Kodagu forest officials rescue 5 elephants stuck overnight in water reservoir

Wildlife

The incident comes less than a week after an elephant was shot dead by unknown assailants in the same area.

Mubarak

In a rescue operation which lasted nearly four hours, forest officials in Kodagu district rescued five elephants stuck in a water reservoir in Palangala village in Virajpet taluk of the district. The herd of elephants was spotted on Tuesday night as they were passing through a coffee plantation near Palangala. "We presume the herd arrived at the pond in search of water. However, in the process they must have fallen into the water," Regional Forest Officer (RFO) Gopal said. According to the RFO, the reservoir was dug up by farmers during the summer to water the coffee plantation. "Due to darkness, the herd must have fallen into the pond," he added. Forest officials reached the spot at around 8 am on Wednesday morning after being alerted by Mittu Aiyappa, a coffee grower in Palangala. However, the operation was delayed due to the late arrival of the earthmover machine. While one group of rescue officials carved a way out of the pond using an excavator machine, another group burst crackers to scare the animal in the direction of the forest area. "Eventually, around 11.30am we were able to rescue all the mammals from the water body, " RFO said.  According to officials, shortage of rain in the region and scarcity of grazing forest area has increased the human-animal conflict especially in Palangala. Over the last few years, forest officials have attempted to dig trenches, set up solar and iron fences, spike pillars, among the solutions to resolve the human-animal conflict in Kodagu. However, the issue continues to persist. Over the years, forest officials have attempted digging elephant trenches, setting up solar fencing, iron fencing, spike pillars among other solutions to resolve this problem. While locals along with officials have recently rescued about nine elephants in the last month from water reservoirs, one elephant was shot-dead by unidentified assailants. The elephant was shot dead last Thursday in the same village by unidentified assailants and forest officials are investigating the case. Also read: Elephant shot dead in Kodagu village, shooter absconding Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

Body 2: 

from Karnataka http://bit.ly/2Irp68I
via IFTTT

T-shirt logo helps Bengaluru police arrest 3 accused of murder

Crime

The cops identified a distinct logo printed on the t-shirt of one of the accused.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru city police arrested 3 individuals, accused of murdering a 46-year-old daily wage labourer, by identifying a distinct logo which one of the culprits had on the t-shirt he was wearing. The three accused, identified as Lokesh (21), Sevaraj (19) and Sunil (20) reportedly saw the victim, Sathyasheelan, carrying two sachets of whiskey. When attempting to steal the sachets away from him, they stabbed him in the back with a knife, after the victim put up a fight. Sathyasheelan fell down near a roadside garbage dump and died. The incident took place on March 25 in Bengaluru’s Cox Town neighbourhood. Following the incident, Pulikeshinagar police were alerted by residents in the area who initially assumed the victim was drunk and passed out on the road. While police initially suspected that the man had died after a fatal fall, post mortem reports revealed a stab injury on his chest. This led cops to probe the incident further. “The autopsy report from Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital said Satyasheelan died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of the stab injury on the back of his chest. A case of suspicious death was registered and we formed a team led by inspector Firoz Mohammed. They cracked the case and arrested the accused,” said DCP (east) Rahulkumar Shahapurwad to TOI. One of the accused was wearing a white t-shirt with an ‘L’ printed on it. This was visible in the CCTV footage which the cops were looking through and using this clue, they were able to track down the culprits. According to reports, police officials were able to locate the accused, who were hiding in a graveyard, after gathering necessary basic information from the CCTV footage. When police tracked down the accused, they confessed to the crime. The knife used to commit the crime was also retrieved. The accused have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka http://bit.ly/2UAjTTG
via IFTTT

From abortion to immigration, things you didn’t know were in Medicare for All

from Health Care https://politi.co/2Uv25cu
via IFTTT

Sanders unveils revamped 'Medicare for All' plan

from Health Care https://politi.co/2Gfw6V2
via IFTTT

Rejected 11 times before getting voter ID, B’luru trans woman to vote for first time

Lok Sabha 2019

Riyanna, who finally received her voter ID card on Tuesday, will be one among several members of the transgender community who will be voting for the first time.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

