Prayagraj: Floods displace many, but policeman welcomes Ganga with rituals at his doorstep
In the video, sub-inspector Chandradeep Nishad, a resident of Mori locality in Daraganj area of the city, is seen dressed in his uniform and pouring milk and offering rose petals while chanting 'Jai Ganga Maiya main dhann ho gaya ki aap mere darbar pe aashirwad dene aaye' (Hail Mother Ganga, I feel blessed that you arrived at my home to bless me.) He is seen barefoot while performing the rituals.
The sub-inspector can be further heard thanking the river for gracing his house after having blessed over 66 crore devotees during the 45-day Mahakumbh 2025, which was held earlier this year on the banks of the Sangam in Prayagraj.
After the rituals, another video shows the sub-inspector diving into the floodwaters from the balcony of the first floor of his two-storey house, expressing his joy.
The sub-inspector belongs to the Other Backward Classes Nishad community, comprising fishermen.
The policeman is currently posted as the personal security officer of a judge, as mentioned on his social media platform.
His videos have sparked mixed reactions online with some calling it an act of reverence and others criticising it as a publicity stunt amid a natural calamity.
Pappu Lal Nishad, president of Prayagraj Navik Sangh (an organisation of boatmen, said, 'Every member of the Nishad community has a special connection with Maa Ganga as the river not only sustains our livelihood but also protects us from all dangers. There is nothing wrong in what sub-inspector Chandradeep Nishad did. It is an act of showing reverence.'
'The same reverence is visible at the Bade Hanuman temple (in Prayagraj). When Ganga water enters the temple premises every year, it is not a flood for devotees, but instead considered as Maa Gange having come to bathe Lord Hanuman,' he added. A senior police official on condition of anonymity said the sub-inspector had worshipped the 'holy Ganga' which was not a crime.
'He did not do anything that would put a scar on the uniform. It was just plain puja. Belonging to the Nishad community, the connection with the river is not something unusual,' he added.
A plaque the sub-inspector's home reads 'Nishad Raj Bhavan, Mori, Daraganj, Prayagraj.' A nameplate mentions his official designation as 'Sub-Inspector Chandradeep Nishad, Uttar Pradesh Police.'
His instagram account describes him as a national swimmer, UP Police Swimming Champion. A Lucknow University graduate, he has an account on several other social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook and X.
Prayagraj has received heavy rain and witnessed a rise in water level of both the Ganga and the Yamuna from July 28 onwards.
The Sangam city was close to surpassing its worst floods of 1978 on Monday.
Floodwaters have already displaced around 8000 residents of 61 Nagar Nigam wards in Prayagraj, according to district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma.
The water level of the Ganga in Prayagraj's Phaphamau was recorded at 86.07 metres at 12 noon on Monday, according to the irrigation department.
The Yamuna river was flowing at 86.08 metres in Naini, according to the irrigation department. The danger mark is at 84.73 metres for both the rivers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Aadhaar-linked insurance fraud alert: Insurance scams on the rise; UP Police probe bogus claims using fake identities
Fraudsters are increasingly exploiting Aadhaar-linked identity systems to file bogus insurance claims, prompting a large-scale probe by the Uttar Pradesh Police and a renewed industry push to tighten oversight across health, life, and motor insurance sectors. According to officials, criminals have now moved beyond PIN code manipulation — a fraud technique previously used to bypass claim verification filters — and are forging Aadhaar documents to obtain insurance policies or process fictitious claims, ET reported. As of late July, UP Police have sent notices to multiple insurers, seeking details of claims executives and internal fraud-control teams involved in suspicious transactions. 'Aadhaar is emerging as the latest weak link in the fraud chain,' said Anukriti Sharma, Additional Superintendent of Police, Sambhal. 'Fraudsters have started creating fake identities using forged or manipulated Aadhaar cards to obtain policies and to initiate fictitious claims.' According to industry estimates, fraud accounts for 10–15% of total insurance claims in India. Many of these involve organised rackets that stretch from rural villages to hospital corridors, where vulnerable individuals are persuaded to share Aadhaar details in exchange for monetary incentives. The details are then used to purchase high-value policies, often with the help of small finance banks that offer minimal scrutiny. 'We have had 2–3 cases tied to the UP fraud,' said Krishnan Ramachandran, MD and CEO of Niva Bupa Health Insurance. 'Our fraud investigation team is actively involved. These cases often involve fake documents and coordinated efforts.' Insurers are now increasingly flagging suspicious data and reporting it to the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), the sector's central fraud-monitoring agency. The IIB has been stepping up its use of analytics modules to detect patterns across claims and verify anomalies. One such module, which holds over 144 million records, helped identify 3 lakh potentially fraudulent life insurance cases involving a sum assured of Rs 1.73 lakh crore over the past five years. In several cases under investigation, police found that fraudsters altered Aadhaar-linked phone numbers and email addresses to prevent insurers from verifying claims with actual policyholders. These discrepancies often remain undetected until funds are withdrawn or a claim is processed. The probe also revealed that in many instances, claims were filed in the names of people who were either deceased or terminally ill, with syndicates using altered addresses to bypass blacklisted PIN codes. Policies of Rs 20 lakh or more were often involved. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays .
