To stop daughter’s wedding, Bengaluru woman allegedly hires killers to murder brother

Crime

Rajashekar had introduced Gowramma’s daughter to one of his friends and the two had fallen in love.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru Police arrested a 45-year-old woman for allegedly contracting her brother’s murder in order stop her daughter’s wedding. The Kengeri Police on Thursday arrested Gowramma, a resident of Kalyani Layout for allegedly contracting the murder of her brother Rajashekar. On June 22, the Kengeri Police had received a call from locals of Kalyani Layout when they discovered Rajashekar’s body in an abandoned house. Rajashekar had been brutally stabbed to death. Upon investigation, the police found that Gowramma had allegedly contracted the killing to her neighbor Mumtaz. “Gowramma has a 23-year-old daughter. Rajashekar had introduced her to one of his friends four months ago and the two fell in love. Rajashekar also supported them when they decided to get married. They were also engaged for three months. But Gowramma did not want her daughter to marry for love. She wanted her to marry a man she chose,” Arasu, the investigating officer in the case said. Gowramma had allegedly tried to separate the couple on multiple occasions in the past and had failed because of Rajashekar’s intervention. On June 20, Gowramma allegedly approached her neighbor Mumtaz and is said to have asked her to hire men to kill Rajashekar. “She knew she could not stop the wedding. So, she informed Mumtaz that the only way to stop the wedding would be to ensure that there is a death in her immediate family. The family members would then have to go into mourning for a year and hence the wedding would have to called off. She paid Mumtaz Rs 3 lakh and asked her to kill Rajashekar,” Sub-Inspector Arasu added. On June 21, Mumtaz allegedly hired Munna, Arju and Sakeeb to kill Rajashekar. Rajashekar, who was a painter by profession, was allegedly lured by the trio to an abandoned building near Kalyani Layout on the pretext of a project to paint the inner walls of the house. “When Rajashekar reached the abandoned house, he was attacked by Munna, Arju and Sakeeb. They stabbed him on his stomach, neck, chest and legs multiple times,” SI Arasu added. Rajashekar’s body was discovered by the locals on the morning of January 22. “We questioned the family members and also Gowramma’s daughter. When we found that she was the only one opposed to the wedding there was suspicion. We detained Gowramma and questioned her after which she confessed to the crime,” the Kengeri police said. Gowramma, Mumtaz, Munna, Arju and Sakeeb have been booked for murder. The accused are currently in police custody and will be produced before the magistrate on Friday.     

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2ZRNW7b
via IFTTT

Battling rheumatoid arthritis, how one woman channelled her pain into art

Art

Seema Sood’s paintings will be exhibited for the first time at an art exhibition in Bengaluru on June 29 and 30.

Nikhita Venugopal

Seema Sood, with her BITS Pilani batchmates.

Seema Sood, 50, remembers the day she became bedridden. “3rd May, 1993,” she said. For five years, she was confined to her bed, but the pain had started when she was 18 years old, beginning in her toes and slowly creeping to her joints and limbs until her entire body ached.  As a student at BITS Pilani, she took painkillers and steroids just to be able to attend classes. She spent decades being shunted from hospital to hospital seeking treatment, but nothing seemed to be working effectively.  It would be years before Seema was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis — a painful autoimmune disorder that mostly affects a person’s joints — and even longer before she would be able to manage her pain and channel it into art.   The pain was so bad that she considered ending her own life. “I was in such a miserable condition that I had appealed for mercy killing,” she said, describing a letter she had written to the President of India in 2007. She ultimately received Rs 10 lakh from Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s relief fund and underwent multiple surgeries in 2008. But not long after that, the pain crept back into her body. Finally, in 2014, her fortunes turned. For one, she began treatment free of cost at Fortis Hospital in Mohali, where Seema was correctly diagnosed. She also reconnected with her old 1985 batchmates from BITS Pilani, where Seema graduated with two degrees — an MSc in Engineering Technology and a Masters in Engineering. Her friends wasted no time in coming to her assistance.  Up until that point, she hadn’t told any of her classmates about her condition. But after receiving a phone call from an old friend, she had a change of heart. With treatment that eased the severe pain in her joints, Seema has been able to turn to a long-time passion for art. From a young age, she had been interested in painting and drawing, even making greeting cards for New Years and Diwali. When she started painting as an adult, she began with small pictures of flowers and eventually progressed to depictions of Rajasthan, where she was born, and scenes of nature from Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, where she now lives.  “Once I get engrossed in my paintings, my pain, my troubles, everything gets lost,” she said.  Paintings by Seema Sood For the first time, Seema’s work will be exhibited at Silver Oak Resorts in Bengaluru on June 29 and 30, with prices ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000. And after struggling financially for years, Seema has finally been able to make her own money by selling her paintings. “I want to live with dignity. I want to earn something on my own,” she said.  The art show, organised by Seema’s old batchmates from BITS Pilani, is a way to help her financially. Though she is able to paint on her own, she still needs assistance in arranging supplies or handing her tools, and she is looking for someone to hire. “There is tremendous physical pain she goes through every single minute of every single day,” Mridula Sankhyayan, one of Seema’s batchmates who helped organise the exhibition, said. “Painting really gives her self-fulfillment.”

