The shocking incident was reported from Dhobadiha area in the districts today. The deceased Kalia used to work as a labourer in the municipality.
"Kalia worked as a laborer in Keonjhar municipality but left job after he became sick for several days.Today, he died while undergoing treatment. On being denied government Mahaprayana van, we were to carry the body on trolley for cremation," said Binu, one of the relative of the deceased.
Biswaranjan Sahoo, a local resident said that it was a shameful incident that government facilities failed to reach a poor in the mineral rich district. Though the state government is implementing many schemes and programmes, such welfare schemes still eludes many.
“The district administration has DMF fund and government should use it to by some more hearse vehicles so that the poor and needy will not have to suffer," said Sahoo.
Two persons critically injured in the incident were admitted to Rourkela IGH while five minors have been shifted to Bhubaneswar for treatment as their condition worsened.
Sources said the explosion was so powerful that 10 houses were gutted and roofs of a few houses were blown away in its impact.
On getting information, Fire personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flames. Meanwhile, police reached the spot and have launched an investigation.
The cause of the explosion is yet to be confirmed.
Two people were killed in a gruesome accident when a car they were travelling in fell off a bridge near Talakheta in Jatani.
According to reports, the mishap occurred when three persons including the driver were returning in the car from Jatni after visiting Ganesh puja pandals.
As the driver lost control over the vehicle on the bridge near Talakheta, the car fell into a 15-feet deep ditch. On receiving information, police and Fire brigade personnel reached the spot and pulled out the car from the ditch with the help of a crane.
Following the mishap the driver fled the spot, said sources.
The deceased were identified as Narendra Guru and Jitendra Nayak of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar.
In another road mishap, two persons died after a motorcycle they were riding had a head-on collision with a Bolero vehicle at Dulukibandha Chowk in Dharmagarh, Kalahandi district.
While one of the biker died on the spot, the other one died while being taken to a nearby hospital.
According to reports, the woman was admitted to Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in the district in a critical condition after being allegedly gang raped by two miscreants on December 5.
“My sister was rushed to the Saheed Laxman Nayak hospital from Jeypore hospital in a serious condition. When we reached the hospital after getting information, she was already dead,” said a relative of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the future of the two kids of the deceased lies in uncertainty as her husband is mentally unstable. Hence, the villagers have demanded the district administration to take necessary steps for the proper care of the kids.
“After completion of all the formalities, the kids will be handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC),” said Koraput CWC official, Rajashree Das.
Moreover, the district administration has reportedly provided an assistance of Rs 10,000 from the Red Cross fund to perform the last rites of the deceased.
On the other hand, the villagers have demanded stringent action against the accused, who are already behind bars.
The deceased has been identified as Madhu Payasingh of Digasira village under Sindhekela police limits in the district.
According to sources, Madhu was bitten by a snake and was admitted in critical condition to Bolangir district headquarter hospital.
Even as Madhu was declared dead by doctors, his family members didn't let the body for post-mortem and instead called for a black magician believing that he would be able to spew life into the dead boy.
Asked about the incident, hospital authorities said they were unaware about it.
Champeswar, a resident of Dhaurakhaman village under Rairakhol block of Sambalpur district, was killed in a counter-insurgency operation against terrorists in Manipur on September 7, 2018.
The martyr was given a guard of honour at Bhubaneswar airport where senior CRPF and 120 Infantry Battalion officers paid their tributes.
“Champeswar fought valiantly in the ambuscade against the terrorists and died for his county,” said GL Meena, DIG (admin), CRPF.
The body was later taken to his ancestral village for cremation.
Bihar: At least 27 people have died after a bus fell into a roadside pit and caught fire in Bihar's East Champaran district today, reported ANI.
The accident occurred under the Kotwa police station area, which is nearly 75 km from the state capital.
Speaking to ANI, Bihar Disaster Management and Relief Minister, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, said,"It is a really sad incident. There is a provision to give compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of dead in such cases and it will be given."
The bus was on its way to Delhi from Muzaffarpur.
Separate teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been rushed to the spot with gas cutters. District magistrates of Muzaffarpur and East Champaran have also been asked to supervise rescue operations from the spot.
“It is a really painful incident. Local administration officials are present at the spot. We will extend all possible help to the families of those who died,” said chief minister Nitish Kumar while speaking at a public function in Patna, according to ANI.
The CM, along with those present at the event, observed a minute of silence and prayed for the victims.
(With Agency inputs)
The locals alleged they have collected at least two tonnes of dead fishes from the river, reports said.
