Muzaffarnagar:

The disappearance of a bride-to-be just hours before her wedding in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, a police complaint alleging abduction, and a social media post about her “death” sent investigators into a tizzy and sparked a massive manhunt, which ended after the woman was found in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior.

According to police sources, the chaos began on Tuesday evening, when the woman, Sushmana Sharma left her house to visit a beauty parlour, just hours before her marriage with Bharat Bhushan.

After the woman failed to return home and could not be traced, her family filed a police complaint, alleging she was abducted.

However, in a bid to save face in front of guests and relatives, the groom’s family posted on social media that the wedding could not take place as Sushmana died of a heart attack, the sources said.

The social media post, the sources added, went viral as netizens extended their sympathies to the groom’s family over the “devastating” development. 

The inconsistent claims by the woman’s family and the groom’s side left police puzzled, prompting them to launch a thorough investigation into the matter. 

New Mandi Circle Officer Rupali Roy Chowdhary told reporters that with the help of CCTV footage, the investigators tracked the bride’s movement and after hours of an intensive search, found her in Gwalior at around 8am on Wednesday. 

“Immediately upon receiving information about the woman’s disappearance, the police registered a case and formed two teams to trace her. She was found in Gwalior the following morning,” Ms Chowdhary said. 

The police did not provide any details but the sources said the woman escaped because she was not ready to marry Bharat. The sources also said the woman escaped with the help of a female friend. 

Asked about the rumour about the woman’s death on social media, Ms Chowdhary said: “A probe is underway.” 

Sheopur:

A 26-year-old man collapsed and died on a horse during his wedding procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, an official said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday night and a video capturing the man’s last moments surfaced on social media on Saturday.

The goom was identified as Pradeep Jat, the former district president of the National Student Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress.

District hospital’s civil surgeon Dr RB Goyal said family members rushed Jat to the medical facility but he was already dead by the time.

The groom, a resident of Soonswada village, possibly died due to a heart attack, he said.

The video shows Jat, dressed in traditional attire, going towards the stage on a horse. He slowly leans forward and becomes unresponsive. A relative tries to dismount him from the horse but Jat collapses before that.

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

Bhopal:

In an unusual financial strain, police stations across Madhya Pradesh have been spending thousands of rupees on pen drives every month. The reason? A new legal mandate under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) requires all case-related evidence – statements, crime scene recordings, and forensic data – to be submitted in a pen drive, and not through CDs or paper records.

While digitisation aims to streamline legal proceedings, the burden of purchasing these storage devices has landed squarely on the shoulders of police personnel, who often find themselves paying out of their own pockets. With an 8GB pen drive costing roughly around ₹300, and investigations often requiring multiple devices, the change in norm has become a source of concern across stations.

“You Have to Do It, Sir!”

Sub-Inspector BS Kalpuria at Bhopal’s Kotwali Police Station has been serving for years and now investigates multiple cases under the new law. But the shift from paper to digital evidence has come at an unexpected cost.

One case requires at least three pen drives to put together the evidence.

“You have to do it, sir!” Mr Kalpuria said. 

The Digital Shift – An Expensive Affair

Under Section 65B(4) of the Indian Evidence Act, any electronic evidence, including pen drives, must come with a certificate verifying its authenticity. Previously, CDs were used, but they have become difficult to find and use, forcing police to switch to pen drives. 

The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) of 2023 has provisions for recording evidence through audio-visual means. This includes recording crime scenes. 

According to the BNS, particularly Section 105, evidence collected during a search and seizure operation must be recorded via audio-video electronic means, like a mobile phone, and stored on a device like a pen drive, essentially making the pen drive a medium to present the recorded evidence in court; this is mandated to ensure transparency and accountability in the investigation process. 

Constable Pushpendra Prajapati echoed the struggle: “Earlier, CDs worked fine, but now we have to buy pen drives. Sometimes, we have to pay from our own salary.”

Constable Joginder Singh added: “At least three pen drives are required per case, costing between ₹500-₹600. Right now, we’re managing from our own pockets.”

