Kolkata, Oct 24: The police, on early Friday morning, detained a 14-year-old boy on charges of raping a five-year-old girl at Kolaghat in East Midnapore district in West Bengal.

The accused, a minor, will be presented at a Juvenile Justice Court in the same district later in the afternoon, a police official from East Midnapore District Police confirmed.

There are further charges against the accused that he threatened to kill the victim in case she divulged about the sexual crime committed on her to anyone, including her parents.

It is learnt that the victim went to the accused’s residence in the morning of October 22. As per the police complaint lodged by the victim’s parents, the accused raped their daughter at his residence, taking advantage of the absence of other family members at home.

Initially, as per the police complaint, the victim did not speak about the sexual crime committed on her to her parents. However, finally on Wednesday, as she started to feel some physical uneasiness, she divulged the details to her parents.

On Thursday morning, the victim’s parents first went to the house of the accused and narrated the entire incident to the parents of the accused. However, as told by the victim’s parents to the police, the parents of the accused not only rejected their accusations but also got them beaten up.

Thereafter, the victim’s parents lodged an official complaint against the accused at the local Kolaghat Police Station. The police lodged a case and finally arrested the accused. Since he is also a minor, he has been booked under certain sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

“Initially, my daughter did not divulge anything to us. But later, as she started to feel pain in her abdomen, she divulged everything. We want the strictest of punishment for the accused,” the victim’s mother said.

Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 24: As many as 19 passengers were burnt alive as a private Volvo bus carrying over 40 people caught fire after hitting a two-wheeler in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool in the wee hours of Friday.

The Volvo bus belonging to a private travel operator was registered in Odisha and was heading to Bengaluru from Hyderabad when it met with the accident near Chinnatekur village on the outskirts of Kurnool at around 3.30 a.m.

Police said 21 passengers survived as they managed to escape through the emergency door and broke glass windows to get out. A couple of passengers remained untraced.

The bus belonging to Vkaveri Travels had 43 people on board, including two drivers. The passengers included 10 women and two children.

Kurnool District Collector A. Siri told media persons at the scene of the mishap that out of the 41 people on board, they have traced 21. As many as 11 of these 21 were taken to hospitals in Kurnool. The condition of all the injured was stable.

The bus began its journey from Hyderabad around 10.30 p.m., and when it was close to Kurnool on National Highway 44 (NH-44), at around 3:30 am, a two-wheeler rammed into the bus. The motorbike got stuck under the belly of the bus and the sparks due to the bike being dragged and fuel leak from it caused the fire.

Survivors said the two-wheeler was dragged by the bus for about 300 metres. The fire started from the front portion of the bus where the bike was stuck.

Most of the passengers were asleep at the time of the accident. Survivors said the bus door had jammed which resulted in more casualties. One of the survivors said he woke up to the screams of “fire” and he along with some others broke the back window to jump to safety.

Akash, one of the survivors, said the bus was engulfed in flames within minutes. Most of the passengers on board belong to Hyderabad.

The person riding the bike was also killed in the accident. He was identified as Shiva Shankar (20), a resident of Kurnool town.

By the time a fire engine rushed to the spot the bus was completely gutted. Police swung into action to shift the injured to hospitals.

The Collector said they have to confirm if the bus hit the bike or the two-wheeler rammed into the bus and went under it due to the impact of the collision, resulting in sparks and fuel leak that triggered the fire.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Koya Praveen said the fire started from the bike. “The fuel tank of the bus is intact. The fire started from the bike’s fuel tank. As the material under the bus was highly combustible, the fire spread rapidly,” he said.

The DIG said out of two drivers, one was in their custody while the other was yet to be traced.

A team of officials including forensic experts pulled out bodies. As the bodies were charred beyond recognition, DNA tests would be conducted to identify the remains.

On the direction of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Gadwal District Collector and Superintendent of Police rushed to the spot to assist the families of the deceased and the survivors.

As many as 13 ambulances have left from Hyderabad for Kurnool to bring back the bodies.

According to officials, the deceased belonged to Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister M. Ramprasad Reddy visited the accident site. He said the state government would provide all help to families of the deceased.

Patna, Oct 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited Karpoori Gram, the birthplace of Bharat Ratna Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur, and paid floral tributes to the late leader.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accompanied the Prime Minister during the visit.

Both leaders garlanded Karpoori Thakur’s statue and visited the Karpoori Thakur Library, where they viewed a collection of rare photographs depicting key moments from the former Chief Minister’s life — from his participation in the freedom struggle and resistance during the Emergency to his two tenures as Bihar’s Chief Minister.

The Prime Minister also interacted with Karpoori Thakur’s family members and folk artists from the region, posing for photos and appreciating their performances.

Villagers of Karpoori Gram gave a warm and enthusiastic welcome to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister.

Karpoori Thakur, a two-time Chief Minister of Bihar, hailed from a marginalised community and is remembered for his simplicity, integrity, and commitment to social justice.

He played a crucial role during the Emergency and worked alongside Jayaprakash Narayan in leading the democratic movement against the Indira Gandhi government.

After his visit to Karpoori Gram, PM Modi addressed a public rally, calling it a memorable and emotional day.

“Today is a very important day in my life. Before coming here, I went to Karpoori Gram, where I had the opportunity to pay my respects to Bharat Ratna Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur. It is his blessings that people like us, who come from backward and poor families, are standing on this platform today,” the Prime Minister said.

Praising Thakur’s lifelong efforts for the marginalised, PM Modi said, “Bharat Ratna Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur played a very significant role in bringing social justice to independent India and connecting the poor and underprivileged with new opportunities. Our government had the honour of awarding him the Bharat Ratna — a moment of great pride for all of us. He remains a source of inspiration for our government.”

Reiterating his government’s focus on inclusive development, PM Modi said, “We have worked with the resolve to empower the poor, Dalits, Mahadalits, backward and extremely backward classes. Our government provided 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections of the general category and extended the reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for another 10 years.”

The Prime Minister’s visit to Karpoori Gram comes amid the ongoing campaign for the Bihar Assembly Election 2025, highlighting the NDA’s emphasis on social justice and empowerment, narratives rooted in Karpoori Thakur’s legacy.