Six treasure hunters held for vandalising holy site of Nava Brindavana near Hampi

Crime

The police say a temple priest from Andhra Pradesh and others hatched the plan to excavate for treasure

TNM Staff

Police officials in Koppal district arrested six persons in connection with the incident of vandalism at the Nava Brindavana in Anegundi, which is the resting place of nine Hindu saints belonging to the Uttaradi Mutt located close to the heritage site of Hampi. T Balanarasaiah (42), Murali Manohar Reddy (35), Manohar Derangallu (27), Kummata Keshava (29), B Vijay Kumar (36) and Sriramulu (45) - were arrested on Sunday, three days after the damage to the structure at the holy site came to light.  Investigating officials stated that all accused persons hailed from Tadapatri town of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh and had dug up the Nava Brindavana looking for treasure. Another accused person - Srinivas Reddy (40) - is still absconding. Police also found the SUV vehicle used by the accused.  Police officials said that Balanarasaiah, a priest at a local temple in Andhra Pradesh, brought the accused persons together to dig up a treasure. He recited a story of Krishnadevaraya, an emperor of the Vijayanagara empire who reigned from 1509–1529, burying the saint Vyasaraja Theertha, with diamonds and pearls.  The accused persons conducted a recce of the site and placed sickles and axes hidden on the premises. It was on their third visit that the accused decided to dig up the place looking for treasure. Thousands of volunteers turned up at the site on Friday and worked through the day to restore the damaged structures. They were assisted by officials of the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI). The Nava Brindavanas are located on an island in the Thungabhadra River and is only accessible by boat from Anegundi and Ballari in the monsoon season. It is around 12 km away from Hampi. The district administration manages boats to and from the island until 4 pm and investigating police stated that the accused persons used their own boats to enter the site.  The site is the resting place of the nine saints of the Madhva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. They are mostly settled in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra. This comes five months after a group of men were forced to help re-erect the pillars at the Vishnu temple in Hampi after a video of them toppling the pillars was shared widely on social media.    

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‘JD(S) willing to give up CM post to Congress': DK Shivakumar claims

Politics

However, JD(S) spokesman Ramesh Babu denied such a decision was taken by the party leadership.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said that the JD(S) is willing to "make any sacrifice" and that HD Kumaraswamy is willing to give up the Chief Minister post to save the coalition government.  Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, DK Shivakumar said, "The JD(S) has said that they are willing to make any sacrifice to save the coalition. JD(S) leaders spoke with me, Parameshwara (Deputy Chief Minister) and Siddaramaiah and told us that they are willing to give up the CM post to the Congress. They [JD(S)] have spoken to the high command and conveyed the message as well," DK Shivakumar said.  However, JD-S spokesman Ramesh Babu denied claims that such a decision was taken by the party leadership. "I am not aware of this development. We are busy preparing for the debate and vote on the confidence motion on Monday to save our government first," Babu told IANS. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao also refuted Shivakumar's claims, reports News18.  "We are going in for the trust motion with a lot of confidence. We are sure to win and expose the BJP on the floor of the house. Neither there is any such proposal (as claimed by Shivakumar) nor are we thinking of something like this," Dinesh Gundu Rao said.  The crucial trust vote, which is set to determine whether the coalition can prove majority, is slated to take place on Monday.  Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar had ended Friday's discussion on the trust vote with the promise from the coalition that the MLAs would vote on the confidence motion on Monday.  Explainer: What is a trust vote, and how will it affect the government in Karnataka? The current political crisis began after 16 MLAs — 13 from the Congress and three from JD(S) — resigned earlier this month and independents R Shankar and H Nagesh withdrew their support to the coalition government. However, rebel leader Ramalinga Reddy, on Friday, stated that he would support the Congress in its decisions.  The strength of the Karnataka Assembly is 224 including the Speaker. Currently, the coalition has 101 MLAs on its side. This was after 16 MLAs resigned and the two independents withdrew the support from the coalition. One of the Congress MLAs, B Nagendra, has been hospitalised. If he fails to show up to vote, then the coalition's numbers will come down to 100. The BJP has 107 (105 MLAs plus two independents).      