Case Files on Pen Drives: A Costly Change

Sub-Inspector Prem Narayan (30) acknowledged the administrative burden. “Each case requires a minimum of two pen drives – one for the court and one for our records. If the accused’s lawyer demands a copy, we need a third. We buy them ourselves because evidence collection is our responsibility,” he said. 

Since July 1, 2024, every police station has had to purchase its own pen drives. Each time a case is registered, the victim’s and witnesses’ statements are recorded on video and stored in a pen drive, which is then presented in court along with all case documents.

Top Cop Acknowledges Shortage

Bhopal Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra admitted a resource constraint.

“Resources are being arranged, but initially, some police stations may face difficulties. The process of procuring equipment is ongoing,” he said. 

Legal professionals said the police should not have to bear this financial burden.

Government advocate Rajendra Upadhyay said: “The police are struggling because they lack a formal budget for pen drives. Yet, all evidence must now be submitted electronically.”

Retired DGP SC Tripathi said: “If pen drives were made mandatory, arrangements should have been in place. The government spends crores on welfare schemes like ‘Ladli Behna,’ yet police stations don’t have funds for a ₹300 pen drive!”

A recent Union Home Ministry report revealed that between July 1 and September 3, 2024, 5,56,000 FIRs were registered under the new penal code – an average of 7,400 FIRs per day. At this rate, police stations across Madhya Pradesh alone would need to spend ₹25 lakh every month on pen drives.

Technology is making legal proceedings more efficient but the cost of implementation has clearly caught law enforcement off guard. Until the government formally allocates a budget for this, policemen will continue to foot the bill for their own investigations – one pen drive at a time.

Indore:

A 42-year-old man’s condition deteriorated so much that he had to be hospitalised for a week after unknowingly consuming fish gall bladder in Indore, a doctor said on Wednesday.

Dr Jai Singh Arora, a nephrologist at a private hospital here, told PTI that the man started throwing up and suffered from diarrhoea after he ate fish gall bladder without realising that he had ingested the organ that stores bile produced by the liver.

His family thought it was a case of food poisoning until investigations pointed to something serious. Along with his serum creatinine, an indicator of kidney functions, the levels of two liver enzymes – SGOT and SGPT – had shot up dangerously, the doctor said.

“The patient came to us in a critical condition. He was admitted to the hospital for a week. Even after this, his treatment continued. At present, he is healthy,” Arora said.

The fish gall bladder contains a poisonous chemical called sodium cyprinol sulfate, which can rapidly damage the liver and kidneys if ingested by humans, he added.

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

Bhopal:

The wife of a photographer who committed suicide and three of her kin were booked in Indore in Madhya Pradesh for alleged abetment of the act, a police official said on Thursday.

Nitin Padiyar (28) had ended his life on January 20 after leaving behind a suicide note in which he urged the government to make changes to the Dowry Prohibition Act to stop women from “misusing” it, Banganga police station house officer (SHO) Siyaram Gurjar told PTI.

“An FIR for abetment of suicide has been registered against his wife, and three of her family members, comprising her mother and two sisters. Padiyar’s wife had filed a dowry case against him in Rajasthan, from where her parents hail. They were allegedly demanding money from Padiyar to withdraw this case,” Gurjar informed.

“I, Nitin Padiyar, request the Government of India to change the law because women are misusing it. If you do not change it, then many more men and their families will get ruined every day. I request youth of India not to get married and if they do, they should strike an agreement before it. Seek justice for me after my death if you feel I have been bullied. Or wait for your turn,” Padiyar’s note stated. 

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

Seoni:

Four persons were killed and five others injured when an ambulance hit a pedestrian and overturned in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district on Sunday morning, a police official said.

The accident took place on Jabalpur-Nagpur highway (NH34) under Dhuma police station limits, he added.

“The ambulance was ferrying an injured person identified as Anish Shah (18) from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh to his native place in West Champaran in Bihar. Two drivers and six of his family were in the ambulance when it hit a pedestrian Ranglal Kulaste, slammed into a pole and then overturned after ,” Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Apoorva Bhalawi said.

