PG student attacked by pro-Kannada group: Doctors protest in B'luru hospital continues

Protest

Despite the fact that a complaint was given on Friday night to the VV Puram police station, no arrests have been made.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Chants of ‘horaata horaata nyaayakkagi horaata’ (fight fight - for justice we fight) filled the air outside the New Out Patient Department (OPD) block at Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital. Scores of doctors had taken to an indefinite strike, which began on Saturday. This followed an incident where a postgraduate student was mobbed and harassed on Friday evening in the outpatient department of the Minto Eye Hospital on the same premises. “It was a holiday for Karnataka Rajyotsava so only doctors who were on duty were in the OPD. Our postgraduate student was tending to cases when a mob of around twenty to thirty people barged into the clinic,” says Dr Nitin, a consultant from the Department of General Surgery who was also on the hospital campus on Friday night. Despite the fact that a complaint was given on Friday night to the VV Puram police station, no arrests have been made. The doctors are demanding police action be taken against the perpetrators and have decided to go on strike until this demand is met. A complaint was filed by the dean of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), DR HS Satish with the VV Puram Police after which police filed an FIR against unknown members of the KRV. A video of the incident from Friday evening shows the mob, who are allegedly members of the pro Kannada group, Karnataka Raksha Vedike, walking into the hospital and surrounding the female doctor. The group of individuals is seen chanting different slogans, “we want justice, we need a solution, and down down to the doctors of Minto." They were allegedly there on behalf of two patients who lost their eyesight following cataract surgery performed at the hospital in July. Also read: 2 patients lose eyesight following cataract surgery mishap at Bengaluru hospital As they begin confronting the doctor, who is heard replying in English saying that she does not want to reply, someone from the group questions why she isn’t speaking in Kannada. Witnesses of the incident stated that the groups members surrounded the doctor and held her by the arm. They forced another doctor who was filming the incident to stop. “It’s not the first time that something like this has happened. We come here to work, and now there’s this constant fear that something might happen. How many more times do we have to ask for security measures to be increased so that our safety is not at risk?” questions another protester, Dr Pooja, who is an acquaintance of the postgraduate student who was attacked. Speaking to TNM, Sanirappa, KRV General Secretary, denied that the issue was related to the doctor speaking in English. "The affected patients approached us for help and we decided to help them. These people come from poor places and trusted the hospital but have now ended up losing their eyesight, they hadn’t been given the compensation. That is all we wanted to ask about,” he said. “When we came here, the doctors behaved in a disgusting way. As you might have seen in the media, the doctors don't respect Kannada and despite knowing the language they do not speak it,” claimed one of the members of the group in a video addressing the media. Also read: KRV members allegedly assault Bengaluru hospital doctor for not speaking in Kannada

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Railway Board clears long-awaited Bengaluru suburban rail project

Transport

The only step left now is the clearance from the Union cabinet.

Soumya Chatterjee

Decades after it was first proposed, a dedicated suburban railway service for Bengaluru, has been approved by the Extended Railway Board (ERB) of the Indian Railways on Monday.  The development was confirmed by Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan to TNM. He also said the Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav is also likely to fly down to Bengaluru in the coming days to meet Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Speaking on the same, Bengaluru South MP, Tejasvi Surya said, “This is an important bureaucratic milestone. We have achieved the penultimate step.  Now, this will be submitted for approval from cabinet committee." The announcement comes after various citizen groups in Bengaluru persistently asked authorities to start the services as a solution to the city’s growing traffic problem especially in the high density IT corridor along the Outer Ring Road. Even in the run-up to the railway board meeting, there was a Twitter campaign by Bengaluru activists. Cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai already have suburban railway services. “The services once started will benefit more than a crore of people, not only those living in Bengaluru but also those from nearby towns and villages who travel to the city and back. Moreover, this will also minimise the vehicular pollution and congestion in the city,” Rajkumar Dugar, Convenor, Citizens 4 Citizens (an NGO), said.   Read: Bengaluru suburban rail services to airport likely to start before 2020 He added, “This project now awaits the final clearance from union Cabinet and we hope all our MPs will ensure quick approval and subsequent fast-tracking of this project.” The conversation on suburban railways was re-ignited by various citizen-led campaigns like Chuku Buku Beku and Modalu Train Beku. Responding to the campaigns, both the BJP at the Centre and Congress at the state had announced new trains and allocations for suburban rail in both state and Union budgets. However, despite an announcement by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in February ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the promise remained unfulfilled. In May, the PMO suggested changes in the Rs 22,242 crore plan mutually agreed by the state and Centre. Srinivas Alavilli, the co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru, that led these campaigns, said, “It is heartening to hear that the ERB has cleared the project today while it’s extremely frustrating that this has been delayed for decades. There is some clarity now that there were certain objections that came from the PMO and the Niti Ayog and those were the reasons why the project report had to be revised.” “The real benefit that Bengaluru can get from Railways in the short term is that if they can run a few local short-distance trains using the existing infrastructure and do things like set up halt stations in places like Maratahalli. Initiatives working closely with BMTC to ensure bus connectivity from these stations will ensure that thousands of cars are off the Outer Ring Road. Once the project is fully functional, it will surely help lakhs and lakhs of people," he added. 

