ACTOR MOON MOON SEN’S MUMBAI FLATS GUTTED IN FIRE
MUMBAI: Actor and Trinamool Congress MP Moon Moon Sen reported extensive damage to her twin flats in the Ruia Park building in Juhu from a fire that broke out in the apartment early Sunday morning.
“I am thankful to God for saving our lives but the flat suffered heavy damage. There are two adjoining flats and twothirds of the flat, including two kitchens and two drawing rooms are damaged. Only two of my daughter’s bedrooms are left” the actor told HT.
Sen said the fire was sparked by the air conditioner in her bedroom and it engulfed the flat in under a few minutes. “We were sleeping when the air conditioner caught fire. We rounded up our dogs and evacuated the flat immediately,” said the actor.
The flat will take at least six to eight months to be renovated, during which time the family will most likely move to Kolkata, Sen explained. The family has checked in to a hotel close to their apartment building.
Sen’s daughter, actor Riya, took to Twitter to express her disgust at the response speed of the fire brigade. “Our buildings on fire! We’ve lost two of our flats! The fire engine took an hour to arrive! Shame on this country! (sic),” she tweeted. “They came no sooner than it was possible for them to reach the spot. Can’t blame anyone, everything went very well,” said Moon Moon. RAIPUR: It took almost 25 hours and 300 troopers for the security forces to retrieve the bodies of seven policemen from Saturday’s encounter site in Sukma, apparently due to bad weather.
However, a day after the incident, the special task force (STF) personnel injured in the attack appeared perplexed and upset over the way the operation was carried out.
Seven personnel were killed and ten others injured in the Maoist ambush in Sukma district, about 450 km south of Raipur.
“A squad of 50-odd jawans of the STF left from Polampalli at around 2.30 am and was asked to reach an area close to Pidmel. We halted for 5-10 minutes when the Maoists began spraying bullets on us,” said an injured personnel, Kisse Dewa, adding that there were more than 200 Maoists, including the women cadres.
Injured Sanjay Lakda questioned why a small party ventured out when it was a ‘cordon-search’ operation in the area known as the hotbed of the Maoists. “Some of our colleagues fell to bullets while we scurried to take positions. The encounter continued for over two hours,” said the injured jawans who were surprised that no backup was available during the crisis.
ADG (anti-Maoist operation) RK Vij, however, praised the bravery of the STF men. “The jawans fought bravely. The CRPF responded as backup contingent and was 3km from the encounter site,” Vij said.
Guerrilla warfare expert (Retd) Brigadier BK Ponwar wondered, “What was the mission of this operation, who planned it and with the kind of force available, what steps were taken to recover the weapons or nab the rebels?”
The injured STF personnel said they managed their safety on their own. “We were left with no option except to leave our dead colleagues and return,” they said.
Maoist commander Hidma and his group is suspected to be behind the attack. Hidma, a hardcore member of the South Bastar Divisional Committee of CPI (Maoist), heads battalion number 1 of the rebel’s military wing. KISSE DEWA, an injured jawan
THE FIRE WAS SPARKED BY THE AIR CONDITIONER IN THE TMC MP’S BEDROOM AND SOON ENGULFED THE FLAT
BRIGADIER PONWAR, warfare expert