BJP leader booked for killing 9 schoolkids

Agencies
February 27, 2018

Patna, Feb 27: Police have registered an FIR against BJP leader Manoj Baitha whose reckless driving resulted in the deaths of nine school children, all aged between 7 and 10, in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur on February 24.

Meanwhile, the Bihar BJP admitted that the prime accused in the tragedy, Manoj Baitha, was indeed a party leader. The volte-face comes two days after Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai vehemently maintained on Saturday that "Baitha was not associated with the BJP."

The speeding SUV, which ran over several children who were waiting to cross the road after the school was over, thereby killing nine kids on the spot, was being driven by Baitha. The vehicle sported a BJP flag and had a nameplate as "general secretary, BJP Dalit Cell."

The Muzaffarpur police, meanwhile, have booked Baitha under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and other sections of the IPC. The FIR has named only one person (Baitha) as an accused although locals said that there were at least three persons in the vehicle which mowed down the children.

"The police have been raiding Baitha's house. He will be apprehended soon," said Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi here on Monday. Modi was responding to the charges levelled by the RJD-led Opposition which accused the government of "shielding the absconding BJP leader since Nitish Kumar was running his government on BJP's crutches."

"The SUV was registered in Baitha's name on September 21, 2010. He has been booked under Sections 279, 308, 338, and 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," said a cop, associated with the investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, the local residents, who blocked NH-77, have demanded a foot-overbridge near the school where the tragedy took place.  "The demand for foot overbridge has been accepted by the Chief Minister," said a government official.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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News Network
December 3,2025

arrival.jpg

Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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