Though the exact reason behind the death of the fishes is yet to be ascertained, it is being suspected that someone might have poisoned the water for fishing.
However, official sources said lack of oxygen in the river due to water stagnation and pollution could be one of the possible reasons behind the incident.
Earlier, mass fish deaths were also reported in the river in 2016 and the re-run of the incident has now sparked resentment among the people.
"Fishes worth rupees lakhs have been found dead. People here yesterday collected around 2 to 3 tonnes of dead fishes," said a local resident.
Sources said that the Balijhara Yuva Parishad, a local organization had alleged that illegal fishing in Bata river here has assumed serious proportions.
The members of the organisation had earlier found some nets, laid to trap different species of fishes that are found in abundance here, sources said.
The deceased identified as Ratani Pradhan died on the spot while her husband Anam sustained bullet injuries on his right leg. He was rushed to district headquarters hospital and later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as his condition is stated to be critical.
The accused identified as Rabi Bhuyan of the same village had previous enmity with Anam. He was planning to eliminate Anam. As per the plan, Bhuyan barged into Anam's house last night and opened fire at him. However, Anam's wife came in front of him to save her husband and died on the spot. The accused opened a second round of fire before fleeing from the spot in which Anam sustained injuries.
The accused is absconding. Police reached the spot and seized Ratani's body for post-mortem. A case has been registered in this connection, police officials said.
It is suspected that the youth, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, attempted suicide after killing the lady forester over an alleged love affair.
The deceased has been identified as Banita Diggal. She was posted as forest guard of Sonepur beat and was staying at the government quarters at Dasingbadi in Daringbadi.
The youth, who has been rescued in a critical condition, has been admitted to the hospital.
The deceased has been identified as Sambhunath Mundari.
According to sources, one Jadab Munda was admitted to the hospital and allotted a bed beside Sambhunath’s bed. Late in the night, the Munda attacked Mundari with an iron pipe.
Bhala Mundari, brother of the deceased, said, “Munda thrashed my brother with an iron pipe. Seeing this, I tried to call security but in vain. Later, I went to sister’s room and asked them to call doctor. After checking my brother, the doctor declared him dead.”
Deputy CDMO of the hospital Sashanka Kabi Satpathy said, “The exact reason behind Munda attacking Mundari is unknown. Mundari sustained injuries on his heads in the attack and doctor declared him dead at around 5 am today.”
Being informed about the incident, police rushed to the spot and started investigation into the matter.
According to police, Rachita Panda, supply inspector of Nayagarh block, and her husband Sunil Parida, were staying separately due to a dispute between them since last few months.
Rachita was on the way to Nayagarh from Bhubaneswar with her maternal brother Sanjay Panda when two miscreants fired at them near a paint factory in Pichukuli area. While Sanjay died on the spot, Rachita escaped with minor injuries.
Following information, police rushed to the spot and took the body to the district headquarters hospital for post mortem.
Narrating the incident before the Nayagarh SP, Rachita said her husband and his associate had opened fire at them.
Following a complaint lodged by Rachita, police has started investigation and begun a manhunt to nab Sunil who has absconded.
According to reports, a herd of elephant strayed into the village last night to drink water from the nearby pond. However, the baby elephant could not move out of the pond as it got trapped in the mud.
On being informed about the incident, forest officials rushed to the spot and seized the carcass of the pachyderm, sources said.
Party activists gheraoed the office of the chief district medical officer (CDMO) here and demanded stern action against the culprits. They said that an impartial probe must be ordered by the State government to identify the wrongdoers.
Holding the district administration responsible for the incident, they said chief minister Naveen Patnaik must apologise to the man. They also alleged that social welfare schemes launched by the Odisha government have failed miserably in the state.
The protesters will submit a memorandum addressed to the Governor on the issue.
In his inquiry report submitted to the collector yesterday, Kalahandi CDMO Brajakishore Brahma had reportedly given a clean chit to the hospital authorities saying the man had taken away the body of his wife without informing the hospital staff. He had also said that the man 'presumed' his wife to be dead and took her body from the hospital.
The deceased has been identified as Mir Urfan Ali.
According to sources, the incident took place last night when Mira, along with her daughter-in-law and grand children, was sleeping inside a room.
Some unidentified miscreants allegedly set the house on fire. After realising that the house had caught fire, they all attempted to get out of the room. But they were unable to do so as the miscreants had locked the room from outside, the sources added.
