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Tag: Odisha's Bhubaneswar

  • 2 Home Guards, Gram Rakhi Among Five Arrested For Looting Rs 1.15 Lakh In Odisha

    2 Home Guards, Gram Rakhi Among Five Arrested For Looting Rs 1.15 Lakh In Odisha

    Bhubaneswar: Two home guards and a ‘gram rakhi’ are among the five arrested for allegedly looting Rs 1.15 lakh cash from two persons, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, in Odisha’s Koraput district.

    The incident took place on Thursday when the two persons, Kamedi TT Babu and Bisoyi Bhimdhar, from Andhra Pradesh were reportedly on their way to Jeypore to buy a power tiller. Due to excess heat, they decided to make a halt at a rest shed. As they were resting, the five accused reached the spot in a car, assaulted them and snatched all their money. The accused also tried to run the vehicle over the duo as they made efforts to stop them, sources said.

    “This was definitely a challenging task and very saddening at the same time. Of the five accused, three are our staff. The two other accused are local criminals who were previously involved in ganja smuggling, extortion and loots,” Nandapur SDPO Sanjay Mahapatra told the media.

    He said that the entry and exit points were blocked and the five were nabbed after a chase. Three mobile phones and Rs 80,000 were seized from them, he added.

    The accused home guards, Damrudhan Majhi and Arjun Pangi, are currently deployed at Padua police station in Koraput district. The gram rakhi has been identified as Nilakantha Pangi.

    The mastermind of the gang is a former samiti member, sources added.

  • Odisha Train Tragedy: School Doubling Up As Morgue To Be Reconstructed Under 5T Initiative

    Odisha Train Tragedy: School Doubling Up As Morgue To Be Reconstructed Under 5T Initiative

    Bhubaneswar: The 65-year-old Bahanaga High School in Odisha’s Balasore district, where bodies of train accident victims were kept, will be completely demolished and reconstructed under the 5T initiative of the Odisha government, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced on Friday.

    The decision was taken after Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena, 5T Secretary VK Pandian, and other concerned officials held meeting with Balasore Collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, members of the school managing committee, panchayat representatives, teachers and students via videoconferencing to seek their opinion in this regard.

    The demolition work started this morning in the presence of school managing committee members and Works Department authorities.

    Students and teachers had expressed reluctance to attend school, where classrooms and the hall were used to line up the bodies, many of them disfigured, despite those being cleaned and sanitised by Fire Service personnel with memories of nightmarish experience of the tragedy deeply entrenched in their minds. With locals alleging that the rooms still had bloodstains at some places, the authorities feared that the school might see zero attendance once it reopened after summer vacation.

    “Considering children’s mental health, a decision was taken in the meeting to demolish Bahanga Bazar High School and the primary and elementary schools in its vicinity. It will be developed into a model school under 5T initiative,” Pandian said.

    Awareness programmes will also be conducted for the students to eradicate their fear regarding the building.

    Notably, bodies of Bahanaga Bazar train accident victims were shifted to the school immediately after being retrieved from the mangled coaches. Those were later were relocated to a spacious building on the outskirts of Balasore town. Later the unidentified corpses were shifted to morgues in Bhubaneswar-based hospitals.

  • Salluja Is Odisha Cong Disciplinary Panel Chairman; Meenakshi Bahinipati Removed As Koraput Dist Chief

    Salluja Is Odisha Cong Disciplinary Panel Chairman; Meenakshi Bahinipati Removed As Koraput Dist Chief

    Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the twins poll, the Congress on Friday removed Meenakshi Bahinipati, wife of Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, as president of Koraput district Congress committee.

    Durga Sankar Sahu, who would replace her, is among the 10 new districts presidents appointed by the grand old party.

    DCC PRESIDENTS

    1. Nuapada – Suresh Kumar Ajad
    2. Keonjhar – Mohan Parida
    3. Puri – Jairam Pattanaik
    4. Bhadrak – Ashok Das
    5. Angul – Sangram Mishra
    6. Sambalpur – Asif Ali Khan
    7. Sundargarh – Danardan Dehury
    8. Koraput – Durga Sankar Sahu
    9. Rayagada – Bijoy Kumar Gomango
    10. Deogarh – Sem Hembram

    Last month, 12 zilla parishad members, block Congress presidents and the chairman of Jeypore municipality met state Congress president Sarat Pattanayak in Bhubaneswar, opposing any move to replace Meenakshi Bahinipati, stating that it could harm the party’s prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, which are less than a year away.

