'Attack on democracy’: Activists condemn arrest of writer Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy

Crime

Police officials said that Narasimha Murthy was detained over serious charges including under the Arms Act and the Explosives Act, which date back to 1994.

Prajwal Bhat

Activist and writer Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy, General Secretary of Swaraj India and Secretary of the Gauri Media Trust set up in memory of journalist Gauri Lankesh, was arrested by police officials in Raichur district.  The arrest was made on October 24 when Narasimha Murthy was in Raichur as one of the speakers at a public discussion on ‘Alternate Media’. Police officials said that Narasimha Murthy was detained over serious charges including under the Arms Act and the Explosives Act which date back to 1994.  "For over 20 years, there have been multiple court warrants for his arrest. He has been found now and upon identification, we have executed the court warrant. We will be interrogating him over the cases", Raichur Superintendent of Police (SP) CB Vedamurthy told TNM. Narasimha Murthy was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody till November 6. In a statement, Raichur police officials stated that a case was registered against Narasimha Murthy at the Yapaldinni (Raichur Rural) police station in 1994 under the Arms Act and under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting) and 148 (rioting with arms) of the IPC. In 2001, another case was registered in the same police station under sections of the Indian Explosives Act and under sections 143, 147 (rioting), 355 (assault), 385 (extortion), 386 (extortion and grievously hurting a person, 307 (attempt to murder).  A third case was registered in Netaji Nagar police station under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and section 341 (wrongful confinement of a person). In 2016, another case was registered against him in Bengaluru's Jayaprakash Nagar under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.  Narasimha Murthy is a journalist, activist and writer based in Bengaluru. He regularly contributed to the Gauri Lankesh Patrike and is currently the Secretary of the Gauri Media Trust. The trust, in a statement, called for the police to conduct a fair and thorough investigation and raised questions over whether his arrest was a case of mistaken identity. "He is known in society for fighting for the oppressed causes and writing in different media spaces on various issues consistently from the past two decades.  He has been doing activism consistently including the struggle against BMIC Corridor publicly and is not an absconding person as claimed by the police,”  the statement said.  Narasimha Murthy has also regularly appeared in events organised by the Gauri Media Trust in Bengaluru and in several other socio-political gatherings in the city. Narasimha was also integral to the relaunch of the newspaper 'Nyaaya Patha' in memory of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh. His arrest was condemned by over 921 activists including freedom fighter HS Doreswamy; National President of Swaraj India, Yogendra Yadav; farmer rights activist Chukki Nanjundswamy; among several others. "He has been living for the last 25 years at his residence in Bengaluru.  He has taken part in several public protests and worked as a journalist with newspapers. This is an attack on democracy by the police and the ruling government," a statement jointly signed by activists stated. In a letter written to Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the group of individuals called for a fair investigation into the charges and for Narasimha Murthy to be released from his pre-trial detention. 

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Suspected Bangladeshi immigrants, who were detained in B’luru, to be deported in a week

Law and order

60 suspected Bangladeshi immigrants, many who were working as daily workers, were rounded up by the Bengaluru police.

TNM Staff

NRC Detention Centre Karnataka

Police in Bengaluru on Monday said that they will deport 60 alleged Bangladesh nationals back to their country within a week's time. Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) said all the persons who were detained on Saturday will be housed in the government-run shelter home. It was earlier reported how police arrested 29 men, 22 women and nine children who are suspected to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who were living in shanties in peripheral areas of the city falling under Ramamurthynagar, Bellandur and Marathahalli police station limits. Many of the people were employed as daily wage labourers and worked either in the construction sector or collected scraps. Some of them were also employed by the contractors of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Earlier reports have said that  those detained, who have been living here for a considerable time, may also have obtained identification documents such as Aadhaar and Voter ID cards illegally. Those detained were rounded up during a raid by the Central Crime Branch police who were probing the issue of illegal migrants after an intelligence report. The CCB on Monday said that they have already written to the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office. Police also said that they have arrested four persons — Mohibulla, Fairoj Khan, Masud and Jama —  who are suspected to have been the “agents” who brought those detained. According to police, the 60 people were allegedly brought in the country through the “porous” Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal with the promise of jobs without any passport or visa.  Police further said that they are working with the FRRO and the Border Security Force which secures the border with Bangladesh for their deportation. Earlier on Sunday, the police said they are  looking to book the agents who brought them here.

