Congress keen for an alliance with JD(S), ready for ‘compromise’ CM face

Politics

Sources say that the Congress is mulling over choosing Mallikarjun Kharge or DK Shivakumar as its next Chief Ministerial candidate if the party gets the chance to come to power

Theja Ram

Congress leaders, Dr G Parameshwara and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao, had on Sunday stated that the party is open to an alliance with the JD(S) if the BJP cannot retain power. Speculation about a possible alliance kicked off as former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was seen holding talks with former Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday at the VIP lounge in Hubballi Airport. Party insiders say that the Congress is unwilling to give up the Chief Minister’s post in case an alliance does materialise.   Though the Congress seems keen on an alliance with the JD(S) again, sources close to Kumaraswamy, say that neither he nor his father HD Deve Gowda, are willing to shake hands if the Congress decides to put up Siddaramaiah as its Chief Ministerial candidate. Congress sources say that the party is considering former Kalaburgi MP Mallikarjun Kharge or former water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar for the post of CM in case the alliance has a chance to clinch power once again. The numbers The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has a strength of 224 legislators. The BJP currently has 105 MLAs in its kitty. In addition, the independent MLA from Mulbagal, N Mahesh has given his support to the BJP. This means that the party needs to win seven more seats to gain a simple majority and continue as the ruling party.   A few in the BJP prefer to sit in the opposition, rather than form an alliance with the JD(S). “We have learned our lesson twice while dealing with the JD(S) [The collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2006 and 2019]. We’d rather sit in the opposition,” a source in the BJP said. The tussle in the grand old party A Congress leader, close to Siddaramaiah said that the former Chief Minister would not allow anyone else from the party to become the Chief Minister. “Siddaramaiah has sabotaged Mallikarjun Kharge’s chances of becoming the Chief Minister in the past,” the Congress leader said. In 2019, when the dissent was apparent in the coalition government, Kumaraswamy had told the media that the JD(S) was willing to concede the Chief Minister post to Congress if it chose Kharge as the CM. But “forces inside the Congress” (he was referring to Siddaramaiah) had stopped Kharge from becoming CM, Kumaraswamy had said. Congress insiders say that the party is highly unlikely to offer the post to DK Shivakumar despite pressure from the JD(S) as he has been mired in several controversies. Shivakumar is currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate on allegations of money laundering. The Income Tax Department too is probing a case of disproportionate assets.     

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/383r1uM
via IFTTT

Ragged, assaulted by seniors in Bengaluru college, 21-yr-old struggles to finish studies

Campus

With the college yet to suspend the accused students, the family fears that Ameen would be in danger if he goes back.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Representative image

Two months after he was ragged and brutally assaulted in a Bengaluru college, Ameen has not yet mustered the courage to go back to college. Although, days after the assault, Ameen had all intentions to go back to East Point College, he and his family fear that he would be harmed again if he returns to the campus. “I’m afraid to send him back. What if the senior students decide to exact revenge on him for filing a complaint against them? Yet, the principal of the college called us and asked him to join classes again,” Laila, Ameen’s mother, told TNM. According to Ameen, a total of 16 seniors assaulted him, but he knew the names of only six, and he named them in the complaint. The police were able to catch only one person and the rest of the students are suspected to be at large. The arrested student, too, is now out on bail. While further police action is not expected in the case, Laila is also disappointed that the accused students were not taken to task by the college. With the college yet to suspend those who have been named in the complaint filed by Ameen, the family feels there is no sense of security while they contemplate his return to the college. Ameen, who dreamt of pursuing a career in aviation, came to Bengaluru with stars in his eyes. He was here to study business administration, after completing a degree in physics previously. He enrolled himself into East Point College in July this year, dreaming of a bright future. However, within three months of attending college, he began to be subjected to ragging. On October 15, he was beaten brutally by a group of seniors from his college.  Read: ‘Scared to go back to college’, says Bengaluru student ragged, assaulted by seniors Laila says all that she hopes now is that the college returns his certification and fees. “Ameen’s father passed away when he was 6. I took a loan of Rs 1 lakh to pay half of the fees. If I have to send him for another course, I need the money back,” she says. The college, however, seems to be increasingly flippant. TNM contacted Vijay Bhaskar, the Principal of East Point College, to comment. However, he immediately disconnected the call as soon as he heard the word “ragging”. He refused all subsequent calls.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2rR78Gq
via IFTTT

Liquor shops, pubs closed for 3 days in parts of Bengaluru, K’taka ahead of bye-polls

Bye-elections

Sale of liquor is prohibited in addition to restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC from 6pm on Tuesday until 6pm on Thursday.

