Manipur's unique park endorses communal harmony

Mangaluru: A seemingly harmless YouTube advertisement has cost a Mangaluru man his life savings, after he fell victim to an elaborate investment scam and lost a staggering ₹55 lakh.

According to the police complaint, the victim was lured in by a man named Shardul Jani, who claimed that a trading app called Abans Pro would deliver high returns. On February 11, the man made an initial investment of ₹15,000. A trading account was created for him, which soon began displaying encouraging profits.

Buoyed by these promising numbers and under constant persuasion from the accused, the man was convinced to invest more. Reassured that the money could be withdrawn at any time, he not only continued investing himself but also involved his relatives, who collectively transferred ₹39 lakh into his account for further investments.

Between February 11 and March 27, the victim transferred a total of ₹55 lakh to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused. But when he finally attempted to withdraw the funds, nothing came back. The profits were a mirage—his money had vanished.

Realising he had been conned, the man approached the Bajpe police, who have registered a case and begun an investigation into the fraudulent scheme.

New Israeli strikes have killed over a dozen people, including seven children, in the besieged territory as the regime is pressing ahead with its bloody military onslaught against Palestinians.

Gaza's civil defense agency said the bodies of 10 people, including seven children, were brought to the hospital following an Israeli airstrike that targeted the al-Farra family home in central Khan Younis.

Witnesses reported continuous and intensive Israeli tank fire in the city. 

Moreover, one Palestinian was killed and four others were wounded following an aerial attack on a group of civilians in Rafah.

In central Gaza, Israeli drones struck a group of civilians in Deir el-Balah, following which a number of casualties were transferred to the al-Aqsa Hospital.

Two more people killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a group of civilians in the al-Atatra area in the northern city of Beit Lahia.

On Friday morning, the Israeli military released an “urgent and serious” evacuation notice for residents living in various neighborhoods east of Gaza City.

The United Nations on Friday said its analysis of 36 recent Israeli strikes in Gaza showed only women and children were killed and decried the human cost of the war.

Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani cited an April 6 strike on a residential building of the Abu Issa family in Deir al-Balah, which reportedly killed one girl, four women, and one four-year-old boy.

Even the areas where Palestinians were being instructed to go in the expanding number of Israeli "evacuation orders" were also being subjected to attacks, she said.

Israel has said its troops are seizing "large areas" in Gaza and incorporating them into buffer zones cleared of their inhabitants.

The UN rights office warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders are resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking spaces in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

"Let us be clear, these so-called evacuation orders are actually displacement orders, leading to displacement of the population of Gaza into ever shrinking spaces," Shamdasani said.

"The permanently displacing the civilian population within occupied territories amounts to forcible transfer, which is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and it is a crime against humanity."

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Shamsadani said between March 18 and April 9, there were some 224 incidents of Israeli strikes on residential buildings and tents for internally displaced people.

"In some 36 strikes about which the UN Human Rights Office corroborated information, the fatalities recorded so far were only women and children," she said.

"Overall, a large percentage of fatalities are children and women, according to information recorded by our Office," she added.

Mangaluru: A routine midnight tea run turned into a horrifying tragedy when a motorcycle carrying three young men — in clear violation of traffic rules — slammed into an open divider on National Highway 66 at SKS Junction in the early hours of April 8. Two of them lost their lives, while the third is recovering from injuries.

The victims have been identified as Sankeerth, who was riding the motorcycle (KL-58-Q-6381), and Dhanurved C, the first pillion rider. Sibi Sam, the second pillion rider, was injured but survived the crash.

According to the FIR registered at the Traffic East Police Station (Crime No. 48/2025), the friends had set out from Lohith Nagar around 2:30 am, heading towards Pumpwell for tea. While Rohan Joby and Meghnath rode separately on a different bike (KL-13-AH-2388), Sankeerth was accompanied by two pillion riders — a clear case of triple riding, which is both illegal and dangerous.

As they sped along NH-66, Sankeerth reportedly lost control near SKS Junction and collided with the edge of an open road divider at approximately 2:50 am. The impact threw all three men onto the highway with violent force.

Sankeerth and Dhanurved suffered critical head and facial injuries and died while being rushed to the hospital. Sibi Sam is undergoing treatment for his injuries.

The FIR invokes Sections 281, 125(a), 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and 128(a) read with 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which include provisions related to rash driving and traffic violations.

The police have launched a full investigation. The accident has reignited public concern about reckless driving, triple riding, and the hazards posed by poorly maintained road dividers, especially during low-visibility hours.