Karnataka MLC polls underway, four seats up for grabs

Politics

The Election Commission has said as of 10 am, the voting percentage has been below 10% across the constituencies.

PTI

Representational image/PTI

Voting for four legislative council seats got underway in Karnataka on Wednesday amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The MLC polls are taking place for Karnataka South-East Graduates, Karnataka West Graduates', Karnataka North-East Teachers' and Bangalore Teachers' constituencies, which fell vacant due to the retirement of R Chowda Reddy Thoopalli, SV Sankanur, Sharanappa Mattur and Puttanna respectively. The Election Commission has said as of 10 am, the voting percentages has been below 10% across the constituencies. North East Teachers(Kalburgi) 8.34% Bangalore Teachers(Bangalore) 10 % South East Graduate(Bangalore) 7% West Graduate (Belgaum) 7.49% The polling began at 8 am and would conclude at 5 pm. The counting of votes will be held on November 2. Forty candidates are trying their luck in the elections. Among them are the four whose retirement on June 30 warranted the elections. There are 2.35 lakh voters in these four constituencies. Security has been beefed up at the polling stations. Already prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in and around the booths. The Election Commission has directed the returning officers to ensure that face masks and social distancing should be maintained by the staff as well as the voters Following the guidelines, arrangements have been made for hand sanitisers and thermal screening at all the booths. There are medical teams deployed around the polling centres as well. The election is crucial for the BJP as it lacks a majority in the state Legislative Council to pass the crucial bills. The BJP government could not pass the farm bills and labour reforms amendment bills in the recently held legislature session as it could not get through the upper house despite getting passed in the assembly. In the council with a strength of 75 members Congress has 28 members, BJP -- 27 members, Janata Dal (Secular) -- 14 members, one independent, one chairman and four vacant seats.

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Bengaluru reports 1874 new COVID-19 cases, city now has 46628 active cases

Coronavirus

Most of the patients were from Yelahanka and the west zone.

TNM Staff

Image for representation/PTI

Bengaluru reported 1,874 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The number of recoveries recorded on the day were 4,446, along with 24 deaths. This brings the total active cases in the city to 46,628, total recoveries to 2.78 lakh and total deaths in the city to 3,778. According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) COVID-19 War Room Report, both Yelahanka and west zone had the highest proportion of new positive cases, reporting 16% of them, each. East zone reported 15% of the cases, followed by south zone at 14%, Bommanahalli at 13%, Mahadevapura and RR Nagara at 11% each, and Dasarahalli at 4%. Most of the new people who were found to have COVID-19 on Tuesday were in the 30 to 39 age group and the 20 to 29 age group, with over 400 patients each. Recoveries were highest in these age groups too, with more women recovering than men in these groups on the said day. In the last ten days, Bengaluru south zone has reported most of the COVID-19 patients (17%), followed by west zone (16%), east zone and Mahadevapura (15% each), Bommanahalli (13%), RR Nagara (11%), Yelahanka (8%) and Dasarahalli (5%). A total of 30,285 COVID-19 tests were done on Tuesday, taking the total number of tests done till date in Bengaluru to 28.21 lakh. The positivity rate in the city is 11.67%, while the recovery rate is 84.69%. The active rate is 14.16% and the death rate 1.15%. Karnataka reported 3,691 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, besides 7,740 discharges, and 44 deaths. The total active cases in the state are 71,330, total discharges are at 7.27 lakh and a total of 10,991 people have succumbed to COVID-19 in the state. 

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Shocking CCTV footage shows man flashing, sexually assaulting woman in Bengaluru

Crime

The footage of a 20-year-old man sexually assaulting the woman helped the police nab him fast.

TNM Staff

A horrific incident of sexual assault has been caught on a CCTV camera in Bengaluru, where a man is seen flashing and attacking a woman in a narrow lane. A 40-year-old woman, a resident of JC Nagar in Bengaluru, wearing a scarf across a face, can be seen walking down the road near JC Nagar, about a kilometer away from  DJ Halli in Bengaluru. The accused, identified as Tata Datt, can be seen walking  towards the narrow road, from a lane perpendicular to it. He stops in front of the woman, who stops too.  He pulls down his pants as she tries to move towards the left and carry on, but he blocks her path. She then takes out her slipper and threatens to hit him.  Tata Datt then lunges at her and backs her up against the wall on one side of the road. He can be seen trying to disrobe her. The woman can be seen hitting him with her slipper and screaming.  This footage brings back memories of the sexual assault of a woman that was caught on camera on New Year’s Eve a little after midnight on January 1, 2017. In that incident too, the two men, who were on a scooter, were caught on camera as they sexually assaulted the girl. They were subsequently arrested after widespread media coverage.  According to the JC Nagar Police, the woman began screaming for help as Tata Datt began assaulting her. The incident occurred at around 5.05 am on Tuesday, the police said. As the woman’s neighbours began opening their doors and windows after they heard her screams, Tata Datt allegedly ran away.  “The woman filed the complaint yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. We procured the CCTV footage from one of the houses where the incident occurred. We were able to track the accused within one hour,” the JC Nagar Police said.  According to the police, one of the officers at the station, who was previously attached to DJ Halli Police Station, recognised the accused as Tata Datt alias Chotu. The officer told the investigators that during his time at the DJ Halli Police station, he had come across cases against Tata Datt. CCTV visuals were then shared with the DJ Halli Police on WhatsApp, who identified the accused. DJ Halli Police said that Tata Datt had several robbery cases registered against him and that he was under the list of “habitual offenders”.  The police also pulled up CCTV footage near Modi Garden, where Tata Datt lives, and said that there were videos, where he can be seen running back home at around 5.30 am.  “We have six videos of him running back home from different locations starting from the scene of the crime. He was picked up within an hour’s time and he confessed to the crime after questioning,” the police said.  Tata Datt has been booked under section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354A (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) of the Indian Penal Code. 

