New Delhi:

Monsoon is driving cases of a highly contagious hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) — a common viral illness — in young children in the national capital, said doctors here on Wednesday.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) predominantly affects infants and young children, and is characterised by a combination of symptoms including fever, sore throat, mouth sores, and a rash on the hands and feet.

The disease is caused by various enteroviruses, most commonly Coxsackievirus A16 and Enterovirus 71.

“We are seeing 4-5 cases every day, which is much higher than the average cases we used to see,” Dr Krishan Chugh, Principal Director and HOD, Paediatrics, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told IANS.

He said, “Cases are particularly seen among children aged 1-7.”

The highly contagious disease typically begins with a fever, often accompanied by a sore throat and a general feeling of malaise.

It is followed by painful sores or blisters appearing in the mouth, on the palms of the hands, and soles of the feet.

These sores can be quite uncomfortable, making eating and drinking difficult for affected children.

The rash on the hands and feet may appear as small red spots or blisters. In some cases, particularly with Enterovirus 71, the disease can lead to more severe complications such as viral meningitis or encephalitis.

The virus spreads easily through close personal contact, respiratory droplets (coughing, sneezing), and contact with contaminated surfaces or faeces. This high level of contagiousness makes outbreaks common in settings where young children gather, such as daycares and schools.

“It is usually self-limiting and settles in two weeks or so. It is spread by close contact, respiratory droplets and skin contact. Treatment is most symptomatic and prevention is to avoid close contact and respiratory isolation,” Dr Atul Gogia, senior consultant and head of Infectious Diseases at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told IANS.

“The hot and humid weather creates an ideal environment for the virus to thrive, leading to this increase. It tends to peak in the rainy season,” added Dr Poonam Sidana, Director- Neonatology & Paediatrics at the CK Birla Hospital, Delhi.

In the last several days, there have been reports from Kerala of an epidemic sickness known as tomato fever. However, doctors note that it is a misleading term and is actually a hand, foot and mouth disease.

Dr Chugh called out parents and caregivers to be vigilant. “It’s crucial to be aware of the symptoms, which include fever, mouth sores or blisters, and a rash on the hands and feet. We urge parents to seek immediate medical attention if they suspect their child has HFMD,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Police has recovered a damaged car with a human skeleton in it after the water decreased from the Munak Canal on Friday, officials said on Saturday.

The matter came to the fore when a sub-branch of Munak Canal, which supplies water from Haryana to Delhi, breached and the water level decreased, they said.

The officials said that a damaged car could be visible on Thursday and Friday midnight.

The car was recovered on a stretch of the canal falling under the jurisdiction of Samai Pur Badali area, a police officer said.

The skeleton is suspected to be belonging to a man identified as Vinod, who was missing from Budh Vihar in Vijay Vihar since September 2020.

Vinod was a taxi driver by profession and the Swift Dzire car in which the skeleton was recovered was registered under his name, police said.

Vinod’s son Ravi, who was called for the identification, identified the car and suspected that the body was of his father.

Ravi told PTI that he last conversed with his father on the night of September 30, 2020.

“In the call, he told us that he was going to drop a passenger in Dwarka and after that he would return home. But later his mobile phone went unreachable,” he said.

Ravi said that they approached the local police station in Vijay Vihar and lodged a missing complaint but the police could not trace him.

He said that he received a call on Friday morning following which the police took them to the spot.

The car belongs to us which my father bought in 2019 but I still cant believe that it was my father’s body, Ravi said.

He said the police has given the skeleton to them after conducting the post-mortem examination and added they will conduct the DNA test to ascertain it was my father.

“We have conducted the last rites after the post-mortem examination today. But I still hope that my father is still alive,” he said.

He said that it may be some one else’s body, though they conducted its last rites.

When contacted, a senior police officer said on the basis of circumstantial evidences it is suspected to be the body of Vinod.

“But we are not ruling out any kind of possibility in the matter. Further investigations are underway,” the officer said.

The police said that they have preserved a sample from the body for the DNA test.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A 50-year-old woman was shot at by two people while she was asleep in her house in northeast Delhi on Saturday, police officials said.

The woman, identified as Shakila, received a bullet wound on her left shoulder, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said the incident took place at Janata Mazdoor Colony at 2 am.

