Man arrested for killing mother-daughter duo at Kodagu coffee estate

Crime

According to the police, the suspect said he killed the two on April 30, after they repeatedly disregarded his warning to pass through his land to reach their property.

TNM Staff

Two days after the bodies of a mother-daughter duo were found at a coffee estate in Kodagu, the police have arrested Dileep, a resident of Somwarpet, in connection with their brutal murder. According to the police, the suspect has admitted that he killed 45-year-old woman Kavitha and her 17-year-old daughter Jagashree on April 30 after they repeatedly disregarded his warning not walk through his land to reach their property. Police have said that on Tuesday, Dileep waylaid the mother-daughter duo when they were walking towards to their land. Following an argument, Dileep killed them with a sharp-edged tool (used for cultivation), the police said. Also read: Kodagu shocker: Mother-daughter duo found brutally murdered in coffee estate The incident came to light after Kavitha's son was unable to contact his mother and sister on Tuesday, prompting a search operation for the duo. They were found murdered inside their family-owned coffee estate in Doddamalte village. According to police officials investigating the case, Kavita's husband had died a few years ago and Kavita and her daughter were cultivating in the agricultural land that was left behind. Jagashree, a student of St Philomena College in Hassan, had come home for her summer holidays and was helping out her mother in the estate when the incident occurred. The neighbours of the two women had earlier told the police that they had a dispute with Dileep, a nearby resident over crossing the pathway through his property to reach their land. He had allegedly threatened to assault them if they passed through his property again. Police officials were informed of the dispute and began investigating whether this issue was related to the crime. Police questioned three persons, including Dileep, and eventually, Dileep allegedly confessed to killing the duo. With inputs from http://bit.ly/2DX7vnh and Scribes Media Ventures LLP).

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25 candidates in fray for two Karnataka assembly bye-polls on May 19

Elections

17 candidates are in the fray for the Chincholi (SC) seat in Kalaburagi district and 8 for the Kundagol seat in Dharwad.

IANS

A total of 25 candidates, including four women, are in the fray for the two assembly bye-elections in Karnataka on May 19, an official said on Thursday. "After the last day of withdrawals today (Thursday), 17 candidates are in the fray for the Chincholi (SC) seat in Kalaburagi district and 8 for the Kundagol seat in Dharwad," the official said. Prominent among the candidates for Chincholi are Avinash Umesh Jadhav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Subhash V Rathod of the Congress and Gautam Bomnalli of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Avinash is the son of Umesh Jadhav, whose resignation from the seat necessitated the bye-election. Jadhav senior quit the Congress and joined the BJP in early March. He had contested the Gulbarga (SC) constituency against Congress leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Besides the three main contestants, 11 Independents, including two women, are in the race along with three others. In the Kundagol contest, Kusumavati Channabasappa is contesting from the Congress against S.I. Chikkanagoudar of the BJP. The remaining six, including a woman, are Independents. The seat was held by state Minister C.S. Shivalli, whose death on March 22 necessitated the bye-poll. The Congress has fielded his widow. A three-time legislator, Chikkanagoudar lost to Shivalli by a margin of 633 votes in the May 2018 Assembly elections. He is also related to BJP's state unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa, who will campaign for him. Congress Legislative Party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state unit President Dinesh Gundu Rao will campaign for Kusumavati. Vote count is on May 23 along with that of 28 Lok Sabha seats for which polling was held in two phases on April 18 and April 23.

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Trump strengthens protections for religious health workers

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Video of Sumalatha and Congress leaders sharing a meal out, will coalition survive?

Lok Sabha 2019

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has demanded that action be taken against the Congress rebels.