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Karnataka CM Yediyurappa to present Rajyotsava awards on Nov 1: Full list

Awards

The state government has released a list of 66 awardees for this year.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Minister for Kannada and Culture CT Ravi, on Monday announced a list of Kannada Rajyotsava winners who will be awarded by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Rajyotsava Day,  November 1. The day is celebrated every year as part of the state’s tradition. Even last year, then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had hosted the Rajyotsava utsav at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. According to previous reports, on November 1, 1956, Kannada-speaking areas of the erstwhile Bombay and Madras presidencies, along with an old Hyderabad region, merged with old Mysore to form the new southern state. Originally formed as Mysore state, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973 during the tenure of Chief Minister Devaraj Urs. Here is the list of winners:  Literature Manjappa Shetty Masagali  B Rajashekarappa  Chandrakanth Karadalli Saraswathi Chimmalagi  Theatre Parashuram Siddi  Pal Sudrashan  Hooli Shekhar  N Shivalingaiah  HK Ramanath  Bhargavi Narayan  Music Chote Rahmath Khan Nagavalli... Nagavalli Nagaraj Dr Muddu Mohan Srinivasa Udupa Folk Art Neelgararu Doddagavibasappa Holabasaiah Dundaiah Sambalad Bheemsingh Sakaram Rathod Usman Saab Khadar Saab Kotresha Chennabasappa Kotrappanavar K R Hosalayya Sculpture V V Deshpande K Jnaneshwar Painting Ramesh Rao Mohan Sitanoor Sports Vishwanath Bhaskar Ganiga Chenada A Kuttappa Nandita Naganagoudar Yoga Srimathi Vanithakka Kumari Khushi Yakshagana Dr. Shridhara Bhandary Bayalata Y Mallappa Gavayi Films Shailashree TV Jayakumar Kodaganura Education N R Gunjaal Prof T Shivanna Dr K Chidananda Gowda Dr. Gururaj Karajagi Miscellaneous Dr Vijay Sankeshwar N T Shantha Gangadhar Dr Channaveera Shivacharya LT Gen BNBM Prasad Dr N Someshwar K Prakash Shetty Journalism B V Mallikarjunaiah Cooperation Ramesh Vaidya Social service S G Bharathi Kattige Channappa Agriculture B K Deva Rao Vishveshwar Sajjan Environment Saalumarada Veerachar Shivaji Chatrappa Kagnekar Organisations/groups Prabhat Art International Sri Patanjali Yoga Shikshana Samiti, Hanumanthapura Medicine Dr Hanumantharaya Pandit Dr Anjanappa Dr Nagarathna Dr G T Subhash Dr Krishna Prasad Judiciary Kumar N Expats Jayavanth Mannoli Gangadhar Bevinakoppa B G Mohandas Cottage industry Navaratna Indukumar Literary criticism K V Subramanyam

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Bengaluru moviegoers hounded by actor, others for sitting during national anthem

Moral Policing

In a video, actor Arun Gowda and his friends can be seen trying to shame the four people at a movie theatre.