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2KG033H
via IFTTT

Ban on construction of new apartments in Bengaluru? Govt mulls 5 year moratorium

Infrastructure

Karnataka Deputy CM Dr G Parameshwara said that they were considering such a proposal in order to tackle the drinking water crisis in Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

Flickr/matt_mlinac

With Bengaluru reeling from water shortage, the Karnataka government is now mulling a moratorium on construction of new apartments in the city for the next five years. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Thursday said that the proposal comes in the wake of apartment residents, especially in the city’s suburbs, relying purely on tanker water for their drinking and domestic purposes. “Bengaluru has numerous apartment complexes and many keep coming up. With builders of apartments going ahead with construction and sale of apartments without making adequate arrangements for a basic necessity like drinking water, the state government is seriously considering clamping a five-year ban on granting permissions for construction of apartments,” Dr G Parameshwara said. Speaking to media the Deputy CM said that the rampant use of tanker water led to residents suffering from skin ailments and other health hazards. “We will discuss the issue of imposing a five-year moratorium on permissions for construction of apartments with all builders and developers in the coming weeks and will make a decision,’’ he added. The government’s proposal comes in the view of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s ongoing Cauvery Water Supply Phase. The BWSSB’s project, which aims at providing drinking water connections to the suburban areas of Bengaluru, is likely to be completed in the next five years. “A five-year moratorium will ensure that each and every household gets Cauvery water connection before new apartments come up. But we must also take into consideration that the new constructions will come up due to increase in population. The question is whether the developers can come up with a way to provide 24-hour clean water supply for drinking and domestic purposes,” a source said. DCM Parameshwara also said that concerned officials have been directed to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed Linganamakki Project, which aims at diverting water from Netravati River to Bengaluru, Kolar and Chikkaballapur to meet drinking water requirements.   “As the Linganamakki proposal is facing opposition, steps will be taken after examining the pros and cons. This will happen only after DPR is ready,” he said.    

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2KEhDFp
via IFTTT

13-year-old boy, 2 women injured after elephant attacks in Kodagu

Wildlife

The forest department, however claimed that the injured persons were not attacked by the elephants and were injured while trying to run away from the animal.

Prajwal Bhat

Image for representation | Wikimedia Commons | CC 3.0 | Yathin S Krishnappa

A student and two women labourers were injured after an elephant attacked them in two separate incidents in Kodagu district on Wednesday.  Chandan, 13, a class seven student of the Government Primary School in Bittangala was on his way to school along with three other friends when at around 8:30 am, a wild elephant attacked the group.  His friends escaped injury but Chandan was severely hurt in the head, abdomen and legs in the incident and was immediately taken to the Government Hospital in Virajpet for treatment. The students are residents of a labour colony inside a coffee plantation in Bittangala. According to them, the elephant attacked Chandan and flung him in the air.  In another incident later in the day, two women labourers Kamal (51) and Ammal (65) were attacked by another elephant at Chamundi Paisari plantation in Virajpet taluk. The women were taken to Virajpet taluk hospital and are currently out of danger. According to them, the elephant pushed them when they came across it while having lunch in the plantation in the afternoon.   Forest officials in Virajpet inspected the site of both attacks. They attempted to play down the attacks by claiming that Chandan, Kamal and Ammal sustained injuries trying to run away from the elephant. "The elephant did not have a direct role in the attack. In both incidents, the injured persons were hurt while trying to run away from the elephant. There are a lot of private lands with unchecked forest growth and the elephants appear in these areas. We are doing our best to restrict conflict between humans and elephants," stated Gopal, a forest official in Virajpet. Recently, the forest department had attached GPS-fitted radio collars on one elephant each from six different herds in Kodagu. The move is the department's latest efforts to reduce the elephant-human conflict in Kodagu. "However, in yesterday's incidents, both elephants were not fitted with a radio collar," stated Gopal. Read: Radio collars fitted on elephants of different herds in Kodagu to track movement In April, an elephant was shot dead by a resident in Palangala village of Kodagu. In the same month, forest officials rescued five elephants stuck in a slushy pond in the village. The conflict has led to loss of both human and elephant lives and forest officials have tried digging trenches, setting up solar fencing, iron fencing, spike pillars among other steps to resolve the issue.   

