37 Catholic priests and a woman accuse Mysuru Bishop of sexual misconduct, corruption

Controversy

Bishop KA William has however categorically denied all these allegations.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Prajwal Bhat

37 catholic priests from different parishes in Mysuru district of Karnataka have levelled serious allegations against Bishop KA William, the seventh Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Mysore. The allegations include sexual misconduct, criminal activities and kidnapping. "We have come to know that there are as many as four women who have raised complaints against the Bishop in the last two-and-a-half years," Melwyn Fernandes, General Secretary of the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) told TNM. AOCC has also alleged that the Bishop has fathered two children. The main allegation is that the Bishop had a relationship with a woman, and had a child with him. According to AOCC, the child is studying in a school on the outskirts of the city. However, this woman, has not spoken out or corroborated the allegations. Another woman who has previously worked in the diocese,  put out a video statement accusing another priest Leslie Morris of making sexual advances. She has also alleged that Bishop William supported the priest. “I was called to the office after my field work at around 6 pm on the pretext of giving a report of what I had been doing. At that time, he [Leslie Morris] was grazing himself against me lustfully. Later, he directly approached me for sex, and said, ‘only if you compromise with me, you will have a job.’ I decided to quit my job thereafter, in May 2018.”  In the video, she also alleged that her life was in danger. “Some men came to my new workplace in July 2018 and made me accompany them after I got a threat call from the Bishop. The men took me to a car and wiped all the data on my phone. Then they offered to give me money,” she alleged. Bishop KA William has however denied all these allegations categorically. "The allegations are false and I feel sorry for the accusers, because without even contacting me or trying to know the truth they have published this in the media. We could have avoided this damage by having a discussion," he said. In a press meet on Wednesday, he said, “Everything said about me and priest Leslie Morris is a complete lie. If you examine this, you will understand it is a concocted story.” “If given to a producer, a film can be made of this, he added. The accusers however demand that the Bishop should take a paternity test. “If he is not the father of the child, why should he refuse the test? We demand that he take the test in Mumbai as he has too much influence here,” says Joseph Sodder, a lawyer who is part of the case.   A complaint was filed at the Lashkar police station in Mysuru on November 5 by AOCC member Robert Rosario against the Bishop on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, intimidation, land grabbing, criminal conspiracy, and attempt to murder. The FIR is yet to be filed, and an investigation is ongoing. It is to be noted that Robert has had a case against him previously for spreading communal hatred during the assembly elections in May. AOCC members have also written to the Vatican urging the immediate removal of Bishop KA William. The letter states that Bishop William "…has strong connections with the politicians of criminal record, corrupt police officials and corrupt bureaucrats. It is highly worrisome that he has also connections with the underworld."

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Amrita college suicide: Two weeks on Bengaluru police make no arrests in the case

Crime

Sri Harsha’s father has accused the Dean of Engineering and nine other faculty members of mentally harassing his son.

