Flags in Mauritius at half mast in Vajpayee's honour
Port Louis, Aug 17: In an unprecedented gesture, the government of Mauritius will fly both the Mauritian and Indian national flags at half mast on Friday in honour of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"Following the passing away of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the government has decided that both the Mauritius and India flags will remain at half mast from sunrise to sunset on Friday," a directive issued by the office of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said.
"An appeal is also being made to the private sector for ll flags to be flown at half mast during the same period," it said.
Vajpayee passed away in Delhi on Thursday at the age of 93 after prolonged illness.
Around 68 per cent of Mauritius's population of nearly 1.3 million are of Indian descent. Many are descendants of Indian indentured labour brought to work on sugarcane plantations on the Indian Ocean island nation in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In a condolence message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jugnauth said that Vajpayee "shaped the destiny of India through his bold leadership and his deep-rooted empathy for the common man".
"Today, as India shines as a beacon of progress and development on the global stage, we cannot forget the strong and able stewardship of Vajpayee," Jugnauth stated.
"His was a leadership characterised by determination, perseverance, fairness and equity."
Jugnauth also recalled Vajpayee's deep affection for Mauritius and its people and said that "we were honoured to receive him in March 2000 as chief guest at the National Day celebrations and whenever he visited Mauritius".
"Mauritius mourns the loss of a man who stood not only for India but also for Mauritius," he said.
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Wedding card helps police crack robbery case; victim's brother among 4 held
Palghar (PTI): A marriage invitation card has helped police in solving a case of robbery in Maharashtra's Palghar district, with the victim's brother found to be involved in the crime, an official said on Thursday.
The incident took place on March 28 near Vavar village in Jawhar, he said.
The victim, Boru Khandu Binnar (30), resident of Khodala in Mokhada taluka here, was travelling in a pickup van when three unidentified persons flagged him down under the pretext that their motorbike had broken down, District Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil said.
Believing their plea for help, the man asked his van driver to halt to assist them.
The robbers then threw chilli powder into the eyes of the man and the van driver and took away Rs 6,85,500 in cash kept behind the driver's seat. They also threatened the man with dire consequences before fleeing, the official said.
The Jawhar police subsequently registered a case against the then unidentified culprits under sections 309(4) (robbery) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
During the investigation at the crime scene, the police found traces of chilli powder, and an usual piece of evidence - a marriage invitation card in which the chilli powder was wrapped, the official said.
The police tracked down a person whose name was mentioned on the invitation, and found him to be involved in the robbery. Later, three other culprits were also nabbed, he said, adding the four were taken into custody over the last couple of days.
According to the official, out of the four persons arrested, Dattu Khandu Binnar (34), the victim's brother, allegedly planned the robbery.
The other three arrested persons have been identified as Kiran Ananta Lamte (23), resident of Mokhada, whose name was on the marriage invitation card, Parmeshwar Kamlakar Zole (24) and Dada Bajirao Pehre (24), both from Nashik, he said.
The police recovered the entire stolen cash from the arrested persons, the official said.
