Leopard attacks and kills 24-year-old temple cook in Karnataka, search on for big cat

Human-Animal Conflict

The body of the Huligesh was found near a cave in Anegundi.

TNM Staff

A 24-year-old temple cook was attacked and dismembered by a leopard in Karnataka’s Koppal district on Wednesday night. The Forest Department officials told TNM that it was not the same leopard, which had previously attacked and injured two people in Koppal. Huligesh Doddeerappa, a 23-year-old cook and resident of Anegundi, also worked at a cow shed in the village. Huligesh had worked as the cook at the Adishakti Temple in the village for several years and had recently taken up the job at the cow shed, tending to the cows.  On Wednesday night, Huligesh was to return home after locking up the cow shed but did not make it back home. His family members, who were worried for his safety, approached the Koppal Rural Police. This is the second attack by a leopard in the last one month in Anegundi. Since the residents of Anegundi had reported leopard sightings in agricultural fields, the police suspected such an attack could have occurred on Huligesh.  A search party was organised including police officers, forest department officials and locals. In the early hours of Thursday, Huligesh’s dismembered body was found outside a cave located in the Anegundi Hill.  Koppal Rural Police Station’s sub-inspector Doddappa told TNM that the leopard could have attacked  him when he went to answer nature’s call. “We haven’t found any evidence to indicate that the leopard attacked him in the cow shed. Huligesh and many people in the village attend nature's call near the foot of the hill. The leopard could have attacked him there,” SI Doddappa said.  Huligesh’s left limb is missing. The leopard has eaten parts of his torso, face and arms. His dismembered body was found lying near the cave, while his head was found near a pile of stones nearby.  On October 16, a group of tourists from Hyderabad were attacked by a leopard in Anegundi. The leopard had attacked a 65-year-old woman and a teenage boy from Hyderabad. Both were severely injured and have recovered since the attack. The leopard responsible for the attack was captured and culled, Forest Department officials said. On October 28, residents of Anegundi reported to the Forest Department that a leopard had walked into agricultural fields. “It must be the same leopard that had walked into the farmers’ land. We are searching for the leopard and expect to capture it soon,” the forest department official said. 

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11 held for murder of Tulu actor, man lodged in Bengaluru prison allegedly planned it

Crime

Actor and rowdy-sheeter Surendra Bhandari's murder was linked to the brazen murder of businessman and rowdy-sheeter Kishan Hegde in Udupi, and to underworld criminal fugitive Vicky Shetty.

Prajwal Bhat

The Dakshina Kannada police arrested two more people on Wednesday in connection with the murder of Tulu actor Surendra Bhandari. There have been 11 arrests in the case so far. The arrested are Prateek from Belthangady, and Jayesh from Mangaluru. According to the investigating police, the duo had allegedly received Rs 2.5 lakh to harbour and assist Satish Kullal and Girish, who are the main accused persons in the murder case. They allegedly arranged vehicles for Satish and Girish, who were caught by CCTV cameras around the scene of the crime.  According to police sources, the murder was planned by the criminal Akash Bhavan Sharan, who was lodged in Parappana Agrahara prison after he was accused of offences including the sexual assault of a minor, murders and extortion. He was shifted to Parappana Agrahara after he was arrested under the sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor in Manipal in 2019.  Police investigating Akash's involvement in Surendra's murder found that he was using an international number to orchestrate Surendra's murder from prison. Akash is allegedly an operative of underworld fugitive Vijay Shetty, alias Vicky Shetty. Although, police sources said that during the course of the investigation into Surendra's murder, Akash distanced himself from Vicky Shetty, citing a fall out from five months ago. Surendra Bhandari, a popular Tulu actor and a rowdy-sheeter, was fatally stabbed in his apartment on October 21. The crime was soon linked to another brazen murder of businessman and rowdy-sheeter Kishan Hegde. Kishan was followed and murdered in public view by gangs of men led by Manoj Kodikere, his business rival, in Udupi's Hiriadka on September 24.  A month after Surendra’s death in Bantwal of Dakshina Kannada district, an audio clip was released to the media, claiming that Surendra’s murder was in retaliation to Kishan Hegde’s killing.  The audio clip was purportedly from Sathish Kullal, a long-time associate of Surendra. It claimed responsibility for the murder and stated that it was in retaliation to Surendra allegedly giving support for Kishan's murder. This claim is denied by close friends of Surendra, who maintained that he and Kishan "ran in completely different circles." Satish was arrested along with Girish by Dakshina Kannada police last week. Girish is a tattoo artist from Yelinje near Kinnigoli, and a close friend of Kishan Hegde. Police said that he attacked Surendra after he was told that the actor supported Kishan's murder. Investigating police said that it was Akash who told Girish that they are avenging Kishan's murder by attacking Surendra.  Bengaluru police are also investigating the murder of bar owner Manish Shetty in central Bengaluru, for a possible link to Kishan Hegde's murder. Another purported audio leaked to two media houses - TV9 and Daijiworld - of underworld fugitive Vicky Shetty claimed responsibility for the murder and said that it was in retaliation to Kishan's murder in Udupi. 

