Acting on astrologer's advice, father kills girl child in Chikkamagaluru village

Crime

According to a relative, the 24 year old acted on the behest of a astrologer who predicted the baby will bring him misfortune.

Prajwal Bhat

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In a shocking incident, a man strangled his one and a half month old infant, allegedly because he was disappointed that she was a girl. The incident occurred at Buchenahalli Kaval in Chikmagalur taluk on Tuesday and a man named Manjunath, a daily wage worker, has been arrested in connection with the incident. According to police officials at Chikkamagaluru Rural police station, Manjunath’s wife Supreetha gave birth to a baby girl in May. The baby was named Niharika and Manjunath was upset over her birth and would constantly start an argument with Supreetha over this. Police further said that Manjunath's  younger siblings had girl children and this irked Manjunath further. On June 18, when all the family members went for work, Manjunath used the opportunity to kill his daughter. While his wife was outside washing utensils, Manjunath allegedly strangled the baby with his bare hands and later pretended to sleep. Supreetha who came to check on the baby after completing her chores noticed that she was bleeding from the nose and was not breathing. When she told Manjunath, he told her that he was not aware of the matter as he was feeling unwell and sleeping. A doctor was summoned, who declared that the baby was dead and suggested she files a police complaint. In the commotion, local residents gathered at Manjunath's house.  However, Manjunath was enraged and asked the locals to not interfere in the matter since it was his daughter who had died. He also threatened them against alerting the police. However, Supreetha filed a complaint against Manjunath at the Chikkamagaluru Rural Police Station. A case has been filed against IPC sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disapperance of offence) , 506 (criminal intimidation). Manjunath to hide his offence, buried his daughter in his relative Muniswamy’s land in Buchenahalli.  "We were calling for an investigation into the incident but when we left for work during the day, Manjunath buried the child. Later in the day, when we cornered him about this, he admitted to his mistake and claimed that he did it because an astrologer told him to do it. He has said the same to the police as well," said Chandrashekhar, a resident of  Buchenahalli Kaval. According to relatives, Manjunath believing the astrologer, thought that sacrificing the child would bring him good fortune.  Later, the body was exhumed by the police authorities and further investigation into the incident is underway.  

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Probe ordered after insects found in rice meant for Bengaluru anganwadis

Health

Officials confirmed that at least three anganwadi centres in Bengaluru were stocking food which had insects in them.

Soumya Chatterjee

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While the controversy over Akshaya Patra refusing to serve food cooked with onion and garlic in their midday meals in schools continues, the midday meal programme for anganwadis in Bengaluru has now made news for the wrong reasons. Bugs and insects have been found breeding in pulses and rice grains kept in the godowns and anganwadi centres in North Bengaluru.  “Lakshmannagara Centre in Okkalipura and two other centres in Yehalanka had insects in the food. We will be replacing all the food materials which are unfit for consumption. Our department will issue a notice to the MSNPC. This might have occurred due to the sudden change of weather, and some of the food was left unused as there were summer holidays in May,”  Meenakshi, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Central told TNM. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in Karnataka has now instituted a high-level inquiry into the quality of food stocked in the state government’s Mahila Supplementary Nutrition Production and Training Centres (MSNPC). Food stocked in these godowns is supplied to anganwadis. While top officials of the department including the minister’s office remained tightlipped, the WCD Ministry’s Director Arundathi Chandrashekar visited anganwadis in the city to check the quality of food supplies. Officials who did not wish to be identified confirmed that the Director has filed her inquiry report citing multiple irregularities. “Immediate, firm action against the errant officials will be taken for causing this blunder,” an officer in the WCD department said. The officials tasked with making arrangements have been asked to reply by June 22 explaining the reasons how the bugs were found in the foodgrains.  “Today, our supervisor visited more than 70 centres and none of them had any problem with the food,” Meenakshi added. Started as part of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in 1978 by the union government, anganwadis guarantee nutrition, basic healthcare and immunisation programmes for children under the age of six across India. Over the years, anganwadis had expanded to cater to other social development schemes like providing midday meals to pregnant women from economically weak backgrounds in Karnataka. The WCD Minister Jayamala and Food & Civil Supplies Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, could not be reached for comment. Officials confirmed that the situation was not the same throughout the city. An ICDS supervisor on condition of anonymity said that schools in her cluster were receiving the standard quality of food.

