Campaigning for crucial Karnataka bypolls ends

Politics

The by-elections were necessitated due to disqualification of 14 Congress and 3 JD-S rebel legislators after they resigned from the Assembly in mid-July in protest against the then JD-S-Congress coalition government's functioning.

IANS

Campaigning for the crucial by-elections to 15 assembly seats in Karnataka on Thursday ended on Tuesday evening, with leaders and candidates of political parties and others doing their utmost to woo the electorate as the results could influence the state's future political course. "The 13-day campaign concluded peacefully in all the 15 assembly constituencies. Barring stray incidents, there were no law and order issues, as our officials kept a strict vigil for any the violation of the model code of conduct," an election official told IANS. Polling will be held on Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and votes count will be counted on December 9. "We have directed political leaders, workers and poll campaign managers who are not voters in the poll-bound areas to leave the area and candidates have been advised not to use loudspeakers during the 48-hour silent period," the official said. The candidates and their supporters, however, can canvass door-to-door on Wednesday and appeal to voters to cast their ballot on Thursday. The by-elections were necessitated due to disqualification of 14 Congress and 3 JD-S rebel legislators after they resigned from the Assembly in mid-July in protest against the then JD-S-Congress coalition government's functioning. The by-elections will be held in Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapura, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijaynagara, Chikkballapura, K.R. Pura, Yeshwanthpura, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagara, Hosakote, K.R. Pete and Hunsur. By-elections in two assembly segments -- Muski (Raichur district) and R.R. Nagar (Bengaluru) have been withheld due to litigation in the Karnataka High Court over their results in the May 2018 stare assembly elections. As many as 165 candidates, including 126 Independents and 9 women are in the fray for the 15 assembly seats. The BJP and the opposition Congress are contesting in all the 15 assembly seats, while the JD-S has fielded candidates in 12 seats. The BJP has fielded 11 former rebel Congress and 3 former rebel JD-S legislators who joined the party on November 14 after the Supreme Court on November 13 allowed them to re-contest though it upheld their disqualification by then Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar. The BJP has fielded its former corporate Sarvana from the prestigious Shivajinagara constituency in Bengaluru central. For the ruling BJP, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, three Deputy Chief Ministers G.M. Karjol, Ashwath Narayan and Laxman Savadi and dozen cabinet ministers campaigned along with hundreds of party cadres and supporters. For the Congress, its former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, party's state unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao and other senior leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and D.K. Shivakumar participated in the electioneering. JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and his son and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy led the party's campaign with senior leaders and legislators in the 12 assembly segments it is contesting.

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2 months after Bengaluru woman's death, 6-yr-old son's help proves it was murder

Crime

The accused has been identified as 21-year-old G Venkatesh Kumar, who confessed to having had an extramarital affair with the woman and killing her.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

Two months after a 23-year-old woman from Bengaluru died, a recent statement by the victim’s 5-year-old son was able to help police conclude that the woman had been murdered. The victim, identified as Sumata, was a worker at a garment factory in Chinnayanapalya. According to reports, she had been found dead at her residence on September 18. As she had been unwell for some time, her husband didn’t have any reason to suspect foul play. However, two months after her death, a statement made by the woman’s young son led her husband, Devaraj, to suspect that something was amiss. He approached Anekal police who also spoke to the boy and decided to exhume the woman’s body to investigate. “One day Venkatesh mama came home. He and amma went inside the room and they were talking loudly. Then I saw mama hit amma with a club on the back. I saw mama tying a sari around amma’s neck. She fell down and I ran out of fear,” the boy reportedlytold his father. “The man approached us with this complaint and said that the boy’s statement reminded him of some rumours that there was an affair happening between his wife and the accused. He had also realised that he had not seen the accused around the time of his wife’s death. We also spoke to the boy and he repeated what he had told his father,” said police at the Anekal station in Bengaluru to TNM. The accused has been identified as 21-year-old G Venkatesh Kumar, a resident of Chinnayanapalya who confessed to having had an extramarital affair with Sumata. As per his confession, Sumata wanted to end the relationship to which he objected. She threatened to reveal everything to his family, which angered him and led him to kill her by stranglulation. A charge sheet will be filed soon.

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Bengaluru man allegedly kills wife, tries to mislead cops claiming she met with accident

Crime

According to the International Airport Traffic Police, Tej Singh constantly fought with his wife.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly murdering his wife and misleading the police by claiming she died in a car accident. On Tuesday, the International Airport Police arrested Tej Singh, a resident of BV Raman Nagar near Bengaluru’s Hunasemaranahalli. Tej Singh and his wife Dipal Kamwar (27), originally from Rajasthan, had settled in Bengaluru a few years ago. According to the police, Tej Singh constantly fought with his wife. “The couple had a lot of marital problems and in November, he decided to kill her,” a police official told TNM.  On the night of November 16, Tej Singh allegedly came home and on the pretext of making up for fighting with Dipal, he allegedly suggested that they go out for dinner. The couple went to have dinner at a nearby restaurant and when it was time to leave, Tej Singh allegedly suggested that they go on a long drive. He booked a rental car and drove Dipal to Bechahalli Gate (which falls under the International Airport Police jurisdiction) located on the way to Nandi Hills. Police say that Tej Singh allegedly stopped the car, dragged Dipal on to the road and when she began running, he ran the car over her. He then called 100 and when the police arrived, Tej Singh allegedly claimed that his wife was run over by a man who was driving the rental car at high speed. He allegedly told the police that the driver fled after the accident. The International Airport Traffic Police registered a case under sections 304 (criminal negligence), 279 (rash driving) and 134 (abetment of assault) of the Indian Penal Code.  The police had sent Dipal’s body for an autopsy and the postmortem report concluded that Dipal died due to a head injury. “The autopsy suggested that her head was smashed. The car had hit her on the torso and the force with which she fell down could not have killed her. We then questioned Tej Singh as we suspected he may have something to do with her death. He later confessed to killing her,” the police said. The International Airport Traffic Police then transferred the case to the law and order police, who registered a murder case against Tej Singh. The International Airport Police have seized the rental car as evidence. Tej Singh has been remanded to judicial custody.    

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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.     

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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.

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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.

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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.

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