During the initial investigation, the police found that two people came to Shakila’s house and opened fire at her. She was sleeping at the time of the incident, Tirkey said.

On the complaint of the victim’s son Mohammad Ishtikar, a case under section 109(1)/3(5) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita & Arms Act has been registered at Welcome police station.

Shalika’s son used to work in a courier company, but he has been jobless for the past five months, police said.

“Reason behind firing is being ascertained. Efforts are being made to identify and catch the accused persons,” the officer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said JD(U) and BJP will keep working together for good governance in Bihar.

PM Narendra Modi said this after meeting with JD(U) MPs in Delhi on Thursday.

“Had a great meeting with @Jduonline MPs. Our Parties have a long history of working together and fighting poor governance, corruption and criminalisation in Bihar. The leadership of @NitishKumar Ji has taken Bihar on the path of development. We will keep working together for good governance,” PM Modi said in a post on X and shared pictures from the meeting.

Had a great meeting with @Jduonline MPs. Our Parties have a long history of working together and fighting poor governance, corruption and criminalisation in Bihar. The leadership of Shri @NitishKumar Ji has taken Bihar on the path of development. We will keep working together for… pic.twitter.com/wNhNt8XHPl

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 27, 2024

Nitish Kumar, returned to the NDA and took oath as Bihar chief minister with BJP’s support, after leaving the alliance and joining Rashtriya Janata Dal-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in August 2022. 

Mr Kumar’s JDU contested the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in alliance with the BJP.

Meanwhile, in the run-up to the Bihar assembly elections, former Union Minister and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday expressed his desire for the NDA to form a government with full majority in the state.

Bihar is expected to vote for its 243-member legislative assembly in October 2025.

Mr Choubey said the BJP “should come to power on its own” as he emphasised taking the allies along. He said that the Chief-Ministerial candidate will be decided post-election and added that the party does not accept any “imports.”

“It is my desire and I have also told the party leadership that NDA government should be formed in Bihar under BJP’s leadership. With a full majority, the BJP should come to power on its own and take forward its allies too. This is my intention. For this, every worker should get to work from now itself. I will do this well without any expectations,” Mr Choubey told ANI on Thursday.

The former Union Minister highlighted the party’s alliance with Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

“I think we were taking Nitish Kumar forward together with us, we are doing the same today too and will do the same in future as well…The CM face will be decided after elections take place. Party and central leadership will decide that. But we don’t accept ‘imports’ into the party,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A 70-year-old Cameroon national was arrested for smuggling cocaine worth about Rs 11 crore at the Delhi International Airport, the customs department said today.

The cocaine was recovered from his alimentary canal, according to officials.

Simon Alfred Nagong, the accused, touched down at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport on June 17 after traveling from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). He was pulled up for additional questioning and investigation after he exhibited odd behaviour at terminal 3 of the Delhi airport, according to the Customs Department.

During questioning, the accused confessed that he had several drugs concealed throughout his body. After this, the Customs Department team took the accused to Safdarjung Hospital and a medical board kept a constant watch on him.

To remove the drugs from his body, an ejection procedure was performed under professional guidance. 73 capsules containing cocaine were removed from the accused’s stomach through stool after many days of constant monitoring. The capsules weighed a total of 1.96 kg, whose value is about Rs 11 crore, according to the Customs Department.

A passport of the Republic of Cameroon has also been recovered from the accused.

Simon has been arrested under the Customs Act and a further investigation is underway to establish who he had come to deliver this cocaine to in India.

New Delhi:

A 30-year-old female graphic designer and a henchman, who she had hired to burn the face of her ex-boyfriend, have been arrested in outer Delhi’s Nihal Vihar area, an officer said on Monday.

The woman wanted to take revenge from her ex-boyfriend and colleague for jilting her and getting engaged to someone else, the officer said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Jimmy Chiram said Omkar, 24, who is also a graphic designer, was attacked by three people in Ranhola area on June 19.

The three came on a motorcycle and attacked him with a knife, cut him at several places, he said.

Police pulled the CCTV camera footage of the area and the call details of Omkar to zero in on the woman and the three attackers.

On June 23, based on a secret input, a trap was laid near Dwarka Mor and one of the suspects, Vikash, was arrested, Chiram said.