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66-yr-old Bengaluru woman with cognitive disability goes missing, family seeks help

Missing Person

Uma was last spotted near Bellary Road on Saturday evening, heading back towards Geddalahalli.

TNM Staff

A 66-year-old Bengaluru woman went missing on Friday evening and her family and the police have been actively looking for her since. Her family has sought help since Uma lives with a cognitive disability. Uma, the 66-year-old woman, was going to visit the hospital near her house in Sanjaynagar along with her brother Neelakantan (70) on Friday evening. Neelakantan had asked Uma to walk ahead to the hospital and he would be right behind her. However, by the time Neelakantan reached the hospital, which was a five-minute walk from their home, Uma was nowhere to be found. Neelakantan immediately informed his niece Janaki (40) and her husband Mani (45), both techies, who organized a search party for Uma. Mani, Janaki and her sister Deepa began looking for her near the hospital. “We were only looking for her near the hospital and surrounding areas. She had suffered a head injury as a child and has been living with a cognitive disability since then. She would never cross the road by herself so we were only looking for her on one side of the road,” Janaki says. Neelakantan, meanwhile, filed a missing persons complaint with the Sanjaynagar Police on Saturday morning. Simultaneously, Mani managed to obtain CCTV footage from a shop near the Sanjaynagar signal, where he could see Uma crossing the road that leads towards Geddalahalli. Mani, Janaki and Deepa followed her trail and began looking for her in Geddalahalli. “We began showing street vendors her picture and they told us that they had seen her. We kept searching for her and finally, we approached a bhel puri vendor. He told us that he had seen her and she seemed lost. He asked her where she was going and she told him that her brother was following her as she was walking back home. He told us that she then walked away,” Janaki adds. Uma’s relatives also obtained CCTV footage from a jewellery store, which showed Uma heading towards Mekhri circle. When they got footage from the Bengaluru Traffic Police from the cameras near Bellary Road, they found that Uma was headed back towards Geddalahalli on Saturday evening. “That’s the last we saw of her. We don’t know where she is anymore. We really need to find her. She requires special care because of her mental health issues and she is old,” Janaki said. The Sanjaynagar Police have issued a lookout notice and are currently combing through CCTV footage from various bus stops, junctions and private CCTV cameras in the area. The police are also making regular announcements on All India Radio. If you have seen Uma or if you have any information about her, you can contact Deepa on +91 99022 89839.    

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As protests erupt, Udupi police insist Principal of Don Bosco school killed self

Death

Udupi Superintendent of Police (SP) Nisha James was prompted to make the clarification after a protest was held demanding a deeper investigation into Father Mahesh D’Souza’s death.

