News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Unnao poisoning case: Police recreate crime scene with two accused in Baburaha village

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: A team from the Unnao police took the two accused arrested in connection with the double murder and poisoning of three minor Dalit girls at Baburaha village earlier this week to the crime spot to recreate the incident after getting an eight-hour police remand from the CJM court on Friday.

    Meanwhile, the lone survivor in the case was discharged from a hospital in Kanpur late on Friday. Villagers flocked to her home and gave her a rousing welcome in the village under Asoha police station area of Unnao.

    The girl and her two cousins were poisoned by a local youth, Vinay, and his friend Sachin alias Raju on February 17. Her cousins died on the way to hospital the same day.

    In order to corroborate the survivor’s statement with that of the two accused Vinay and Sachin arrested for the alleged crime, the police recreated the scene with the help of the duo. The police sources claimed that the accused showed them the spot where the victims had consumed the snacks and turned unconscious after drinking water spiked with the pesticide SulfoSulfuron, a poisonous substance, offered by Vinay.

    The cops had got custody of the two accused for eight hours – from 9 am to 5 pm on Friday. “We used the time to recreate the crime scene to fill the gaps in the narrative of how the incident unfolded. We asked Vinay about the girls’ location before the incident and also how he reached them in the field where they had gone to fetch the fodder for the cattle. He was also asked how he pulled their bodies and dumped them after they fell unconscious by drinking the water laced with poison. All those questions were answered after recreation of the crime scene in the presence of the accused,” said a senior police officer.

    Vinay allegedly reiterated that he wanted to kill only the girl he was having a one-sided affair with but the two other girls snatched the water bottle and consumed the spiked water. Co-accused Sachin claimed that he had no direct role in the crime. He said his only crime was to pass Vinay’s message to the three girls to come to the field for snacks on the fateful day. Later, the police took the two accused to the shop from where they had bought kurkure, other snacks and water bottle. The accused is yet to tell the police from where he had bought the poisonous substance.

    However, Vinay did not reveal the exact source of the herbicide (poison), said SP Kulkarni, adding that sufficient evidence was there to nail the accused and a watertight case would be prepared after getting other reports from the forensic laboratory.

    Meanwhile, after reaching her home on Friday, the lone survivor narrated the sequence of events to the mediapersons present there. “Vinay first offered us ‘namkeen’ and when we refused to take it, he gave us water to drink. First, my 13-year-old sister drank water, then the 15-year-old one and finally I also took it. Soon, we fainted,” the survivor said.

  • Lucknow diary: Uttar Pradesh’s first female modern dastango enlivens the past

    Express News Service
    INGKA retail destination coming up in NoidaThe UP government recently allotted 12.3 acres to IKEA, the Swedish furniture giant, which is about to bring a ‘meeting place’ venture comprising a shopping, entertainment and business centre around the IKEA store in Noida. The plot was allotted to INGKA Centres India Pvt Ltd, which is a subsidiary of the INGKA group that owns most IKEA stores. The company began negotiations with the Noida Authority in 2019 over terms of payment and the deal was finalised after it paid Rs 850 crore. The company will develop an anchored retail destination and INGKA’s 45th ‘meeting place’ globally at Noida.

    AIMPLB plans online series to clear doubtsThe All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is planning to clear its stand on various court cases pertaining to the personal law to the people through an online interactive series. The idea was first mooted by AIMPLB member Dr Asma Zehra in 2017 but was given a go-ahead only during its executive council meeting held on February 21. Members unanimously agreed that there was a need to spread awareness about legal stance taken up by the AIMPLB on religious subjects. The AIMPLB executive council accepted the proposal by Hyderabad-based Dr Asma Zehra who has been made the coordinator of the online series. The series will be interactive where viewers would be able to ask questions and it can also be in the format of legal panelists discussing a case being fought by the AIMPLB. 

    UP’s first female modern dastango enlivens the pastAs Pragya Sharma begins narrating the valour of the mighty queen of Jhansi, she creates an imagery of the first freedom movement of 1857 enliven with her words and gestures. The 29-year-old economist brings every moment of those days of yore to life through her narration. Having tasted success in holding her audience in attention, she has becoming the first female modern ‘dastango’  (story teller) of UP.  “I never knew I could perform in front of a live audience and in the art form of dastangoi,” says Pragya, who has five shows on Rani Laxmibai to her credit.

    All schools may not reopen in MarchWith fresh surge Covid-19 cases in around half a dozen states, a majority of missionary and a few private schools have decided not to reopen schools for students of classes I to V from March 1. Some have decided to reopen after a month, while others said they would continue with the online classes. All the prominent missionary schools, associated with the Catholic Diocese of Lucknow, said they would reopen from April 6 for students of standard I to V and not from March 1. At present, schools are almost done with classes and annual examination are underway. 

  • UP moves to second spot on GSDP list, surpasses Tamil Nadu, Gujarat

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Amid the pandemic-driven economic slowdown, UP stood out in the crowd by becoming the second-largest state in the country locking Rs 19.48 lakh crore of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). It surpassed states such as Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. 