Theja Ram

“Not able to spare 52 seconds for the country, but you have the audacity to sit here and watch a three-hour movie? Are you Pakistani terrorists?” a man can be heard saying on video, as he and a group of others berate four people in a near-empty theatre. In a video that has spread widely in Bengaluru, Sandalwood actor Arun Gowda and a few other moviegoers can be seen shouting at four people — two men and two women — at a movie theatre in Bengaluru for allegedly not standing up during the national anthem.   The incident occurred on October 23 at PVR Orion Mall during the screening of the Tamil movie Asuran. Actor Arun Gowda and his friends can be seen trying to shame the four people for allegedly choosing to sit while the national anthem was played. “When the nation anthem came on, these guys didn’t stand. Look at these guys. Just look at their faces once again. They are telling us to file a complaint,” Arun Gowda is seen saying to the camera. He then continues shooting the video, where his friends are seen loudly yelling at the four people. “Our soldiers are fighting for us in Kashmir and you guys are sitting here and don’t even stand for the national anthem. Get out of this place,” one of Arun’s friends can be heard shouting. Despite multiple attempts at ending the conflict, Arun Gowda and his friends can be seen calling out to people to remove the four persons in question from the theatre. Speaking to TNM, Arun Gowda said that he and other audience members at the theatre noticed that four people were sitting down during the national anthem. However, it was when the lights went on for the interval that the people sitting in the theatre began questioning the four people, who did not stand up. “Initially they said it’s OK to not stand up. Fine, they did not stand but when one of the members of the audience started talking about the army, the four people said they didn’t care. This angered everyone. How can they not care about the army? What message would that send to the rest of the people? That’s when we all started shouting, ‘Shame! Shame! Shame!’ until the theatre officials came. We demanded that the four people must be removed from the theatre. They were eventually sent out,” Arun Gowda added. This is not the first time people have been harshly criticised for not standing up for the national anthem.  In May this year, a sound engineer was allegedly harassed and threatened with dire consequences by a fellow moviegoer for not standing up for the national anthem. The incident occurred at Inox in Garuda Mall located along Magrath Road in the theatre hall that was screening Avengers: Endgame. In November 2016, the apex court had made it mandatory for all cinema halls to play the national anthem before the screening. The November 2016 order mandated that people would have to stand up in respect for the national anthem when it was played in cinema halls. The order said that this practice would "instil a feeling within one a sense of committed patriotism and nationalism." However, this order was overturned by former Chief Justice Deepak Misra on January 5, 2018. Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that it was up to the cinema hall to decide whether or not to play the national anthem. However, if a cinema hall does choose to play the National Anthem, people could stand up to show respect.  “Why should you presume that not singing the national anthem in a theatre makes a person anti-national?” Justice Chandrachud, who was a part of the two-judge bench, had asked.     

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‘Mud-filled roads, trapped cars’: North Bengaluru residents’ woes worsen during rains

Civic Issues

The problem started two years back after gas lines by GAIL and water, sewage lines by BWSSB were laid simultaneously, but some of the dug up areas were left open.

Soumya Chatterjee

For people living in two wards of Horamavu and Rammurthynagar of north Bengaluru, the rains in Bengaluru over the last two weeks have been more than inconvenient. Roads leading to their residences from the main road have turned into a pool of mud every time it has rained. If there is no mud on the roads, then the large craters on the roads trap cars. @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR @DVSadanandGowda @CMofKarnataka @VoiceOfHoramavu No matter what happens to people living here you guys are least bothered. Location : NRI layout , phase-2 ,Near Jubilee school pic.twitter.com/POkKEJ7U0t — Venkata Sandeep Lade (@sandeeplade) October 28, 2019 The areas that are affected are those which were formerly outside the BBMP limits and were recently added as part of the 500 new villages. The localities include Kalkere Rammurthy Nagar, NRI Layout, Horamavu, Horamavu Agara, K Channasandra and some parts of Hennur. Following the rains, the roads have become almost unmotorable for cars and two-wheelers, and pedestrians are also finding it difficult to walk. This is because gas lines by GAIL (Gas Authority of India Ltd.) and water and sewage lines were being laid simultaneously by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for the last two years. While work of laying water and sewage lines is over, the dug-up areas have still been left open by the BWSSB. Arunagiri, a resident-activist of Babusapalya, said, “The problem had started two years ago when hey first started digging for the Cauvery line and they just left the road with bad patchwork which made some parts of the road unmotorable. Again, they dug up another portion of the road for the underground drainage lines. But due to the lack of coordination between the various agencies and not breaking up the whole project into smaller areas, we have to face the situation. Now, almost the entire road is unusable. So if there is no rain we have dust. And if there is rain, it becomes difficult to travel by any mode because of the potholes and the mud.” He added, “If they would have taken up the work by dividing into areas, then each area could have been patched up at least as soon as the work got over. So when we ask BWSSB officials, they say project completion date is by 2021. Thankfully, they have patched up some areas for temporary relief, and we are also waiting for our neighbourhood roads to be repaired, as they said they have already called for the tender.” Recently, many of the resident welfare groups held protests starting from July, which led to the BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar to take cognisance and assure the residents about a regular update on the progress of work. Following that, the Commissioner had also issued a short term tender to restore eight of the major roads.  Prashanth Pawar, another resident-activist from K Narayanpura said, “Despite our repeated protests, there has been no action. The little patchwork that they had done is of very poor quality. With one rain, the potholes which were there before reappear. Especially the road leading to the Kristu Jayanti College is full of potholes, making it hard for any form of commute.” BBMP Zonal Major Roads Chief Engineer Raju said, “The situation will improve soon. We have begun restoration works. We can only begin tarring once the weather improves, otherwise the roads won’t last for long.” 

