Father kills teenage daughter for refusing proposal

An Indian expat in her late 30s fell to her death in Fujairah on Saturday morning. The deceased, identified as Shanifa Babu from Kerala, fell from the balcony of her apartment on the 19th floor of the building she lived in.

Married with two daughters, Shanifa was popular on social media with thousands of followers. At the time of her death, her mother was visiting her from Dubai.

“We have no idea what happened,” said a family friend, who preferred to be anonymous. “The incident took place around 9am, and her husband, mother and children were in the apartment at the time. Shanifa grew up in the UAE and her entire extended family lives here. On Saturday, her mother had travelled from Dubai to meet her in Fujairah.”

According to social workers, both Shanifa’s mother and husband were at the police station until the early hours of Sunday to complete the formalities. The deceased’s body has been kept in the mortuary of Fujairah Hospital.

Shanifa's husband is an entrepreneur, who has his own construction firm in the emirate. The couple hailed from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Social media influencer

Shanifa was very active on both Instagram and TikTok commanding a joint following of more than 90,000 on both platforms. She regularly posted funny reels and about her life with her family. Her last social media post was a reel on TikTok on Thursday that said: “Don’t fall in love with me, I will break your heart.”

Messages of condolences poured in on social media, with many users expressing their shock at Shanifa's death. “I cannot believe you are no longer on this earth Shanu,” wrote one user. Another wrote: “You were someone I became friends with on social media without ever meeting in real life, rest in peace.”

Shanifa's husband Sanuj Babu posted about the tragic news. “Please pray for her,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I cannot believe what happened,” said the family friend. “They were a very loving family and very friendly with everyone. I have never even seen them have an argument. I cannot believe that such a terrible tragedy has struck them. The girls are very young and don’t understand what is happening. They spent most of Saturday at a friend’s house where they looked very scared and confused. My heart goes out to the family.”

Social workers said they are assisting the family to complete the formalities and paperwork. It is not immediately clear whether Shanifa will be buried here or in India.

Earlier this year, an Ajman teen died after falling from a residential building the emirate. He was missing for several weeks before he was found dead. In March, a 4-year-old also died after falling from a high-rise in Sharjah.

Two young boys died and one got injured in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda today after a reckless Toyota Fortuner SUV hit a bike. The SUV belongs to the convoy of Karan Bhushan Singh, BJP candidate from Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat and son of six-time MP and former wrestling boss Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

The incident that took place near Baikunth Degree College in Gonda was condemned by the Trinamool Congress that drew a comparison between the father-son due.

"Like father, like son! @b_bhushansharan, notorious for molesting & sexually harassing female wrestlers, has passed his traits to the next generation. His son, @KaranBhushanSi1, BJP's Kaiserganj MP candidate, has taken it a step further by mowing down innocent children with his convoy, killing two and injuring one," posted TMC on X.

The party claimed that this "criminal behaviour" ran in Modi Ka Parivar.

Brij Bhushan Singh, an influential Rajput leader from Uttar Pradesh had been denied BJP ticket from Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him. The BJP instead fielded his son Karan Bhushan Singh in Kaiserganj, his stronghold.

While the police have seized the car and taken the children's bodies into custody, it is still being ascertained if Karan Bhushan was present in the convoy at the time of the accident, as per an IndiaTV report.

The police have also taken the car driver into custody. However, there is reportedly no mention of Karan Bhushan Singh in the initial report.

A case has been registered at the Colonelganj police station and a police force is currently present at the site.

Shivamogga: A Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) officer reportedly ended his life in his residence at Vinobnagar in the city on Sunday evening by hanging himself from a fan.

According to police, the deceased has been identified as Chandrashekhar (52), serving as Superintendent in the KMVSTDC office in Bengaluru. He took the extreme step when his spouse Kavita and others had been to Machenahalli near Bhadravathi to attend the funeral ceremony of a relative. 

In his death note, he charged that the corporation's Managing Director JG Padmanabh, Accounts officer Parashuram Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India Chief Manager Shuchismatha Rawal are responsible for his death. He also alleged that the funds to the tune of Rs 187.33 crore had been allegedly transferred to various accounts following pressure by the managing director of the corporation. He could not understand the conspiracy, he said.

The bank had not issued a cheque book, or a passbook yet. Besides, financial irregularities amounting to Rs 85 crore had also taken place in the corporation and the officers had transferred cash to various accounts violating the norms, he explained. 

He also claimed that neither is he part of any such illegal activity, nor did he cheat anyone. However, the only mistake he did was that he could not complete writing down the details of transactions in the cheque book and cash register due to work pressure. "I am not a coward. But I can't face any insult. I did not find any other way. Please forgive me".

Kavita, his spouse, had lodged a complaint against three officers in Vinobnagar police station on the basis of the death note.

Posting on X, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka demanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to sack minister B Nagendra from the cabinet and order for a probe into the suicide.

Terming it as murder, he said, the officer took the extreme step when the other officials tried to fix him in the scam of the corporation. "How many people have to lose their lives for the government's commission hunger?" he questioned.