    Notably, reports of cracks in the Koraput unit of the Congress have been doing the rounds for quite some time. The alleged rift between the 4-time Jeypore MLA and debutant Koraput MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka came to the fore again when the former recently expressed his displeasure over his wife being inducted as a PCC secretary, as it suggested her removal from the post of district Congress president, and hinted at Ulaka’s role in it.

    The Congress president also approved the proposal for appointment of Chairpersons of various committees, and constitution of the Disciplinary Action Committee of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, said a release issued by All India Congress Committee.

    AICC Programme Implementation Committee
    Jagneswar Babu – Chairman

    Publicity and Publication Committee
    Sanjay Tripathy – Chairman

    Manifesto Committee
    Panchanan Kanungo – Chairman

    Disciplinary Action Committee
    Santosh Singh Salluja – Chairman
    Janaki Ballav Pattanaik – Convenor
    Bhujabala Majhi – Member
    Rajendra Chhatria – Member
    Debendra Sahoo – Member
    Pratima Mallik – Member

  • Foul smell at Odisha train accident site was from rotten eggs!

    Foul smell at Odisha train accident site was from rotten eggs!

    Balasore: The foul smell from the area that was emanating from the site of the Odisha train accident was from rotten eggs.

    According to a team that had gone to the site the compartment was emanating foul smell due to rotten eggs, not because of human body.

    Three tractors of rotten eggs were retrieved from the parcel van of the train said reliable reports. The foul smell is gone now, informed Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, CPRO, South Eastern Railway. 

    The people living near the Odisha train accident site are deeply traumatized said reports on June 7 (Wednesday). The scars of the accident are yet to heal.

    There seemed to be a new reason for trouble for the local people as the foul smell emanating from the site of the accident was making it difficult for them to live there.

    According to the locals, two coaches of the Yesvantpur Howrah Express still remain upturned at the accident spot and the foul smell emanating from them is unbearable.

    The locals had further added that the stench from the coaches started after a spell of rain was experienced in Bahanaga, the station where the train crash took place.

    The locals had requested the Government and the railway authorities to pick up and take away the coaches as early as possible. The locals say the smell is unbearable. It is difficult for them to live in their house or to eat food.

    The locals had further threatened that if the foul smell from accident site continues and the administration fails to take any remedial measures, they will be forced to resort to protests and a strike.

    It is worth mentioning that on the ill-fated evening of June 2, 2023 (Friday) three trains were involved in a gut-wrenching crash. In the tragic and one of the worst-ever train accident as many as 288 people died and at least 1000 others were injured.

  • Odisha train tragedy: Demolition of Bahanaga high school underway

    Odisha train tragedy: Demolition of Bahanaga high school underway

    Balasore: The demolition of the Bahanaga high school in Balasore where bodies of the Odisha train tragedy victims were kept as a transit place is underway. The high school is being demolished in the presence of the Tehsildar and police.

    As per reports, the building had been used as a makeshift morgue sanctification in the Bahanga high school. The Bahanga school near the accident site was turned into a mortuary. The body of the deceased was kept in the school.

    The villagers decided to sanctify the place. A priest has been entrusted with this responsibility. This step has been taken so that the children do not get scared after the opening of the school.

    It is worth mentioning that, the schools in Odisha are now closed for the summer vacation. They are scheduled to reopen on June 19, 2023, after Raja Sankranti. The students and teachers are scared to return to the school, said reports.

    The Bahanaga High School building where bodies of train accident victims were kept is demolished after the school managing committee deems it fit. The school committee was asked to intimate its decision following which steps will be taken, said the Balasore Collector.

    According to the reports, the Balasore Collector visited the school on Thursday and inspected the school premises.

  • How Did Engineless Rakes Roll Killing 6 Labourers In Odisha? Khurda DRM Begins Probe

    How Did Engineless Rakes Roll Killing 6 Labourers In Odisha? Khurda DRM Begins Probe

    Bhubaneswar: Investigation has begun into the death of six labourers, who were crushed to death after a stationary goods train accidentally rolled on them at Jaipur-Keonjhar Road station in Odisha on Wednesday evening.

    A railway team headed by Khurda DRM has initiated the probe on how an engine-less train rolled down the tracks and inspected the wagons involved in the mishap on Thursday morning. The safety team is likely to tour the spot later in the day.

    “There are hand-brakes in the wagons to keep them stationary on the tracks. It seems someone might have unlocked them, leading to the mishap,” Khhurda DRM Rinkesh Roy told the media on Wednesday.

