Barabanki: Two people were killed and 32 injured in a stampede at a temple here after a live electric wire, broken by monkeys, fell onto a tin shed early on Monday, officials said.

The incident occurred at the Avsaneshwar temple in the Haidergarh area during the holy month of Shravan on Monday when devotees had gathered at the temple for ‘jalabhishek’ (offering water as a ritual). The electric current spread through the tin shed as the wire fell, triggering panic and a stampede in the temple premises.

Prashant (22) from the Mubarakpura village under the Lonikatra police station area and another 30-year-old devotee succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at the Trivediganj Community Health Centre (CHC), officials said.

This comes a day after eight people were killed in a stampede that broke out during a rush of pilgrims along a stair route leading to the Mansa Devi temple on a hilltop in Haridwar. Rumours of an electric current where the stairs begin triggered panic among people, leading to the stampede, according to the police.

A total of 10 injured persons were brought to Trivediganj CHC, of whom five were referred to higher medical centres due to their critical condition.

Meanwhile, 26 injured devotees are being treated at the Haidergarh CHC, and one of them has been referred for advanced care due to serious injuries.

Following the incident, there was chaos in the temple and surrounding areas. District and police officials reached the spot and are working to manage the situation. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the incident.

Barabanki District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi said that during the ‘jalabhishek’ ritual, monkeys had damaged an electric wire, which caused current to flow through three tin sheds in the temple complex.

The resulting panic led to a stampede in which two people lost their lives and more than two dozens were injured, he added.

Devotees later resumed their worship at the temple.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

Berlin: A regional passenger train derailed in southern Germany on Sunday, killing at least three people and seriously injuring others, authorities said.

Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Riedlingen, roughly 158 kilometers (98 miles) west of Munich, remains under investigation. Photos from the scene showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages.

It was not immediately clear how many people were injured. Roughly 100 people were onboard the train when at least two carriages derailed in a forested area around 6:10 p.m. (1610 GMT).

Storms passed through the area before the crash and investigators were seeking to determine if the rain was a factor.

“There have been heavy rains here, so it cannot be ruled out that the heavy rain and a related landslide accident may have been the cause. However, this is currently the subject of ongoing investigations,” said Thomas Strobl, interior minister of the state of Baden Württenberg.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in a post on social platform X, said he mourned the victims and gave his condolences to their families.

Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s main national railway operator, said in a statement that it was cooperating with investigators. The company also offered its condolences.

Police have arrested a 53-year-old security guard of a private school in Maharashtra’s Palghar district for allegedly sexually abusing two male students, officials said.

The alleged incidents occurred between June 15 and 20, the officials said on Sunday.

The victims, aged 17 and 15, are students of the same school located in Virar area.

“The alleged incidents occurred in the canteen of the school,” the Arnala police stated.

The accused was arrested on Saturday evening, the police said.

“After receiving a complaint from the school’s manager, we registered an FIR against the watchman, Raymond Wilson Dias, under section 75 (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 5, 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” the Arnala police station official said.

Sections 5 of the POCSO Act pertains to penetrative sexual assault.

In August 2024, a male sweeper at a school in Badlapur in neighbouring Thane district allegedly sexually abused two four-year-old girls, causing a huge outrage and massive protests.

The accused was killed in September last year in the ‘retaliatory firing’ by police after he allegedly snatched the gun from a policeman in a police vehicle.

Sambhal: A civil court in Chandausi on Monday deferred the hearing in the ongoing dispute over the Shahi Jama Masjid-Harihar temple to August 5 due to the strike by the local bar association.

Civil judge (senior division) Aditya Singh was scheduled to hear the matter.

The Muslim side had previously challenged the maintainability of the case in the Allahabad High Court, but on May 19, the high court upheld the subordinate court’s order permitting a court-monitored survey and directed the trial court to proceed with the hearing.

Advocate Shri Gopal Sharma, appearing for the Hindu side, told PTI, “Due to the condolence meeting and strike by the bar association today, the court has fixed August 5 as the next date of hearing.”

District government counsel Prince Sharma confirmed the state government submitted an affidavit in court today.

“The matter pertains to a dispute over the Shahi Jama Masjid and the claimed Harihar Mandir. The high court’s earlier stay was vacated on May 19, and the documents related to that order were submitted in the trial court. Due to the strike today, the next date has now been fixed as August 5,” he said.

The dispute dates back to November 19 last year, when Hindu petitioners, including advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a suit in the Sambhal district court claiming that the mosque was built over a pre-existing temple.

A court-ordered survey was conducted on the same day (November 19), followed by another on November 24. The second survey on November 24 led to significant unrest in Sambhal, resulting in the death of four people and injuries to 29 police personnel.

In connection with the violence, the police registered a named FIR against SP MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and mosque committee head Zafar Ali, along with an FIR against 2,750 unidentified individuals.

New Delhi: A Kolkata-bound Air India plane aborted takeoff at the Delhi airport due to a technical snag on Monday evening.

“Flight AI2403 operating from Delhi to Kolkata on 21 July 2025 has been rescheduled to depart later this evening, necessitated by a technical issue detected during the takeoff roll. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the takeoff, following Standard Operating Procedures,” the airline said in a statement.

Regretting the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the disruption, the airline said all passengers have disembarked and its colleagues are extending support to them.

The flight was to be operated with an A321 aircraft.