US-based Indian couple, scientist killed in California boat fire
Los Angles, Sep 7: A US-based Indian couple and an Indian-origin scientist were among those who died from smoke inhalation when they were trapped on a boat packed with scuba divers that caught fire and sank off the California coast, according to media reports.
On Monday, a massive fire broke out on the 75-foot charter boat called 'Conception' when the passengers were sleeping below the deck. The fire engulfed the deck, killing 34 people, including one crew member. Five crew members who were above the deck escaped by jumping overboard.
The couple, Kaustubh Nirmal and Sanjeeri Deopujari, lived in Connecticut and were among the people who died aboard the vessel, during a three-day diving excursion.
Deopujari, 31, was a dentist in Norwalk while her husband, Nirmal, 44, worked as a senior adviser at Ernst & Young, the New York Post reported.
The were married two and a half years ago and were "the perfect couple," said Nirmal's cousin, Rajul Sharma, told the Los Angeles Times.
"He found a soulmate in Sanjeeri," Sharma said, recalling their endearing and infectious smiles.
"God took them away from us untimely and unfairly, but even he did not have the heart to separate them in death," he said.
Neighbours at the couple's apartment building remembered them.
"They were very nice, kind. So we're in shock. Our hearts go out to them. It's incredibly sad," a neighbour said.
Indian-origin scientist Sunil Singh Sandhu, 46, was also there on a dive vessel that sank off Santa Barbara in California.
Sandhu lived and worked in the US for more than two decades, took up scuba diving only recently, his family in Singapore was quoted as saying by Singapore-based The New Paper.
Sandhu earned his master's and doctoral degrees from the Stanford University and worked as a scientist at a Palo Alto research company.
He was a newcomer to scuba diving, picking up the sport two months before his death. "I didn't know that he was going for another trip," his father, Soji Singh said.
"I had been trying to persuade him to come back to Singapore."
The massive fire was reported to be one of California's worst maritime disasters in decades.
More than half of the victims have been positively identified a process hampered by how badly burned some were, the report said.
The ship carried 33 passengers and 6 crew members, and only five of the crew sleeping on the top deck were able to escape by jumping off and taking a small boat to safety, the US officials had said.
Multiple investigations into the disaster are focused on determining what happened and have not become a criminal probe, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.
Families of those killed have been notified.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