TNM Staff

Representational Image

Selling of liquor at retail shops and at pubs will be prohibited in parts of Bengaluru and rest of the state from Tuesday evening onwards for the next three days on account of the upcoming bye-elections in Karnataka. The bye-polls in the 15 seats will take place on December 5 and the result will be declared on December 9. The seats that are going to the polls are Gokak, Athani, Ranebennur, Kagwad, Hirekerur, Yellapur, Yeshwanthpura, Vijayanagara, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, Hunsur, Krishnarajpet, Mahalakshmi Layout, KR Puram and Chikballapura. Out of them, Shivaji Nagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, KR Puram and Yeshwanthpura are the four seats in Bengaluru city. Hosakote is in Bengaluru Rural district. In Bengaluru, Mysuru and Ballari where there is a city corporation, the dry day rules will be effected only within the Assembly constituencies where the bye-polls will be held.  In the rest of the districts, there will be a blanket ban on sale of liquor for the next three days.  The prohibition is in addition to Section 144 of CrPC (prohibitory orders) that will be imposed on these seats from 6 pm on December 3 to 6 pm on December 5 as announced by the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner. The model code of conduct for the elections came into effect from November 11. Since then, the police and Election Commission have cumulatively removed 1527 wall writings, 7963 posters and 2359 banners from public property. From private property cumulatively 835 wall writings, 1352 posters and 1462 banners were removed. Further, Static Surveillance Teams have seized cash worth Rs 42,00,000 in the last 24 hours. Cumulatively, the Static Surveillance Teams have seized cash of Rs 3,69,18,325, vehicles worth Rs 3,50,000, party accessories worth Rs 27,000 and sarees and blouses worth Rs 30,83,319.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/34WlbJq
via IFTTT

After Dalit man's murder in Karnataka, family alleges false case foisted to silence them

Crime

25 people from the Dalit community have been booked for allegedly setting the accused’s home on fire, however, they say they had nothing to do with the incident.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Ramu's portrait, held up by his brother. Image courtesy Siddappa