Hindustan Times
12 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim granted 40-day parole
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is convicted of rape and murder, walked out of Rohtak's Sunaria jail on Tuesday after he was granted a 40-day parole. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is convicted of rape and murder, walked out of Rohtak's Sunaria jail on Tuesday after he was granted a 40-day parole. (HT file photo) Ram Rahim left the jail early in the morning and headed to the Sirsa headquarters of the dera in a motorcade. This is his 14th temporary release from the jail since 2020. 'The parole is as per the law and Ram Rahim Singh will stay at his Sirsa-headquartered dera during his parole,' Dera spokesperson and advocate Jitender Khurana said. The dera head, who will turn 58 on August 15, was convicted in 2017 for raping two of his disciples. He along with three others were also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago. Ram Rahim's parole and furloughs have been a matter of contention and raised by the families of the victims. Following the grant of the 40-day parole, the dera head has exhausted the count of days he is allowed to stay out of the prison in a calendar year by getting temporary release mandated under the law for a convicted prisoner which is 10 weeks of parole and 21 days of furlough. He was granted a 21-day furlough in April and a 30-day parole in January, ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly elections. By the time he returns to Sunaria jail at the end of his parole, he would have been out of prison for three months this year. In all, he has spent 326 days out of jail so far. He was granted a 20-day parole on October 1 last year, days before the October 5 Haryana assembly polls. In August last year, he was granted a 21-day furlough. He was granted a three-week furlough from February 7, 2022, barely two weeks before the Punjab assembly elections. Sikh organisations, such as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, have criticised the grant of relief to the dera head in the past. On most of the 13 occasions in the past when he was out of jail, he remained at the dera's ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat. In May last year, the Punjab and Haryana high court had acquitted him and four others in the 2002 murder of the sect's former manager Ranjit Singh, citing 'tainted and sketchy investigation'. Earlier, a special CBI court had sentenced them to life imprisonment in the nearly 20-year-old murder case. It held the dera head guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy with his co-accused. The Dera Sacha Sauda has a number of followers in Haryana's Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar districts and adjoining areas of Punjab and Rajasthan besides western UP. (With PTI inputs)
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Firms in Odisha now must get consent from women for night shift duties
The Mohan Majhi government in Odisha has asked shops and commercial establishments employing women in night shifts to obtain written consent from them if they are willing to work late shifts. The notification explicitly prohibits the employment of adolescents during night shifts. (HT Photo) The official notice, released by the Labour & ESI department under Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956, said employers must obtain written consent from women willing to work night shifts, ensuring voluntary participation. 'To prevent isolation, a minimum of three women, including an onsite woman employer if applicable, must be present during such shifts. Employers required to provide vehicles equipped with GPS tracking for pick-up and drop-off at or near women employees' residences. Additionally, employers must verify the biodata and police records of all drivers, whether directly employed or hired through service providers, to mitigate risks. Employers are mandated to provide well-lit washrooms and drinking water facilities near workstations, equipped with CCTV surveillance covering passages to these amenities,' the government notification said. The guidelines further stipulate a minimum of eight consecutive hours of rest between shifts when transitioning between day and night duties, prioritising the health and well-being of women employees. Compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, is mandatory. Employers have to submit a self-certification through the labour department's online portal, affirming adherence to all safety and dignity provisions. The notification explicitly prohibits the employment of adolescents during night shifts.
