BS Yediyurappa reshuffles portfolios just a day after allocating them

Politics

In the latest change, Anand Singh was made the Minister of Forest, Ecology and Environment instead of BC Patil, who was allocated the Agriculture Department, a major ministry.

TNM Staff

In a surprise move, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa reshuffled his Cabinet just one day after portfolios were handed to the ten turncoat MLAs who had quit the Congress-JD(S) and later joined the BJP in 2019. The decision was taken after several MLAs expressed unhappiness over the ministries that were allocated to them. In the latest change, Anand Singh was made the Minister of Forest, Ecology and Environment instead of BC Patil, who was allocated the Agriculture Department, a major ministry. Gopalaiah, who was allocated the Small Scale Industries portfolio on Monday was allocated the  Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department on Tuesday in another major change.  Shivaram Hebbar who was allocated the Labour Department earlier on Monday was handed the additional charge of Sugar from the Commerce and Industries Department. Byrathi Suresh, meanwhile, was handed two urban development boards — Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) and Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC). Shrimant Patil was given additional charge of Minority Welfare Department, which was earlier handled by Prabhu Chauhan, who also heads the Animal Husbandry Department. Prabhu has been given additional charge of the Haj and Waqf Department. On Monday, the long-pending allocation of ministerial portfolios for the newly-appointed ministers in the Karnataka Cabinet was announced. Ramesh Jarkiholi, the MLA from Gokak, who triggered the rebellion in the Congress was allocated the Water Resources department. This is the same portfolio that was allocated to his political opponent DK Shivakumar when he was a minister in the coalition government.

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How the debate over the ERA became a fight over abortion

Because only women can have abortions, conservatives argue restrictions on the procedure could be found unconstitutional under the Equal Rights Amendment.

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Mohammed Nalapad, MLA NA Haris's son drove Bentley car that rammed bike and auto: Cops

Crime

Police say that another man came to the police station and surrendered saying he was the one who drove the Bentley.

TNM Staff

A Bentley car, which was speeding on Bengaluru’s Bellary Road on Sunday rammed into two vehicles near Mekhri Circle, and ended up injuring four people. Soon after the accident, the driver had abandoned the car and no one knew who was responsible for the accident. Bengaluru Traffic Police now say that the driver of the Bentley was Mohammed Haris Nalapad, the son of Shantinagar Congress MLA NA Haris.  Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ravaikante Gowda told TNM that the man behind the wheel was Nalapad and that he has been summoned for questioning.  "Soon after the accident, on Monday a man came to the police station and surrendered saying he was the one driving the Bentley. Investigation revealed that it was not true and that the man who was driving the car was Mohammed Haris Nalapad. We have issued summons to him for questioning, once he appears for questioning, we will continue with the investigation," Ravikante Gowda said. @AddlCPTraffic says that Mohammed Haris Nalapad was the one driving the Bentley that rammed into an auto and a bike at Mekhri Cirlcle on Sunday afternoon. @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/hjELitVLmR — Theja Ram (@thejaram92) February 11, 2020 At around 2.30 pm on Sunday, the Bentley Continental GT (TS 09 UC 9), which was speeding along the Mekhri Circle underpass rammed into a bike bearing the license plate number KA 03 EV 8346 and later rammed into an autorickshaw bearing the license plate KA 05 AD 4756.  The two-wheeler rider Praful Kumar, an engineer, and the autorickshaw driver Abdul sustained injuries and were admitted to a nearby private hospital. A woman named Sabiha and her six-year-old son also sustained minor injuries and were administered first aid.  Police officials say that CCTV footage and several videos of the incident were recovered from which the police identified Mohammed Haris Nalapad as the man who was driving the Bentley.  DCP East (traffic division) M Narayan had earlier said that the Bentley belongs to a private company and that representatives of the company were questioned on Monday. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered at the Sadashivnagar Traffic Police Station.  This is not the first time that Mohammed Haris Nalapad has been accused of breaking the law. He was arrested by the Cubbon Park Police on February 19, 2018, two days after he and his associates assaulted Vidvat, the son of a prominent businessman, in an uptown cafe in Bengaluru. The chargesheet filed by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) revealed that Nalapad initiated the incident and provoked his aides with the intention of murdering Vidvat. He was denied bail by the sessions court multiple times and was in jail for 115 days before he finally procured bail in June 2018.   

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Lamborghini crashes into police kiosk in Bengaluru, car owner then poses with the debris

Crime

The man, one of the directors of Fun World and Resorts India Private Limited, was arrested and let off on bail.

