Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of victims who died in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur on Friday.

“The road accident in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh is extremely painful. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives in it. May God give them strength to bear this pain. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

The Prime Minister said that under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in helping the victims in every possible way.

According to police, as many as ten people were killed and three injured when a truck collided with a tractor-trolley carrying labourers in the district early Friday.

Mirzapur Superintendent of Police Abhinandan said the incident occurred around 1 am on G T Road between Kachhawan and Mirzamurad areas on the Mirzapur-Varanasi border.

“The tractor trolley, carrying 13 labourers who were returning from construction work in Bhadohi district, was hit from behind by the truck that had gone out of the driver’s control,” the police officer said.

“Of the 13 injured, 10 died while the three others were taken to the hospital at the IIT-BHU, where their condition is stated to be normal,” the officer said.

The prime minister has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF (PM’s National Relief Fund) for the next of kin of each deceased in the road accident in Mirzapur, UP. The injured would be given Rs 50,000, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also announced a similar compensation for the kin of the deceased.

Adityanath expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased and directed the district administration officials to ensure proper treatment for those injured, wishing them a speedy recovery.

A case has been registered at the Kachhawan police station and further legal proceedings are underway, SP Abhinandan added.

The officer said that authorities are conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the accident.

According to the police, those killed were Bhanu Pratap (25), Vikas Kumar (20), Anil Kumar (35), Suraj Kumar (22), Sanohar (25), Rakesh Kumar (25), Prem Kumar (40), Rahul Kumar (26), Nitin Kumar (22), Roshan Kumar (17), PTI reported.

Three injured hospitalised in Varanasi were Akash Kumar (18), Jamuni (26) and Ajay Saroj (50). All of them were residents of Varanasi district, the police added.

Telugu actor Nagarjuna Akkineni, father of actor Naga Chaitanya, has lodged a complaint against Telangana minister Konda Surekha after she made defamatory and derogatory comments regarding his son’s divorce from actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

The Telangana minister sparked controversy on Wednesday after she accused Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader KT Rama Rao of engineering Naga Chaitanya and Samantha’s separation. Surekha claimed that Rao lured Samantha into drug addiction and later blackmailed her.

“It was KT Rama Rao who caused Samantha’s divorce. He was a minister at the time and tapped the phones of actresses to exploit their weaknesses. He turned them into drug addicts. Everyone knows this… it’s no secret,” she alleged.

Nagarjuna, in his complaint filed in Hyderabad’s Nampally district, accused Congress leader Konda Surekha of deliberately spreading false allegations, fully aware of their untruth, with the sole aim of tarnishing his personal, professional, and family reputation.

“The statement was made with malicious intent, designed to convey falsehoods to the public at large, with the purpose of harming the complainant and his family’s reputation for political gain and sensationalism,” the complaint stated. It further emphasised that “these actions constitute a criminal offence.”

“I strongly condemn the comments of the Honorable Minister Mrs. Konda Surekha. Don’t use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect other people’s privacy. As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your comments immediately,” Nagarjuna said Wednesday in a post on X.

This is the second legal notice that the Congress leader has received regarding her remarks. KT Rama Rao has also issued a defamation notice, accusing her of engaging in “disgusting and nauseating politics,” and calling for action from her party leader, Rahul Gandhi.

Surekha’s comments have sparked significant controversy, as both Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya are prominent actors. Naga Chaitanya, a member of the influential Akkineni family in the Telugu film industry, and Samantha have both responded sharply to the politician’s remarks.

Reacting to the Minister’s remarks, Samantha said that her divorce was amicable, with no political conspiracy involved.

“My divorce is a personal matter, and I request that you refrain from speculating about it. Our choice to keep things private doesn’t invite misrepresentation. Could you [Surekha] please keep my name out of political battles? I have always remained non-political and wish to do so,” she said.

“I hope you realise that your words carry significant weight as a minister,” the Family Man 2 actor said.

Her ex-husband, Chaitanya, took to X to share that their divorce was a mutual decision considering the difference in their life goals.

“However, there have been various baseless and completely ridiculous gossip on the matter so far. I have remained silent all this while out of deep respect for my earlier spouse as well as my family. Today, the claim made by Konda Surekha garu is not only false but also absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. Women deserve to be supported and respected. Taking advantage and exploiting the personal life decisions of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful,” he said in a post on X.

The Congress on Thursday refuted any links with Tushar Goyal, the alleged kingpin of Rs 5,000 crore drug bust in Delhi, saying the BJP is hiding the facts about the accused as Goyal himself has admitted that he was never associated with the Youth Congress after 2022.

Goyal, the primary suspect, was apprehended after the recovery of more than 500 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana valued at over Rs 5,600 crore in a raid carried out in south Delhi on Wednesday.

In a post on X, the Youth Congress accused the saffron party of misleading the country based on lies and deception, adding “this is a crime under the law and it will soon give a legal answer to it”.

Pointing out the misleading facts being presented by BJP, the Congress fact-checked and said Goyal was removed from the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress RTI department in October 2022 itself due to anti-party activities.

Continuing its clarification, the grand old party said that after October 17, 2022, the said Tushar Goyal has never been associated with the youth wing in any capacity.

Earlier in the day, the BJP accused the Congress of having links with Goyal and said: “Drugs worth Rs 5,600 crore have been recovered from Delhi. The main accused in this case is Tushar Goyal, who is the chief of the RTI cell of the Indian Youth Congress. This means that it is becoming clear that till now only goods of hatred were visible in Rahul Gandhi’s shop of love, but now drugs are also being found. What is the connection of Congress with the drugs recovered and the accused?”

Furthermore, the Congress said that Goyal himself has admitted that he was never associated with the Youth Congress after 2021-22, which makes it clear that BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi and BJP IT CELL, through a press conference, while hiding the facts, described him as a current office bearer of the Youth Congress, which is clearly a frustrated attempt to tarnish the image of the Indian Youth Congress organisation, against which “we are bound to take legal action”.

“While showing the so-called pictures of the said criminal with our leaders, you people deliberately hid the pictures of Tushar Goyal with BJP leaders which makes it clear that this entire story was fabricated in view of Haryana elections,” the grand old party’s youth wing said.

“And yes, Delhi Police is under your government, give the harshest punishment to the criminal and do not run this fake campaign based on selective and incorrect facts. Because our organization never defends criminals like rapist Brij Bhushan like you people. Be prepared for legal action,” the Youth Congress added.