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Karnataka floor test: Mayawati directs BSP MLA N Mahesh to support HDK govt

Politics

Speaking to reporters on Sunday morning, he said, “I will not attend the floor test tomorrow in Karnataka Assembly as per the direction of Mayawati ji”.

TNM Staff

In a curious turn of events, a tweet from Mayawati’s official Twitter handle on Sunday evening said that the BSP supremo has directed her party MLA to support Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in Monday’s trust vote. This just hours after N Mahesh, the lone BSP MLA from Karnataka and formerly a minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet, said that he would abstain from voting in Monday’s trust as directed by his party’s supremo. Speaking to reporters on Sunday morning, he said, “I will not attend the floor test tomorrow in Karnataka Assembly as per the direction of Mayawati ji”. Mahesh, the Kollegal MLA from Mysuru had submitted his resignation to the Governor in October 2018 as the Primary and Secondary Education Minister, following disagreements between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress concerning seat-sharing in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh elections. But the JD(S) and BSP were the only pre-poll alliance before the May 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections and Mahesh had maintained his support for the government.  Mahesh was among the 20 members who had missed the Karnataka Assembly session on Thursday and Friday — along with the 15 rebels MLAs, two independents, and Congress MLAs Srimant Patil and B Nagendra.In this light, some media reports have also suggested that Mahesh, who unsuccessfully contested five times before 2018, might sway towards the BJP later for the sake of his constituency’s development.  However, till this point Mahesh’s addition to the coalition numbers does not tilt the balance in their favour with 15 rebel MLAs, two independents and another Congress MLA Srimant Patil likely to skip Monday’s Assembly proceedings. While the much-delayed floor test set to be held on Monday is tilted in favour of the BJP, it is being speculated the top brass of the Congress and JD(S) are exploring options to prevent it. Both parties on Friday had also approached the apex court again, seeking clarity on its interim order that the court passed in the case filed by the rebel MLAs.

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I'm not clinging to power, only wish to expose BJP: HD Kumaraswamy's statement

Politics

He also made an appeal to all the MLAs who have left Karnataka and taken refuge in hotels in Mumbai to attend the legislature session.

TNM Staff

  A day before the state is poised to witness a trust vote in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has called the BJP's efforts to destabilise his government as 'a new benchmark in the country for immoral politics'. The Chief Minister has accused the BJP of making Governor Vaju Bhai Vala set deadlines for the confidence motion. The Governor had set two deadlines for the confidence motion, both of which were disregarded by the Speaker and the Congress- JD(S) coalition.   "It is a matter of immense pain and disgust that the BJP has not only taken Karnataka's political scenario to a new low, but also set a new benchmark in the country for immoral politics. The BJP has made a mockery of democracy by taking away several MLAs from ruling coalition forcefully. The TV footages have clearly shown  BJP leaders and functionaries accompanying our MLAs to Mumbai in special aircrafts," he said.   Kumaraswamy went on to state that he was not trying to cling onto power, but his intention was to expose the BJP to the country.    "The BJP has been demanding that I must resign immediately and has even got the Raj Bhavan to set deadlines for putting the confidence motion into vote. I want to make it amply clear that I am not trying to cling onto power. My only intention of seeking time for debate on trust vote is to let the entire country know how the BJP, which talks of morality, is trying to subvert the very principles of democracy as well as Constitution," he said in the statement.   He also made an appeal to all the MLAs who have left Karnataka and taken refuge in hotels in Mumbai to attend the legislature session and "narrate how the BJP took them away forcefully".   "I request them to explain on the floor of the House how the BJP sabotaged democratic edifice and destroyed its sanctity. I also want to tell such MLAs that let there be no hesitation. Let us save this democratically elected government from the evil forces which are trying to shake the very foundation of democracy by misusing their political influence," he said.    As of Sunday, the coalition does not have the numbers to prove its majority in the assembly. Moreoever, the lone BSP MLA has said that he would be abstaining from the trust vote. This was a vote that the coalition had almost counted in its favour.

