Hansdah undergoes surgery

Bhubaneswar: The BJD’s Mayurbhanj MP Ramchandra Hansdah, who was arrested by the CBI for his alleged links with Ponzi firm Nava Diganta Capital Services Limited, has undergone surgery at a private hospital in the city, jail sources said on Sunday. Doctors at the private hospital said Hansdah was admitted a week ago and has undergone a spinal cord surgery. The MP has been lodged at the Jharapada jail since November 2014 following his arrest.   

Bridge probe

Bhubaneswar: A 10-member team of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, on Sunday conducted a spot visit and begun its probe into charges of irregularities in the constriction of a road overbridge at Jatni on the outskirts of the state capital.  Panda Infraproject Ltd, the private contractor that has been entrusted with the construction, has been marred by allegations after another overbridge it had constructed collapsed at Bomikhal in Bhubaneswar on September 10, killing one. Sources said the team, led by Mahavir Panda, head of department of the institute’s civil engineering department, will examine the load capacity of the under-construction bridge and check the quality of slabs.

Viral cop

Bhubaneswar: CCTV footage of a sub-inspector of police working at Capital police station beating staff member of a hotel has gone viral on social media, forcing commissionerate police to launch a probe into the incident. Though the incident took place on October 4, the video became viral on Saturday. The owner of the hotel near the Unit-II daily market had alleged police atrocity in the incident.

Body found

Cuttack: The body of Pritam Sethi, 18, a Plus Two first-year student of Christ College — one of the two students who drowned in the Mahanadi river at Dhabaleswar ghat — was fished out on Sunday. “The body was traced about a kilometre downstream of Dhabaleswar ghat around 10am,” said S.K. Jena, fire station officer, Cuttack. The body of Subhankar Panda, 16, a Class-X student of Ravenshaw Collegiate School, was fished out around four hours after the drowning was reported around 11am on Saturday.

Rain likely

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rainfall along with thunderstorm, under the influence of a low pressure system over north Bay of Bengal, is likely to occur across northern and southern parts of the state within the next 24 hours, said the regional office of the India Meteorological Department on Sunday. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts, while Sundargarh, Sonepur, Deogarh, Boudh, Jharsuguda, Angul, Dhenkanal and Sambalpur may experience heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, the Met department said.

Held for assault

Bhubaneswar: Chandrasekharpur police on Sunday arrested Abhisek Ratha, 23, the main accused in connection with an incident, in which about 15 youths assaulted some people at a residential area on October 2. The cops said Ratha, the son of an industrialist, was the one who had instigated the youths to assault the residents of the colony. The police are trying to nab other accused in the case.

Body found

Cuttack: A youth was found dead with his throat slit at Balisahi in Nua Bazar area on Sunday. The police along with a scientific team  rushed to the spot and started an investigation. The cops recovered a motorcycle, a wallet and a mobile phone near the body. According to the police, the deceased is Basant Dora of Bampisahi area of Cuttack district. Though the exact reason behind the murder is yet to be ascertained, police suspect past rivalry could be the reason 
behind the crime.

Lightning

Bhubaneswar: Two persons were killed and one person was injured in lightning strikes across the state on Sunday. One person died due to lightning strike at Bhuban Village under Dharmashala block of Jajpur district while another died and one more sustained serious injuries by lightning at Kuninda village under Kamakhyanagar block of Dhenkanal district.

Truck owners

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Truck Owners’ Association will not join the proposed nation-wide strike called by All India Motor Transport Congress to press for inclusion of diesel under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Monday. The association members on Sunday announced that they would keep away from the 36-hour nation-wide strike that has been called against the disruptive policies under GST and for inclusion of diesel in the ambit of new indirect tax. Truck owners and operators in Odisha have said that the decision to stay away from the strike was taken, as they had not received any communication from All India Motor Transport Congress body in this regard.

Youth dead

Bhubaneswar: A youth was beaten to death allegedly by his inebriated friends at Akhupadar village in Ganjam district on Saturday evening. The deceased has been identified as Sagar. He was allegedly attacked during a feast. Police suspect past rivalry could be the reason behind the death of the youth.