River festival facing changes


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say what a fantastic event the river festival was. The atmos- phere was brilliant, brilliant bands performing on the river, great raft race and the fireworks at the end were superb. It was a great day and fantastic for our county town. Well done to everybody involved; we really appreciate it.” The weather veered from scorching sunshine to torren- tial rain, and during down- pours up to 300 people sheltered beneath the town bridge. One visitor who didn’t mind the rainwas a seal, which appeared in the River Medway during the raft race and has been nicknamed Bernie. Just three arrests were made during the festival – a 40-year- old man on suspicion of shoplifting, a 30-year-old man on suspicion of common as- sault and a 26-year-old woman on suspicion of theft. Mr Cox wished to thank all


those who gave their time or money to make this year’s festi- val a success, from more than 60 volunteers to the sponsors and particularly Maidstone Council. Anyone who wishes to help organise, run or sponsor next year’s event can call Martin Cox on 01622 688945.


Tragic Shruti’s cocaine suicide


A BRIGHT young student who died from a high dose of co- caine had written “Take my or- gans” in red ink on her wrist. Shruti Baral (22), was found


on her bedroom floor by her 17- year-old brother Satchet on Feb- ruary 17, at the home they shared with their mother in Emsworth Grove, Vinters Park. Shortly before her death, the geography undergraduate had posted a picture of herself on Facebook with the message “Re- member me”. A Maidstone inquest heard


that she left handwritten docu- ments in her room in which she mentioned suicide methods, as well as property she wished to bequeath. Detective Constable David


Taft said there was no evidence of suspicious circumstances or third party involvement. Shruti, a former Invicta Gram-


mar School pupil, was not in the habit of taking drugs. De- spite her happy exterior, she


suffered from depression and had sought help from her uni- versity’s psychological services unit in London. Dr David Rouse, who con- ducted a post mortem examina- tion, said she died from cocaine poisoning. Analysis of the drug found in her room revealed a relatively high purity of 69%. Her boyfriend, Benjamin Pakhrin, who had known her


New car wash attempt ALI Hoxha has resubmitted an application to set up a car wash and valeting service at Square Hill Motors, Square Hill, Maidstone. Maidstone Council turned down his previous application in May over highway safety con- cerns. His latest application said the car wash would not generate “excessive additional traffic” compared with current use of the site.


for more than two years, said she told him she had sought help for her depression, but did not want to talk about her prob- lems. On the night before she was


found dead, she had sent him and some close friends a text asking: “What would you re- member me by if I were to die tomorrow?” Early next morning, he no-


ticed she had updated her Face- book page, which had been deactivated, with a picture and message asking people to re- member her. He tried to contact her, but got no reply. Mid Kent Coroner Patricia Harding said Shruti suffered from “ a very private depres- sion”, adding: “her public face was one of a very happy bright young lady”. Recording a verdict that she


killed herself, the coroner said: “I am satisfied that she died by a deliberate act with the inten- tion of causing her death.”


Office conversion plan DAVID Rolfe has applied to convert an office at 65 College Road, Maidstone into a residential dwelling. A supporting statement said: “Having mar-


keted the above property to find a new office ten- ant for nearly a year, we have had no interest.” Maidstone Council will determine the appli- cation.


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