Finding no other option to get out of the room, Mira first rescued her daughter-in-law and grand children. But she was not able to come out of the room herself and was burnt alive inside the room, the sources informed.
On being informed about the incident, Balipatna police rushed to the spot and started an investigation into the matter.
Though the exact reason behind the crime is unknown, it is believed that it may be an outcome of a love affair, an investigating official said.
His death on Friday night came less than eight months after that of his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush, reports The New York Times.
The cause of his death was not immediately known.
However, the former leader suffered from a form of Parkinson's disease that forced him to use a wheelchair or motorised scooter in recent years, and he had been in and out of hospitals during that time as his health declined.
In April, a day after attending his wife's funeral, he was treated for an infection that had spread to his blood.
Bush, a Republican, was a transitional figure in the White House, where he served from 1989 to 1993, capping a career of more than 40 years in public service.
A decorated Navy pilot who was shot down in the Pacific in 1944, he was the last of the Second World War generation to occupy the Oval Office.
Bush was a skilled bureaucratic and diplomatic player who, as President, helped end four decades of Cold War and the threat of nuclear engagement with a nuanced handling of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe.
Born into privilege and a tradition of service, Bush was a son of a senator, student athlete, Texas oilman, Republican congressman, national party chairman, pioneering diplomat and spy chief, reports CNN.
After his own 1980 presidential campaign came up short, he served two terms as Ronald Reagan's Vice President before reaching the pinnacle of political power by winning the 1988 presidential election, soundly defeating Democrat Michael Dukakis.
After losing the White House in 1992, Bush became a widely admired political elder who leapt out of airplanes to mark birthday milestones.
Emphasizing the generosity of his soul, he forged a close and unlikely friendship with Democrat Bill Clinton, the man who ended his presidency.
When Parkinson's disease mostly silenced him in public, Bush flashed his sense of humour by sporting colourful striped socks.
In a statement, Allen's relatives said that the businessman died on Monday afternoon in Seattle, where Microsoft has its headquarters, from non-Hodgkins lymphoma, reports Efe news.
"My brother was a remarkable individual on every level," his sister Jody said in a statement.
"While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend."
Despite always staying in the shadow of Gates, his partner and friend since they were teens, Allen was a passionate lover of computers and a key figure in the creation of Microsoft in 1975.
According to Forbes magazine, Allen - born in Seattle in 1953 and whose fortune amounted to some $21.7 billion - was the world's 44th-richest person.
With the money he made from the software company, Allen - together with his sister Jody - founded the Seattle-based Vulcan Inc. conglomerate, which managed his private investments and his philanthropic activities.
The Microsoft co-founder was also the owner of a professional football team, the Seattle Seahawks; a pro basketball team, the Portland Trail Blazers; and was the part-owner of a soccer team, the Seattle Sounders.
His philanthropic work includes creating organisations devoted to research such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science, along with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the Institute for Cell Science, both of which also bear his name.
The disaster also destroyed 48 houses while evacuation and search operations for the missing were underway, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Among the casualties, there were 11 students of an Islamic school who died after being hit by collapsing buildings in Muara Saladi village of Mandailing Natal during flash floods on Friday, Sutopo told Xinhua news agency.
Scores of people were believed to be buried under the mud. The spokesperson said that the death toll might rise as assessment of the aftermath was still underway.
Flash floods also struck several villages in Tanah Datar and Pasaman districts of West Sumatra province, damaging houses.
Meanwhile, landslides occurred in North Sumatra's Sibolga town, destroying scores of houses.
Soldiers, the police and rescuers were rushing to search and rescue the victims, but the operations were hampered by poor access, as the affected areas were remotely located near mountain with bad roads, said Sutopo.
The floods and landslides came after a series of catastrophes in Indonesia, including multiple strong quakes and an ensuing tsunami that left over 2,000 people dead in Central Sulawesi Province.
Phundkar, 67, was admitted to the K.J. Somaiya Hospital on Wednesday where his condition reportedly deteriorated followed by the massive heart attack. He breathed his last at around 4.35 a.m. on Thursday.
Top Bharatiya Janata Party state and central leaders have expressed shock and grief over Phundkar's sudden demise.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior leaders will visit the hospital to pay their last respects.
Phundkar's body is likely to be taken to his native village in Khamgaon, Buldhana district of Vidarbha, for the last rites later on Thursday.
She was 67 and had been living in the old age home after she was reportedly abandoned by her son and daughter last year.