During interrogation, Vikash revealed that he, along with Harsh alias Bali and Rohan, had attacked Omkar with a knife.

He also disclosed the hideout of the woman at whose behest they carried out the attack.

The woman, whose name was withheld by police and lives near Tilak Nagar Metro Station, was held from Nihal Vihar, he said.

The woman revealed that she and Omkar both were colleagues and had been having an affair for the last three years.

She became infuriated when he became engaged to some other woman and hired the three men for Rs 30,000 to carry out an acid attack and also gave them a bottle filled with acid, police said.

The woman also alleged the victim threatened to upload her private pictures online when she objected to his engagement, the DCP said.

According to the plan, the men contracted were supposed to throw acid at Omkar’s face, but couldn’t and had to decamp after knifing him, he said.

A hunt is on for two other accused, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A 25-year-old woman allegedly killed herself after finding her husband hanging in their home in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park area, police said on Saturday.

Jhumi Das and her husband Bhaskar Deka (27) hailed from Assam. Das worked as a housekeeping staff and Deka as a security guard at Omaxe Mall in the Chandni Chowk area.

Das was found hanging under a water pipeline at Yamuna Khadar while Deka’s body was found at their home early on Saturday, the police said.

A police officer said Das called a friend and told her that she was taking the extreme step as her husband had hanged himself.

The reason behind the suicides is yet to be ascertained. Deka left a suicide note written in Assamese in which he conveyed his love for his wife and said the decision to bring her to Delhi from Assam had been wrong, the officer said.

He also apologised “for everything”.

The police informed the couple’s family members in Assam and launched a probe.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A 22-year-old woman was strangled allegedly by her husband over matrimonial dispute on Wednesday in southwest Delhi, police said.

The killed woman was identified as Pooja, a resident of Rajokri, they said.

“On Wednesday at 12.38 pm, a PCR call was received regarding a murder at Vasant Kunj South police station following which a team was rushed to the spot,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Rohit Meena said.

“Prima facie matrimonial dispute seems the reason behind murder. From the initial examination of the dead body, it has been found that the death is due to strangulation,” said the DCP.

During the initial enquiry, the police found that Pooja and her husband Abhishek had gotten married a month ago. Both had married for the second time. While Abhishek had no children from his first marriage, Pooja had a son.

Police said that the Forensic Science Laboratory team and crime team have inspected the spot. A case is being registered and multiple teams are working to nab the accused.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

As Delhi boils at scorching temperatures reaching up to 47 degrees Celsius, the capital’s electricity usage has reached an incredible peak of 8,000 MW today, its highest-ever peak power demand.

Peak power demand in Delhi reached 8,000 MW at 3:42 pm today, according to officials.

The subsequent spikes in electricity use reflect the searing heatwave in Delhi, which has led residents to use air conditioners and other cooling devices more frequently than usual.

A ‘red alert’ has been issued in the city by the Meteorological Department for the next three days.

According to the seven-day forecast, Delhi’s maximum temperature will be around 44 to 47 degrees Celsius.

The Delhi government has ordered all schools to start summer vacations with immediate effect.

 

New Delhi:

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official deployed at the Delhi Airport arrested a woman, who was found roaming at Delhi Airport allegedly wearing a CISF uniform, pretending to be a CISF official on Thursday.

The woman was handed over to Delhi Police, CISF officials said. A case has also been registered under Section 171 at the IGI Airport Police Station.

According to the FIR filed by CISF official at the IGI Police station, “On May 9 at about 19:50 hrs, a doubtful lady, Anjali Ojha, was found wearing a CISF uniform (camouflage trousers with camouflage T-shirt, black DMS shoes with Khakhi socks) and roaming nearby in the Staff Canteen of Arrival T2 Terminal of IGI Airport, New Delhi.”

The FIR further said that on interrogation with the lady, she initially said that she is working in CISF and presently posted at DMRC Delhi.

“On further inquiry, she said that she had come to receive someone, and she is not in CISF and working in a private company named M/s Gratis Co. Pvt. Ltd. Khanpur, Delhi,” the FIR stated.

Her activity was found suspicious and during interrogation, she seemed to be hiding facts, it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)