In a tragic incident, a traffic policeman was found dead, hanging by the neck from the ceiling, inside a police booth in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district on Wednesday.

According to reports, the deceased, identified as traffic police constable Ashok Kumar, was found hanging inside a police booth at the Soldier Board Chowk in Hardoi district’s Kotwali area.

They said that panic gripped the area after people passing through the main intersection discovered Kumar’s body inside the police booth.

Reports quoting eyewitnesses said a large crowd gathered around the police booth after the traffic policeman’s body was found hanging.

A senior police official said that after being informed about the incident, a police team rushed to the spot, took custody of the body and sent it for post-mortem examination.

Giving details about the deceased, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Dwivedi, said that Constable Ashok was a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district and used to live alone in Hardoi after he got transferred to there.

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The senior officer said that prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide as no injury marks were found on the body of the deceased, however, the reason behind the policeman’s apparent suicide is yet to be determined.

He said that a case has been registered in this regard and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the constable’s death.

Meanwhile, reports said that other policemen who were on duty with the deceased constable, were questioned by the cops in connection with the purported suicide but the cause of Kumar’s extreme step remains unclear as of yet.

Officials said that Kumar’s family has been notified and the body will be handed over to them after pos-mortem examination is completed.

Preliminary reports quoting sources say that Kumar died due to strangulation. More details are awaited.

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DMK expels councillor arrested for sexually assaulting 6-year-old girl

A councillor of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl, following which he was expelled from the party.

According to reports, DMK’s Virudhachalam Municipality 30th Ward councillor Pakirisamy was arrested by the police last night for the allegedly raping a six-year-old girl.

A senior police official said the minor’s parents filed complaint alleging that Pakirisamy—a resident of Virudhachalam near Mettukkuppam in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district— allegedly raped the girl enrolled at his nursery school in Shakti Nagar area.

He said that as per the complaint by the victim’s parents, Parikisamy raped the minor girl inside the school premises.

The official said that based on the parents’ complaint, a case was registered under the POCSO Act by the Virudhachalam All Women Police and the girl was taken to the Virudhachalam Government Hospital for medical examination where doctors confirmed that she had been raped, adding that the councillor was arrested shortly after.

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Meanwhile, as soon as the news of Parikisamy’s arrest broke, the DMK stripped the accused from the party’s primary membership and all removed him from all party posts.

Speaking in the Assembly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said the councillor has been expelled from the party at all levels and assured crimes against women and children will not be tolerated in the DMK-ruled state.

Giving details, Stalin said that on April 11, the child complained of stomach ache after she returned from school. The parents took her to a private hospital where doctors told them that the 6-year-old had been raped.

He said that Pakirisamy was arrested shortly, after a complaint by the victim’s mother and the DMK high command removed him from basic cadre post and dismissed him from the party, adding that he has ordered a detailed probe into the incident.

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A 34-year-old man and his 55-year-old father were found dead under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday, merely five kilometers outside the communal violence-hit Biranpur village of Bemetara district in Chhattisgarh.

According to the police, the bodies of Rahim Mohammad and his son Iduk Mohammad, residents of Biranpur village, were found on Tuesday morning in nearby Korwaay village of Bemetara district. The deceased had sustained critical head injuries, they said.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Bemetara, Indira Kalyan Elesela said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the victims had severe head injuries, however, the exact cause of death can only be ascertained after post-mortem.

The officer said its currently unclear if the deceased were murdered or killed each other in a brawl, adding that a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.

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Communal violence rocked Biranpur village, 60 kilometers from Bemetara town, purportedly after a fight between school kids. The clashes led to the death of a Biranpur resident, identified as 22-year-old Bhuvaneshwar Sahu, while three police personnel also sustained injuries.

Following the clashes, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were imposed in the area and heavy deployment of around 1,000 policemen was made in and around the village to maintain law and order and prevent further escalation.

Road blocks have been erected by the police as all roads heading into the village have been blocked by barricades.

The Chhattisgarh government has announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to family of Sahu, the man killed in the clashes, as well as a job for one family member of the victim.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has ordered a high-level administrative probe, to be headed by a divisional commissioner, into last week’s communal clashes and assured that the guilty will not be spared.

The commissioner has been directed to submit the inquiry report within a week, said an official.

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