Nine children have died and several others injured after a wall collapsed at a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district this morning. The tragic incident took place during a religious ceremony at Hardaul Baba temple in Shahpur. The injured children have been rescued and hospitalised.

Rescue work after the incident was carried out by police with the help of local residents. Visuals showed an earthmover at work to remove the rubble after the wall collapse. Top officials have now reached the spot. District officials have said the children were in the 10-15 years age group.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said he is pained by the incident. “I hope those injured recover soon. My condolences with families who lost their children. The government will provide each family with an assistance of Rs 4 lakh,” he said.

The incident comes a day after four children died in a wall collapse incident in the state’s Rewa district. The children, in the 5-7 years age group, were returning from school when the wall collapsed. The owners of the house, the wall of which collapsed, have been arrested. 

Incidents of wall collapse are being reported as Madhya Pradesh receives heavy rain. As many as 200 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this year. About 206 houses have been completely damaged, and 2,403 have suffered partial damage.

In Mumbai’s Goregaon, a man was found dead on a road in front of his apartment. When calls to his wife went unanswered and his flat’s door locked, locals found the key to the house on his neck, worn as a locket. But what followed was a grim unfolding. The man’s wife lay dead inside the flat. 

The horrific sequence of events began to unravel early Friday morning when 58-year-old Kishore Pednekar body was discovered on the road in front of Topiwala Mansion in Jawahar Nagar. Kishore, who worked as a gym equipment salesman, had reportedly jumped to his death. Local residents who discovered his body alerted the police, and Kishore was rushed to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, he was declared dead on arrival.

As officials sought to notify Kishore’s wife Rajshree of his death, repeated calls to her went unanswered. Upon arriving at their flat, police found the door locked from the inside. It was then they noticed two keys hanging around Kishore’s neck. Using these keys, the police unlocked the flat, revealing an even more disturbing sight.

Rajshree, a 57-year-old therapist, was found dead in the hall of their flat. She had been strangled, and like her husband, was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital. The immediate assumption was that Kishore had killed his wife before taking his own life, police said. 

Initial investigations suggest that Kishore, who was allegedly under severe depression as police found several medications prescribed for depression and diabetes inside his flat, had planned the deaths. Before ending his life, he had booked a flight ticket from Delhi to Mumbai for his son and had also sent detailed information about his bank accounts to a relative via WhatsApp.

The couple’s son resides and works in Delhi. A case has been registered and an investigation into the case is underway.

Two landslides have devastated P Joseph’s family. The 2019 Puthumala disaster injured Joseph and claimed his sister-in-law’s life. After relocating, another landslide hit Mundakkai, killing his father-in-law and brother-in-law. Joseph, who helped in search operations, lamented inadequate compensation and unfulfilled promises from authorities.