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‘Mud-filled roads, trapped cars’: North Bengaluru residents’ woes worsen during rains

Civic Issues

he problem started two years back after gas lines by GAIL and water, sewage lines by BWSSB were laid simultaneously, but some of the dug up areas were left open.

Soumya Chatterjee

For people living in two wards of Horamavu and Rammurthynagar of north Bengaluru, the rains in Bengaluru over the last two weeks have been more than inconvenient. Roads leading to their residences from the main road have turned into a pool of mud every time it has rained. If there is no mud on the roads, then the large craters on the roads trap cars. @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR @DVSadanandGowda @CMofKarnataka @VoiceOfHoramavu No matter what happens to people living here you guys are least bothered. Location : NRI layout , phase-2 ,Near Jubilee school pic.twitter.com/POkKEJ7U0t — Venkata Sandeep Lade (@sandeeplade) October 28, 2019 The areas that are affected are those which were formerly outside the BBMP limits and were recently added as part of the 500 new villages. The localities include Kalkere Rammurthy Nagar, NRI Layout, Horamavu, Horamavu Agara, K Channasandra and some parts of Hennur. Following the rains, the roads have become almost unmotorable for cars and two-wheelers, and pedestrians are also finding it difficult to walk. This is because gas lines by GAIL (Gas Authority of India Ltd.) and water and sewage lines were being laid simultaneously by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for the last two years. While work of laying water and sewage lines is over, the dug-up areas have still been left open by the BWSSB. Arunagiri, a resident-activist of Babusapalya, said, “The problem had started two years ago when hey first started digging for the Cauvery line and they just left the road with bad patchwork which made some parts of the road unmotorable. Again, they dug up another portion of the road for the underground drainage lines. But due to the lack of coordination between the various agencies and not breaking up the whole project into smaller areas, we have to face the situation. Now, almost the entire road is unusable. So if there is no rain we have dust. And if there is rain, it becomes difficult to travel by any mode because of the potholes and the mud.” He added, “If they would have taken up the work by dividing into areas, then each area could have been patched up at least as soon as the work got over. So when we ask BWSSB officials, they say project completion date is by 2021. Thankfully, they have patched up some areas for temporary relief, and we are also waiting for our neighbourhood roads to be repaired, as they said they have already called for the tender.” Recently, many of the resident welfare groups held protests starting from July, which led to the BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar to take cognisance and assure the residents about a regular update on the progress of work. Following that, the Commissioner had also issued a short term tender to restore eight of the major roads.  Prashanth Pawar, another resident-activist from K Narayanpura said, “Despite our repeated protests, there has been no action. The little patchwork that they had done is of very poor quality. With one rain, the potholes which were there before reappear. Especially the road leading to the Kristu Jayanti College is full of potholes, making it hard for any form of commute.” BBMP Zonal Major Roads Chief Engineer Raju said, “The situation will improve soon. We have begun restoration works. We can only begin tarring once the weather improves, otherwise the roads won’t last for long.” 