He identified the deceased as Pratima Shah (35), Prince Shah (4), Mukesh Shah (36) and Sunil Shah (40).

The five injured persons are hospitalised in Jabalpur, Bhalawi added.

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

Khargone:

Four persons, including three women and a toddler, were killed and 21 others injured when the private bus they were travelling in veered off the road and overturned in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district on Saturday, police said.

The Khargone-Alirajpur bus was speeding when the driver lost his control of the wheel at Jiratpura crossing near Segaon in the afternoon, about 42 km from the district headquarters, killing four persons on the spot, a police officer said.

Eight of the 21 injured passengers were rushed to the district hospital while others were admitted to nearby health centres, Superintendent of Police Dharmaraj Meena told PTI.

A JCB machine was mobilised to restore the bus, which fell on its side, to the original position, he said.

The driver of the bus fled the spot after the incident, he said, adding that the conductor has been detained by police.

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

Raisen:

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a truck driver while his two associates restrained the teenager’s male friend in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district, an official said on Sunday.

Police have arrested two persons, including the truck driver, in connection with the alleged crime committed in Siyarmau forest on Silwani-Sagar Road, some 110 km from the district headquarters, on Saturday evening, he said.

The teenager and her 21-year-old male friend were returning after visiting the Vandevi temple in the area when they parked their two-wheeler and entered the forest, said Silwani’s Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anil Maurya.

At the same time, a truck broke down following which its driver, later identified as Sanju Adivasi (21), and his two friends also went inside the forest, where they spotted the girl and her friend.

The trio thrashed the young man and snatched the key of his motorcycle, he said, citing the FIR.

The driver took the girl deep inside the forest and allegedly raped her, while his associates restrained her friend, the official said.

After the three accused left, the girl and the youth walked to the road and alerted some policemen who were passing by.

Police registered a case against Sanju Adivasi and his associates Shivnarayan Advasi and Akshay Ahirwar under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 64 (rape), 70-1 (gang rape) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

Sanju and Shivnarayan have been arrested, while Ahirwar is on the run, the official said.

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

Bhopal:

In a blow to the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, minister Ramniwas Rawat lost to the Congress’ Mukesh Malhotra by a margin of 7,364 votes in the Vijaypur assembly bypoll.

Rawat had won the seat on a Congress ticket in the 2023 assembly polls but then switched over to the BJP, which made him forest minister in the Mohan Yadav government.

Rawat had won from Vijaypur in Sheopur district as a Congress candidate in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2023.

The BJP lost Vijaypur even after distributing Rs 50 crore to lure voters, MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari alleged.

“Vijaypur’s victory is the victory of Congress workers, who faced all kinds of torture. They endured police cane-charge and lawsuits, still they stood firm,” Patwari said in a post on X.

The entire system, including the collector, SP and other officials, along with BJP-supported goons, dacoits and mafia were against the Congress, he alleged.

“The police and administration did the work of BJP workers. False cases were filed against Congress people, innocent people were sent to jail without any reason. More than 50 crore rupees were distributed to lure voters. Even after that, the lion-like workers have put this victory in the bag of Congress,” Patwari asserted.

This is the victory of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution and party workers, the Congress leader said.

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

Chattarpur:

At least 40 people have been injured in a cylinder blast that occurred at a ‘chaat’ stall in Chhattarpur, Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, officials said.

Upper Collector Milind Kumar Nagdev said, “A small cyclinder blast occurred at a chat centre. On orders of the SDM, the injured were taken to the district hospital, the cost of which will be borne by the district administration… About 40 people have been injured.”

Chief Medical Officer RP Gupta said that 23 people were brought to the hospital with burn injuries, adding that some patients have sustained 40 per cent injuries but none of them are in serious condition.

“23 people with burn injuries have been brought to the hospital. After being administered first aid, the patients have now been shifted to the normal ward… Some patients have come with 40 per cent burn injuries but none of them are in serious condition,” Gupta said.

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