Bloody knife fight between two drunk men ends in death of one - Sirsa shocked (video)

Sirsa was shocked by a knife fight between two men, who stabbed each other repeatedly.

The fight between, Ramesh Kumar and Sunny, went on reportedly for nearly 20 minutes.

The fight left them bloodied and continued till one of them collapsed.

Ramesh later died in a hospital, where Sunny has also been admitted.

The police were initially baffled by the fight though a CCTV footage later helped them establish the sequence of events.

Media reports say Ramesh was allegedly in relationship with a close relative of Sunny, which had reportedly sparked off a fight between them.

Both men were reportedly drunk at the time of them fight.

Knife fight between two drunk men in Sirsa (video)

Man Says Wife Blindfolded & Tied Him To Chair For Sexual Act, Ended Up Slicing His Throat

A man from Gurgaon has registered a complaint with the police that his wife slashed his throat when he was alone at home with her on Saturday, as per a Hindustan Times report. The wife has gone missing.
The man has alleged that on Saturday noon, the wife called him to the bedroom. There, she blindfolded him and tied him to a chair for a sexual act. After playing music and dancing for a while, she slit his throat with a sharp object.
The man, a resident of Khedla village in Sohna, says he was immediately taken to a Sohna hospital, from where he was first taken to Gurgaon civil hospital and later to Delhi's Safdarjung in a serious condition.
He says he was rescued by a friend who heard him scream.
The police, however, says that the victim's statements have inconsistencies. How he managed to untie himself as well as his wife's whereabouts remain unknown. The police also said that the couple were facing marital problems.

Earthquake measuring 5.0 on Richter scale strikes Nepal

An Earthquake measuring 5.0 on the richter scale has hit Nepal, news agency ANI reports. The earthquake reportedly had its epicentre 166 km from Mugu, Nepal. It occured at 09:07:47 IST, with a Latitude of 27.3 N and Longitude of 85.9 E. Depth:10 Km. Locals from Nepal tweeted saying they experienced aftershocks but there was no official confirmation of the same. We also do not have any information about any injuries or damages to any property. More details are awaited.

Manipur Governor Urges UNC to Lift Blockade

Manipur governor Najma Heptulla has strongly appealed to the leaders of the United Naga Council (UNC) and their supporters to consider lifting of blockade at the earliest keeping aside the stand-off between them and the government.

In a press statement governor expressed concern at the picketing of government offices in all Naga dominated areas in the hill districts and further requested all concerned to discontinue such agitation in the interest of the people of the state.

“All issues can be resolved through dialogue,” she stressed, adding it is hoped that leaders of UNC and their supporters will consider lifting the blockade on humanitarian ground and in the larger interest of the people.”

She further reminded that the blockade has caused immense hardship to the people of the state, particularly in the valley districts, and further the assembly elections are round the corner.

Centre-NSCN (I-M) agreement yet to be finalized: R.N. Ravi

Interlocutor for Naga talks and chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), R.N. Ravi said the ‘Framework Agreement’ between Government of India and the NSCN (I-M) is not the final agreement, and that it is still work in progress.
In an interview given to ANI, Ravi, when asked why the framework agreement has been kept a secret and not released in the public domain, said, “The framework agreement is not the final agreement and we don’t serve half-cooked meals, because, as and when we will reach the final agreement, this (the framework agreement), will be part of that.
Ravi said that it would not be in the nation’s larger interest to release the framework agreement when its details are not yet finalized.
“I have explained it to all the stakeholders by and large, by going and meeting them, and discussing the issue with them, what (the framework agreement) contains. So, a document as such, as I told you that since it is not a complete agreement, and an incomplete agreement can create issues, so, I think, it will not be proper,” Ravi said.
When asked whether a deadline has been set for the framework agreement to come out in its final form, the chairman of the JIC, said, “No, we can’t have a deadline. We are trying to make it as early as possible. Well, we are trying our best, but we can’t set a deadline.”
His comments came a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh issued a clarification on the framework agreement signed between the NSCN-IM and the Government of India, during his visit to Manipur capital Imphal.
His clarification that “no word related to Manipur contained in the Framework Agreement signed between GOI and NSCN (IM). There is no such provision in the agreement. Even the name of Manipur is not mentioned in it, failed to convince representatives of civil society and students’ bodies.
On Wednesday, a large number of womenfolk and volunteers of the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) thronged the Raj Bhavan in Imphal, asking the Governor to urge the Centre to produce the signed agreement before the public.
Talking to media, Manjit Sarangthem, secretary general, AMSU, said that they will continue the agitation until the Government of India produces a White Paper of the framework agreement. The All Manipur Students Union (AMSU) organised the rally as a part of the campaign which was kicked off demanding disclosure of the details of the framework agreement between the Centre and NSCN-IM under the theme ‘Protection of historical and political Identity of Manipur’