    The tragic incident occurred when a group of labourers took shelter beneath the rakes during a sudden rain and thunderstorm. While four labourers were killed on the spot, two others succumbed to their injuries during treatment. Two others are undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

    The incident came five days after the horrific triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district in which 288 people were killed and over 1,000 others injured.

    Expressing deep sorrow over the death of the labourers, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each family of the victims. He has also issued direction for immediate treatment of the injured persons.

  • Odisha STF Arrests 4th Accused In OTP-Sharing Scam Involving Pak Agents

    Odisha STF Arrests 4th Accused In OTP-Sharing Scam Involving Pak Agents

    Bhubaneswar: The STF of Odisha Crime Branch has nabbed one more accused in the OTP-sharing scam in which three persons, including a teacher, were earlier arrested for allegedly sharing OTPs with operatives of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents in Pakistan.

    The accuse, identified as Pradyumna Kumar Sahoo of Nayagarh, was arrested on Wednesday.

    According to an official release, Sahoo is a graduate and earlier worked as territory sales executive with Idea and as Jio Point manager. Currently, he is engaged at Black Buck, a Fastag company.

    “He had supplied/sold more than 500 pre-activated SIMs and 150+ pre-activated Paytm Wallets to Pathani Samanta Lenka who was arrested earlier in this case. These SIMs and wallets were sold to various cyber criminals and Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). Some of the SIMs and wallets were also used by PIOs/ISI agents including some based in Pakistan’s Karachi and Baluchistan,” it added.

    Investigation revealed that the accused used to generate multiple SIMs on the same identity by fooling/tricking the unsuspecting customers/SIM buyers on the pretext of some technical issues/glitches. “It was learnt that for activation of different wallets – PhonePe, Google Pay and others – registered mobile numbers linked with the Bank Account are mandatory. But in case of Paytm wallet account, costumers can also share user ID and password with others (having different mobile number) for operating the said account once OTP verification is activated,”

    The STF will study/analyse this and if needed, will write to Paytm to change the settings, it added.

    Last month, raids were conducted and three accused persons, identified as Pathani Samanta Lenka (ITI Teacher), Saroj Kumar Nayak and Soumya Pattanaik were arrested for allegedly fraudulently procuring huge numbers of SIMs in the name of others and selling the OTPs (linked/generated using the SIMs) to various clients including some PIOs/ISI agents in Pakistan as well as in India. In return, they were paid by some Pakistani agents based in India. They were also in touch with a woman Pakistani agent, who was arrested last year under Official Secrets Act and in a honey-trap case in Rajasthan.

    In their greed for making quick money, they were selling OTPs and mule bank accounts to cyber frauds and foreign nationals for at least one year.

    These OTPs were being used to create various accounts/channels on social media like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, etc., and also on online shopping sites like Amazon and Flipkart. These are also used for opening email accounts. These social media platforms operated by Pakistan-based agents were used for anti-national activities like spying, communication with terrorists, radicalisation, running anti-India propaganda, fuelling anti-India and divisive sentiments. Since these accounts were registered/linked on an Indian mobile number, people found them trustworthy.

    Apart from these, they were also in the business of creating and selling mule accounts through social media groups which are again used in various kinds of crimes, the STF added.

    Notably, National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked against Lenka, the alleged mastermind of the scam. He had allegedly gone into hiding after a suspected ISI agent Guddu Kumar was arrested by West Bengal police in December last year.

  • A third of Odisha’s Sundargarh lacks access to banking services 

    A third of Odisha’s Sundargarh lacks access to banking services 

    ROURKELA: A vast rural population of the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district continues to be left out of the financial inclusion network with 96 out of the total 279 gram panchayats (GPs) without access to banking services.

    Sources said the majority of the residents of these 96 panchayats depend either on agriculture or work as daily wagers for their livelihood. The remaining 183 GPs, despite having banking services, do not possess adequate branches forcing villagers of far-flung areas to travel miles and spend the entire day at the bank to avail of services.

    Lead District Manager, Sundargarh, Don Bosco informed that 96 of the 279 GPs in Sundargarh face difficulties in availing financial services including the financial benefits of different Central and state schemes in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. 

    “The rest 183 GPs have a total of 273 branches of 32 nationalised and private banks, 145 rural post offices and other financial institutions providing bank services along with several banking correspondents and customer selling points (CSPs) meant for any village unit with population over 500,” he added.