    The finance department data shows that the state’s GSDP in 2020-2021 crossed the USD 268 billion mark making the state climbing three ranks to figure at number 2 position in 2020-21 from number 5 in 2019-2020.

    With the financial capital Mumbai, Maharashtra continued to lead the tally. UP moved to number two followed by Tamil Nadu with GSDP Rs 19.2 lakh crore, Karnataka Rs 18.03 lakh crore, and Gujarat Rs 17.4 lakh crore at number 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Tamil Nadu was second and Gujarat third last fiscal while Karnataka was at the fourth slot.

    The increase in GSDP and UP climbing up to the second position given severely receding economy in first two-quarters of the last fiscal in the wake of COVID-19 triggered lockdown, reflects the revival of economic activities.

    As per the economic experts, the upsurge in GSDP is an indicator of the resilience being shown by non-agriculture activities in the state which hugely banks upon agriculture to sustain its economy.

    Be it the ease of doing business wherein UP clinched the second position in the country or even distribution of Kisan Samman Nidhi, the central govt scheme, wherein, it was adjudged the best-performing state in the country, UP has been leaving an impact at the national level.

    CM Yogi Adityanath had revealed on the floor of Assembly during the ongoing budget session that the UP government had accorded the benefit of Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna to a total of 2.37 crore farmers in the state, the certificate of which was given by the Centre.

    Moreover, the CM also informed the house that of the MoUs of Rs 4.28 lakh crore inked during the investors’ summit in February 2018, nearly Rs 3 lakh crore have started at the ground level. State exports have also increased to 32% in the last two years.

  • Man kills minor girl, assaults her cousin after failed rape bid in UP’s Shahjahanpur

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Police arrested a 35-year-old man two days after he allegedly killed a four-year-old girl and left her seven-year-old cousin unconscious in a field after a failed attempt to rape the girls in UP’s Shahjahanpur district on Monday afternoon.

    As per the Shajahanpur police sources, a person named Anil aka Chameli Kanjad was arrested in connection with the attack on two minors. The police claimed that the accused had admitted that he lured the girls to the fields with a packet of biscuits and tried to rape them. He attacked the girls with an iron rod when they began to cry.

    The body of one of the girls was found in the field on Monday and her seven-year-old cousin, who sustained several injuries, was found 100 metres away. Her condition is stated to be critical. 

    ALSO READ | Rising rapes, crimes against women: Unnao emerges as challenge for Yogi Adityanath government

    An FIR under IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) has been registered. However, following the arrest, Sections 376 (rape) of the IPC and Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been added to the original FIR.

    Police said the accused used to frequently visit the girls’ native village for killing wild animals and selling the carcasses.

    On the fateful day, the accused was allegedly passing through the village on a bicycle when he spotted the girls bathing near a primary school. He lured them with two packets of biscuits.

    As per a police officer, the accused Anil took the girls to a secluded spot and tried to rape the elder girl. When she resisted, the four-year-old started crying and it infuriated the accused. He got panicked and hit the elder sister with a gardening tool following which she fell unconscious. While he was trying to strangle her, the younger one ran to save her life. But the accused chased and killed her by hitting her on the head.

  • Now, four-year-old girl found dead in Uttar Pradesh field

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: A four-year-old girl was found dead in a cane field and her seven-year-old cousin sister was found unconscious and critically injured around 100 metres away, in Khijripur village under Kanth Police Station in Shahjahanpur district of UP. Hours earlier,  they had gone missing while going to a madarssa to attend classes, police said on Tuesday.

    The injured girl was admitted to a local hospital, before being shifted to Bareilly for better treatment.

    According to Shahjahanpur SP S Anand, the two girls had left home on Monday afternoon. When they did not return till late evening, families and villagers started looking for them and informed the police.

    “The younger girl was found at around 8 pm in a field beside a road around a kilometre from their home. The elder girl was found three hours later at some distance from the spot where the first girl was found,” said police officials.

    “The younger girl was declared dead at a hospital. The other is admitted to intensive care unit at Bareilly Medical College. Her condition is stated to be stable.”

    The body of the deceased was sent for post-mortem. The report is awaited. Police officials said after the injured girl regains consciousness, things would be clear. Before that, information is being gathered from the local residents.

  • Uttar Pradesh college student found in semi-nude condition with severe burns

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: A 21-year-old girl, who had disappeared from the campus of her college in Shajahanpur on Monday morning and was found in semi-naked condition with severe burns close to the Delhi-Lucknow National Highway in UP’s Shahjahanpur district, has made serious allegations.

    She claimed that she was called by the brother-in-law of a friend, who tried to burn her alive but she somehow escaped.

    The girl was pursuing an undergraduate course at SS College under the aegis of Mumukhsu Ashram, which is run by former Union Minister Swami Chinamayanand.

    Police said the victim suffered 60 per cent burns, but regained consciousness and said she was stripped and set on fire by Manish, brother-in-law of her friend Pinki.

