At least 16 people were killed when an overcrowded bus on Wednesday fell into the Bagdi river, about 100 km from here, the police said.
The bus was on its way to Chapda from Nemawar town when it skidded off the road and plunged into the overflowing river near Khategaon, they said.
So far, 16 bodies have been recovered, sub-divisional police officer (SDOP) Pramod Sonkar told PTI from the spot.
Around 7-8 people have been rescued so far, the police said. Efforts were on to pull the private bus out of the river with the help of a crane, they added. Heavy rainfall in the area is hampering the rescue. MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia of `1 lakh each to the kin of those killed.
***
Rains lash N. India, Army called
New Delhi : Eight more people died on Wednesday as unrelenting rains wreaked havoc in northern India where major rivers swelled dangerously causing flooding in several areas and Army called in for relief and rescue operations in Haryana.
Four people were killed and “Chardham Yatra” was halted as heavy rains lashed Uttarakhand, paralysing normal life with most of the rivers flowing at danger level.
Two children were killed when their house collapsed over them following heavy rains at Mehargaon village in Tehri district. In a similar incident in Vikasnagar town, a woman was buried alive under the debris of her house.
A student died after he got buried under the debris as a landslide hit the road while he was going to school at Kotagi area in Rudraprayag district. —PTI
***
11 students booked for fraud
Age Correspondent
Chandigarh
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR charging eleven students and several others with using forged certificates to secure admissions to the prestigious Punjab Engineering College, which is the celebrated US astronaut Kalpana Chawla’s alma mater.
CBI officers conducted a surprise raid at PEC’s Chandigarh campus on Wednesday morning and seized scores of highly incriminating documents pertaining to new admissions made under the non-resident Indian category.
“We carried out a surprise raid following several recent complaints alleging the NRI quota admissions were being made on the basis of forged certificates,” CBI’s Chandigarh Office deputy inspector general Mahesh Aggarwal said.