation since the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the number of arrests on the incidents have now gone up to 24.
However, the government said they will not disclose the details of the suspects involved in the attacks to prevent them from getting publicity.
"Don't give extremists a voice. Don't help to make them martyrs," State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene, told reporters when asked for details of those in custody.
Police officials privately said the suspects were all from the minority Muslim community.
Police said the van which had carried explosives to carry out bomb attacks at the three hotels was arrested with its Muslim driver.
A safe house where the bombers had lived for nearly three months leading to the attacks were discovered in the south of Colombo suburb of Panadura.
Sri Lanka Air Force said it found an improvised explosives device along a road leading to the departure terminal at the Colombo international airport Sunday night.
"It was a crude six- foot pipe bomb that was found by the roadside," an air force spokesman said.
"We have removed it and safely defused it at an air force location," he added.
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Charred body of teen found after fire destroys over 100 shanties in Delhi's Rithala
New Delhi (PTI): A massive fire swept through a cluster of shanties in Delhi's Rithala area early on Thursday, killing a 17-year-old girl and destroying more than 100 huts that left dozens of migrant families homeless.
Firefighters pulled out the charred body of the girl who was initially reported missing after the fire.
The blaze that was reported to authorities at 4.15 am spread rapidly through the densely packed shanties, triggering panic among residents who rushed out of their huts to escape the flames.
Residents said the shanty cluster was home to migrant labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and other states who worked as daily wage workers in nearby factories, construction sites and small establishments.
The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) launched a large-scale firefighting operation and deployed more than 18 fire tenders to control the blaze.
After the fire was brought under control, firefighters recovered the charred body of a teenage girl from the debris.
"Teams reached the location soon after the call was received and began firefighting operations. The fire had already engulfed several shanties in the cluster," a fire official said.
Officials said the blaze spread quickly because the huts were built very close to each other and many contained highly inflammable materials such as plastic sheets, wooden planks and cloth.
Firefighters and local police personnel carried out rescue and cooling operations and managed to bring the fire under control by around 6.30 am.
"The fire had spread to more than 100 huts and a adjacent godown of paper rolls and cardboard and the doors and windows of some residential flats also caught fire. A 17-year-old girl charred body was also recovered. Her body was sent to BSA Hospital by PCR," the officer said.
Police said the girl has been identified and further legal procedures are underway.
Many families said they lost everything in the fire as they had to flee with no belongings during the fire.
"We ran out to save our lives when the fire started. Within minutes everything was burning. Our hut, clothes, money and documents -- everything has turned to ashes," said Ramesh Kumar, a labourer from Bihar who has been living in the area.
Another person from West Bengal, said the flames spread so quickly that people barely had time to wake their children and escape.
"We woke up to screams and saw fire everywhere. We somehow managed to take the children outside. We could not save anything from the hut. All our belongings are gone," she said.
Some residents were seen searching through the burnt remains of their huts in the hope of finding salvageable items. "We worked for years to build this small hut and collect household items. In just a few minutes, everything we had earned was destroyed," said a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh.
Police said the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and an investigation is underway.
