Kannada actor Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru Airport for attempting to smuggle 14.2 kg gold from Dubai. She hid gold bars around her waist, calves, in her shoes, and pockets.
At least 155 hostages were freed after armed rebels hijacked a train carrying over 400 passengers in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan region on Tuesday. The rescued passengers – including 58 men, 31 women, and 15 children – were taken to Mach, a nearby town where a makeshift hospital has been set up. It is not clear how many hostages remained on board.
The Jaffar Express was intercepted by armed attackers in a tunnel in a remote area on its way from Quetta to Peshawar – a route that was made operational after a month-long suspension. The gunfight between the rebels of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Pakistani forces continued overnight, in which at least 27 rebels have been killed.
Over two decades after ‘Sooryavansham’ actor Soundarya’s death in a plane crash, serious allegations have emerged against veteran Telugu actor Mohan Babu. A police complaint has been filed in Andhra Pradesh’s Khammam district alleging the untimely death of the actor was not accidental, but a murder linked to a property dispute linked to Mohan Babu.
Complainant Chittimallu has accused Mohan Babu of pressuring Soundarya and her brother to sell six acres of land in a village in Shamshabad. But the siblings had refused to give in, leading to a major conflict between the two actors. After Soundarya’s death, Mohan Babu had taken possession of the land forcefully, he alleged.
No FIR has been registered in this matter yet. It is not known if and how the complainant is related to the two actor.
Soundarya, a popular Kannada actor, had played the role of Radha in the 1999 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer ‘Sooryavansham’. She and her brother died on April 17, 2004 when her private jet crashed while flying to Karimnagar for a political event. She was 31 and reportedly pregnant at that time. Her body couldn’t be recovered from the crash site.
Calling for a fresh investigation into Mohan Babu’s role in the alleged land grab, the complainant has urged the state government to seize the land.
He has also marked his complaint to the Khammam Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and the District Officer and requested police protection citing threats to his life.
In his complaint, Chittimallu has also flagged the property dispute between Mohan Babu and his younger son Manchu Manoj.
The Manchu family dispute had escalated last year with an enraged Mohan Babu attacking a journalist at his home. Mohan Babu’s elder son Manchu Vishnu had played down the dispute as a family quarrel that would be resolved soon.