Theja Ram

Its has been a fortnight since fourth-year engineering student Sri Harsha took his own life at the Amrita School of Engineering campus and the Bengaluru police have not made any arrests in the case. When TNM reached out to ACP of Electronic City S Vasu, who was the police officer in-charge of overseeing the probe and the Investigating officer Nandeesh, both refused to comment on the issue. Sri Harsha’s father has accused the Dean of Engineering and nine other faculty members of mentally harassing his son. Protests broke out in the college, which went on for four days and the students had demanded that the accused in the case be barred from entering the campus until the case reaches its logical end. However, the college management shut the college until further notice and allegedly forced the students to call off the protests. Read: ‘Amrita college is responsible for my son’s death’: Sri Harsha’s father speaks out Speaking to TNM, one of the students, whose statements was taken by the police, says that the college management has informed the students that classes would not begin on November 4 as mentioned earlier. The college has also decided to hold a “trust building” session for the parents of all students at the Choodasandra campus between November 7 and 12. “Management has informed us that college will be shut until further notice. The trust building session is because parents are also thinking about getting their children out of the college after the incident and the management does not want that. We should see what new things they will say now. The police have asked me to come and meet them after college reopens,” the student said. Sri Harsha was accused of vandalizing a CCTV camera on the night of September 23, when protests broke out in the campus. Students, who were angered by Director Dhanaraj Swamy’s alleged apathy towards their demands for their basic right to food and water, had vandalized seven buses, a window of a provision shop and one CCTV camera.  He and his father were called before the disciplinary committee. It was after a second appearance before the committee that Sri Harsha killed himself. On October 22, the Parappana Agrahara Police registered an FIR against the Dean of Engineering at Amrita School of Engineering, Choodasandra – Dhanaraj Swamy, Rakesh SG lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department, Bhaskar BL from the Chemistry Department, Ravi Kumar from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Ramesh TK from the ECE Department, Nipun Kumar and Amudha J from the CSE Department, Ventatesh B from the Math Department, Nagaraja SR the HOD of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Murty NS the HOD of ECE Department in connection with the case. Students began protesting soon after Harsha’s death and demanded that members of the disciplinary committee be removed immediately. On October 24, the Dean of Engineering, Amrita University – Dr Sasangan Ramanathan, and two other members of the college’s management arrived in Bengaluru to conduct talks with the students. Read: Amrita student suicide: 10 staff members booked for allegedly tampering with crime scene    

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Bengaluru Blasters’ batsman Nishant Shekhawat held in KPL match-fixing case

Sports

The Central Crime Branch have also issued lookout circulars against two bookies who were allegedly involved in betting and fixing Karnataka Premier League matches.

TNM Staff

Police in Bengaluru on Tuesday arrested Bengaluru Blasters’ batsman Nishant Singh Shekhawat for his alleged involvement in a match-fixing and betting case in connection with the 2018 edition of Karnataka Premier League, according to reports. He is the second cricketer to be arrested in this case following the arrest of M Vishwanathan on October 25.  Earlier, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) which is probing the case under Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil, had also arrested Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of KPL team Belagavi Panthers in September. In addition, Bengaluru Blasters bowling coach Vinu Prasad has also been arrested. The CCB have also issued lookout circulars against two bookies who were allegedly involved in betting and fixing Karnataka Premier League (KPL) cricket matches and are currently on the run. Police believe that the arrest of the duo could lead them to international links in the betting racket and also reveal the scope of the racket. In addition, police also arrested celebrity drummer Bhavesh Bafna for allegedly approaching a player and luring him to concede more than 10 runs in an over in October.  Deccan Chronicle reported Patil as saying that it was Shekhawat who had introduced Vishwanathan and Prasad to Monty aka Manoj Kumar, a Chandigarh-based bookie. Indian Express reported that Shekhawat had come under the police scanner following the arrest of coach Prasad and teammate Vihwanathan. Police said that they have so far established that Vishwanathan was paid Rs 5 lakh to bat slowly. The KPL was established by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in 2009. It pits franchises based in the state in an IPL-style Twenty20 cricket tournament. The crackdown on suspected betting and match-fixing in the KPL comes after the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) had come under the scanner of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Setback for Karnataka Congress as senior leader CH Vijayashankar returns to BJP

Politics

Vijayashankar contested from the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections on a Congress ticket and lost to BJP's Pratap Simha.

IANS

In a setback to the opposition Congress in Karnataka ahead of 15 bypolls in Karnataka, its senior leader and former lawmaker C.H. Vijayashankar from Mysuru returned to the ruling BJP in Bengaluru, a party official said on Tuesday. "It was a home-coming for Vijayashankar who returned to the BJP two years after he quit in 2017 and joined the Congress in 2018 before the assembly elections," a party official told IANS. Vijayashankar contested from the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections on a Congress ticket and lost to BJP's Pratap Simha. Party's state unit president Naleen Kumar Kateel and state chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa were among the leaders and cadres who welcomed Vijayashankar back into the party fold. "I have submitted my resignation from the Congress last week to its party high command and decided to rejoin the BJP for strengthening the party and its government in the state," Vijayashankar said on the occasion. Vijayashankar's return to the saffron party comes ahead of the bye-elections in the southern state on December 5, including two in the old Mysuru region from where two former JD(S) rebel legislators A.H. Vishwanath and K.C. Narayana Gowda resigned from Hunsuru and K.R. Pet assembly segments, resulting in their disqualification and expulsion from the regional party in July. "I was involved in party activities and held important positions when I was in the BJP until two years ago. In the Congress, however, no position or responsibilities were given to make best use of my services and political experiences. Hence, I have quit the party and came back to the BJP," Vijayashankar told reporters in Bengaluru. Vijayashankar was BJP's district president and state unit's vice-president and represented twice the Hunsur assembly seat and the Lok Sabha twice from Mysuru in the past. As the opposition leader in the assembly and former state chief minister Siddaramaiah, Vijayashankar is a popular Kurba leader in the state's southern region from the shepherd community.