Prajwal Bhat

Udupi police stated that preliminary reports suggested that the death of Father Mahesh D'Souza, an assistant parish priest and principal of Don Bosco School, is a case of suicide. Mahesh, 36 was found dead in his office at Don Bosco School at around 9:05 pm on October 11.  Udupi Superintendent of Police (SP) Nisha James was prompted to make the clarification after a protest was held at the Our Lady of Health Church in Shirva in Udupi district of Karnataka calling for a deeper investigation into the incident. Protesters, who were mostly members of the Christian community and other residents of Shirva, suggested that there was foul play involved in the sudden demise of Mahesh, a 36-year-old priest in Shirva.  The police investigating the case have stated that they have not found any suicide note during a preliminary search of his room and his belongings. A case of unnatural death was registered at the Shirva Police Station on October 12.  Nisha James said that the preliminary post-mortem report suggested that there was no foul play involved. "The preliminary post-mortem report suggests that the father took his own life. We are yet to receive the final FSL report from the regional office in Mangaluru but it appears to be a case of suicide due to personal grievances," the SP said. The preliminary post-mortem was conducted at the Forensic Department of Kasturba Hospital in Manipal. The viscera was sent to the FSL Laboratory in Mangaluru for further investigation. Police officials also analysed data from Mahesh's mobile  phone and conducted an inquest into the priest's death by speaking to family members. "If anyone is suggesting foul play or doubt the nature of the investigation, they are free to come forward and register a complaint," added Nisha. Protesters who gathered at the church in Shirva had on Saturday raised doubts about the police's investigation of the case. Hundreds of protesters, mostly members of the Christian community and other residents of Shirva, gathered at the local church and staged a flash protest. The protesters alleged that another leader associated with the church had visited the parish priest on the day he was found dead. "We cannot disclose the full details of the investigation but due to a law and order situation (at the protest), we are giving a clarification. All scientific evidence collected so far suggests that there was no foul play involved. We will be issuing a statement once the final post-mortem reports are filed," a police official in Udupi added.  The members of Mahesh's family in a statement said that they were satisfied with the investigation into the priest's death. However, angry parishioners plan to continue the agitation over the death on Tuesday with another protest planned at the church in Shirva.  Mahesh hailed from Moodubelle and was ordained as a priest in 2013. He was previously the assistant parish priest at Milagres Mount Rosary Church in Kallianpur. In 2016, Mahesh was posted in Shirva and was also made the Principal of the Don Bosco School, Shirva. Mahesh along with Father Ashwin Aranha managed the day-to-day administrative affairs of the parish and the school.  If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help.  Tamil Nadu:  State health department suicide helpline number - 104 Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in TN) Telangana:   Telangana government suicide prevention toll free no - 104  Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001 SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)  Karnataka: Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222 Kerala: Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530 Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161 Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.  Andhra Pradesh:  Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930  Roshni  Helpline 1: 9166202000  Helpline 2: 9127848584  

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MLA disqualification: Cong tells SC to listen to audio tape allegedly of Yediyurappa

MLAs Disqualification Case

Justice NV Ramana said he would ask CJI Ranjan Gogoi to constitute a three-judge bench to consider the matter.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka Congress on Monday submitted new documents to support its case against the 17 disqualified MLAs in the Supreme Court. The counsel representing the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee – Kapil Sibal, submitted a video, an audio tape and several newspaper clippings about the tape allegedly of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa that had gone viral on Friday. A video surfaced on Friday evening allegedly showing Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa admitting to carrying out Operation Kamala in the state on the instructions of BJP's national leaders. While the audio was captured, one could not confirm if it was Yediyurappa who was addressing the meeting.   The Supreme Court was slated to issue orders on Monday regarding the petition filed by the rebel leaders to quash their disqualification orders. Justice NV Ramana, who is currently hearing the case, informed Kapil Sibal that he would take up the matter with Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and ask him to set up a three-judge bench to decide on the matter. The hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday. The Congress has accused Yediyurappa of confessing to poaching 17 rebel legislators from Congress and JD(S), which led to the collapse of the coalition. The Congress has requested the Supreme Court to uphold former Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar’s order, which had disqualified the rebel MLAs and made them ineligible to contest bye-elections for the rest of the present Karnataka Assembly’s term. Kapil Sibal told the court that if the Speaker’s order is not upheld, then the 10th Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law) would be compromised. Chief Minister Yediyurappa has, however, issued a clarification on Saturday regarding the viral video.  “Yes, I had spoken to the party workers in Hubballi and I told them to say good things about the disqualified MLAs,” Yediyurappa had said.  Karnataka Congress leaders had also met Governor Vajubhai Vala and had asked him to dismiss the Yediyurappa government. Congress leaders say that they will submit a memorandum to the President Ramnath Kovind seeking the dismissal of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had allegedly overseen Operation Kamala. Read: Cong calls for K'taka govt's dismissal, Yediyurappa rubbishes Operation Kamala claims    

