Former CBI director Ashwani Kumar (69), who had also served as governor of Manipur and Nagaland, was found hanging at his Shimla residence. Police said they had found a suicide note. Kumar, is survived by his wife and son. Kumar, who came from Nahan in Sirmaur district of Himachal. In the suicide note which he wrote that he was suffering from disease and disability, said Himachal DGP Sanjay Kundu. The suicide note ended with the lines: “I am ending my life. Everyone be happy. My soul embarking on a new journey.” There was no immediate clarity on which disease or disability Ashwani Kumar suffered from. His wife, son and daughter-in-law were at home the whole day and told police the family had lunch together as usual. After the meal, Kumar went for a walk and also visited the Kali Bari temple. On returning home, he completed his puja and also meditated. The body was discovered by his son and daughter-in-law when they noticed he was missing from his usual meditation spot. The family broke down two doors before reaching the attic, where they saw him hanging.
Rajasthan priest burnt alive
A priest in Rajasthan's Karauli district, round 177 km from state capital Jaipur, died due to burn injuries after he was attacked by a group of people over a land dispute. The temple had given the priest about 13 bighas of land which belonged to the Radha Krishna temple trust in a village to cultivate as a source of income for his services. But this land became the source of a dispute. The village priest, Babu Lal Vaishnav, wanted to build a house for himself on a plot close to his land. In order to start construction, he had the land levelled. Another group of people from the Meena community objected to this and claimed the land as their own. The dispute was taken to the village elders who ruled in favour of the priest. The priest then went ahead and placed bales of millet on the land as a sign of ownership. But the accused allegedly started building their own hut on the land that the priest had levelled. This led to an altercation. The priest said six people poured petrol on his bales of bajra (millet) which were lying at the disputed site and set it on fire. He claimed they also poured petrol on him and tried to set him on fire. Suffering burn injuries, the victim was rushed to a hospital where he died. The police have registered a case and also taken into custody Kailsah Meena, the prime accused into custody.
Khushbu quits Cong to join BJP
Actor-turned-politician Khushbu Sundar quit the Congress and joined the BJP, asserting that she had come to realise that if the nation has to move forward, then someone like Prime Minister Narendra Modi is needed to take the country “in the right direction and to its glory”. This will be her third political innings after serving first in the DMK, then in the Congress, and now in the BJP, a marginal force in Tamil Nadu that hopes its political standing will get a boost with her induction in a state where film stars have enjoyed relatively big influence compared to most other regions of the country. Khushbu, who also met BJP president J P Nadda, joined the saffron party at its national headquarters in New Delhi hours after resigning from the Congress' primary membership protesting in a letter to its interim president Sonia Gandhi against what she described as some leaders "dictating terms" and "suppressing" her.
Jawan shoots JCO dead at MP ordnance factory
A Defence Security Corps jawan shot dead a junior commissioned officer (JCO) inside the Ordnance Factory in Katni town of Madhya Pradesh following a heated argument during evening parade. Before the other soldiers could recover from their shock and disarm him, the jawan fled the spot and is now hiding somewhere on the campus, armed with an Insas assault rifle and 15 rounds. Army teams are on the lookout for him and hoping to persuade him to give himself up. Shakar Singh fired five rounds at JCO Ashok Shikara, killing him on the spot, police said. A few shots hit Shikara in the head. The body has been sent for post-mortem. What triggered the flareup is not clear yet. A police officer said some “internal issues” may have led to the killing, and a change in Singh’s posting could also be a reason.
Yoga enthusiast from US raped in Rishikesh
A 37-year-old woman from the US was allegedly raped in Rishikesh by a local resident, the police said. The woman said in her complaint that a man who had befriended her pretending to share her passion for yoga had sneaked into her room through her balcony and raped her, according to a local police officer RK Saklani. The man had allegedly called her to his home several times before the incident, said the cop. The woman's love for yoga and drugs brought her close to the accused, he said. He added that the woman had complained that the father of her alleged attacker was pressuring her to withdraw the case.
HAL employee held for giving aircraft info to Pak
A Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) employee has been arrested for supplying Indian fighter aircraft details to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Maharashtra police said.
Police said 41-year-old Deepak Shirsat was working as an assistant supervisor at HAL and was "honey trapped" by a Pakistani national posing as a woman on social media. The Nashik unit of the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had received reliable intelligence about the man, who was in constant touch with ISI, a police statement said. The man was supplying the secret information about Indian fighter aircraft and their sensitive details, along with the information related to HAL's aircraft manufacturing unit at Ojhar near Nashik, airbase and prohibited area inside the manufacturing unit, the statement said. An offence under the Official Secrets Act has been registered against Shirsat, an official said, adding Nashik ATS unit arrested him from his house in Nashik.
Sharpshooter who jumps parole re-arrested
A notorious criminal and sharpshooter, who was involved in the attack on Bollywood filmmaker Rakesh Roshan in 2000, has been arrested by cops in Maharashtra. The accused, Sunil V Gaikwad, 52, was arrested from Parsik Circle area in Kalwa, Thane on Friday night, three months after he jumped parole, a senior police official confirmed. Police had received a tip-off that Gaikwad was coming to Parsik Circle area. The officials then organized a trap and nabbed him, senior inspector of Central Crime Unit Anil Honrao said. Roshan was shot at outside his Santa Cruz office in Mumbai in January 2000. Two assailants, allegedly associated with the gangs of Ali Budesh and Subhash Singh Thakur, had fired six times at him. Two bullets had hit Roshan, leaving him injured. According to the police, Gaikwad has 11 cases of murder and seven cases of attempt to murder (including the attack on Roshan), filed against him. He is sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case and had been lodged at Nashik Central Jail. He was released on a 28-day parole on June 26. However, he did not return to the prison and was hiding.
