RJD leader assaults airlines manager in Patna

PATNA: Union Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, Akhilesh Prasad Singh

allegedly beat up the station manager of Kingfisher Airlines at
Patna Airport on Monday
after he was not allowed to board Patna-Kolkata flight as he reported late at the airport.

A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson, in a statement on Monday night, alleged that the Airport Manager was assaulted, abused and had to bear a barrage of foul language from Singh, without any provocation.

As per the statement, Singh, who is Minister of State for Food was scheduled to travel on flight IT 4580 from Patna to Kolkata. The flight was scheduled to depart at 08:30pm and at 08:10pm, the Kingfisher Airlines staff at Patna Airport were informed by Singh’s travel agent that he would not be travelling on the flight.

At around 08:20pm after all the guests were on board, Patna ATC gave start-up and push-back clearance to the commander of the aircraft.

The aircraft had just begun taxiing when Singh reportedly landed at the airport i.e. 10 minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight, the statement said.

“Under the circumstances, considering the fact that the aircraft had began taxiing, our Airport Manager told Singh the same and regretted that he could not join the flight as we were told that he was not coming,” the statement said.

“That was when Singh assaulted and abused our Airport Manager in the VIP lounge in the presence of several witnesses,” Kingfisher Airlines added.

 

J&K Police Killed 3 civilians in Jammu

Three civilians, an army trooper, and a militant were killed in an ongoing fierce gunbattle between militants and surrounding security forces in Jammu, which is in the throes of a 60-day long violent Amarnath land row agitation.

Police said a group of militants came to Bantallab locality in an autorickshaw on Wednesday morning and started firing indiscriminately resulting in the death of three civilians.

“The area was immediately cordoned off and an operation was launched to flush out the militants who are holed up in a house and are engaging the security forces in a sustained encounter. Three civilians, one junior commissioned officer and a militant have been killed in the encounter so far,” a senior police officer said.

The security agencies had on Monday said that a group of heavily armed militants had crossed into this side of the international border at Kanachak after cutting the barbed wire fence.

An alert had been sounded in Jammu city and a manhunt launched to trace the group that sneaked in.

“The entire area has now been surrounded. Intermittent firing exchanges are continuing in the Bantallab area,” the officer said.

Jammu has been in the grip of a two-month-long violent agitation for the restoration of 40 hectares of forest land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board.

The Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, spearheading the agitation, had planned to hold a rally in Jammu city on Wednesday afternoon to press their demand.