Open Defecation, Booze-Free Assam Village Aims to Go Cashless

Having already earned the distinction of being free from open defecation, alcohol, tobacco and drugs, this tiny village in Assam’s Goalpara district now aims to go cashless. Adjudged the state’s cleanest village, Rangchapara has also not witnessed any incident of crime in the past at least 17 years.

It has now taken a pledge to be plastic-free from next month and plans to become the first village in the country to go cashless, says village head Roberth John Momin. The ‘clean initiative’ here started much before the NDA government initiated its ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission.

“It was in 1999 when the villagers began talking about cleanliness and in 2000 we formed a 10-member committee headed by me,” says Momin. “The committee took four resolutions – to be a peaceful and united village, to be a clean village, every household should have toilets and availability of clean drinking water for all,” he says.

Since the formation of the committee, there has not been any case of open defection, violence or anyone consuming drugs, alcohol or smoking in the village which has 88 households and a population of 475, all Christians. “We announced a fine of Rs 5,001 for anyone who violates our resolutions, but the best part is that the fine was never imposed, as everyone was following the rules,” says Momin.

Rangchapara was declared the cleanest village in Assam for 2016-17 by the public health engineering department earlier this month and rewarded with a sum of Rs 5 lakh rupees by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

The village was selected by Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, a third party which examined every village in the state on criteria like attempts to become open defecation free, presence of pucca toilets and their conditions and attempts to promote awareness on cleanliness.

According to Goalpara Deputy Commissioner J V N Subramanyam, the Swachh Bharat Mission was a blessing. “With the help of the mission in 2014 and efforts of public health engineering department, the villagers began to have pucca toilets,” he says.

“The villagers had no idea that they can be the cleanest in the district, leave alone the cleanest in the state,” says Abdul Mozid, Senior Block Development Officer of Balijana. “The village has never seen any conflict; people here live peacefully and unitedly,” says Mozid.

There is also proper waste management. “You can find a dustbin after a short distance and people dispose of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste accordingly,” he says. The village has two schools – one primary and the other middle. The people are neither very rich nor are highly educated.

However, the villagers rue about the condition of roads. The muddy road which connects the village to the district is also not in a very good shape and even the 108 ambulance refuses to ply in the village, they say. “We have been demanding for funds since 2014, but no money has been granted. It is a very serious problem,” says Ratna Nath, panchayat president of Balijana Block.

However, the steps taken to be a clean village have not only helped the villagers get an award but there has also been a reduction in the number of children falling ill. “People are now connecting health with cleanliness, which has also helped in reducing the number of diarrhea cases to half. The village is a perfect example of what people and government together can do,” Subramanyam says.

“The village is now a brand and is helping in bringing changes in the nearby villages. People are following its path not only to be clean, but healthy as well,” he says. The villagers are predominantly farmers with only seven of them having government jobs. Most of the houses are thatched, but with the help of Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), now known as Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY), villagers are beginning to have a house made of bricks.