A case of arson has been filed against 25 people from the Dalit community in Alur in Karnataka’s Hassan district, for allegedly setting on fire the home of the accused in the murder case of a 45-year-old Dalit man Ramu. Ramu was murdered on November 15 allegedly for trying to break up a fight between two people from Alur. At the time, the Alur Police had registered a case of murder against Mahesh and three others from his family. On the night of the murder, Mahesh’s house was set on fire and the police have now booked 25 people from the Dalit community for arson.  However, Allappa, Ramu’s nephew, who was with him on the night of the murder, alleges that the members of the Dalit community had nothing to do with the fire at Mahesh’s residence. Allappa works as a nurse at a private hospital in Bengaluru, but was at the spot on November 15. Allappa claims that Mahesh and his family members, who are from Hanjialli, had had an altercation with Gangadhara, who is from Dharmapur village on November 15. He says that Gangadhara’s brothers and a few others from Dharmapur were present when the altercation occurred. Allappa, however, alleges that Gangadhara's family members set Mahesh's house on fire. The events that led to Ramu’s death On the morning of November 15, Gangadhara had allegedly been driving his car rashly through the Hanjihalli village. He allegedly hit Mahesh’s wife and dog with his car. “Mahesh blocked the road, and when Gangadhara was on the way back, he was questioned by Mahesh. Gangadhara, at that time, had apologised to Mahesh. However, that evening, he decided to go back to Mahesh’s house and fight,” Sagar, Ramu’s 19-year-old son told TNM. Ramu, a resident of a Dalit hamlet, Basaveshwara Nagar, happened to be passing by Mahesh’s house, on the way to his fields, along with Allappa. Allappa says that Ramu was on good terms with Gangadhara, because he often sub-contracted masonry work to Ramu in other villages. So Ramu decided to stop and try to break up the fight. However, while trying to do so, he was killed. Before he was killed, Mahesh allegedly asked him, “What is your caste? Who are you to give me instructions?” A fact-finding team of activists and lawyers was formed to probe the incident. Siddaraju, a member of National Dalit Human Rights Commission, says that Mahesh allegedly used a machete to kill Ramu.  “Mahesh was already enraged and the altercation had taken an ugly turn. Mahesh was holding a machete, swung it and hit Ramu on the neck. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance along with Gangadhara, who also received minor injuries,” Siddaraju added. Allappa, who was with Ramu, says he got scared when the fight escalated and ran towards Basaveshwara village, where Ramu lived. He then alerted the members of his community. In the meantime, an ambulance was called to the spot where Ramu was attacked. “I got terribly afraid when I saw that the fight was getting serious, and began running towards Basaveshwara village to alert people and call for backup. When I reached there, my friend, who works with the 108 ambulance service, sent me pictures of Ramu’s body. I then informed the community of his death and went to the Alur hospital,” Allappa said. On the night of November 15, the Alur Police registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and sections 302 (murder), 304 (attempt to murder), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC. That night, Mahesh’s house was also set on fire and the police have taken suo motu cognisance and booked 25 members of the Dalit community from Basaveshwar Nagar for arson, causing mischief, and unlawful assembly. The fire and the fallout When the fire was reported at Mahesh’s house on the night of November 15, members of the Dalit community reached the spot as the news spread. The police, who were also there along with firefighters, began to take videos of the burning building. The police have accused people from the Dalit village of setting the house on fire. They further alleged that a few members of the Dalit community began throwing stones at the police and prevented them from doing their duty. “After Gangadhara went to the hospital, he underwent treatment for his minor injuries, and escaped. He is now absconding, and we believe that Gangadhara asked one of his family members, to set Mahesh’s house on fire,” Sagar alleges. Ranganna, one of the village elders at Basaveshwara Nagar, says, "The fire may have been started by Madhu, one of Gangadhara’s brothers, who was present at the time of the altercation (on November 15)." Activists have been trying to get the police to drop the case against the members of the Dalit community in Basaveshwara Nagar. “People from Basaveshawara village are all from the SC community. The FIR doesn’t name any individual, but we want the police to drop the counter-case, and focus on the case of the murder of an individual from the SC community,” Gangadhar, an advocate and part of the National Dalit Human Rights Commission, says.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/34LPi6m
via IFTTT

8-year-old girl sexually assaulted, murdered in Karnataka

Crime

The accused allegedly abducted her from her school on the pretext of buying her chocolates.

TNM Staff

A horrifying case of child sexual abuse and murder came to light in Karnataka’s Kalaburgi on Monday evening after the police found the body of an eight-year-old girl near a storm water drain. The Sulepet Police and local residents found the girl’s body during a search operation they were conducting for the missing girl.  Around 10.30 am on Monday, residents of the village in Kalaburgi had seen the girl walking with a 35-year-old man named Yellappa near the anganwadi. Yellappa had allegedly gone to the government school, where the girl studies in class 2 and had offered to buy her a chocolate. When the girl did not come home at 4.30 pm, her parents began worrying and went to the school to enquire about their daughter. The students and teachers allegedly told the girl’s parents that she had not come to school and assumed that she had taken a day off. Her parents then rushed to the Sulepet Police station and filed a missing persons complaint. A team of six police officers then set out to look for the girl across the village and the outskirts, along the highway. Meanwhile, the girl’s parents too formed a search party and the residents of the village began looking for the girl. Around 7.30 pm, residents who were carrying battery-operated LED lamps, found a dress, which looked like it belonged to a little girl, near a dilapidated plot next to the primary storm water drain. They immediately alerted the police, who closed off the crime scene. Sulepet Police told TNM that the girl’s throat had been slit and that she was stabbed multiple times.Residents of the village informed the police that Yellappa was with the girl on Monday morning. “We found a pair of men’s underwear near the girl’s body. When we found Yellappa, he was near the village square. His clothes were bloody and he was drunk. He was drunk when he abducted the girl. We took him into custody and questioned him,” Sulepet Police told TNM. Investigating officers say that Yellappa confessed to sexually assaulting and killing the girl. “When we arrested him, he kept saying that she did not listen to him. He was incoherent. After he became sober, we questioned him once more and he confessed to sexually assaulting and killing the girl,” the police added. The Sulepet Police have booked Yellappa under section 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and sections 3(b)(2) (penetrative sexual assault) and 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. Yellappa is currently in police custody and will be produced before the magistrate on Tuesday evening.     