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'I am in pain everyday': CM Kumaraswamy on leading coalition govt in Karnataka

Politics

This is not the first time Kumaraswamy has complained about the internal struggles affecting the functioning of the coalition government.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has once again bemoaned that he is ‘in pain’ as he ensures that the coalition government in Karnataka continues to function. Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said, "The pain that I have felt, I don't speak out. I may be the Chief Minister but I am experiencing pain every day. If I tell you that, people will ask, ‘who will solve the problems of the state?’ For that reason, I should tell officials that this government is secure and give confidence that this government will function. These responsibilities have fallen upon me.” This is not the first time Kumaraswamy has spoken up about the internal struggles affecting the functioning of the coalition government. However, he refused to be drawn into a discussion over it. Earlier in July 2018, Kumaraswamy had broken down while speaking about the 'pain' of heading a coalition government in Bengaluru. He had compared his predicament to Lord Shiva and claimed that he was swallowing the pain of the government. His latest complaint comes at a time the future of the alliance government in Karnataka has been questioned. The coalition government has had to withstand efforts from the BJP to topple it. Kumaraswamy had also alleged that the BJP had offered Rs. 10 crore to a JD(S) MLA to jump ship and withdraw support to the coalition government. In his one year as the head of the coalition government in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy has also repeatedly clashed with the media and has accused media personnel of misreporting and misquoting him. He has also vowed to discontinue speaking to television reporters.

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Karnataka Pradesh Congress dissolved: What the revamp means for the party

Politics

The AICC has dissolved the present committee of the KPCC, with only President Dinesh Gundu Rap and Working President Eshwar Khandre remaining unchanged.

Theja Ram

The All India Congress Committee on Wednesday dissolved the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). The AICC has decided to disband all structures within the KPCC including the district and block Congress committees. The move comes weeks after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha Election, where the ruling JD(S)-Congress combine managed to win only one constituency each out of the 28 seats in the state.  AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal on Wednesday issued a press statement stating the same. “The AICC has decided to dissolve the present committee of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. The President and Working President [Dinesh Gundu Rao and Eshwar Khandre] remain unchanged," the press statement said. Speaking to TNM, KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao said, "Congress President gave approval. Now we have to reorganise the party at district and block levels also. It is going to be a total revamp of the party at all levels."  Sources in the Congress reveal that the blunders made by the existing heads of various committees in Karnataka and the growing failures of state leaders, has led the AICC to make this decision. The decision is seen as a move to clean up disorganised party structures and rooting out non-performers to bring in a new team. Speaking to TNM, a Congress functionary says that in the heels of the massive set back in the Lok Sabha Elections, the leaders in New Delhi decided to clean up the party and restructure it, and Karnataka is where they plan to start. The non-performing seniors The last three to four years of the Karnataka Congress has witnessed the party spiral down due to a multitude of reasons including strategies going awry; senior leaders clinging on to power, unwilling to allow those capable a chance to prove themselves; and most importantly the factionalism, which has left a gaping hole in the party’s unity. Congress insiders say that the move to dissolve the KPCC is seen as the high command’s decision to warn senior leaders and their loyalists that infighting and lack of unity would inadvertently have consequences. “For over 10 years, most of the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents and the members of these district committees have been those who support Dr G Parameshwara. They have been around the block since he was the KPCC President. The national leaders wanted to change them ahead of the Assembly and Lok Sabha Elections but Parameshwara convinced the high command not to do so. They did not deliver in the key constituencies, where Congress could have won easily. This decision is a way to tell Parameshwara that he must concentrate on being the Deputy CM and forget about managing party affairs,” a Congress functionary said. Clipping Siddaramaiah’s wings Known as a strategist and a mass leader, Siddaramaiah, who was always looked upon as an outsider due to his previous role in the JD(S), was accepted by several key figures in the Congress after he became the Chief Minister. However, his detractors were a constant reminder that he could easily be overpowered if he did not keep his cards close and more importantly, a tight grip over the workings of both the party and the government. “Siddaramaiah began making a series of bad decisions. The first was alienating the huge Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Kodava and other communities in Karnataka when he started the Kannada pride movement,” a Congress leader alleged. Although it was not such a big blunder, the second was the separate Lingayat religion movement, which drove a deep wedge, enough to bring down the party’s credibility in the northern and central parts of Karnataka. The third big mistake, sources say, are the digs he took at former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda during the 2018 Assembly Elections, which lowered the party’s image in the eyes of the Vokkaliga community. “When he became the CM, many leaders had advised the high command that Parameshwara must become Deputy CM and DK Shivakumar must be named the KPCC President. Siddaramaiah did not allow that to happen. Over the years, especially during the Assembly Elections in 2018, he began making bad decisions one after another and he was never held accountable,” the source alleged. The last straw, a senior Congress leader says, was when Siddaramaiah began controlling the appointments in the KPCC whilst favouring only those from the Kuruba community. “From an Ahinda leader, he became a Kuruba leader. Communities that felt alienated moved to the BJP but Siddaramaiah refused to change his stance,” the source alleged. Congress insiders say that the national leaders are now driven to hold Siddaramaiah accountable for his actions and ensure that the decisions he makes henceforth are for the benefit of the party and not for personal gains or for the benefit of his followers. Sources indicated that in the coming days, Siddaramaiah mY be removed from the post of the Chairman of Coalition Co-ordination Committee.    

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