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Bollards stolen from St Mark’s Road footpath in heart of Bengaluru

Crime

This is not the first such instance.

TNM Staff

In a shocking development, as many as 11 bollards placed on the pedestrian island on St Marks Road Circle near the State Bank of India in the heart of Bengaluru were stolen by miscreants on Monday night. This is the third such incident on the same stretch of road since the roads were renovated under the TenderSure model. According to police, the area is surveilled by CCTV cameras but even that did not deter the thieves. Noting the incident, BBMP Assistant Engineer B Nagaraju approached the police, said the TOI report. The bollards cost Rs 1.6 lakh. Earlier in March, 2018, a single bollard was stolen from the same road. Taking to Twitter, Managing Director of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw also expressed her shock. She said, “Shocking theft of bollards on St Marks TendsrSURE Road - thieves hv done this in full view of CCTVs. I guess police were not patrolling - such distasteful uncivic n uncouth behaviour,” tagging the police. In response, Bengaluru Police said Cubbon Park police have already registered a case under Section 379 (punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code. @CPBlr @AddlCPWest @DCPCentralBCP Already case has been registered in @cubbonparkps Crime No-196/2019. u/s 379 IPC. — BengaluruCityPolice (@BlrCityPolice) November 5, 2019 The Times of India reported BBMP officials as saying that it would take at least half an hour for the thieves to take out the bollards from the concrete foundations and it would attract the attention of those passing by or even the police. But it might be that the thieves were mistaken for BBMP officials who sometimes themselves work during the night. However, St Mark’s Road is not the only area in the city where bollards have been stolen. Four such bollards along with a chain were stolen in March, 2018, on Mission Road in the same Central Business District (CBD) area.

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Broken ‘Pelican’ crossings shows lack of concern for Bengaluru pedestrians: Experts

Civic/ Transport

The pedestrian-controlled road-crossing signals first appeared in the city in 2005.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Pedestrian Light Control Activation (PELICAN) crossings — the pedestrian-controlled road-crossing signals used where there are no signals otherwise — are popular all over the world, and Bengaluru has also tried to implement this system in the city. But many have been broken and unusable for months, and there is the disappointment that nobody respects the pedestrian crossing system. Pelican crossings first appeared in the city in 2005, at busy intersections where people need to cross. Despite that, there is still little awareness of how to use them, or they can’t be used like they should be. In fact, The News Minute has previously reported that drivers don’t stop for the pedestrian crossings, ignoring road users who are rightfully trying to use the pelican crossing system. Read: We tried to use Bengaluru’s new pedestrian crossing system: Here’s what happened Anusha Chitturi with the Foothpath Initiative, a group which works on pedestrian safety, says that first, basic infrastructure should be in place. “On many roads there are no proper demarcations for the people to cross, and this basic infrastructure should be in place before this expensive equipment is used. If people don’t know where to cross and cars don’t even know where to stop, then what is the point? We need more tabletop speed-breakers as well to control the speed of traffic in the city.” She says that the initiative had previously filed an RTI regarding the number of pelican crossings in the city, and got the information that there are 55 such crossings in the city. Out of this, 35 don’t work. Which means that there are only 20 working pelican crossings in the city. “People keep using it, and so it breaks through wear and tear, so some of the pelican crossings are out of use. We are putting out a tender in 2 weeks to fix around 35 pelican crossings in the city.” says Ravikanthe Gowda, the Joint Commissioner of Police for traffic. “In a city where a third of the population walks, the city should take pedestrian safety more seriously. Pedestrians are risking their lives just by walking.” says Pawan Mulukutla, an urban mobility expert. How can the city better accommodate the people who walk? “The time given for crossing should be extended. All people cannot cross within the duration as it is inadequate.” He also went on to say that there should be more pelican crossings at every junction, so that people have the option to cross when they need to. Read: Over 40 per cent of road accident victims in Bengaluru are pedestrians