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Karnataka HC recommends amendments to include death penalty for gangrape

Court

The court made the observation while upholding the sessions court’s verdict of life imprisonment given to seven accused, who had gang-raped a law student in 2012.

TNM Staff

Representation photo

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday recommended that necessary legislative amendments must be brought in to include capital punishment for gangrape. The court’s recommendation came as it upheld the Bengaluru session court’s verdict, where seven men were convicted in the gangrape of a National Law School University of India student in 2012.  “In our considered opinion, now it is appropriate for the Legislature/Central Government in order to curb the menace of ‘gang rape’ against woman, the provisions of Section 376D of Indian Penal Code requires further amendment imposing punishment for death in addition to the existing provision of imprisonment for life,” the judgement passed by Justices B Veerappa and K Natarajan reads.  In its  judgement, the court also recommended that lessons on gender equality must be made part of the school curriculum. The court noted that stringent punishment may not be enough to fight the increasing crimes against women.  “A child should be taught to respect women in the society in the same way as he is taught to respect men. Gender equality should be made a part of the school curriculum,” the court noted. The judgement also states that school teachers and parents should be trained to conduct regular “personality-building and skill enhancing exercises”, and also to watch behavioural patterns of the children “so as to make them gender sensitised.”  “The educational institutions, government institutions, the employers and all concerned must take steps to create awareness with regard to gender sensitisation and to respect women. Sensitisation of the public on gender justice through TV, and press should be welcomed,” the judgement reads.  The gangrape in 2012 On October 13, 2012, a Nepalese national, who had come to Bengaluru to study in NLSIU, was talking to her friend inside his car, which was parked near the forest area of the college. At the time, the seven men, who were holding iron rods, sickles and other weapons surrounded the car. One of them broke the glass of the left side window and dragged the woman out of the car by her hair. Her friend was tied up. She was taken to the forest area, beyond the storm water drain and gangraped.  The investigators found a handkerchief that the seven accused persons used, which had seminal stains. This proved to be crucial material evidence in convicting the seven men. In its judgement, the High Court rejected the accused’s appeal for leniency and upheld the life imprisonment awarded by the IX Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in 2015.  “Because of the ghastly incident committed by the accused on the victim girl, the law and order of the entire nation particularly Karnataka State is made responsible. Since the 'reputation of the Country is at stake', no lenience can be shown to the accused persons. Any misplaced sympathy to the accused comes in the way of upholding 'dignity of the court, majesty of law, traditions and cultures right from our ancient times,” the court said, while adding, “We, the judges are the societal parents. Our concern for the society of girls/women can be summed up in one sentence that ‘An attack on anybody’s daughter is an attack on our daughter’.”

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Ward-level committees in Bengaluru to enforce COVID-19 regulations

Coronavirus

The BBMP Commissioner on Tuesday issued an order for formation of the committees at zonal and ward levels.

PTI

PTI/Representation Photo

Civic committees in Bengaluru will now ensure that people strictly follow COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing at public places. In order to check the spread of coronavirus in the city, which is the major contributor of fresh COVID-19 cases in the state, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (city corporation) commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad on Tuesday ordered constitution of the committees at various levels. These committees are BBMP head office committee, zonal level committees, divisional and ward level committees. These committees will include a health officer, an engineer of the BBMP and a police officer nominated by the Bengaluru police commissioner. Noting that the Health Department's directives were blatantly violated by the citizens, Prasad noted that more stringent measures were required by the BBMP and the police to ensure zero violation in COVID-19 guidelines such as mandatory mask wearing and social distancing at public places. The BBMP has been imposing a penalty of Rs 250 for every such wilful violation and has engaged 220 Marshals, yet it has not yielded the desired results,sources said. According to the order, the Divisional Level Committee will meet once a week to monitor and guide the ward level committees in enforcing the COVID-19 related directions. Similarly the zonal committees will meet every week to monitor the enforcement at the respective zones and the committee at the head office will also meet to review the enforcement in the entire city. Each committee will send a detailed report to the next level in terms of the compliance of the direction, the Commissioner said in his order.

