India

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Indian police on Friday filed charges of culpable homicide, including negligence in handling toxic substances, against a South Korean-owned chemical factory where a gas leak killed 12 people and sickened more than a thousand.

The chemical styrene, used to make plastic and rubber, leaked Thursday from the LG Polymers plant, owned by LG Chem, while workers were preparing to restart the facility after a coronavirus lockdown was eased.

The cause of the leak in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state was still unclear, officials said Friday.

Lucknow, May 8 (PTI) Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday sent one lakh masks to be distributed among people of Uttar Pradesh, specially those in the red zone, a party leader said.

Party workers will start distributing the face covers to the needy from Saturday, said Lalan Kumar, the media coordinator of state Congress.

Visakhapatnam, May 7 (PTI) A technical glitch in the refrigeration unit attached to the two styrene tanks at a chemical plant near here caused the vapour leak that killed 11 people and affected around 1,000 on Thursday, a senior district official said quoting a preliminary report.

The leak at the LG Polymers Limited was so intense that a "only around 9.30 am could we understand what exactly it was as the thick fog that formed in the area cleared," District Collector V Vinay Chand said.

Bilaspur, May 7 (PTI) A 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly hacking his mother and sister to death in Chhattisgarh's Mungeli district on Thursday, police said.

Anil Yadav brutally attacked his mother Sunita (45) with an axe, following an altercation at their home in Ramgopal ward in Mungeli town, located around 100 km from state capital Raipur, an official said.

Mumbai, May 7 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has decided to send Palghar Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Singh on compulsory leave, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday after visiting the village where three persons, including two seers, were lynched last month.

Earlier in the day, Deshmukh visited the Gadchinchle village in Palghar district, where a mob killed three people, including two seers, on April 16, and held discussions with local public representatives.

Mumbai, May 7 (PTI) Television viewership declined during the week ended May 1 but was up 29 per cent compared to pre-lockdown days, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) said on Thursday.

The total television viewership declined by 1 per cent to 1.14 trillion viewing minutes as against the previous reporting week.

However, it was an increase of 29 per cent compared to week ended March 20.

New Delhi, May 7 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said public sector banks (PSBs) sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore to borrowers during March and April, and disbursement will start soon after the lockdown is lifted, leading to economic recovery.

In a series of tweets, the minister also said that as many as 3.2 crore borrowers have taken advantage of the three-month moratorium scheme on repayment of loans announced by the Reserve Bank to help people tide over the problems created on account of disruption in business activities due to lockdown.

Mumbai, May 7 (PTI) The Mumbai police on Thursday intercepted three trucks carrying 160 migrant labourers from the city to Utttar Pradesh, an official said.

Drivers of the three trucks and another person were boooked for violation of lockdown, said an official of the RAK Marg police station.

Palghar, May 8 (PTI) An offence was registered against a 19-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping and raping a girl from Mokhada village in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Friday.

The Palghar police on Thursday registered a case against the accused under sections 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code, while no arrest has been made so far, public relations officer Hemant Katkar said.

Chattarpur (MP), May 8 (PTI) A Shramik Special train, with 1,100 migrants from Delhi, arrived at Chattarpur station in Bundelkhand district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, an official.

The COVID-19 lockdown rendered several migrants jobless, prompting a mass exodus of labour force from major cities of the country. The Railways has been operating special trains for migrants who wish to return to their home states.