    Lack of internet access, poor road connectivity and scattered population are to be blamed, Bosco said adding, the district administration is working towards increasing the rural bank branches. “Rural banks play a significant role in the delivery of cooperative and commercial sector agriculture credits but their limited branches impose suffering on farmers seeking loans,” he added.

    As many as 17 rural branches of Sundargarh District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd (SDCCBL) disburse cooperative sector agriculture loans through 44 large and multi-purpose cooperative societies.

    SDCCB chief executive officer Bhakteswar Mallick said the district’s cooperative sector agriculture credit target for the 2023 kharif and rabi seasons is Rs 1,250 crore. Besides, the commercial sector agriculture credit disbursement target for the Kharif season alone is Rs 240 crore. This speaks volumes of the suffering faced by farmers in getting agriculture loans.

    Sources said as per the 2011 census, the district has about 13.55 lakh rural population of which those 96 unbanked GPs conservatively account for about 4.6 lakh population. The scenario is however, expected to change for the better in less than a year. The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) targets to introduce 4G services through BSNL by January 2024 as 140 towers are getting installed from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for 140 pockets of Sundargarh still lacking mobile and internet networks. 

  • Odisha train crash: Separated 48 hours after marriage, couple reunites at SCB MCH

    Odisha train crash: Separated 48 hours after marriage, couple reunites at SCB MCH

    CUTTACK: For Deepika Pali (26), life took a cruel turn just 48 hours after her marriage to Mohammed Rafiq (29). The couple, travelling in the ill-fate Coromandal Express from Shalimar to Visakhapatnam got married on May 31 and were separated two days later.

    While Rafiq, who works in a hotel in Visakhapatnam, fractured a leg, Deepika sustained injuries on her head, hand and waist in the mishap. The couple was sent to SCB Medical College and Hospital while they were unconscious after the accident. At the hospital, while Deepika was admitted to the Surgery ward, Rafiq was sent to the Trauma ward.

    After regaining senses on Monday, Deepika enquired about Rafiq. Associate Professor Sibabrata Kar, who was in the ward examining the patients got to know of Deepika’s plight and informed hospital manager Debasish Patra. “The hospital administration swung into action checked the admission register and Rafiq was traced to the Trauma ward,” said administrative officer Abinash Rout.

    Deepika was taken to the Trauma ward on Tuesday where she saw Rafiq and could not control her tears. “We had married on May 31 and started the journey on June 2. Never had I thought I would be able to see my husband. It is because of the doctors and hospital administration we were reunited,” said an overwhelmed Deepika. While Deepika was discharged on Wednesday, Rafiq is still undergoing treatment and is being looked after by his wife. Meanwhile, sources said necessary surgery has been performed for fixing Rafiq’s fractured leg.

  • Odisha train crash: Bengal Teens shared name and tragic fate

    Odisha train crash: Bengal Teens shared name and tragic fate

    BHUBANESWAR: They were in their early 20s and the best buddies in their village. They even shared the same name- Suman Roy. But little did they know they would meet the same fate and leave for the heavenly abode the same day. The two young men from West Bengal’s Arazi Lalchandpur village bordering Bangladesh were among 288 people who lost their lives in the tragic train crash at Bahanaga.

    The youth were among five migrant labourers from their village heading for Chennai to work at a construction site. While the body of one Suman has already been identified and dispatched to his native place, the relatives of the other has arrived at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar to identify the body. Three others, who were injured, have been discharged from hospitals.

    “We have already identified the body from the photographs displayed near the help desk. But we are unable to find it as the number on the photo and the token number provided to us to receive the body from the stored container is not matching. We are verifying it again with the records available,” said Suman’s brother Jeet Kumar Roy.

    “The two friends had boarded the train from Howrah. This was their first journey as migrant labourers to the South Indian city. As some labourers from our village, already working in Chennai, had assured their work, they sounded happy as they were going to earn for the first time. Everything is shattered now,” said Jeet.

    Arazi Lalchandpur village in Dakshin Dinajpur district has a population of around 800 and more than 200 among of them work as migrant labourers in different cities across the country. Like the two Sumans, several migrant labourers from West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha who had boarded the general compartment of the Coromandel Express have been killed in the train crash.

    “Suman was the only bread earner of the family. He was working as a daily wager back home and as his earning was insufficient to manage the family, he decided to move to Chennai for better income. He is survived by his parents and two other younger siblings. How will they survive,” asked Pradut Roy, his cousin.