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Sira bye-elections: Fight for survival, prestige and the future

Politics

With all three parties fighting hard, Sira is still a triangular fight so close to the date of polling. The results could go a long way in realigning dynamics within each of the parties.

Pooja Prasanna

The results of the November 3 bye-elections have no bearing on the future of the Karnataka government but the outcome of the Sira bye-polls are crucial for all three parties for different reasons. While in RR Nagar, the other constituency where bye-elections are being held, BJP’s Munirathna seems to be emerging stronger than other candidates, in Sira, all three parties are pulling all stops to prove their mettle. The JD(S) is fighting to retain the seat won by the deceased Sira MLA B Satyanarayana. For the JD(S), winning in their stronghold of Old Mysuru Region is a matter of survival for the party. While JD(S) Supremo HD Deve Gowda initially had no plans to campaign in the constituency due to the pandemic, as per sources in the party, after realising the gravity of the situation, the 87-year-old along with several members of his family, have intensified their campaign. The former Prime Minister is camping at a party worker’s house close to the constituency and told the party workers that winning the seat is very crucial for him, his family and the party. Several local leaders of the JD(S) have jumped ship either to BJP or the Congress and the battle for Sira is not just for relevance but also to ensure more leaders do not abandon the party. Apart from Deve Gowda, former CM HD Kumaraswamy, his son Nikhil, and nephew Prajwal Revanna too have been bolstering the JD(S) campaign in the last few days. The Congress has fielded former minister TB Jayachandra in Sira despite his loss in the 2018 Assembly Elections. A win here is a huge prestige battle for the KPCC president DK Shivakumar who is leading his party into elections for the first time since he took office. The Sira bye-elections is critical for Shivakumar to prove his fortitude as a Vokkaliga leader by securing a win in the Vokkaliga heartland. A loss here would mean further ceding of space to the JD(S), even if the BJP wins Sira. For the BJP which has had marginal success in the Old Musuru region, Sira bye-elections mean more than just a victory of one seat. The Chief Minister's son BY Vijayendra has been camping in Sira, hoping to breakthrough in a constituency that has traditionally been a turf war between the Congress and JD(S). For the CM this battle is pivotal in cementing his son’s position as a key strategist in difficult constituencies after he managed to lead the party to victory in KR Pete last December which has been a JD(S) stronghold. “The CM has been worried about his son’s political future for a while now and if the party manages to win here, they are looking to project Vijayendra as a poll strategist in his own right, emerging out of his father’s shadow,” said a source close to Yediyurappa. With all three parties fighting hard, Sira is still a triangular fight, so close to the date of polling. And the results could go a long way in realigning dynamics within each of the parties. 

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7 Bengaluru police cops caught gambling, booked

Crime

All the accused were of constable and head constable ranks.

TNM Staff

Representational image

Seven Bengaluru policemen were booked for gambling. The policemen who were caught gambling comes at a time when the city police are running a high pitch campaign against betting since the start of the IPL tournament. The incident has been reported within Puttenahalli Police Station limits. The policemen were caught gambling during a raid on October 19. The raids found the accused police staff were staying in a room in Nandini Hotel in JP Nagar and were allegedly gambling through an online platform. All of the accused have been booked under Sections 79 and 80 of the Karnataka Police Act. They have been suspended pending an enquiry. As per section 79 and 80 of the Act, running, permitting or furnishing money for the purpose of gaming in any place like a building, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle or others is an offence Speaking with TNM, jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Harish Pandey, said that the accused are of constable and head constable ranks. “They were gambling as part of a card game and were not betting on any IPL game. Some of them were attached to other police stations of the division and some were posted in the City Armed Reserve division.” Incidentally on Tuesday too, the Central Crime Branch led by Joint Commissioner Of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil arrested two men in Malleshwaram. The CCB Bengaluru said that they recovered Rs 13.5 lakh cash and two mobile phones from them. According to the police, the arrested have been identified as 48-year-old Hoysala Gowda, a resident of Sahakara Nagara, and 38-year-old Narasimhamurthy, a resident of Kodandarampura, Vyyalikaval. The CCB added that the duo had come with cash to disburse among the winners after collecting money from those who had lost the bet. "The duo had chosen to meet winners at a juice corner in Malleshwaram, a bustling market area to meet the winners," the police said, and added that they got the information as the duo were discussing their future bets with the winners. The police said the seizure was part of the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and SunRisers Hyderabad team on Thursday last week.

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