Four students suffered burn injuries after a schoolboy allegedly hurled a liquid chemical substance at them in Odisha's Rayagada district on Monday, the police said.
Severe cyclonic storm 'Montha' has begun making landfall off the Andhra Pradesh coast, with the process expected to continue for the next three to four hours. The storm is expected to cross the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, with wind speeds of 90-100 kmph.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued high sea waves, up to 4.7 metres high, warning across several coastal districts.
Signed by seven experts, the preliminary report said they carefully examined the accident site, available evidence, statements of officials concerned, data logger report and the speedometer chart.
A tribal couple in Odisha's Rayagada district was allegedly forced to plough a field with a yoke placed on their shoulders as a form of public punishment for marrying against community traditions.
A tailor's tag on a blood-stained shirt found near the crime scene helped the Odisha Police to crack a mysterious murder case and arrest three people, an officer said.
Two coaches of the Visakhapatnam-Palasa Passenger train from the rear and the loco of Visakhapatnam-Rayagada Passenger were derailed as a result of the accident, the railway official said, adding that rescue operations are underway.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
Search and rescue operations after two passenger trains collided 40 km from Vizianagaram.
It is suspected that some deaths have occurred in the accident as well, an official said but could not immediately confirm the information.
The Palasa passenger train hit the Rayagada passenger train from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40 Km from Visakhapatnam, causing three coaches to derail.
The investigating agency has also collected the burnt remnants of Antov and Bidenov from a cremation ground near Rayagada, according to an official statement.
A senior official involved in the investigation of the case said "seizure of burnt remnants of the deceased could be useful for future investigation in the case."
The Odisha police are searching for another man from the same country, a self-proclaimed anti-Ukraine war activist, who has gone missing.
The Russian, identified as Milyakov Sergey, was found dead in a ship anchored at Paradip Port in Jagatsinghpur district.
'It is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hour and recurve slowly north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during noon to evening on Wednesday and emerge into west central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night,' the India Meteorological Department said in its national bulletin.
The cyclonic storm is likely to move nearly westwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coasts between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur around Sunday evening, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.
This is the second death of Russian lawmakers within a week in the same Odisha hotel.
The orange alert has been issued for moderate or heavy thunderstorms and wind speed with 30-40 km per hour to reach some districts of Odisha within the next three hours.
The attackers snatched the walkie-talkie of the station master, and forced staff of a goods train standing outside the station to shut down the engine.
The state government has instructed officials in coastal districts and various departments to be alert to tackle any emergency situation
Trains passing through Maoist-hit areas were cancelled and short terminated on the East Coast Railways (ECoR) in view of the two-day Bharat Bandh called by the extremists from Wednesday.
A minor orphan girl, who was gang-raped and had tried to immolate herself in Odisha's Rayagada district a fortnight ago, died in Visakhapatanam on Tuesday. "The girl passed away around 3.45 pm in a private hospital at Visakhapatanam where she was under treatment," said Rayagada District Collector S S Padhi.
Hours before the visit of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Maoists struck in a big way attacking a railway station, damaging communication towers and looting a block office in Orissa's Koraput district on Thursday.
A fierce encounter is on between the Special Operation Group of the Orissa police and the Maoists in a dense forest in the state's Rayagada district since Sunday evening, the police said.
Three Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in a forest area of Odisha's Rayagada district, police said on Friday.
Five of those caught in the cross fire died on the spot, while another person succumbed to injuries later, Kandamal superintendent of police Pinak Mishra told media persons.
The two PSOs who were travelling with the DIG when the incident occurred were questioned on Monday night and had been taken into custody at Rayagada.
Of 22 eligible voters in the village, 19 persons -- 12 women and 7 men -- attended the gram sabha, despite heavy rains to voice their opposition to the project. Tadijhola, located on the foothills of Niyamgiri, is predominantly inhabited by the milkmen community.
In a major achievement for Odisha police, top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda wanted in over 60 criminal cases, has been arrested prompting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to appeal to Naxals to eschew violence and join the mainstream
The state presently has 17 airstrips and 16 helipads.
A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by three youths in this Odisha district after which she attempted suicide by setting herself on fire, police said on Monday.
The wife of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, whose outfit claimed to have abducted Italian national Paolo Basusco, on Tuesday appealed to the ultras not to harm the hostage.
At least nine Maoists were gunned down in an encounter with the police in a hilly and forested area of Orissa's Naxal-hit Rayagada district on Sunday morning, said the police. The gunbattle took place in Kashipur-Kalyansinghpur border area, after the police conducted a raid following information about the presence of ultras there, Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj said. The bodies of nine rebels, some weapons and explosive materials were found in the area.
Maoists disrupted several communication links in Orissa on Monday by torching government buses and triggering landmine blasts to destroy mobile towers, besides damaging a forest beat house, prior to their 12-hour shutdown in the state's southern districts.As a result of their disruptive activities, the movement of buses and telephone communication were affected in Gajapati, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Ganjam districts.
Rail and road services were disrupted in some parts of Orissa as a two-day Bharat Bandh called by the Maoists in protest against the death of a top Naxal leader began on Wednesday.
Nearly fifty armed Maoists entered a village and killed four people in Orissa's Rayagada district on Wednesday. Maoists entered a house in Pandratola village, approximately 350 kilometers from Bhubaneswar late on Wednesday night, and killed three people. Two other people were injured in the incident and were admitted to a hospital, and one of them later succumbed to his injuries.The Maoists reportedly killed these people on suspicion that they were acting as police informers.
There is little doubt that the Dongria Kondhs are facing their biggest challenge. Being small in number, they need special attention and care in order to fight this deadly virus.
The Maoists have already blown up as many as 16 telecom towers in different places of these districts, thereby disrupting the mobile telephone services.
The MeT department warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday, ahead of Durga Puja festivities.
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