Regional
Kolkata taxis to take break in sweltering heat
Kolkata: Citing the death of two cab drivers in the city on account of the rising mercury, the Bengal Taxi Association on Saturday announced it would not run any cabs between 11.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. to avoid such incidents.
It has also written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the state’s transport secretary.
“This is the first time drivers have died on duty and under such circumstances, we have decided from 11.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., we will not run any cabs. However, if somebody wishes to run their taxi, we will not oppose it”, the association’s general secretary, Bimal Guha, said.
On Saturday, a cab driver identified as Shatrughan Poddar (52) was found lying unconscious inside his taxi near Jadavpur. He was later declared dead due to suspected heat-stroke at a hospital, police said.
Another cab driver died on Friday due to suspected heat stroke in the city.
Guha said the decision had been taken on humanitarian grounds to avoid such deaths.
“We have written to the chief minister and the transport secretary about this and have appealed to them so that the police do not fine us for refusing passengers between 11.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.,” he said.
The association, in its letter to the chief minister, has also asked for compensation for the two deaths.
The Met department has predicted hotter days ahead.
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What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story
The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.
In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).
The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.
The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.
Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.
In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.
The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.