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Rains cut short Deepavali festivities in Bengaluru

Rains

While Bengaluru city received 37.4mm of rainfall, HAL Airport received 40.6mm of rainfall, stated IMD.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

Heavy rainfall in Bengaluru on Sunday evening came as a dampener to Deepavali festivities. While the rains cut short those bursting crackers, the downpour caused severe waterlogging in several parts of the city. Several Twitter users took to the micro-blogging platform to post about the weather and the subsequent flooding of roads. While some complained about the condition of the roads which led to inundation of waters, others seemed to be relieved by the rains which ensured that there were not as many fireworks burst. Sad for the kids in Bangalore but really happy how the strong rains are preventing everyone from bursting crackers. #bangalorerains #bengaluru #diwali — Bhavna Nagpal (@bhavna_nagpal) October 27, 2019 Happy Diwali! love how Bengaluru's weather is fighting the crackers. Never heard/seen so many crackers in BLR. But the rains are doing a great job and slowing them down hour by hour. Amazing! — Mrinal Sharma (@mrinalsharma) October 27, 2019 The beautiful koramangala, Bangalore , bbmp is as corrupt as much as water on this road, just one rain @BBMP_MAYOR @BBMPCOMM @Tejasvi_Surya @bjp_bsy pic.twitter.com/zuO9MCE2vv — Aditya V Daga | Meditator (@avd122) October 27, 2019 Residents of #HSRLayout are reeling under a flood like situation due to the heavy #downpour in #Bengaluru. @BBMPCOMM is this what you call by rain ready? @BBMP_MAYOR please do answer these residents#BengaluruRains @hsrltrafficps @hsrlayoutrw @BSYBJP @hd_kumaraswamy @siddaramaiah pic.twitter.com/UDBWeh8X3Y — Suraj Suresh (@Suraj_Suresh16) October 27, 2019 @narendramodi_in @SwachhBharatGov @PMOIndia Situation in Bengaluru Chikpet Metro Station after rain !! Bangalore definitely deserves better. @fayedsouza @TimesNow @republic https://t.co/Hb9ZQefI0C — Swachh Whitefield (@SwachWhitefield) October 28, 2019 As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru city received 37.4mm of rainfall, while AMO KIAL received 5.4mm and HAL Airport received 40.6mm as of 8.30am on Monday. According to weather blogger, Bengaluru Weather, Devanahalli taluk saw the highest rainfall on Sunday with 89mm of rainfall reports. This was followed closely by 73mm seen in Hosakote, 63.5mm of rain in Bengaluru North and 62mm rainfall in Bengaluru South. East Bengaluru saw 55.5mm of rainfall and Anekal taluk saw the least with 35.5mm of rainfall. Rain lashed other parts of the state as well. Tumakuru received 160mm of rainfall, Kolar 74.5mm, Chikkaballapura 70mm and Ramanagar 69.5mm, according to Bengaluru Weather. As winds changed from westerlies to easterlies last night some places in #bengaluru saw heavy rains .. Talukwise max rainfall yesterday Devanahalli 89 Hoskote 73#bangalore North 63.5 South 62 East 55.5 Anekal 35.5#bengalururains #bangalorerains https://t.co/ME4Mj7URLg — Bengaluru Weather (@BngWeather) October 28, 2019 The Indian Meteorological Department had earlier predicted that rains would be lashing several districts in the state over the weekend, including Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu and Shivamogga. Districts such as Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi have already been reeling from the effects of Cyclone Kyarr. Two people had died last week in Udupi as a result of the rains.   21 people have died since October 18 due to rains and floods in the state. Strong wings, floods and wall collapses have been responsible for several deaths and the displacement of people from their homes. Over 14,000 houses have been damaged and almost 6,000 people have taken refuge in relief camps.

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