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Bengaluru doctors protesting attack on student call for indefinite boycott of services

Protest

Resident doctors and medical students have been protesting since Saturday after a postgraduate student was allegedly attacked by members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.

TNM Staff

Doctors and medical students belonging to the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) Resident Doctors’ Association continue to protest and have called for an ‘indefinite boycott’ of outpatient services. The medicos began protesting on Saturday following the alleged attack on a postgraduate student by members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV). Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Sunday announced that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) would be sent to the hospital for additional security and also stated that CCTV camera installations would be taken up soon and requested the resident doctors to discontinue their protests. It all started on Friday at around 3.30 pm on the premises of Minto Eye Hospital on the BMCRI campus, when members of the KRV confronted a doctor, who is a postgraduate student at BMCRI, for not speaking in Kannada. They allegedly began arguing with the doctor, alleging that a patient who had been one of the victims of the botched cataract surgeries which took place at the hospital in July, had not been compensated for their losses. The discussion soon turned ugly after the group began confronting the doctor for not speaking in Kannada, according to TNIE. The conversation became even more heated and the group members surrounded the resident doctor and allegedly held her by the arm and made her sit on the floor. Doctors alleged that another doctor who was filming the incident was forcibly made to stop. An FIR was registered by police officials at the VV Puram Police Station against unknown members of the KRV after a complaint was filed by Dr HS Satish, dean of BMCRI. Members of the pro-Kannada outfit were at the hospital to support a protest held by 24 patients who developed severe reactions following cataract surgery at the Minto Ophthalmic Hospital. Two of the patients also lost their eyesight due to the incident. The incident occurred on Karnataka Rajyotsava, a day marking the formation of Karnataka state.

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Bengaluru woman who filed complaint against former minister found dead

Death

City police have registered a case of unnatural death and investigations are underway.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

A thirty-five-year-old woman from Bengaluru allegedly took her own life at her residence in Chandra Layout on Tuesday. The woman, identified as Anjana A Shantaveer had filed a complaint a few years ago against former Congress Minister and current BJP leader Baburao Chinchasur, accusing him of cheating her of money.   According to the police, Anjana reportedly called her son and told him that she was going to take her own life. The boy, who is a student of a private college in RR Nagar, was at his grandmother’s residence when Anjana called him at around 10.30 pm and spoke to him about her decision, citing financial difficulties.   The boy who was visiting his grandmother near Kengeri rushed home at once and took her to the hospital immediately. However, doctors declared her brought dead on arrival.   The police have stated that Anjana left behind a note, written in Kannada, apologising to her son and parents. She was a native of Hubbali district in Karnataka.   According to some reports, several bank managers had filed cases of fraud against Anjana, who had pledged the same property to multiple banks in order to obtain a bank loan.   In 2015, Anjana had filed a police complaint against BJP leader Baburao Chinchansur, accusing him of cheating her of more than Rs 11 crores. As per reports, she also had alleged that the politician was threatening her and had also filed a cheque bounce case against him. The case is yet to be heard in court.   The BJP had taken note of the issue and had even conducted a protest against the minister. However in August 2018, before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the BJP.   The Chandra Layout police have registered a case of unnatural death and are currently working to figure out the reason behind her death.   If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help.    Tamil Nadu:  State health department suicide helpline number - 104 Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in TN)   Telangana:   Telangana government suicide prevention toll free no - 104  Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001 SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)    Karnataka: Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222   Kerala: Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530 Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161 Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.    Andhra Pradesh:  Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930  Roshni -  Helpline 1: 9166202000  Helpline 2: 9127848584

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