"Heartbreaking! 'Pakeezah' actress Geeta Kapoor passes away after waiting to see her children one last time," tweeted her friend and film-personality Ashoke Pandit.
She had acted in around 100 films in supporting roles/characters, including prominent ones in Kamal Amrohi's films "Pakeezah"," "Razia Sultan".
In a humanitarian gesture, film producer Ramesh Taurani and Pandit had been caring for the actress and paying her medical bills after her children turned their backs on her. Her son Raja is a choreographer and her daughter Pooja is an airhostess.
Kapoor, was deserted by her children in May 2017 at the SRV Hospital, Goregaon, and was later shifted by Pandit and Taurani, to the Jeevan Asha old age home run by the Society of Helpers of Mary in Andheri West.
She had once complained of ill-treatment meted out by her son, including assault and not giving her food regularly.
She longed very much to see her children since then, but they never came and she kept getting weaker with passing time, and finally passed away on Saturday, said Pandit.
The body will be kept at the Cooper Hospital morgue ahead of the funeral on Monday amid hopes that her children would come to perform the final rites.
"Her body will be kept at Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle for two days hoping her children to come and at least do the last rites. Otherwise, we will do our best to bid her a dignified goodbye," Pandit tweeted.
Image source: The Indian Express
New York: Award winning writer and journalist Tom Wolfe, who is noted for works like "The Bonfire of the Vanities", "The Right Stuff" and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" has passed away in the US. He was 88.
Wolfe who pioneered "new journalism" passed away in Manhattan on Monday, his agent confirmed the news to the New York Times on Tuesday. He had been hospitalised with an infection.
Wolfe, who began working as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune in 1962, was a pioneer of "new journalism", which melded traditional reporting methods and literary fiction techniques.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1930, Wolfe attended Washington and Lee for undergraduate and Yale for his Ph.D. before moving to New York in the 1960s, the New York Post reported.
Wolfe worked as a reporter at the Springfield Union in Massachusetts and as the Latin American correspondent for the Washington Post.
His first book "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" was a collection of essays originally published in Esquire magazine.
While the stories have no connecting theme, this is the first book that gave early examples of New Journalism.
Wolfe's other books include "The Pump House Gang", "Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers", "The Painted Word" and "Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine" which includes his well-known essay about the "Me Decade."
His best-selling book "The Right Stuff" which is about rocket airplane experiments after World War II and the Project Mercury astronauts, won the American Book Award for nonfiction, the National Institute of Arts and Letters Harold Vursell Award for prose style, and the Columbia Journalism Award.
Wolfe's first novel "The Bonfire of the Vanities," was first serialised in Rolling Stone magazine and came out as a book three years later. It followed the greed, racism and social classes of New York City in the 1980s.
Wolfe is survived by his wife, Sheila, and two children, Alexandra and Tommy.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said all six people, including the two pilots aboard the six-seater twin-engined Piper PA-23 Apache plane, were killed.
Police said the plane landed on a house and erupted in flames. A resident of the house was also killed, Xinhua reported.
CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said the plane, operated by Lite Express, crashed in a residential area a few minutes after it took off at 11.21 a.m. It was reportedly bound for Laoag City in Ilocos Norter province.
As per reports, some vehicles were also crushed during the incident. Fire brigade, police and NDRF personnel are engaged in rescue work.
Speaking on the mishap, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is currently in Darjeeling has said that priority is being given on relief and rescue work.
"Our team is focused on relief and rescue work. Our priority is relief and rescue. Rest of the investigation will be done later," Banerjee said.
Urban Development and the Minister for Municipal Affairs Firhad Hakim said, "It was a 40-year-old bridge. As of now there has been no casualty, but search operations are underway, let us wait."
(With ANI inputs)
The police questioned Geeta, the eldest daughter of Kunwar Pal, who according to reports was the "self-styled god-woman" Lalit, one of the dead family members, had met.
Geeta was questioned for about two hours today and she denied having any association with the Chundawat family.
Her father, Kunwar Pal, said constructing a window was not feasible and therefore, pipes were put for ventilation.
The police is questioning the relatives, neighbours and employees of the family. More than 100 people have been quizzed so far.
According to the reports, Lalit had met Geeta recently, and he had told her that he would meet her again on July 10.
Geeta told the police she had nothing to do with the deaths and had never even exchanged an SMS with any of the family members, a fact confirmed by the call details of the cellphones recovered by the police from an almirah in the house on July 1.
"The only link Geeta has with the family is that she is the daughter of the mason. She told police she had never met Lalit," the officer said.