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Migrant mental health crisis spirals in ICE detention facilities

ICE struggles to handle migrants with serious mental illness.

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Karnataka floor test: BSP MLA N Mahesh confirms Mayawati told him to abstain

Politics

N Mahesh was among the 20 MLA's who had missed the first two days of the Karnataka Assembly session.

TNM Staff

In a blow to the Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka, N Mahesh, the lone MLA from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Karnataka who was earlier a minister in the HD Kumaraswamy government, announced on Sunday that he will not attend the floor test due on Monday. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I will not attend the floor test tomorrow in Karnataka Assembly as per the direction of Mayawati ji”.  The announcement is the first time that Mahesh officially acknowledged that the decision came at the behest of the BSP chief Mayawati, who also incidentally called off the alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh recently.  Mahesh was among the 20 members who had missed the Karnataka Assembly session on Thursday and Friday — along with the 15 rebels MLAs, two independents, and Congress MLAs Srimant Patil and B Nagendra. In this light, some media reports have also suggested that Mahesh, who unsuccessfully contested five times before 2018, might sway towards the BJP later for the sake of his constituency’s development.  Mahesh was not present in the Assembly on the two days that it has been in session in the light of the recent political crisis started with 15 rebel MLAs of the coalition resigning, and even approaching the Supreme Court to seek directions for the Speaker to accept their resignations expeditiously. With these resignations, the coalition government is in the minority, with the BJP having numerical advantage buoyed by the support of the two independent MLAs. Mahesh, the Kollegal MLA from Mysuru had submitted his resignation to the Governor in October 2018 as the Primary and Secondary Education Minister, following disagreements between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress concerning seat-sharing in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh elections. But the JD(S) and BSP were the only pre-poll alliance before the May 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections. In fact, BSP supremo Mayawati had addressed multiple rallies alongside JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, his son and present Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. While the much-delayed floor test set to be held on Monday is titled in favour of the BJP, it is being speculated the top brass of the Congress and JD(S) are exploring options to prevent it. Both parties on Friday had also approached the apex court again, seeking clarity on its interim order that the court passed in the case filed by the rebel MLAs.  Meanwhile, the rebel MLAs who were in Mumbai have said that they will not return to the party fold.  

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Bengaluru-Mysuru MEMU train to run six days a week

Transport

This new schedule will start from July 27 with an inaugural special train with revised timings.

TNM Staff

The Railways has announced that the MEMU train between Mysuru and Bengaluru will now run six days a week (Monday-Saturday).  The train was introduced at the start of the year and was greeted with much fanfare among the passengers. Before this the train was running four days a week—  every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This new schedule will start from July 27 with an inaugural special train with revised timings. Now the Bengaluru-Mysuru train leaves at 5:20 pm instead of 7:50 pm and reaches at 8:20 pm instead of 10 pm, Similarly, the Mysuru-Bengaluru train will leave Mysuru at 8:30 pm instead of 11.05 pm and arrive at Bengaluru at 11:20 pm instead of 01:50 am. The train is a boon to people living in Mandya, Maddur, Channapatna and other parts of the stretch as well who regularly travel to either of the two cities. This will also help those living in Mysuru Road suburbs of Nayandahalli, Kengeri and Hejjala in Bengaluru as well.  At a flat fare of Rs 30 per passenger, one can reach Mysuru from Bengaluru’s Majestic in just short of three hours. The return journey will take a little less than four hours at a top speed up to 110km/hr for the whole journey. These trains stop at Krishnadevaraya Halt, Nayandahalli, Jnanabharathi Halt, Kengeri, Hejjala, Bidadi, Ketohalli Halt, Ramanagaram, Channapattana, Mandya, Pandavapura and Srirangapattana. MEMU, or Mainline Electric Multiple Unit, provides an average increase in speed of 20km/hour compared to loco-hauled commuter trains pulled by a separate engine. While MEMus are a preferred mode for suburban trains, it was not common in this part of the railway network as it was fully electrified only in 2018.  

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