Monday, July 31, 2017

Teen jumps to death; police probe 'Blue Whale' challenge angle

A 14-year-old boy has allegedly ended his life by jumping off a building here and police were probing if the incident is linked to 'Blue Whale' suicide challenge as his friends were discussing the online game.

The Class 9 student jumped off the fifth floor of the building in Sher-e-Punjab area of suburban Andheri at around 5 pm on Saturday, the police said today.

A person, who was standing near the building at the time of the incident, alerted the police.

The police were yet to find the reason behind the extreme step and trying to ascertain if it was anyway related to the online game.

"The teenager's friends were chatting on social media groups about his death being linked to the Blue Whale online suicide challenge game. But, we are yet to examine his mobile phone and social media groups where he was active," a senior police official said.

'Blue Whale', the online game which originated in Russia, starts by asking participants via social media to draw a blue whale on a piece of paper, the police said.

The participants are then asked to carve the whale onto their body. The participants and given other tasks, like watching horror movies alone, they explained.

According to media reports, the tasks also include harming oneself and waking up at unusual hours.
"Police were probing if the death is related to Blue Whale suicide challenge," Milind Khetle, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Meghwadi Division), told PTI.

Police are making enquiries with his friends and some members of social media groups in this connection, he said.

"We could not meet his family members as they have gone to Nashik to perform post-death rituals," he said.

The police will also examine the teenager's mobile phone and other gadgets as part of probe to know the exact reason behind the suicide, Khetle said. The Meghwadi police have registered a case in the matter and probing the reason behind the suicide, Deputy Commissioner of Police Navinchandra Reddy said.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Guwahati’s Bidisha Found Dead in Gurugram

In a shocking incident popular Assamese actress-singer Bidisha Bezbaruah, was found hanging at her residence at Sector 43 in Gurgram, Haryana, on Monday night. The reason for her death is yet to be confirmed but according to her family she was forced to commit suicide. Police have started investigating the matter while her family has already left for Gurugram.Guwahati’s Bidisha Found Dead in Gurugram
Resident of Guwahati’s Uzan Bazar area and daughter of Aswini and Ranjeeta Bezbaruah, Bidisha completed her graduation in English from Cotton College and completed her diploma in mass communication and journalism from Centre for Mass Communication and Journalism, Cotton College. She also did a higher diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi.
Bidisha Bezbaruah was also a prolific actor and she had mesmerized one and all with her portrayal of the character Runi in the play Xanto Xixto Histo Pusto Moha Dusto, which was staged in Delhi a couple of times under the auspices of INLI Foundation, Delhi. After her marriage to a Gujarat-based guy in 2016, she shifted to Mumbai before returning to Delhi very recently. On June 27, 2017, the multi-talented Bidisha had reprised the character of Runi for one last time at Rabindra Bhawan. Her untimely death has left everyone shattered.
Sources say that there were some problems in her married life.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Flood toll touches 53, S Salmara worst hit




Naresh Mitra | TNN | Jul 15, 2017, 03:03PM IST
 
Assam floods: 44 killed, 17 lakh affected
GUWAHATI: The death toll in floods rose to 53 on Friday with three more bodies retrieved from Dhemaji, Dhubri and Nagaon districts.

However, the overall flood situation improved slightly with the number of affected people coming down to 14,97,352 on Friday from 17.43 lakh on Thursday. At present, 25 districts covering 2,240 villages are reeling from floods and nearly 80,000 hectares of cropland are still under water. Over 25,000 people have taken shelter in various relief camps in the affected districts.

As on Friday, South Salmara district in lower Assam is the worst hit with over 3 lakh people battling with the deluge, followed by Morigaon where over 2 lakh people have been hit.
The prospect of more floods looms large with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries flowing above the danger mark in several places of the state. The Kushiyara river in Karimganj district is also flowing above the danger mark.

On Friday, chief chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had a meeting with NF Railway general manager Chahatey Ram here for taking the help of railways to transport relief materials for the affected people. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu had already instructed the Railways to to assist the state government in dealing with the situation.

Ram has promised that the NF Railway would extend all possible help to the administration to restore communication links snapped due to floods. Union power minister Piyush Goyal also assured of helping Sonowal.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday visited the flood-hit Lakhimpur district and interacted with people. He has asked the district administration to ensure that all the affected people get adequate relief materials, including baby food. The governor also asked the district administration to provide sufficient doctors and para-medical staff for camp inmates.

The scale of damage to infrastructure has increased with new embankments, roads, bridges and culverts getting washed away in the last few days. Many places are still cut off from rest parts of the state after roads and bridges were damaged. Even as floodwaters showed a receding trend, erosion is continuing to a pose threat to human lives and properties.