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Karnataka's financials good in 100 days of BJP rule: CM Yediyurappa

Politics

The BJP government completed 100 days in office on November 2.

IANS

File image

Karnataka's financials in the first 100 days of the BJP government's rule are good and financial discipline is also well maintained, said Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday. "The state's financial situation and tax collection is as per the target in all departments except transport department. Financial discipline is also well maintained," Yediyurappa said to mark the occasion. The 76-year-old Yediyurappa became Chief Minister of the southern state for the fourth time on July 26, days after the JD(S)-Congress coalition government fell on July 23 when its Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy lost the trust vote in the state Legislative Assembly after 17 rebel legislators from both parties resigned and did not attend the 10-day monsoon session. The BJP government completed 100 days in office on November 2. Yediyurappa, who also holds the finance portfolio, however, did not share the financial numbers, including the target set and achieved in the first 100 days of his government. As the over three-month-old fledgling BJP government passed by voice vote on July 29 the state budget for fiscal 2019-20, presented by Kumaraswamy on February 8 before the general election in April-May, the estimates have not changed. Burdened by Rs 12,650-crore farm loan waiver and other exigencies, Kumaraswamy projected a deficit budget for the present fiscal. The estimated tax revenue of Rs 1,18,993 crore, including Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation from the central government was projected to be 11.9 per cent over the revised estimate of fiscal 2018-19. Though the budget has projected Rs 258 crore revenue surplus for 2019-20 as against revised estimate of Rs 194 crore for fiscal 2018-19 and reduced the burden on the capital account to Rs 174 crore from the budget estimate of Rs 579 crore for 2018-19, the budget estimates Rs 687 crore deficit for 2019-20. "We came to power with new concepts for development and to provide corruption-free governance. But sudden floods in two-thirds of the state in August forced us to provide relief works, restore normalcy, provide shelter, housing, essentials and resume services that were disrupted by the trail of disaster by heavy monsoon rains and flooding," said Yediyurappa. Titled "Dina Nooru, Sadhane Nooraru" in Kannada (Hundreds of efforts in 100 days) in the service to the people, the chief minister said the government's priorities changed as floods persisted across the state although the objective to protect their interests remained firm. "In addition to Rs 4,000 to beneficiaries of the Prime Minister's Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana scheme to 25-lakh farmers, we have waived loans of fishermen and weavers to reduce their burden," the chief minister recalled. As Karnataka is the second most arid state after Rajasthan with more dryland for growing crops round the year, the state government has given priority to irrigation to spur the farm growth. "The Union Ministry of Environment has given clearance to Kalasa-Banduri drinking water project in the state's drought-prone northwest districts of Belagavi, Hubli-Dharwad, Gadag and Vijauapura. Work is on for the upper Krishna project to irrigate more farms for boosting production," he added. The BJP government approved the treatment of 1,29,305 patients under the centrally-sponsored Ayushman Bharath Arogya Karnakata scheme during the last 100 days at a cost of Rs 197 crore. The state government has also signed an agreement to allow the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) to operate and maintain the newly-built Kalburagi airport in the state's northern district, about 650km from Bengaluru. "Bids have been invited for the development of runway at Shivamogga in the state's Malnad region for feeder air connectivity through the state-run Karnataka Industrial Investment Development Corporation (KSIIDC)," said the chief minister. The state cabinet has given consent to build Shivamogga-Shikaripur-Ranibennur railway line in the Malnad region, which falls in the assembly segment of the chief minister. The industries department has approved 34 proposals during the last 3 months with combined investment of Rs 1,414 crore and prospects of generating 8,390 jobs across the southern state.        

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