Chennai court lifts ban on sale of kites

Kite fliers have welcomed the ruling of the Madras High Court lifting the ban on sale of kites.

However, the court said the ban on sale of sharp kite threads, locally known as maanja, would continue. The court had had banned kite flying in 2007 after an eight-year-old boy sustained neck injuries from kite threads that are polished with broken glass, while riding pillion on his father’s scooter. Offenders were arrested but were eligible for bail. However the police made the offence non-bailable after a rise in the number of such accidents this year. Kite flying is a popular sport in Chennai and the maanja is used to cut the kite strings of competitors.

Family kills woman for marrying Dalit

A 21-year-old woman was killed allegedly by her father and relatives for marrying a lower caste Dalit boy in Tiruppur last week. Reports said that Sripriya and Bhadrakali fell in love while studying at Azhagapuri near Palani about 200km from Tiruppur. They eloped and got married at Salem and were living with Bhadrakali’s sister at Udumalpet. Sripriya’s family disowned her and filed a case that she had been kidnapped.

However last week, Sripriya’s father visited her and asked her to come home as her mother was ill. But she refused. A few days later, the father went back to her house with other relatives and stabbed her to death. At the time of the attack Bhadrakali was not at home. Sripriya’s family has been arrested.

Well-known obstetrician Indira dies

Well-known obstetrician and gynaecologist Indira Ramamurthi died in Chennai on November 7. She was 89. Her husband Dr Ramamurthi was a renowned doctor who pioneered neurosurgery in India. Her parents A Lakshmipathy and Rukmini Lakshmipathy were well-known homoeopathy doctors. Rukmini was also a former health minister of Tamil Nadu. Indira was a member of several obstetric societies in India and abroad and was an adviser to the Madras Medical College Hospital and Government Maternity Hospital. She is survived by two sons - Ravi Ramamurthi, a neurosurgeon and R Vijayaraghavan, a journalist.

Dutch national held for child porn

A Dutch national was arrested for uploading pornographic photos of children on the Internet in Chennai last week. Police acted on an Interpol tip to trap W Williams who came to India 30 years ago on a tourist visa. He stayed on as a social worker but launched pornographic websites as a side business. He was finally caught by a German child protection company which traced his Indian base. Police recovered hundreds of photos, compact discs and other incriminating evidence from his flat at Choolaimedu in Chennai.

He had been arrested once before for child abuse at his orphanage in Pooncheri in Mahabalipuram.

Man murdered by friends

Five people were arrested for allegedly murdering their friend and setting his body on fire at a flat in Thoraipakkam in Chennai last week.

Reports said the victim had often threatened to expose the criminal activities of his friends. Angered by this, the friends invited him to a ‘party’ at Thoraipakkam and slit his throat.

The suspects were arrested within two days.