    Shahjahanpur SP S Anand said the motive is a mystery and the girl’s statements are inconsistent. She had left her phone at home. She said Pinki knew everything but Pinki denied having any clue.

  • Yogi Adityanath government presented largest budget in final year

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday presented the largest budget in the final year of its current tenure. With a total outlay of Rs 5,50,270.78 crore, the UP Budget 2021-22 presented by Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna aims to make the state ‘atmanirbhar.’

    The government estimates include new schemes worth Rs 27,598.40 crore, Khanna said, while presenting the state’s first paperless budget.Talking to the media after the presentation, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed it an all-inclusive budget representing the sentiments of 24 crore people of the state. “This is a true representation of the idea of sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas which will generate new possibilities of development,” he said.

    The CM said the budget reaffirms the government’s resolve  to provide tap water and electricity to all households, irrigation facilities for every farm and work for every hand. “Efforts such as connecting rural areas with banking facilities through village secretariat, building common services centre, employing banking correspondent Sakhi in every village and employing women in community services will give a new dimension to women empowerment,” he added.

    Referring to the Kisan Accident Insurance Yojana, the CM lauded the inclusion of farmers’ families and bataidars (share-croppers) in the scheme. He also mentioned the social security for almost one crore labourers in unorganised sectors. Other schemes include Mukhyamantri Saksham Suposhan Yojana for anaemic children, sainik schools and universities in each division, medical colleges under the PPP model, a law university in Prayagraj, Jal Jeevan Mission for all districts and new policies in aviation sector.

    The state budget has a provision of Rs 300 crore for the construction of Ram temple and access roads to Ayodhya.The budget failed to impress the opposition. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said it is a deception for all sections, except capitalists. He said farmers were “deceived yet again” as the budget did not have anything to double their income as promised. BSP chief Mayawati said it was “disappointing”.

  • Kasganj murder case: Main accused shot dead in encounter by Uttar Pradesh Police

    By PTI
    KASGANJ: The main accused in the Kasganj murder case was gunned down by police on Sunday morning, an official said.

    A constable was beaten to death and a sub-inspector was seriously injured when a police team went to Nagla Dheemar village to serve a warrant to liquor mafia kingpin Moti on February 9.

    After this, a case was registered against Moti, his brother Elkar and their accomplices.

    Elkar was killed in an encounter by police on February 9.

    Kasganj Superintendent of Police Manoj Sonkar told reporters on Sunday that six teams were formed for arresting Moti.

    Police got a tip-off that Moti is hiding in a forest near the Kali river along with his aides.

    When a police team started cordoning the area around 2.30 am, the miscreants opened fire, the SP said.

    “Police in retaliation and self-defence fired at the criminals in which Moti was injured, while another criminal escaped taking advantage of the darkness. Injured Moti was taken to a primary health centre in Siddhpura from where he was referred to Kasganj district hospital. The doctors there declared him dead during treatment. Police also recovered the looted pistol (of the sub-inspector), cartridges and a country made pistol from the accused,” he added.

    The body of the accused has been sent for postmortem, police said.

  • Four dead as car collides head-on with tanker in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal

    By PTI
    SAMBHAL: Four people, including a minor, were killed and three others were injured when their car collided head-on with a tanker here on Saturday, police said.

    The accident took place on Agra-Moradabad road when they were returning home after attending a wedding, Additional Superintendent of Police Alok Jaiswal said.

    The three injured persons have been admitted to a hospital in Moradabad.

    The deceased have been identified as Uvaid (28), his wife Amina (26), their son Aahil (5) and Chhoti (48), all residents of Moradabad.

  • Two girls found dead in field, third critical in UP’s Unnao

    Express News Service
    UNNAO/LUCKNOW: Three teenage girls were found unconscious with their hands tied in their own farm in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh late on Wednesday night, police said. 

    Two of the girls aged 13 and 15 died on reaching the hospital and the third girl aged 17 is hospitalised in a critical condition in a Kanpur hospital.

    According to Superintendent of Police, Unnao, Anand Kulkarni, the three girls reportedly went to their field to fetch fodder for the animals. Kulkarni further added that the eyewitnesses found the girls with frothing around their mouths suspected to be poisoned. As per the doctors’ examination, it could be a case of poisoning, he said. 

    “We are investigating the incident. Prima facie, no injury marks were found on the bodies of the victims. Six probe teams have been set up. We will know more once the autopsy results come,” said the SP. 

    The police officer informed the media persons that the two girls, who were of the same family, and their friend left their house to collect fodder from the family fields at 3 pm. Their families got worried and launched a search along with the villagers when there was no sign of their return till late at night. 

    Senior police officials, including inspector general of police, Lucknow, Laxmi Singh, rushed to the spot along with forensic experts and sniffer dogs. The girls were found in an unconscious state in the corner of a field tied with a dupatta. On finding them in that condition, their family members rushed them to the nearest community health centre. The doctors declared two of them dead on arrival. The third victim was first taken to the Unnao district hospital, from where she was shifted to Kanpur.