Mangaluru police release visuals of stone pelting and arson, ask citizens to send more

CAA

Though the police handle posted a series of videos, they ostensibly left out videos that question their action.

TNM Staff

The Mangaluru Police released videos of stone pelting and arson on their Facebook page on Tuesday, claiming that they were videos of the protests that took place in the city on December 19. The Mangaluru Police also thanked the locals for helping them source "high quality" images of "riots" in the city. Two people had died in Mangaluru due to police firing kast week and two others were injured. In a Facebook post, the Mangaluru Police said, "Mangaluru city police thanks citizens of Mangaluru for overwhelming support for sharing high quality images of rioteers who formed unlawful assembly and were responsible for widespread violence. We are posting a few of photographs of these rioteers for identification and information about their whereabouts," the post reads.  Though the police handle posted a series of videos, what they ostensibly left out are videos that question the action by the police. One video that had gone viral was of a policeman in Mangaluru who can be heard saying, “We fired so many shots, and not even one person died”. The police had received flak after the video went viral on social media. The Mangaluru Police, however, did not post this video on their Facebook page and have not stated conclusively whether action has been taken against the said police officer. ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ವಿಡಿಯೋ ವೈರಲ್ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಒಬ್ಬ ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲ ಗುಂಡುಹಾರಿಸಿದ್ರೂ ಯಾರೊಬ್ಬ ಸತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದರ ಅರ್ಥ ಏನು? ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನಾಕಾರರನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲುವುದು ಪೂರ್ವಯೋಜಿತವಾಗಿತ್ತು ಎಂದಲ್ಲವೇ? ಇದು ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಪ್ರಾಯೋಜಿತ ಗಲಭೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಚಾರ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. 4/15#IndiaAgainstCAA pic.twitter.com/p5oH2BbvVl — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 20, 2019 Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha also tweeted on Monday and asked for people to send them videos of the protests that occurred on December 19. "I appeal to the public who have any photo or video content regarding riots that happened in Mangaluru city on December 19 to mail it to mangalurunorthmgc@gmail.com or send a WhatsApp message on 9480802327 It would help investigation team in upholding the truth," PS Harsha said.  I appeal to public who have any photo or video content regarding riots that happened in mangaluru city on 19th dec to mail it to mangalurunorthmgc@gmail.com or send a WhatsApp message on 9480802327 It would help investigation team in upholding the truth.. — Harsha IPS CP Mangaluru City (@compolmlr) December 23, 2019 The series of videos also contained visuals by protesters that appear to be have been caught on CCTV cameras. Two persons can be seen trying to move the CCTV cameras away from the roads.  The police, however, have not given clear answers as to who issued the order to shoot. But they have maintained that the protesters allegedly surrounded the Mangaluru North and Bunder police stations, due to which they opened fire.  Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called for a judicial enquiry and condemned the police action.  Siddaramaiah also said that the police had not used water jets to disperse the crowd on the streets but had directly resorted to shooting.     

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'We support police action in Highland Hospital': Mangaluru docs body contradicts IMA

CAA

“No violence is acceptable in a hospital. Hospitals are sacrosanct and are exempted even in a war zone," the IMA had said.

