Missing Tara Air plane found crashed, 14 bodies recovered
Kathmandu(PTI): Rescuers on Monday pulled out 14 bodies from the wreckage of the Tara Airlines plane that crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district on Sunday with 22 people on board, including four Indians, and there were slim chances of finding any survivors, according to media reports.
The turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane had four Indian nationals, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers besides a three-member Nepali crew.
Pieces of the wreckage of the passenger plane that crashed on Sunday morning were found at 14,500ft in Sano Sware Bhir of Thasang in Mustang district in northwestern Nepal, after nearly 20 hours since the plane went missing, the Nepal Army said on Monday.
The search and rescue troops have physically located the plane crash site. Details will be followed, Nepal Army Spokesperson Brigadier General Narayan Silwal said on Twitter.
Crash site: Sanosware, Thasang-2, Mustang, he tweeted along with a picture of what appears to be the wreckage of the aircraft. Lt Mangal Shrestha, a police inspector and a guide have already reached the site, he said.
"Other rescue team members from different agencies are trying to reach the sites using small helicopters. Every possible means to reach the site is being considered," Brig Gen. Silwal said.
The airline issued the list of passengers which identified four Indians as Ashok Kumar Tripathy, his wife Vaibhavi Bandekar (Tripathy) and their children Dhanush and Ritika. The family was based in Thane city near Mumbai.
The plane took off at 9:55 am from Pokhara and lost contact with air control about 12 minutes later at 10:07am, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The search and rescue team reached the crash site on Monday morning.
Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson of Tara Air, said that the bodies of 14 people have been found.
As the bodies have been scattered over a 100-metre radius from the main impact point, the search and rescue team is collecting them," he told the newspaper.
The plane slammed into the mountain breaking into pieces, said Bartaula. The impact has blown the bodies all over the hill, he said.
The photo posted on the social media site shows the tail and one wing of the aircraft remain intact.
The helicopter dropped three rescuers from Nepal Army, Nepal Police and a high altitude rescue guide early in the morning. As the area can accommodate only one chopper at the crash site, it is shuttling the rescuers, said Bartaula.
Search was suspended on Sunday because of bad weather and failing light.
Inda Singh of Dana, who reached the crash site, said the plane was found in a damaged condition, the Republica newspaper reported. Singh said there was no fire on the aircraft. The aircraft could have met with an accident after hitting a cliff nearby.
Although the bodies are intact no one is likely to be found alive, he said.
This is probably because the fire did not start. The dead bodies are intact and the faces of all victims are recognisable, he said.
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P&H High Court denies anticipatory bail to man accused of replacing national flag with saffron flag
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to Vikas Tomar, who is accused of removing the national flag from a mosque in Gurugram’s Uton village and replacing it with a saffron flag.
Justice Manisha Batra, presiding over the case Vikas Tomar @ Vikash Tomar v. State of Haryana, observed that the allegations against the petitioner were not vague but specific, and supported by conversations between him and other co-accused.
“The gravity of the offence and its potential impact on public order and communal peace cannot be overlooked at this stage,” the Court noted. It further stated that no exceptional circumstances had been presented that would justify granting pre-arrest bail, especially given the “serious communal and constitutional implications” of the alleged conduct.
According to the prosecution, a complaint was filed on July 7 in Bilaspur, Gurugram, reporting that anti-social elements had replaced the national flag atop a mosque with a saffron flag. Audio and video evidence were submitted along with the complaint. Two other accused were initially arrested under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act, 1971, but were granted bail the same day.
The Sessions Court had earlier denied anticipatory bail to Tomar on July 15, with Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Chauhan observing that such acts threaten the social fabric in a diverse country like India. He remarked, “Any person of ordinary prudence and slightest of patriotism in his heart would not have dared to commit such a crime.”
Tomar's counsel argued before the High Court that he was not named in the FIR and had no role in the alleged incident. However, opposing counsel representing the State and the complainant contended that Tomar aimed to provoke communal unrest in the region.
Justice Batra, after considering the arguments, concluded that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary. “No ground for grant of anticipatory bail is made out,” the Court held.
Advocate Abhimanyu Singh appeared for the petitioner, while Additional Advocate General Apoorv Garg represented the State of Haryana. Advocate Rosi appeared for the complainant.
The bail plea was dismissed.