TNM Staff

A brand new Lamborghini Gallardo crashed into the traffic police kiosk at CTO Circle, right across from Cubbon Park Metro Station in Bengaluru at around 5.15 pm on Sunday. Though the kiosk was empty and no one was injured, the owner of the car had abandoned the Lamborghini and fled. A couple of hours after the accident occurred, the man behind the wheel, Sunny Sabharwal (28), one of the directors of Fun World and Resorts India Private Limited, went back to pose for a picture in front of the severely damaged kiosk and posted it on social media. The post has now been taken down, a senior police official said.  On Sunday evening, Sunny Sabharwal was driving from MG Road to RT Nagar and was on his way to the road leading to Raj Bhavan when he rammed the Lamborghini into the traffic kiosk. Luckily, no police personnel were inside the kiosk.  The impact of the crash caused severe damage to the front wall of the police kiosk as well as to the chairs inside, and left a gaping hole in the building. Soon after the crash occurred, senior police officials say that passers-by and other commuters gathered around the kiosk to see what had happened and Sunny allegedly slipped away in the crowd.  When pictures of the crash went viral on WhatsApp on Sunday evening, Sunny allegedly received several queries from his friends and family members about his condition. “He went back to the spot and clicked a picture of himself with a thumbs up sign at the damaged kiosk,” the police official said.  Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ravikante Gowda formed a team to investigate the matter. DCP Traffic (East) M Narayana, the lead investigating officer gathered CCTV footage and tracked down Sunny. On Monday, the investigating team went to Sunny’s residence in RT Nagar and informed his family members that he had been booked for rash and negligent driving.  “His family initially denied it. We showed them the CCTV footage and also the picture where he posed in front of the kiosk. He was arrested and we imposed a fine of Rs 2,000. Since section 279 is bailable, he was let go after the arrest as he obtained station bail,” a senior police official said.   

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RSS holds second protest against Jesus statue in Karnataka, calls it a Christian conspiracy

Politics

Let people who wear chaddis, pants and dhotis come here and speak, it doesn't matter," DK Shivakumar retorted

Theja Ram

The RSS on Sunday held a rally in Karnataka’s Ramanagara against the installation of the Jesus statue at Harobele. Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, the organisation's south-central region executive committee member led the rally and made several statements against the Muslim and Christian communities. The row over the Jesus statue began after Kanakpura MLA DK Shivakumar laid the foundation stone for the installation of a 114-feet statue at Harobele on December 26. Currently, there is a 12 feet statue of Jesus on top of the hill. Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat accused the Christian community of forcefully trying to convert Hindus in the region. He said previous governments had decided to allot the land only to members of the Christian community. “They have allotted the land to over 200 people who live around the hill. It was allotted to those who belong to the Christian community. One name is there, Victoria Rani, daughter of Puttappaiah Achar. Why should Victoria Rani live here, her time is over. You (referring to the Christian community) are forcefully converting people. Religious conversion is a big problem in this country,” Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat said while adding, “How many more people will you convert? Pakistan was created, now are you trying to create a Christian place? They (Christian community members) are out to install a huge statue of Jesus Christ on that temple. Why? Because they want this place to become the biggest spot for Christians to visit.” The RSS leader went on to claim that the statue of Jesus would be installed over an idol of a Hindu god – Muneshwara. “The people of the village located just a few meters away from the hill have been worshipping god Muneshwara. On top of this hill, there are stones, which have engravings of the figure of Muneshwara. These people have installed the Jesus statue on top of that. Are you planning to stamp Hindu religion by doing this?” he added. Reacting to Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat’s statement, Kanakapura MLA DK Shivakumar said that the RSS leader’s statements would not deter him from pushing for the installation of the statue. “Let people who wear chaddis, pants and dhotis come here and speak. The BJP is operating here through the Sangh Parivar. The party has won 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state and yet they are doing all these things to keep their support base. People of Ramanagara will never back them. I will continue to fight for the installation of the statue,” he said. RSS leader calls two victims of police shooting as terrorists Addressing the rally at Ramanagara, Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat also called the two victims of police firing in Mangaluru on December 19 as terrorists. Kalladka Bhat alleged that the anti-CAA protesters in Mangaluru tried to attack a police station due to which the Commissioner had ordered the police force to shoot at protesters. “Around 50 policemen were injured and 30 policemen were admitted to the hospital. It was then that the Commissioner issued an order to shoot. Two terrorists died. After that all protesters ran away,” he said. He went on to say that members of the Muslim community were trying to turn Mangaluru into “another  Pakistan”. “There was no need for us to hold such an event as this one in Ramanagara if they (referring to members of the Muslim community) had not resorted to such violence. They want to make Mangaluru a second Pakistan. Lad ke lenge Hindustan is their agenda. We will not allow the place to become like Pakistan. If you (Muslims) want to live here, live with Hindus. Live by the vibrant culture of Hindus,” he said while adding, “Muslims in this country say Pakistan ki Jai but they never go to Pakistan. This is because among all countries in the world, Muslims are happy only in India.”    