Prajwal Bhat

An association of medical consultants in Mangaluru has released a statement supporting the actions of Mangaluru police personnel entering Highland Hospital on Thursday after violence in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. CCTV footage showed police barging into Highland Hospital and chasing people with batons. Multiple witnesses and opposition leaders also said that police used teargas shells near the intensive care unit of the hospital. A Highland hospital source had earlier told TNM that the police, who followed some people who threw stones into the hospital, even mistook the caregivers there as protesters. Read: CCTV footage shows Mangaluru cops barging into a hospital, use tear gas shells The Association of Medical Consultants (AMC), Mangaluru, in its statement said, "We, doctors often take the help of police when there are incidents of abuse or violence in hospitals and police have promptly brought the situation under control. How is it any different when the same police enter hospital to tackle miscreants who create a law and order problem on the street but enter hospitals to hide?" The statement by AMC contradicts a statement by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) which condemned police forcefully entering hospitals to crack down on protesters agitating against CAA. In a statement dated December 22, the IMA had said, “No violence is acceptable in a hospital. Hospitals are sacrosanct and are exempted even in a war zone.” It added that everyone has the right of access to medical care. “The government and its establishment have no right to deny anyone their right of access. The visuals of a policeman violently opening an ICU door by stomping is a clear indication of the New Truth and New Standards,” the statement said, emphasising that IMA stood for retaining hospitals as “safe zones”. Take a bow, @IMAIndiaOrg "Hospitals are safe zones" pic.twitter.com/CdAP9g4Yz4 — Amba (she/her) (@MumbaiCentral) December 23, 2019 But the AMC in Mangaluru, in its statement, rejected suggestions that the IMA was referring to incidents in Mangaluru. "We strongly deny any allegations that police actions amounted to denial of healthcare access to the needy. In fact, in our inquiry at the incident site, no interference was reported," reads the statement by AMC. It added that the hospital officials, including doctors, have not lodged a complaint with the association. The IMA had said in its statement that hospitals are exempted from attack even in war zones. Something to this effect has been outlined in the Geneva Conventions. They provide for the possibility of setting up hospital and safety zones to attend to and shelter the wounded, sick and civilians, far removed from military operations. According to a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1970, the places and areas designated for the protection of civilians “such as hospitals or similar refuges should not be the object of military operations.”  

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Bengaluru man arrested for allegedly hiring men to murder wife

Crime

Police had recovered Vinutha’s body from a pool of blood on December 20 after they were alerted by her family members.

TNM Staff

Vylakaval police in central Bengaluru on Monday arrested a man for allegedly plotting and hiring people to murder his wife. The two men who allegedly carried out the murder were also arrested on the same day. The husband has been identified as Nagendra Babu, DCP Central Chetan Singh Rathore told reporters. The victim has been identified as Vinutha. The two men who allegedly killed the woman are Prasanth and Jaganath. Both of them were tenants living in the same house and were working as autorickshaw drivers. Police had recovered Vinutha’s body from a pool of blood on December 20 after they were alerted her family members. They had contacted the police after she could not be reached on phone. The murder was made to look like an accident as if she has bled to death after accidentally falling and hitting her head on a cement block.  When she was reported to be dead by the husband, police initially thought it was an accident because the door was locked from the inside and no one was at home. However, statements by the victim’s family and the couple’s troubled history made the police to probe other angles.  Over the last 12 years in their marriage, the couple had filed as many as nine police complaints against each other each. Before Vinutha’s death, they were living separately.  While Vinutha was staying in the house where she was killed, Nagendra was residing in Peenya along with their 11-year-old son.  The cops suspected foul play when the woman's parents approached the police fearing she may have attempted suicide as her husband was always fighting with her and was generally abusive, they said. Police said when they interviewed various neighbours, they found out that the couple was having regular fights. The husband wanted to sell the house but the Vinutha did not. He allegedly gave Rs 5 lakh to the two tenants, asked them to kill his wife, and make it look like an accident. While reconstructing the crime scene, police found that the bathroom window inside the woman's room was shaky and could have been used as an escape route by the culprits. Jaganath and Prasanth allegedly entered the house this way, committed the crime, and escaped the same way to make it look like Vinutha was alone when the ‘accident’ happened. Rathore said, “It looked like ‘prison break style’ where the window grill was removable. Then we collected call record details of all of her family members and other possible suspects. Following this, we found that the duo was inside the house at the time of the murder.” Police further said that the Prasanth and Jaganath had confessed to their role in the murder; and revealed that they entered to the house through the window and attacked Vinutha with a wooden log. Later they dragged her body and made it lie near the cement block.    

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Wife of K’taka man arrested in Saudi says fake FB account posted blasphemous messages

Controversy

Harish Bangera from Kundapur is believed to be in police custody in Saudi for alleged blasphemous Facebook posts.