Theja Ram

A feud has once again erupted between the Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka, after a video of Congress leaders having dinner with independent candidate Sumalatha went viral on Wednesday. JD(S) insiders say that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was furious with the Congress and allegedly demanded that the party take action against rebels. In a video that went viral on Wednesday, Congress leaders Cheluvarayaswamy, HC Balakrishna, Ravi Ganiga and Malavalli Shivanna, were seen having dinner with independent candidate from Mandya, Sumalatha Ambareesh. Sumalatha is up against Congress-JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is the son of HD Kumaraswamy. Several Congress leaders had openly supported Sumalatha, due to the decades-long rivalry the party had with JD(S) and because of their loyalty to her late husband Ambareesh. With the video doing the rounds, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is said to have held talks with KC Venugopal, the Congress leader in-charge of Karnataka. “Kumaraswamy wants the high command to take action against the rebel leaders as he believes that they worked against his son Nikhil during the election campaign,” the JD(S) source said. Speaking to the media, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao stated that the party could not simply suspend its leaders without any proof that they were indulging in anti-party activities. “Just because they were seen having dinner does not prove that they were working against the party. We will conduct an investigation and if there was any foul play, we will take action," he said. Dinesh Gundu Rao also turned the tables on the JD(S) and asked what action it was taking against its party members who worked against the alliance. "It is true that the JD(S) did not support us in Kolar and Mysuru segments owing to certain differences. GT Devegowda has said that the JD(S) supported the BJP candidate in Mysuru. JD(S) has not yet given any clarity on what action they will take in this regard,” Dinesh Gundu Rao said. Congress sources, however, say that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was livid at GT Devegowdá's statement. Party insiders say that Siddaramaiah held a telephonic conversation with Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and demanded that Primary Education Minister GT Devegowda and Tourism Minister Sa Ra Mahesh, JD(S) leaders in-charge of Mysuru for the Lok Sabha polls, must be dropped from the cabinet after the results are announced. The fresh feud has resulted in speculation that the coalition government may fall after the Lok Sabha poll results are out.  “Siddaramaiah has warned that if action is not taken against GT Devegowda and Sa Ra Mahesh, the coalition government may be at risk. Kumaraswamy has also asked Congress high command to take action. Both of them are fighting about rebels and Siddaramaiah has instructed party leaders to not take any action against anyone till counting is over,” the source added.     

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Monkey issue in Bengaluru, but activists say their relocation isn’t the answer

Environment

Activists argue that relocating the monkeys would be akin to killing them.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational Image

More and more monkeys are entering Bengaluru in search of food, affecting residents living apartment complexes in newer parts of the city. The monkey's movement into city limits is likely the result of Bengaluru’s continued expansion into the outskirts, coupled with depletion of vegetation and encroachment into surrounding forest lands. The problem is especially rampant during the summer months in newly-developed parts of the city. Lakshmi Dutta, who lives in an apartment complex on Sarjapura Road, said, that for one month, they were terrorised by a single monkey. “It would scare children, enter our apartments, create a ruckus and make a mess everywhere.” Panicked by the sudden invasion, residents of these localities have called on the BBMP and the Forest Department to relocate the animals into forest areas. The flurry of calls has prompted the state Forest Department to allow the relocation under Section 11(1-A) of the Wildlife Protection Act, which deals with norms related to translocating, killing or injuring wild animals. Speaking on this, Chief Conse­rvator of Forests, Bengaluru, said, “Although there are hardly any reports of violence from the monkeys, the department has got calls from many localities. So we will allow relocation by trained professionals in the presence of department officials. The monkeys usually feed on piles of vegetable waste and garbage.” “We are making efforts to ensure that no animal is harmed during relocation,” he added. But animal rights activists in Bengaluru have opposed the relocation tactic. They argue that these monkeys are not harmful and relocating them will have a grave affect on them. Wildlife activist Arun Prasad said, “Today’s problem is the result of neglect shown by authorities.  Encroachment into forest lands and the unregulated chopping of trees has not been checked for years. Relocating the monkeys is akin to killing them as they are territorial and will fight with other groups over their relocated land.” “These routes taken by the monkeys have remained the same over the years, unlike the haphazard development of our cities. It is not that monkeys come and attack people or stay in populated areas for long. Due to development, there are hardly any guava or jackfruit trees left in the city. Monkeys have nothing to feed on, so they scurry through garbage piles in residential areas,” he added. A letter from Arun and others activists has been submitted to the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Subhash K Malkhede to prevent the relocation. Vijay Nishanth, an eco-conservationist based in the city, said, “These areas where the problem is prevalent used to be forest land. There is no way other than to co-survive. The Forest Department should be the responsible authority as they know how to deal with the situation.”