Geeta told the police that she was suffering from hypertension and several news channels had visited her and she said something "out of anger", which was reported.
"She said she had not entertained any news channels and was being portrayed in a wrong light. She had even suffered a paralytic stroke due to hypertension 10 years ago," the officer said.
He said she was "quite scared" during the questioning and told police that she sings in kirtans since she can sing well.
"Locals come to her for conducting poojas at her home. She also said that she performs poojas for sick children to cast off evil eye. She was never contacted by Lalit or any other member of the family and did not even know them," the investigator said.
The police questioned her father Kunwar Pal about the mystery of the pipes - all 11 of them protruding from a wall facing an empty plot, where there was no water outlet and the 11 rods on the entrance of the house.
The Chundawat family had denied any link between the 11 pipes and the deaths.
"Pal said the pipes were put since the family knew that the construction would begin on the adjacent plot and building a window won't be a feasible idea. They had asked him to put pipes for ventilation," the officer said.
He maintained that it was a "coincidence" that there were 11 pipes and 11 rods.
"The PVC pipes were left from some other construction work that was carried out and his labourers had put them without putting much thought into whether they were bent or they were 11 in number. Similarly, the 11 rods were also put because of the space and not because they had anything to do with the vaastu of the house," he added.
He said he had known the family for more than 22 years and was on good terms with Gopal Das, the patriarch of the Chundawat family. For 10 years, Pal had shifted for Bawana since a lot of construction work was happening there.
He returned to Burari in 2011 and met the family and was informed Das had passed away. The family assured him they would contact him if there was any work that was needed to be done.
In 2017, the family was planning to get their house renovated and called him for it. He told police that he learnt about the deaths of the members on July 1 when he was about to leave Delhi to attend a relative's wedding.
He told the police that the family owed him money for the construction work and he would now contact Dinesh Singh Chundwat, Lalit's elder brother, to settle his dues.
Ten of the 11 members of the deceased family were found hanged from an iron-mesh in the ceiling of the house on Sunday, while the body of 77-year-old Narayan Devi, the head of the family, was lying on the floor in a room of the house.
Her daughter Pratibha (57) and her two sons Bhavnesh (50) and Lalit (45) were among the deceased.
Bhavnesh's wife Savita (48) and their three children - Maneka (23), Neetu (25), and Dhirendra (15) were also found dead.
The others found hanging were Lalit's wife Tina (42), their 15-year-old son Dushyant and Pratibha's daughter Priyanka, who was engaged last month and was supposed to get married by year-end.
On Wednesday, the police retrieved the CCTV camera footage that showed some members bringing stools and wires that were used for their hanging. They had also found 11 diaries which had "psychological musings" and things about attaining "road to God".
The incident occurred around 3 pm near Aboi when armed cadres ambushed a team comprising six Assam Rifles personnel, said the PRO to the Inspector General of Assam Rifles.
Havildar Fateh Singh Negi and Sepoy Hungnga Konyak died on the spot while four others suffered critical bullet injuries, he said, adding that the injured were hospitalised.
The security men retaliated the attack, but casualty on the other side was yet to be ascertained.
The PRO said the involvement of suspected Naga underground groups in the ambush was not yet confirmed while there have been no claims made by any group.
Image source: Reuters/Representative image
Angry parents and locals gathered outside the school premises this morning and staged protest for over two hours demanding a CBI probe into the gruesome murder while expressing their displeasure over the investigation being carried out by the Gurgaon Police.
They also demanded that the school management be booked for the murder of boy.
"The Ryan International School management has suspended acting principal Neerja Batra and removed all the security staff," District Public Relation Officer R S Sangwan said.
The boy, a Class II student, was allegedly killed by a bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, who also tried to sexually abuse the minor. The accused was arrested hours after the gruesome murder.
Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, Vinay Pratap Singh has also asked District Education Officer Neelam Bhandari to submit a detailed report on the matter by tomorrow.
The post mortem was carried out and the boy''s body was handed over to his father, officials said.
The boy''s father, Varun Thakur, who works as a quality manager with a private firm in Gurgaon, had accused the school administration of negligence.
According to reports, the elderly man was on his way to Rupsa from Basta area in his bicycle when the van of Basta police station hit him from behind near Mirigimundi on National Highway-60 this morning.
However, a few eye witnesses alleged that the van did not stop after hitting him and subsequently the man succumbed to his injuries.
The locals alleged that if the police personnel sitting inside the van would have rushed the man to nearby hospital, he would not have died.