Theja Ram

The wife of the Karnataka man who is believed to be in police custody in Saudi Arabia for allegedly posting blasphemous messages on Facebook has said that the messages were posted from a fake account created in his name.  Harish Bangera from Kundapur in Udupi district was working for a Dammam-based Saudi company and was employed as an airconditioner mechanic. A Facebook profile in his name posted messages suggesting that another Ram Mandir be built at Mecca, which is the revered holy site by a majority of Muslims across the world. In another message, the profile had also abused members of the Saudi royal family. The Facebook account has been deleted since Monday morning.  His wife Sumana Bangera has now claimed that a fake account was created in her husband's name on December 20 and the allegedly blasphemous posts were made from that account. "At 1 am on December 20, someone created a fake account of my husband and posted the message about the temple to be built in Mecca. Screenshots of this was taken and shared in WhatsApp groups. When I received it, I called my husband and asked him about it but he was shocked and unaware of the post. He told me it's a fake account," Sumana told TNM.  "But the messages kept spreading. The screenshots came with a message that it should keep getting shared till it reached the Saudi police," Sumana said. Sumana added that Harish's company decided to hand him over to police custody on December 21. On the same evening, Sumana filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime police in Udupi about the issue. "They said that they would find out who created the account and report it to the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia. I hope my husband comes back safely," Sumana said. Many had earlier pointed out that the Facebook account which posted allegedly blasphemous messages was in use only from December 20. Harish had another Facebook profile which he had been using for years and regularly posted about friends, family and football. However, there is a video doing the rounds where Harish can be heard apologising to Muslims. He is heard saying, “I have done a mistake. Please forgive me. I will never upload such post again. I ask my Muslim brothers to please forgive me on this occasion. I am facing problem from my company.” Another post that has gone viral on Facebook since then states that Harish has been fired by his employers for this alleged post. The Karnataka Government on Monday confirmed that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) were aware of the arrest. Sources told TNM Asim Anwar, the Second Secretary (Political & Information) at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh has been apprised of the situation. He is taking up the matter with Desh Bandhu Bhati, Counsellor (Community Welfare) who in turn will inform Ausaf Sayeed, the Ambassador leading the Indian Embassy in the Arab nation. Indian embassy officials told TNM that they had not received confirmation of Harish's arrest. However, Sumana says that she tried to contact Harish's phone and reached a police official at the other end. Read: Siddaramaiah asks K'taka govt to prove Keralites entered Mangaluru to create trouble

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Magisterial inquiry ordered into two deaths in Mangaluru during anti-CAA protest

CAA

Abdul Jaleel and Nauseen were killed when police opened fire during the protests against the CAA last Thursday.

TNM Staff

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the deaths of two persons in Mangaluru during the anti-CAA protests last Thursday. The decision to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the incident was announced even as it was revealed that a CID enquiry will be conducted. Abdul Jaleel (49) and Nauseen (23) were killed when police at Mangaluru North (Bunder) police station opened fire during protests against the CAA last Thursday. The police justified their actions by citing incidents of stone pelting and arson in Bunder.  Following their demise, Abdul and Nauseen were booked for rioting. Forty-three others in Bunder were also booked.  They were both daily-wage labourers and earning members of their families. Abdul's relatives said that he was waiting for his children to come home and the incident occurred right after his children had reached their apartment.  The Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the victims but family members are adamant that they want justice and not merely compensation for the deaths. "The police which should be protecting people are the ones shooting at people. Abdul was hit in the eye by the bullet and this should not happen to anyone. We want justice for this," Fatima Faiz, Abdul's wife said.  In FIRs registered in police stations across Mangaluru, police officials said that around 1,500 people took part in Thursday's protests against the CAA despite Section 144 being imposed. Section 144 of the CrPC bars the gathering of five people or more in public. The main protest was held at the Deputy Commissioner's Office at 2 pm and was dispersed by police using lathi charge and tear gas. Around two hours later, incidents of stone pelting were reported near Bunder Police Station before police decided to open fire on the crowd of protesters.  Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who visited Mangaluru on Monday, said that protests in Mangaluru should not have been clamped down by the police. "In Bengaluru, people were allowed to protest near Town Hall. When it is possible to allow that there without even resorting to lathi charge, why not carry it out here? There were much lesser people protesting in Mangaluru." Siddaramaiah asked. 

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Siddaramaiah asks K'taka govt to prove Keralites entered Mangaluru to create trouble

CAA

Siddaramaiah questioned why water jets were not deployed to disperse the crowds first.

