COVID-19 global count tops 9.4 million, death toll surpasses 480,000

A 48-year-old contractor died by suicide allegedly due to non-clearance of his bills for the work he executed for a state government body, police said on Saturday.

PS Goudar took the extreme step on May 27 and left behind a suicide note in which he held his family members, including his brothers, and the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) responsible for his death.

In the suicide note, the victim alleged that his family members caused him mental stress over the matter of ancestral property. Besides, the non-clearance of bills for the works he completed on the premises of the Agriculture department at Santebennur in Channagiri taluk, which was assigned to him by KRIDL last year also led to financial stress.

Both the issues allegedly drove him to take the extreme step, he stated.

However, police verification revealed that Goudar was not a licensed contractor.

Based on the suicide note and complaint from his wife, a case was registered under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code against five people, including his family members and KRIDL.

"We are looking into the allegations made by him and are verifying facts. Our investigation is underway," a police official said.

Meanwhile, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge said he has ordered the constitution of a committee of senior officers to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on these allegations against the corporation.

"I have instructed the ACS (Additional Chief Secretary), RDPR (Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department) to form a committee of senior officers to enquire and submit a report on these allegations on KRIDL," he has said in a post on 'X'.

He further added that KRIDL is an engineering corporation and sub-contracting isn’t encouraged.

The West Bengal police suspect that Anwarul Azim Anar, the slain Bangladesh Member of Parliament, could have been lured into a New Town flat in Kolkata by a woman and then murdered by contract killers.

Apart from the honey-trap angle, the police are also probing a US citizen's role in the murder. Per the police, the person was the politician's close friend and had allegedly paid ₹5 crore for the killing. The person, who owns a flat in the West Bengal capital, is currently in the United States.

Anwarul Azim Anar was last seen alive entering a rented flat in Kolkata.

The police are now looking into the role of Shilasti Rahman, a woman who the investigators believe was acquainted with one of his killers and 'honey-trapped' the Bangladesh MP, delivering him to his end.

"The investigation indicates the MP fell into a 'honey trap'. It seems he was lured by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," a Kolkata cop relayed info from Dhaka.

CCTV footage from the apartment had showed Mr Anar entering the flat with a woman. Shilasti Rahman has been detained by Dhaka police.

"It seems, Anar was lured into the New Town flat by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," a senior officer said.

The CID has found CCTV footage which showed Anar entering the flat with a man and a woman. The duo came in and out of the flat later, but the MP never emerged again.

"In the CCTV footage, the politician was seen entering the flat with the two persons. The duo was later seen coming out and re-entering the flat the next day but the MP was not seen again," the officer told agency.

The duo later came out of the flat with a massive suitcase.

The police found blood stains inside the flat. Several plastic bags were also used to dump the body parts.
The police suspect that the MP was first strangulated. Later, his body was chopped into several pieces. The flesh was segregated from the bones and mixed with turmeric powder to delay decomposition.

"We suspect that after killing Anar, the murderers mutilated the body, segregated the flesh from the bones and mixed those with turmeric powder to delay decomposition," the officer added.

The body parts were placed in the trolley bag and later scattered at different locations. Some parts were also kept in a fridge.

To mislead his family members and friends, the killers sent out messages to his contacts, asking them to not contact him as he was travelling to Delhi.

Meanwhile, a Mumbai-based butcher, who skinned and cut the body of the MP, was arrested by the CID.

“One Jihad Hawaldar, 24 has been arrested. Hailing from Khulna in Bangladesh, Hawaldar was illegally staying in Mumbai. He was directly involved in the crime. Investigation is going on,” an IPS officer said.

Ireland, Norway and Spain have formally recognized the Palestinian state, angering the Israeli regime that recalled its ambassadors from the two European states.

“Today Ireland, Norway and Spain are announcing that we recognize the state of Palestine, each of us will undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision," Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said at a news conference in Dublin on Wednesday.

“I am confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks.”

He added that the move was a statement of "unequivocal support" for the so-called two-state solution, which he described as "the only credible path to peace and security."

Shortly after Harris's statement, his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said both countries will recognize the Palestine state from May 28.

Sanchez said it is clear is that “[Israeli] prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not have a project of peace for Palestine.”

Store, for his part, noted that there cannot be peace in the West Asia region if there is no recognition.

"Norway’s formal recognition of Palestine as a state will enter into force on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A number of other like-minded European countries will also formally recognize Palestine on that same date. These countries will be making their own announcements," added a statement by the Norwegian prime minister.

Palestine welcomes recognition 

Meanwhile, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, welcomed the decision by Norway, Spain and Ireland to recognize the state of Palestine, calling it a “historical moment.”

“Historical moments in which the free world triumphs for truth and justice after long decades of Palestinian national struggle, suffering, pain, occupation, racism, murder, oppression, abuse and destruction to which the people of Palestine were subjected to,” he said in a post on social media platform X, describing the recognition as a path to stability, security and peace.

“We thank the countries of the world that have recognized and will recognize the independent State of Palestine. We affirm that this is the path to stability, security and peace in the region.”

In reaction, Israeli authorities have ordered the regime’s ambassadors from Ireland and Norway to immediately return, and said they would do the same for Spain.

The Spanish prime minister has been one of the most outspoken European leaders when it comes to criticism of the Israeli regime’s genocidal war on Gaza. He has also repeatedly asserted that the so-called two-state solution remains the only answer to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This comes amid Israel's brutal war on Gaza, which was launched on October 7 after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

Concomitantly with the war, the regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on the coastal territory, which has reduced the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the Palestinian territory into a trickle.

So far during the military onslaught, the regime has killed at least 35,456 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents. Another 79,476 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.