Jaipur, Oct 24: The members of the Advisory Board on Friday held a three-hour hearing at Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan to review the detention of environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA).

The three-member panel arrived at the jail around 10:30 a.m. from the Jodhpur Circuit House to record Wangchuk’s statements and review documents related to the case. Wangchuk’s wife, Geetanjali Angmo, was also present during the proceedings.

The hearing was conducted by Advisory Board Chairman and former judge M.K. Hujura, District Judge Manoj Parihar and social activist Spal Jayesh Angmo.

The Advisory Board is a special constitutional body constituted under the National Security Act (NSA) 1980, which reviews cases of preventive detention

The closed-door session reportedly focused on the reasons cited by the administration for invoking the NSA and Wangchuk’s representation challenging the same.

Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known innovator and environmentalist from Ladakh, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) earlier this year. The move triggered nationwide protests and legal challenges, with several rights groups calling the detention arbitrary.

The Supreme Court is also hearing petitions against the government’s action.

Wangchuk’s wife, Geetanjali Angmo, stated that their legal team has challenged both the grounds of detention and the procedural lapses in the case. She alleged that Wangchuk’s statements and videos were distorted and presented out of context, forming a misleading basis for the NSA order.

It determines whether the detention has adequate justification. The board comprises three members, all of whom are sitting or former High Court judges, appointed by the Chief Justice of the High Court of the respective state.

The government must submit all relevant documents to the board within three weeks of detention, and the board must send its report within seven weeks.

Proceedings remain confidential, and detainees are heard in person without the presence of lawyers. The board’s recommendations will determine whether Wangchuk’s detention under the NSA continues or is revoked, said officials.

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.