Prajwal Bhat

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday called for a judicial inquiry into the death of two civilians killed during police firing in anti-CAA protests in Mangaluru. He also asked for proof to substantiate claims made by BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje that people from Kerala entered Mangaluru and instigated protests in the city. "The police has lied by saying people from Kerala came to Mangaluru to protest. The police further lied by saying that there were protesters forcing their way into the police station. In videos, they are seen far away from the station when the firing took place," Siddaramaiah said. Siddaramaiah alleged that the police were lying about the need to start firing and questioned why water jets were not deployed to disperse the crowds first. Siddaramaiah also added that if the protesters were allowed to continue the agitation, violence would not have erupted. “The police are lying by saying thousands of persons from Kerala came here. The reason given that there were people forcing their way to the station. Was there firing near police station? It was very far away. This is a lie perpetrated by the government. If protesters were allowed to protest they would agitate and go. None of that was done and no warning was given. No water jet or tear gas was used and no announcement was given prior to firing,” Siddaramaiah added. Police officials in Mangaluru however claim that the Mangaluru North (Bunder) police station was surrounded on three sides by protesters. The police claimed that there was a series of stone pelting and arson incidents close to the station which prompted them to open fire on the protesters.   The former CM also renewed calls for a judicial probe into the incident. "Police and the government triggered the violence and the Home Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa should take responsibility. There should be a judicial enquiry into the incident," Siddaramaiah said. Before addressing reporters, Siddaramaiah met the families of the victims of Thursday's incident. The victims, Abdul Jaleel and Nauseen were both daily-wage labourers. Members of Abdul's family reiterated Siddaramaiah's call for a judicial enquiry into the deaths. "He was not part of the protests. He wanted to ensure his children were back home. Police say that protesters were wearing kerchiefs but what can we do when tear gas is used?", Mohammed Nazeer, a relative of Abdul said. Abdul and Nauseen were also booked for rioting by police officials at Mangaluru North Police Station. “Those who died are named as Accused number 3 and 8. Innocent people have been arrested. Police and govt triggered the violence and Home Minister CM should take responsibility. There should be a judicial enquiry,” he said. Siddaramaiah also spoke against the imposition of section 144 of the CrPC, which curtailed movement of more than five people. Section 144 was imposed between December 19 and 22. “According to me, there was no need to impose Sec 144. It was imposed even though situation did not warrant. If Sec 144 was not imposed, peaceful protests would be held because it is a fundamental right to protest any wrong policy of the government. There is scope to disagree. I can protest, express dissent. Intentionally, sec 144 was imposed to infringe on rights of people,” he said.

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New Kolar-Whitefield train launched, will benefit those working in north Bengaluru

Transport

The newly introduced DEMU will run via Srinivasapura, Chintamani, Siddhaghata, and Chikballapur route.

Soumya Chatterjee

In another addition to peri-urban services for Bengaluru, the South Western Railways launched a daily train between Kolar and Whitefield. The train will run on all days except Sunday.  Train No 06543 / 06544 Whitefield – Kolar – Whitefield DEMU (Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit) Special will depart from Whitefield at 4.10 pm and reach Kolar at 7.40 pm, and Train No 06544 Kolar – Whitefield DEMU Special will depart from Kolar at 7.30 am and reach Whitefield at 10.55 am. The newly introduced DEMU will run via Srinivasapura, Chintamani, Siddhaghata, and Chikballapur route.  The train will have stops at Jannaghatta Halt, Gottihalli Halt, Dalasanur, Srinivasapura, Doddaghatta Halt, Chintamani, Hunasenahalli Halt, Sidlaghatta, Giddenahalli Halt, Chikballapur, Nandi Halt, Venkatagiri Kote Halt, Avatihalli Halt, Devanahalli, Dodjela Halt, Bettahalasur, Yelahanka, Krishnarajapuram and Hoodi Halt in both directions. S Muniswamy, Member of Parliament, Kolar, flagged off the services of a Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) special train at Kolar along with AN Krishna Reddy, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Bengaluru Division, South Western Railway. Speaking on the occasion, Muniswamy said that there was a demand from the public for a long time for a train between Kolar and Whitefield. The train will help the people of these areas who are working in Yelahanka and Whitefield, he said, and urged people to make the best use of the services of newly introduced DEMU. He informed that depending on the patronage, more trains will be introduced from Kolar in the coming days. The train will have a composition of two diesel power cars and six trailing cars.  Each Motor car can accommodate 226 passengers and each trailing car can accommodate 325 passengers. This additional service was launched as the wait for a dedicated suburban rail authority for Bengaluru continues. The project is awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs. The Extended Railway Board (ERB) of the Indian Railways had already cleared it on November 4.

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