As the entire nation gears up for the Lok Sabha Elections, 22-year-old Riyanna from Bengaluru is all smiles as she is set to cast her vote for the very first time. “I have been applying for a voter ID card for the past three years. After having my application rejected 11 times, I have finally got it now,” she says. Riyanna, who finally received her voter ID card on Tuesday, will be one among several members of the transgender community in India who will be voting in a major election for the first time. Riyanna says she applied for the voter ID when she turned 18 but was rejected 11 times until she finally got it recently. “Getting the voter ID itself was so difficult for me because my application was rejected because of confusion. Despite being a citizen in the country, it was so difficult for me to get the ID because I am a member of the transgender community. But that is all the more reason that it is important for more people from the community to vote,” says Riyanna. The 22-year-old resident of Bengaluru will be voting from the Bengaluru Central on polling day. As she recounts the stress of obtaining a voter ID card, she emphasizes how crucial it is that everyone votes. “Something as simple as applying for a voter card becomes so difficult and complicated when you are from the transgender community. After having my application rejected so many times, I finally approached the Shantinagar MLA and told him about the difficulty I was facing in obtaining the voter ID. It was with his help that I was ultimately able to get my voter card,” she says, adding that this is why she feels it is important to have government representatives who are sensitive to the problems faced by transgender people. There are three major issues Riyanna feels need to be addressed for the betterment of transgender people in society: shelter, education and medical insurance. “I am one of the lucky ones, I get to stay at home with my family and I have a job. But what about the people who have been kicked out of their homes and have no place to go or no one to support them? It is crucial that the government helps to provide shelter for trans persons who require it,” she says. Riyanna also stresses that equal education opportunities be provided by the government to members of the transgender community, which she feels is how they will also be able to contribute to the betterment of society. “Not just that, but we also face a lot of difficulty when seeking healthcare. The government should take the responsibility of ensuring that all transgender people are covered with medical insurance.” 

Body 2: 

from Karnataka http://bit.ly/2v5l9yZ
via IFTTT

SC Collegium recommends Justice AS Oka as new Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court

Courts

Justice AS Oka is currently the senior-most judge in the Bombay High Court.

TNM Staff

The Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday recommended the name of senior Bombay High Court judge Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka to be the new Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.   In an official resolution dated April 8, the three most senior judges of Supreme Court which constitute the Collegium, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, and Justices SA Bobde and NV Ramana, said, “Mr Justice AS Oka is the senior-most judge from Bombay High Court and is functioning in that High Court since his elevation. Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Mr Justice AS Oka suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. The Collegium resolves to recommend accordingly." It added, “While making the above recommendation the Collegium is conscious of the fact that consequent upon the proposed appointment, there will be two Chief Justices from Bombay High Court which is the second largest High Court in the country with a sanctioned strength of 94 Judges.” The appointment of a new Chief Justice was necessitated as Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, the erstwhile Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, was elevated as a Supreme Court judge in January. Currently, Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy is the Acting Chief Justice of the Karnataka HC since January 17 following a Union Law Ministry notification stating the same. Along with Karnataka, the new Chief Justices of Rajasthan, Kerala, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh HCs were recommended. A Live Law profile on Justice Oka states, “A glance of some judgments authored by Justice Oka undoubtedly reveals that he is a judge with a liberal outlook, who gives weightage to civil liberties over powers of the state.” He has given many landmark judgements including those revolving around noise pollution, the rights of atheists and the right to give “no religion” as an option in government application forms, a judgement striking down the beef ban in Maharashtra and encouraging prison reforms, among others. According to the Bombay HC’s official website, born on May 25, 1960, Justice Oka started practising as an advocate in Thane district court in June, 1983 after completing his BSc, LLM from University of Bombay. He later joined the chamber of VP Tipnis, a former Judge of the Bombay High Court and former Lokayukta. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in August 2003 and later as a permanent Judge in November 2005.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka http://bit.ly/2IplLXQ
via IFTTT

60-year-old man accused of raping, impregnating minor girl in Karnataka

Crime

Over a period of four months, the man, a former BJP gram panchayat member, allegedly raped the girl multiple times.

TNM Staff

A man has been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl over a period of four months and impregnating her in Karnataka’s Ballari district.  According to the complaint filed by the girl’s mother on Tuesday at the Hospet Rural Police Station, 60-year-old Chandrashekar had allegedly told the girl he would pay her to do household chores. The teen girl worked at a tea stall, and every day after school she would go there to work, according to the complaint. Chandrashekar allegedly began frequenting the tea stall a year ago. He allegedly paid the teen amounts varying from Rs 25 to Rs 50 and asked her to run errands for him. Chandrashekar is a former BJP gram panchayat member. “He would allegedly tell her that she could go to him and ask him for help if she ever needed and gained her trust. After a few months, he would give her small amounts of money and ask her to buy sweets or whatever she wanted to. We are very poor and so my daughter took the money from him,” the complaint notes. About four months ago, Chandrashekar allegedly asked the girl to help him out with some chores at his residence. When the minor girl arrived, Chandrashekar allegedly pulled her into his house and locked the door. “He told her that no one was at home. He forced himself on her and raped her. He then gave her Rs 50 and told her that if she spoke about the incident, he would kill her and all her family members,” the complaint reads. Chandrashekar allegedly raped the girl multiple times over a period of four months and each time, he would allegedly offer her Rs 50 and ask her not to speak to anyone about the incident. The mother grew concerned after the girl’s menstrual cycle stopped, according to the complaint. On April 8, the teen was taken to a gynecologist and it was found that she was pregnant. “My daughter was scared to tell us and finally she told us what Chandrashekar had done,” the complaint adds. An FIR was registered against Chandrashekar under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and under sections 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault) and 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. Chandrashekar is currently at large and the Hospet Rural Police are looking out for him.  

Body 2: 

from Karnataka http://bit.ly/2VBzjDg
via IFTTT