Numerous children injured by vehicle at school gate in central China
Taipei (AP): Numerous children were injured by a vehicle at the gate of an elementary school in central China's Hunan province on Tuesday morning, reports said.
Students were arriving for classes around 8 am at Yong'an Elementary School in the city of Changde when the incident occurred.
Few details were immediately available, and it wasn't clear whether the vehicle had lost control or whether it was a deliberate attack.
The official Xinhua News Agency said sacceveral adults were also injured and identified the vehicle as a small white SUV. It said the driver was subdued by parents and security guards, and some of the injured were sent to the hospital immediately, with the total casualty count still unknown.
Footage posted on Chinese social media showed the injured lying on the road while terrified students ran past the gate and inside the schoolhouse.
Comments on Chinese internet sites reflected anger and frustration with recurring incidents of violence against citizens by those venting anger at society.
“No matter what the reason is, innocent children should not be harmed,” said one comment on the popular Weibo social media site. “Timely resolve conflicts, prevent such incidents and severely punish the perpetrators,” said another.
While China has much lower rates of violence than many countries — personal gun ownership there is illegal — knifings and the use of homemade explosives still occur.
Chinese schools have been subject to numerous attacks by people armed with knives or using vehicles as weapons.
A stabbing attack at a vocational school in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi on Saturday left eight people dead and 17 others injured.
That came shortly after a man drove his car into people at a sports facility in the southern city of Zhuhai, leaving 35 people dead and 43 others injured.
In September, three people were killed in a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket, and 15 others were injured. Police said at the time that the suspect had personal financial disputes and came to Shanghai to “vent his anger.”
The same month, a Japanese schoolboy died after being stabbed on his way to school in the southern city of Shenzhen.
The Chinese government generally censors internet content it deems overly sensitive or political, and some images of the school incident were quickly taken down.
Most Western social media sites and search engines like Google are blocked in China, limiting available content even while some people use tools like VPNs and send news through Chinese social media before the censors have time to catch it.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Attack on ex-minister Anil Deshmukh: Case against 4 unidentified persons for murder bid
Nagpur (PTI): Police have registered a case against four unidentified persons on charges of attempt to murder after NCP (SP) leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was seriously injured in stone pelting at his car in Nagpur, officials said on Tuesday.
The incident took place at around 8 pm on Monday and Deshmukh was later admitted to a private hospital in Nagpur.
State NCP (SP) spokesperson Pravin Kunte claimed there was a "conspiracy" behind Deshmukh, who received injuries on his head and shoulder, and blamed the ruling BJP for the incident.
The party headed by Sharad Pawar has demanded a high-level probe into the incident, which occurred on the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly elections scheduled on November 20.
Deshmukh was returning to Katol after attending a meeting in Narkhed village. Some unidentified persons threw stones at his car near Belphata on Jalalkheda Road near Katol in Nagpur district.
The former minister, who received injuries during the attack, was immediately rushed to the Katol Civil Hospital, police said.
He was later admitted to a private hospital here.
Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Harssh Poddar on Tuesday said they have taken a serious cognisance of the incident and registered a case against four unidentified persons on charges of attempt to murder.
A forensic team has visited the incident spot to collect technical evidence, he said.
The deputy SP of Katol was investigating the case, he said, adding that senior police officials and the district collector have also visited the incident spot.
Poddar appealed to the people not to pay attention to any rumours.
Anil Deshmukh's son Salil Deshmukh is contesting from the Katol assembly constituency on the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) ticket against BJP's Charansingh Thakur.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, NCP (SP) spokesperson Kunte said the former minister suffered injuries on his head and shoulder and doctors have advised him bed rest.
Asked who was behind the attack, Kunte blamed it on the BJP and its leaders.
He alleged there was a "nexus" of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister, BJP MLC Parinay Fuke and Katol nominee Thakur operating in the area.
There is no law and order in the state and a former home minister is attacked, Kunte said, claiming no police security was provided at Deshmukh's residence through the night.
He also raised questions over Fuke holding a press conference on Tuesday morning and claiming the attack on Anil Deshmukh was a "political stunt".
"It is not a stunt but a conspiracy against Anil Deshmukh," Kunte claimed.
Earlier, NCP (SP) spokesperson Vedprakash Arya on Monday sought a high-level inquiry into the incident and police protection for Deshmukh's family.
"Some people attacked Anil Deshmukh's car in Belfata Bhishnur in Katol, wherein Deshmukh received serious head injury. His treatment started in Katol but due to the serious injury, he was shifted to Nagpur for treatment," Arya said in a statement.
He claimed that their political opponents were staring at a crushing defeat and, therefore, resorted to such a cowardly attack.