Summer & Salt of the Hills

January Edition, Music, Net Bureau, Nayanjyoti Medhi

Meet Summersalt, the folk fusioners from Shillong of Rock On 2 fame, currently taking India by a storm. Mainstays of the traditional scene in the music capital of Northeast India, the six piece act is making the nation sway to the tunes of Khasi folk infused with elements of rock. Northeast Today caught up with the band for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

NET: Why Summersalt?

Summersalt: Salt is a concept, salt is a preservative, salt adds taste. At a time where the culture of trust and values are dwindling, we hope to make the difference. We became Summersalt. On calling ourselves ‘Summersalt’, seriously, it doesn’t need to mean anything, but since you asked – It is a fun word, easy to pronounce and sticks there to your tongue once you say it. As a juxtaposition of two words, ‘Summer’ being the vibrant season and ‘Salt’ being a preservative, usually the minor ingredient but the most important.

NET: How was the band formed? Tell us about the band members.

Summersalt: When we first got together we never played an instrument. Back in 2006 we started talking about what we wanted to do musically and were basically a focus group more than a band. Then as we integrated our minds into similar thought processes we began picking up instruments. Kit is the songwriter, Ador brings the traditional nuances through the duitara and he’s also the keyboardist, Pynsuk is another mainstay vocal of Summersalt, Greg completes the band with his intelligent guitaring, Weet takes care of the rhythm section on drums and Nah plays the bass guitar.

NET: Take us through the band’s music. What drives and inspires you?

Summersalt: It is folk-fusion all the way and because all of us had had our fair share of opportunities to play different genres – it all worked well. But then all of us had to mutually agree to follow certain parameters for the band, there has to be one sound overarching all those influences – that’s the sound that emanates from the Khasi way of life, which we believe, is the music that sits restless on the laps of these beautiful hills.

Anything with a purpose can drive us, it comes out in the form of humour, sarcasm, challenge, care, family bonds, trees, food, traditional culture, village life – you name it. But the huge inspiration comes from the Music itself and the source of it all, as we believe, it is the creation of the master Creator. We believe in God and we believe that true inspiration comes from him, the enabler who stays close by.

NET: Tell us about your debut album. How has the journey been?

Summersalt: The album has received a lot of good and intelligent reviews and we have sold a good number of copies too. We are generally very happy about the way things are going with it. The album actually took a little over three years in the making from writing, recording, mix and master to the conceptualization of the artwork and the music videos. It has been a long, tiresome but fulfilling journey and we have been lucky to work with everybody who has given their time and input on making this album happen. We hope that this is just the first of many to come.

NET: Rock On 2 has catapulted you into the realm of mainstream Indian music. How was the experience? Is the music of Northeast being finally recognised?

Summersalt: Rock On 2 was a thing of beauty, we were very grateful to Shankar Ehsaan Loy and the whole production team for letting us record our song as part of the film and their album as well. To be the first Khasi vernacular custodians in the Bollywood circuit made us immensely proud of our roots and just re emphasizes our wishes to take music from the hills to a greater audience. India’s northeast is fast becoming a hub for creative musical influence and besides Bollywood there has been many independent efforts as well to tap the music from these parts. We stand to believe that the Northeast is finally being recognized but we sure still have a long way to go to simply just arrive at a satisfactory level, let alone thrive.

NET: A career in music in the Northeast is pretty hard. While there are scopes for local artists, most upcoming bands complain the lack of opportunities. What are your views?

Summersalt: The opportunities are few and a lot of artists do suffer. We still need a lot of event promoters and corporate entities that would encourage musicians. We are yet to have a full fledged record company or a booking agency or an event management firm even though there have been numerous efforts to attempt this. There has to be a more holistic approach from everyone, right from the musicians to promoters themselves for us to sustain a system that supports artists.

NET: What are your plans for the future?

Summersalt: We are looking at touring and promote the album all over the country and also to work on the second album. We have a few songs locked up in the vault and might hit the recording studio in the following year. We have got a few big commitments which we have undertaken but can’t disclose as yet. All in all you are sure to get see a lot of Summersalt activity in the future.a