A headmistress of an Indian primary school locked 350 pupils in a classroom for 10 hours without food or water because she found money was missing from her bag. The imprisoned pupils were eventually freed by their parents, who broke open the doors when they heard them screaming, the Hindustan Times reported. Nearly a dozen pupils fainted during the ordeal in the school, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
NEW DELHI, India
Army bureaucrats in India are insisting that farmers faced with crop failure and massive debt have to seek government permission before they can commit suicide, according to Bild.com As many as 23 farmers from various villages in the Yavatmal region have sought permission from President Pratibha Patil to kill themselves after poorly-organised coal mines and transportation have dealt another blow to the agricultural community. There are 43 clauses on the inquiry list a suicidal farmer must meet in order for their death wish to be given the go-ahead by government officials - and so to enable their families to receive compensation. At the end of August, at least nine farmers committed suicide in a span of two days.
NEW DELHI, India
The Supreme Court has dismissed the bail plea of Rubina Suleiman Memon, sister-in-law of 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Tiger Memon and who has been sentenced to a life term for her role in the serial bombings that killed 257 people. Rubina had approached the court pleading that she has a 12-year-old daughter who does not have anybody at home to look after her. Rubeena had been convicted for allowing her house to be used for conspiratorial meetings and storage of arms and explosives. She had also given her van for the bombings that shook the metropolis March 12, 1993.
GREAER NOIDA, India
A 18-year-old woman and her boyfriend who were beaten and burnt to death by her family for daring to fall in love were cremated while the police hunted for their killers. More than 100 villagers and relatives watched as the funeral pyres of Rekha and Sonu were lit in their Vair village in Greater Noida, which borders New Delhi. The family members of Rekha beat her and 19-year-old Sonu in a field Thursday. As they collapsed, the attackers set them on fire. The killings sent shock waves in the region.
LUCKNOW, India
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh have ordered an inquiry after the police declared a 10-year-old boy a "habitual offender", startling the family. Initial investigations revealed that a relative of the boy lodged a police complaint against his father and him and the police started proceedings without verifying the complaint. "The complainant mentioned the boy's age as 18 and sub-inspector, Bachhu Singh, who was probing the case, recommended action without visiting Singh's house," said police.
LUCKNOW, India
Uttar Pradesh forest authorities are at a loss to explain the mysterious deaths of 14 black bucks in Agra and Kanpur districts of the state.In the last two weeks, 14 black bucks have died in the state. While six died in Kanpur zoo, eight lost their lives in a zoological park in Sikandra in Agra, according to officials.
Black bucks are mainly found in India and also in parts of Pakistan and Nepal. Black bucks were enlisted as a protected animal after they were reported to be extinct in many areas. In Uttar Pradesh, black bucks are mainly found in the western region. There are about 5,000 black bucks in the state.
LUCKNOW, India
A tigress and her cubs attacked and injured three farmers and killed two oxen in Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh. The animal attacked the farmers riding in a cart and killed the two oxen pulling the vehicle. Earlier, a tiger had injured three people Monday in Sujauli village in the same district. In August, a leopard also attacked four people, killing one of them, in the same village.
BHOPAL, India
A 150-year-old church in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur town was set on fire by two unidentified men. The altar and statues inside the 150-year-old St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral in the cantonment area of Jabalpur, were burnt in the fire. The church was closed at the time. This is the third case of assault on Christian missionaries in the state in the past few weeks. Last week, a watchman of Carmel Convent School in Ujjain was beaten up. Before that, on Aug 31, an 86-year-old church in Ratlam was set on fire.
KATHMANDU, Nepal
More than 500 Nepali children below the age of 14 have been sold to various circus companies in India last year. The companies lure poor parents with good money that oblige them to give away their children, a report said. The report said 217 children have been rescued from various Indian cities between 2004 and 2007, adding that the number of children rescued this year reached 292 in May. Parents who were promised 8,000 to 10,000 Nepali rupees (about US$114 to US$143) per month in lieu of their children's contracts with the circus companies have not even received Rs.500 (about $7), the report said.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India
Researchers at the University of Kerala have solved the mystery of a “two-legged snake”. They found that the legs were those of a frog that the snake had swallowed which poked out of its belly as people stoned the reptile to death. A large number of people also turned up to have a glimpse of the rarest of the rare creature “The frog, swallowed moments before the snake was beaten to death, could have pierced the snake’s body with its claws in its struggle to escape and the legs came out through either side. The snake thus resembled a two-legged reptile,” said a scientist.
KABUL, Afghanistan
Polio vaccinations for over a million Afghan children have been cancelled, the World Health Organisation said after two doctors were killed in a Taliban suicide attack. The programme was due to start on September 21 and was intended to reach 1.2mn children aged under five in Afghanistan’s southern regions. Two Afghan doctors working for the WHO were killed in a suicide car bombing in southeastern Afghanistan that was claimed by the Taliban.
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Over 3,000 cases and complaints against government officials and employees are pending with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for disposal.