Body 2: 

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

Bengaluru police arrest man a day after he allegedly stabbed a head constable

Crime

Mardhan, who was arrested, had allegedly attacked a head constable a day earlier.

TNM Staff

Police in Bengaluru nabbed a man on Sunday after shooting him on both legs a day after he allegedly stabbed a policeman in RT Nagar Police Station limits. Inspector Mithun Shilpi reportedly resorted to shooting at Mardhan after he allegedly attacked the police at the time of his arrest. Mardhan had allegedly managed to attack two cops with knife and stones. He is currently undergoing treatment at the Victoria Hospital.  This incident happened when police had rounded him up and was doing the spot inspection to recover the weapon used to stab Nagaraj. Subsequently two of his associates were also arrested.  Police said Mardhan is a habitual offender and has four cases against him in RT Nagar and Hebbal Police Stations. Even the day before he attacked the policeman, he had allegedly attacked his brother-in-law over a trivial issue.   Head Constable Nagaraj, 40, was allegedly stabbed by Mardhan on Saturday when he was taking him and another man Kandala to the RT Nagar Police Station as they were allegedly harassing women in the locality. Nagaraj and another policeman Chandrashekhar were visiting Chamundi Nagar on Saturday to verify a passport applicant’s background. It was then that the police were told by locals about the incidents of harassment. While the two policemen were making their way back to the police station on their bike at around 1:15 pm, they reportedly spotted the two accused in a group of men who were allegedly harassing women. When the police tried to catch hold of them, the men tried to run away, but the police managed to apprehend two of them. Nagaraj put them in an autorickshaw along with him. It was then in the autorickshaw that the policeman was allegedly assaulted. Nagaraj was admitted in a private hospital where he is now recuperating and his condition is stable.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2sx1qKf
via IFTTT

Bengaluru metro to allow women to carry pepper spray

Women's Safety

Until now, security staff were confiscating pepper sprays in some stations.

TNM Staff

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) has decided to allow women to carry pepper spray as a means of self-defense. This after stiff opposition both online and offline over the unofficial ban on women being allowed to carry pepper spray on the metro. Speaking with The Hindu, BL Yeshwanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, said that the corporation's security department has gone over the issue and has decided to okay it. He also said that all security staff at the station have been now directed to allow women to carry pepper sprays. Earlier there have been instances of pepper sprays being confiscated by security staff at some stations as they were considered to be inflammable.  The issue has come up after incidents of violence and sexual assault against women in the country including the recent rape and murder of a Hyderabadi veterinarian. Following the gruesome crime, there have been many who have questioned the stand by some security staff in the Bengaluru metro. Speaking to TNM, Anusha, a regular metro user said, “I was stopped once in May by security staff at Rajajinagar for carrying it. At that time, they had confiscated it. Since then I did not buy another one. But after the Hyderabad incident, I decided I should carry one for my own protection. But again both me and my friend were stopped during the security check.” She added, “At a time when we are unsafe in the streets and there is no increased vigilance by police to protect women, how can authorities stop us from carrying something which is important for our self defence?” Rakshit S Ponnathpur, a public policy researcher at NLSUI, Bengaluru  also tweeted, “Dear @cpronammametro, why is your security staff confiscating pepper sprays from women in a few stations? You can't arbitrarily deny women access to a handy self-defense mechanism, when they have to resort to alternate modes of transport as well, to reach their destinations!” He asked, “Are these arbitrary decisions taken by security staff or is it a BMRCL rule? Will your staff take responsibility for the safety of women commuters when they make them exit the stations after disarming them with the one self-defense option they had at their disposal?”    Are these arbitrary decisions taken by security staff or is it a BMRCL rule? Will your staff take responsibility for the safety of women commuters when they make them exit the stations after disarming them with the one self-defense option they had at their disposal? — Rakshith S Ponnathpur | ರಕ್ಷಿತ್ (@rsponnathpur) December 1, 2019  

Body 2: 

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