Lawyer falls to death in court complex

A 67-year-old lawyer died as he fell while leaning on the parapet wall of the court complex of the Madras High Court last week.

V C Venkataramanna had just come out of his office when he had a fainting fit and fell over the parapet wall. He died on the way to hospital.

Ironically there is only one clinic with minimal staff in the complex. Even an ambulance donated by Congress chief Gnanadesikan was missing.

In a similar incident, Aritra, an engineering student, died after falling from the seventh floor of his college hostel at the Vellore Institute of Technology, about 200km from Chennai last week.

Though college sources said he committed suicide, Aritra’s parents in West Bengal demanded a probe claiming their son spoke to them before his death.

Investigations are underway.

 

Woman poisons three children,  commits suicide

A middle-aged woman poisoned her three children and committed suicide when her husband reprimanded her for an extra marital affair at Arasumarathupatti near Usilampatti in Madurai district last week.

Kathammal and Anandhan often quarreled over her illicit affair with her cousin. Dejected by this, Kathammal fed her children poisoned lime juice and drank it herself. However her 12-year-old son found the juice sour and rushed out to his father working in the garden.

Anandhan rushed him and another son to Madurai government hospital. Strangely he came back and buried his wife and daughter without informing the police. However the police found out when the two children died in hospital.

Anandhan is under interrogation.

 

More illegally imported luxury cars seized

Following raids on DMK leader M K Stalin’s house for importing a luxury car in violation of government regulations, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has seized 33 vehicles from leading businessmen and private individuals in Chennai.

An unofficial report said 11 cars were confiscated from India Cements, seven from chancellor of Sri Ramachandra Medical College, two from MGM group of companies and many others.

The CBI is interrogating several car dealers and some officers in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) who colluded to import the cars showing lower prices to lessen import duty that caused a tax loss of Rs48mn to the federal government.

 

50 injured in bullfight

At least 50 people were injured in jallikattu or bullfight held at Sakkudi village in Madurai district last week.

Eleven of the critically injured were admitted to government hospitals. Eyewitnesses claimed that though the organisers had arranged the event with safety measures like barricades, visitors’ area, medical and fire service teams on standby, it went out of control when an errant bull broke free and attacked bystanders after the event. More than 500 bulls from three districts took part in the event.

Jallikattu is a village bullfight where fighters try to tame raging bulls that run among crowds and has often been termed unsafe by animal rights activists.

 

Alarm system for elephant alert

The state government has sanctioned Rs1mn to install a trip wire electric alarm system to alert villages, plantations and estates of the approach of elephants along the forests bordering Coimbatore city.

Forest officials said the alarms were necessary as straying elephants had destroyed crops, uprooted trees and had even trampled some farmers in the past few months. Some private estates had installed their own trip wire systems.

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