Male, Nov 10 (IANS) At least 10 people, including nine Indians, were killed and several others injured when a fire swept through cramped lodgings of foreign workers in Male, the Maldivian fire service said.
Officials said 10 bodies were recovered from the upper floor of a building destroyed in the fire, which originated from a ground-floor vehicle repair garage, local media reported.
He added that it took them about four hours to put out the fire.
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic fire incident in Male which has caused loss of lives, including reportedly of Indian nationals. We are in close contact with the Maldivian authorities," the Indian High Commission in Male tweeted.
An evacuation centre has been set up in a nearby stadium, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Maldives said.
"NDMA has established an evacuation centre in Maafannu Stadium for those displaced and affected by the fire in Male. Arrangements are being made to provide relief assistance and support."
The Maldivian capital, best known as an upmarket tourist destination, is one of the world's most densely populated cities.
Foreign workers make up about half of Male's 250,000-strong population and are mostly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Their poor living conditions of foreign workers was found out during the Covid-19 pandemic when the infection spread three times faster among foreign workers compared with locals.
Approximately 29,000 Indians live and work in the Maldives and almost 22,000 of them live in Male, the capital city.
They comprise nurses, teachers, managers, doctors, engineers, accountants and other professionals.
The plea said the Central government, contrary to the constitutional provisions and without having approval from the Parliament and without any gazette notification, quashed the century-old army selection process and imposed the scheme on the country.
The two accused shooters, identified as Priyavrat alias Fauji (26), a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, and Kashish alias Kuldeep (24), a resident of Jhajjar in Haryana, were arrested from Kutch district in Gujarat on Sunday.
In June 2019, Ram Rahim Singh had withdrawn his parole plea after the state BJP government was cornered by opposition parties for favouring the self-styled godman, who sought parole for 42 days to tend to his agricultural fields at his sect's headquarters in Sirsa town.
The Chief Minister, in a statement, said that the decision "reflects the sorry state of affairs in the country as the party in power is recklessly running the country without bothering about its youth".
In a Facebook post, the Bambiha gang accused Aulakh of being involved in Moosewala's shooting. It also alleged that Aulakh extorted money from other singers in the Punjabi music industry.
On sustained interrogation, it was revealed that Manoj Kumar had marital issues with his wife due to which he started sending friend requests to random women on social media and would harass them through calling and messaging apps.