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2xdJpQl
via IFTTT

Residents seek fresh noise level inspection of Indiranagar pubs, say owners were warned

The residents filed objections before a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HT Narendra Prasad of the Karnataka High Court.

TNM Staff

The petitioners who have moved court against the illegalities in the operation of pubs in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar area have protested against the noise-level inspection drive held between June 21 and 23, alleging that the pubs had prior information about the police visits.  The petitioners, which comprise of residents and welfare groups of Indiranagar, pointed out that few pubs had posted an announcement on their social media pages about the cancellation of music programmes on these days and further claimed that pub owners were alerted via WhatsApp messages. The petitioners filed objections before a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HT Narendra Prasad of the Karnataka High Court.   In the early hours of June 22, Bengaluru police commissioner Alok Kumar led a team of KSPCB officials to several spots in Indiranagar, Church Street and Koramangala, where the pubs are located.   KSPCB officials measured sound levels using sound measuring equipment, while another team led by the DCP also checked noise levels in Indiranagar. Notices were later issued to pubs, bars and other establishments on rooftops, to check whether they have violated norms, reported The New Indian Express.  However, the police in its status report to the High Court admitted that the sound meters used during the inspection were ‘found to be unfit for calibration and certification’. Following the report, Alok Kumar ordered procurement of 52 sound meters to be kept in various police stations. The newly procured sound meters were calibrated and certified by an accredited laboratory on June 24, reported The Hindu. The development comes days after the High Court pulled up the police for its 'casual approach' over the inspection of pubs in Indiranagar.  Read: HC raps Bengaluru police for 'casual approach' to noise inspection at Indiranagar pubs  

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2YoztzD
via IFTTT

Warren backs eliminating private insurance for 'Medicare for All'

from Health Care https://ift.tt/2ZQfVnL
via IFTTT

10 dogs found dead in Manipal, activist files complaint over intentional 'poisoning'

Animal cruelty

Police have begun the search for an unidentified person accused of luring stray dogs with food that was allegedly poisoned.

Harsha Raj Gatty

Police officials in Udupi district of Karnataka are investigating the death of 10 dogs, including a puppy, after their bodies were discovered in front of two apartments in Manipal on Tuesday.  The police have begun the search for an unidentified person accused of luring stray dogs with food that was allegedly poisoned.   On Tuesday morning, locals passing through Vidyaratna Nagar towards the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office in Manipal, discovered the bodies of 10 stray dogs. "While eight were found in front of Mandavi Emerald apartment, two were found near Mandavi Sovereign apartment, on the road proceeding towards the DC office in Manipal," Babita Madhwaraj, the founder trustee of Madhwaraj Animal Care Trust (MACT), said. Citing eyewitness accounts of two students, the animal activist Babita, in her complaint to the police, said that on Saturday night, an unidentified person on a two-wheeler was found feeding ‘poisoned fish’ to the stray animals. “Among the dead included a puppy. The animals were friendly with the neighbouring residents and they were not aggressive. Moreover, they were sterilised. so such brutality was totally uncalled for,” she said. The local police authorities have registered a case under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act as well as the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 428 and 429 (Mischief by killing or maiming animal) against the unidentified person. According to the officials, the bodies of the dogs have been retrieved and sent for an autopsy. The blood samples of the animals have been further sent for forensic analysis.  “After a preliminary inquiry, it looks like someone was trying to do away with the stray dogs in the locality, although we have never received any complaint from either the civic authorities or from the local residents about any stray dog issue,” the police said.  While the police have asked the two apartment associations to hand over the CCTV footage, the security cameras were reportedly not working for the last few days. However, the police added that they now have in their possession some CCTV camera footage from the surrounding commercial establishments, through which they may be able to identify the suspected bike and its rider as suggested by the complainant. “Beyond this, we are also inquiring with the locals if they have seen any suspicious individual in the vicinity,” he said. Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/31WIEt6
via IFTTT