When contacted, Basta police station Inspector-in-Charge accepted that the elderly man was run over by the police vehicle.
Further details are awaited.
Earlier yesterday, tension was reported when a deceased woman of Patrakoti village was being taken to the burial ground and it was opposed by the residents of Dhodrapara village.
The situation worsened when the locals of Patrakoti and the woman's family members staged a road blockade by placing the dead body on Raighar-Kundai road.
Although Umerkote Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Tehsildar and Block Development Officer (BDO) rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the agitating villagers, the deadlock could not be resolved. The villagers left the woman's body on the middle of the road. Later, the woman was buried by police and the officials of the administration, informed sources.
Today, the villagers alleged that the concerned administration and police buried the woman's body at midnight on Thursday forcefully without following proper rituals.
The protestors blocked Raighar-Umerkote-Kumdai road by burning tyres and also shut down various shops and other business establishments of the town today.
On being informed, Nabarangpur SP Bibekananda Sharma rushed to the spot and cleared the road blockade restoring vehicular movement on the route. However, the situation is yet to be brought under control, informed sources.
"After he complained of pain in his chest and suffered a heart attack, he was rushed to Kauvery hospital in the afternoon. Efforts were made to revive him but unfortunately he passed away around 2 p.m.," a family source told IANS.
Born as Mohan Rangachari in 1952, Mohan's first stint with writing began in college, where he was studying Mechanical Engineering, when he wrote the script for "Great Bank Robbery" for an inter-collegiate contest.
He then started writing scripts for his brother Maadhu Balaji's drama troupe. In 1976, Mohan wrote his first full-length play called "Crazy Thieves in Paalavakkam", thereby earning the moniker 'Crazy' in his name.
By 1979, Mohan started his own drama troupe Crazy Creations which went on to create over 30 plays that have been staged over 6,500 times till date. Some of their popular plays include "Chocolate Krishna", "Satellite Saamiyar", "Marriage Made in Saloon" and "Return of Crazy Thieves", among others.
In 1983, Mohan made his film debut as a writer for K. Balachander's "Poikkal Kuthirai", which was based on Mohan's own play "Marriage Made in Saloon". The film featured Kamal Haasan in a cameo.
As a writer, Mohan was widely popular for his association with Kamal Haasan in multiple Tamil comedies which include "Sathi Leelavathi", "Michael Madana Kama Rajan", "Apoorva Sagodharargal", "Avvai Shanmugi", "Panchatanthiram" and "Vasool Raja MBBS".
Mohan forayed into television in 1989 and produced popular comedy serials, which include "Crazy", "Kalyanathukku Kalyanama" and "Vidathu Sirippu".
Mohan was a recipient of the Kalaimamani award given by the Tamil Nadu government for excellence in the field of art and literature.
Condoling his death, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami in a statement said Mohan made a mark for himself in the theatre and movie fields and used to deal with others in a kind manner.
His death is a loss to the theatre and movie field, Palaniswami said.
DMK President M.K. Stalin said though Mohan was an engineer, he had his own fan club with his comedy dramas and movie dialogues.
The Sri Lankan Army defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 after 26 years of bloody conflict. During this time, Rajapaksa was the country's Defence Secretary and played a leading role in crushing bringing the war to an end.
Rajapaksa made the remarks while meeting with UN resident co-ordinator Hanaa Singer in Colombo on Monday, reports the BBC.
In a statement issued by his office said that most of the missing had been conscripted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"President Rajapaksa outlined his plans to address the issue of missing persons. He explained that these missing persons are actually dead," the statement said.
"The families of the missing attest to it. However, they do not know what has become of them and so claim them to be missing," it said, adding that steps would be taken to issue death certificates.
Under Sri Lankan law, not having death certificates means that families cannot access property deeds, bank accounts or inheritances left by those missing relatives.
Hundreds of families of the missing have been attending rallies demanding to know where their loved ones are. They meet and hold daily vigils to protest and to keep their relatives' memories alive.
The war divided Sri Lanka along ethnic lines - pitting the majority Buddhist Sinhalese-dominated government against Tamil rebels who wanted a separate state.
The fighting killed an estimated 100,000 people and left about 20,000, mostly Tamils, missing, the BBC said in its report.
Enforced disappearances continued in the years after the war as businessmen, journalists and activists seen as opponents of Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda, who was then President, were rounded up and never seen again.
But, the Rajapaksa government denied any role in the disappearances.
Earlier this year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the BBC that war crimes allegations against him were "baseless."
(IANS)