Deaths

Kochi: Italian guards' custody ends today

Kochi: The police custody of the two Italian Navy personnel charged with the murder of two Indian fishermen off the Kochi coast earlier last month ends on Monday. The two are likely to be produced in court today. The two were sent to custody after the Kollam magistrate rejected Italy's argument that they cannot be prosecuted under the Indian law. The court had remanded the two to judicial custody till...  

Ship-boat collision: One body recovered

Kochi: Naval divers on Sunday recovered the body of one of the three fishermen who went missing after their boat was hit by a merchant vessel of Alappuzha coast. Two fishermen had been killed in the incident. The body, which was found inside the sunken boat, has been handed over to local fishermen, naval sources said in Kochi. Search is going on to locate two other bodies. Deep sea clearance...  

Kochi: HC to hear Italian Navy guards' petitions

New Delhi: The Kerala High Court is all set to hear petitions filed by the two accused Italian Navy personnel on Friday. The two Navy guards stand accused of shooting down two Indian fishermen off the Kochi coast in February allegedly fearing them to be pirates. The marines are seeking withdrawal of the FIR filed against them. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asserted that the FIR filed by Kerala...  

Silchar: Inquiry ordered into hunger deaths

Silchar: No work, no pay, no food and left to die, CNN-IBN has exposed hunger deaths in the tea gardens of Silchar in Assam. While the Assam government has rubbished all claims of hunger deaths and reopened the garden on promises, CNN-IBN saw a different story. 35-year-old Ratna Goala is among the ten plantation workers who died out of hunger, lack of medical care and malnutrition in this Assam tea...  

Assam: Panel to look into tea garden hunger death

Silchar: Just weeks after CNN-IBN exposed starvation deaths at a tea garden in Silchar, the Assam government has acted. The government has appointed a one-man inquiry committee to look into the tea estate deaths in Cachar district. The inquiry is to be headed by the additional chief secretary. Four people died as a result of hunger in Silchar as the tea garden in question remained closed for four months. Work...  

Criminal case against marines initiated: Italy

Kochi: In a bid to persuade India to hand over its two arrested marines charged with murder for killing two fishermen, Italy told the Kerala High Court on Thursday it has initiated criminal proceedings against them under its law that could lead to a prison term of not less than 21 years. The police custody of the two Italian marines Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Gironi was meanwhile extended till March...  

No out of court settlement in fishermen case: Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of any out of court settlement in the case relating to the killing of two Indian fishermen by two Italian marines onboard a merchant ship. "There is no provision in Indian criminal law to have an out of court settlement on charges of murder," Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told mediapersons after a cabinet meeting to questions about reports that Italian...  

Fishermen killing: Court rejects Italy's plea

Kochi: A Kollam court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Italy in connection with the killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kochi coast. Italy had sought permission to allow presence of their forensic experts during the examination of the weapons recovered from the ship. This came a day after the Italian Foreign Minister met his Indian counterpart SM Krishna over the alleged killings of the fishermen by Italian...  

Fishermen deaths: Italy files fresh petition

Kochi: Italy has filed a fresh petition in the Kollam Magistrate Court in the Indian fishermen's killings case. Italy has sought permission for Italian experts to be present while the weapons are being examined in the forensic labs. This came a day after the Italian Foreign Minister met his Indian counterpart SM Krishna over the alleged killings of two Indian fishermen by Italian naval guards. Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi...  

WB: Mamata blames Left for rapes, crib deaths

Kolkata: Less than a fortnight after drawing flak for her disparaging comments on the Park Street rape victim, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday squarely blamed the Left for the deteriorating law and order condition in West Bengal. She claimed that the 30-year-old woman allegedly raped by a gang of armed robbers on Sunday too was a set-up. Mamata also hit out at the Left over the recent spate of...  

Italy to offer blood money to victims' families?

New Delhi: The Italian Foreign Minister met his Indian counterpart SM Krishna on Tuesday over the alleged killings of two Indian fishermen by Italian naval guards. Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi expressed regret and condolences to the families of the victims in the meeting. After the meeting, Krishna said that there was a strong public opinion on both sides. In a joint press briefing, Krishna said, "We met in the...  

Fishermen case: Italian FM meets Krishna

New Delhi: Italy's Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi arrived in India on a two-day visit over the killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by Italian naval guards. He is accompanied by the family members of the two Italian navy personnel who have been arrested over the alleged killings. He met his Indian counterpart SM Krishna and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma before heading to Kochi to meet Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy....  

Vessel's weapon room resembled military armoury

Kochi: The Italian weapons were protected in two vaults in the Italian vessel, Enrica Lexie. Though the marines were in the ship to safeguard the vessel, the weapon room resembled a perfect Military armoury. One of the police personnel who was a part of the search and seizure procedure said that, the Italians had perfectly documented all the weapons. "Even the small bullets had been documented and they were accounted...  

After polio, India to eliminate measles, tetanus

New Delhi: Laying emphasis on strengthening of routine immunisation, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the lessons learnt from success of polio campaign could help eliminate measles-related child deaths and neonatal tetanus from the country. In his valedictory address at the two-day Polio Summit here today, Azad said there has to be continued vigil and effective emergency preparedness as India cannot afford to let its guards now on the...  

Italian crew to be tried under Indian law: Antony

Thiruvananthapuram: Holding that the two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast would be prosecuted under the Indian law, Defence Minister AK Antony today said the investigation into the case was progressing in the right direction. "The case will be proceeded under the Indian law. Judiciary in the country is independent," Antony told reporters here. "The incident of shooting down of two hapless fishermen off the...  

Ground report: fishermen community waiting for justice

Kochi: Even as the Italian deputy foreign minister maintains that they wish to maintain good ties with India, the Kochi Police has brought the Italian ship to the Kochi port and is expected to search the Italian ship for weapons on Monday. However, at the Neendakara harbour, the fishing community is still struggling to get back to their normal lives. A week after two of their men were shot dead...  

Fishermen killed: India-Italy crisis eases off

Italy moderated its position on Friday, praising the Kerala court for allowing Italian ballistic experts to observe the Kerala police probe. ...

Encounter deaths: SC raps Modi government

New Delhi: The Modi government was on Friday questioned by the Supreme Court for not consulting it while appointing a new chairman of a monitoring authority, looking into the investigations of 22 encounter killings in Gujarat during 2002-06. The apex court expressed its displeasure over appointment of former Bombay High Court Chief Justice KR Vayas in place of former apex court judge, Justice MB Shah, who had quit as the...  

Fishermen deaths: Italian Dy FM meets Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Steffan de Mistura met Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday night over the alleged killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian naval guards. Both sides stuck to their positions. Rome has been seeking immunity for its navy personnel arguing that the incident occurred in international waters. But Delhi has been refusing to relent. The Italian minister wanted to meet the victims' families, but Chandy...  

Kochi: Punish the guilty, says Cardinal Alencherry

Kochi: Cardinal Mar George Alencherry issued a press statement on Wednesday after an alleged remark by him on the fishermen deaths sparked a controversy. The Cardinal said, "The report of the Italian press agency is wrong. The agency removed the report and expressed their apology for the mistake. I have not tried to intervene in this matter, nor have I contacted any ministers regarding this." He added, "Two precious lives...