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Techie's body fished out of Bengaluru lake after fatal coracle ride

Death

Police officials told TNM that they do not suspect any foul play and have registered a case of unnatural death.

TNM Staff

Rescue workers fished out the body of a software engineer after he had drowned in Bengaluru's Kalkere Lake in the early hours of Saturday morning. Sachin Machaiah and his friend Ullas ventured on a coracle ride in the lake at 2:30 am on Saturday after partying till late in the night. However, when the duo were in the middle of the lake, the oars slipped out of their hands and the coracle capsized. While Ullas, who knew how to swim, reached the shore to call for help, Sachin reportedly drowned in the lake. The lake's security guard Rajesh Dindi was alerted about the duo's misadventure at this point but by the time rescue workers could arrive at the lake, Sachin was nowhere to be found. This commenced a marathon search operation which ended on Sunday when Sachin's body was found, the Times of India reported. Police officials at Ramamurthy Nagar police station told TNM that they do not suspect any foul play and have registered a case of unnatural death.  The duo Sachin and Ullas, were former colleagues and close friends. They attended a party at Kundalahalli Gate and decided to explore the lake since it was close to Ullas' home. Ullas also knew where a coracle was kept in the lake. The security guard later informed the police that the coracle is used to clean the lake, Deccan Herald reported. Sachin worked in a company out of Manyata Tech Park. He was a native of Virajpet in Kodagu district.   

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Rs 10 lakh bond to stage protests? Activists, lawyers slam Bengaluru police decision

Protest

"We began this 4 months ago after buses were burnt in Ramanagara. We felt the need of making protesters responsible for public property and life," DCP Chetan Rathore told TNM.

Prajwal Bhat

Image for representation: Protest against CAA, Bengaluru

Activists and citizens in Bengaluru are furious with the city police's decision to ask protesters in the city to sign indemnity bonds of up to Rs 10 lakh to obtain permission to stage protests. Police in the city are seeking bonds and are invoking section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. This gives powers to the police to seek a bond from persons who they have information will commit a breach of peace. "Earlier the police did not seek bonds from protesters. This practice by the city police violates the law," Maitreyi Krishnan, an advocate in the city and activist taking part in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) told TNM.  Lawyers and activists say that the police have made signing an undertaking with a bond attached as a prerequisite for staging protests in Bengaluru. "Section 107 of the CrPC is invoked when a magistrate receives information about a possible breach of peace. A show-cause notice is then issued and the person will get an opportunity to be heard. But in Bengaluru, police are asking us to take an undertaking failing which permission is not given for protests," says Avani Choksi, an advocate and activist in the city.  The city police however defended its decision and argued that the bond does not involve paying any money upfront. "We began this four months ago after buses were burnt in Ramanagara district. We felt the need of making protesters responsible for public property and life. They need not pay any money and only if an inquiry proves that the protesters were responsible for damage, it will cause trouble for them," Bengaluru Central DCP Chetan Singh Rathore told TNM. He added that the bond of Rs 10 lakh is not a fixed amount and could vary depending on the protest. "It varies with the tone, sensitivity, number of people and duration of the protest. The bond may be Rs 1 lakh depending on the protest. When we know that the protesters are harmless, it can come down to Rs 50,000," the DCP added. Protests in the city against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) are mainly taking place at Maurya Circle, Freedom Park and Town Hall, within the jurisdictions of DCP Central and DCP West. Earlier, police in Mangaluru asked Rs 2 crore as a cautionary deposit from activists planning to stage anti-CAA protests. Meanwhile, lawyers and activists are planning to challenge the police's decision in court and say that their actions are 'undemocratic'.   Read: Mangaluru cops asked for Rs 2 crore as 'deposit' for anti-CAA protests, allege activists  

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