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Rationalist Narendra Nayak busts ‘third eye’ scam in Karnataka village

Beliefs

The group promoting the children also claimed that the skill of seeing with the blindfold on can be acquired in ten days and also charged exorbitant amounts of money for it.

TNM Staff

Rationalist Narendra Nayak has put to rest another superstitious belief – this time, one that claimed that children can see in spite of being blindfolded. The claim was made by a group of people in Aldur village in Chikkamagaluru. Children studying in the Aldur Government School were blindfolded and made to cycle on the road and read texts in January. It was promoted as an ancient Indian technique of 'Gandhari Vidye'. One of the students, speaking to the media, even claimed that he was able to see through the 'third eye' which was open. The group promoting the children also claimed that the skill of seeing with the blindfold on can be acquired in ten days and also charged exorbitant amounts of money for it. On Thursday, rationalist Narendra Nayak demonstrated how the ‘skill’ works, at a publicised event at the BGS Pre University College. "We trained children to do the same thing and they did it. There is no skill involved here. The children see through the gaps. I also invited the audience to ask questions to the children about how they did it," explains Narendra Nayak. Narendra is a well known rationalist and has been busting myths and superstitions for over ten years now. The latest scam revealed by him is similar to the 'Mid Brain Activation' scam created by an organisation which took lakhs of rupees from unaware victims in nearby Dakshina Kannada district. In this scam, children from the ages of 6 to 16 are targeted. The parents of the children are told that 'mid-brain activation' will improve the memory and concentration levels of children and will therefore help them study better. The children are made to do activities like eyeball exercise, dancing, and listening to various sounds. The Federation of Indian Rationalists Association led by Narendra Nayak had previously lodged a complaint with officials in Dakshina Kannada district.

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Noted Kannada theatre artiste, film actor Master Hirannaiah dies at 84

Obituary

Among the noteworthy Sandalwood films Hiarannaiah acted in include ‘Lancha Samarajya’, ‘Niranthara’, ‘Operation Antha’.

TNM Staff

Noted theatre artiste, Sandalwood actor, satirist and TV actor Hirannaiah passed away in Bengaluru on Thursday. Known to his peers as Master Hirannaiah, the veteran actor was admitted to BGS Hospital in Bengaluru four days ago. However, he did not respond to treatment and passed away on Thursday morning. He was 84 years old and is survived by his wife and son.  Born in Mysuru on February 15, 1934, Hirannaiah is one of the most well-known Kannada theatre personalities. His father, K Hirannaiah too was a director of Kannada plays and had his own theatre company – K Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali. Since his early days, Master Hirannaiah took part in plays in school and college. However, after his father’s death, he took over the management of the theatre company. He shot to fame after playing the lead role in the play Lanchavatara. His other famous plays include Double Thaali, Kanya Daana, Sanyasi Samsara, Chamachavathara, Haasyadalli Ulta Palta, Kapil Mushti, Nadubidi Narayana, Bhrashtachara and Anaachaara. His stint in the Kannada theatre industry also fetched him multiple awards for his contribution. Master Hirannaiah has won the Kannada State Award in 1984, Rajyotsava Prashasthi, Gubbi Veeranna Award in 1988, Drama Academy Award, Sandesha Arts Award in 2009 and Maha Advaithi Award in 2017 among others. Master Hirannaiah has also acted in several noteworthy Sandalwood films including Lancha Samarajya, Niranthara, Operation Antha, Hudgeeru Saar Hudgeeru, Yaksha and Gaja.

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