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Bengaluru sees 1,953 new COVID-19 cases, active cases at 18,806

Coronavirus

People between the ages of 20 and 29 saw the most cases on Wednesday, closely followed by those between 30-39.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru reported 1,953 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with 5,827 recoveries and 16 deaths. The number of containment zones in the city continues to stand at 18, as per the bulletin of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP_. There are presently 18,806 active cases in the city. Cumulatively, Bengaluru has seen 3,43,507 COVID-19 cases, of which 3,20,783 have recovered and 3,918 have been recorded. People between the ages of 20 and 29 saw the most cases on Wednesday, closely followed by those between 30-39.  With 3,377 fresh coronavirus cases and 34 deaths, Karnataka's COVID-19 tally and cumulative fatalities reached 8,35,773 and 11,281 respectively on Wednesday. The total infections comprise 7,88,780 discharges cumulatively including 8,045 on Wednesday and 35,693 total active cases including 928 in the ICU, a department bulletin said. According to the health bulletin, 172 fresh COVID infections were reported in Hassan, 168 in Mysuru, 95 in Tumakuru, 93 in Mandya, 92 in Bengaluru Rural, 75 in Kolar, 70 in Dakshina Kannada, 66 in Ballari, 58 in Uttara Kannada, 52 in Chitradurga and 50 in Udupi. Bagalkote, Belagavi, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru, Davangere, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Kodagu, Koppal, Raichur, Ramanagara and Vijayapura were among the districts where the infections were reported. The department said three deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded in Ballari and Mysuru and two deaths each in Davangere, Dharwad, Ramanagara. One death each was reported in Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Haveri, Kalaburagi and Udupi. Most of those who died of coronavirus were above 50 years. There were as many as 1,02,503 tests done including 75,045 using the RT-PCR and other methods taking the total tests done to 82.88 lakh, the department added. With inputs from PTI

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CCD cheque bounce case: Non-bailable warrant issued against Malavika Hegde

Crime

A coffee cultivator had moved the court in Chikkamagaluru alleging fraud on behalf of the company as cheques amounting to Rs 49 lakh had bounced twice.

TNM Staff

Cafe Coffee Day website

A magistrate court in Karnataka’s Mudigere on Wednesday issued a non-bailable warrant against Malavika Hegde, a director of Cafe Coffee Day Global Ltd and the daughter of BJP leader and former Union Minister SM Krishna. Malavika Hegde is the wife of CCD Founder VG Siddhartha, who died due to drowning in Nethravathi river in 2019 in Dakshina Kannada district.The non-bailable warrant has been issued in connection with the cheque bounce case. The court also noted that the order could be construed as a non-bailable warrant in an event where the accused persons do not turn up for questioning.  In June this year, coffee cultivator K Nandish had approached the Joint Magistrate First Class with a plea to arrest the accused, alleging that the company had issued cheques to coffee cultivators twice, which had bounced on both occasions. In his complaint to the court, Nandish had stated that Coffee Day had purchased green coffee beans from him and had issued 10 post dated cheques amounting to Rs 45,38,554. The cheques were from Canara Bank’s branch in Chikkamagaluru. When he deposited the cheques at Axis Bank, he was informed that the transaction could not happen due to insufficient funds. "The court had initially summoned them for questioning on October 6. Since they did not appear, the court has issued a non-bailable warrant," K Nandish told the media on Wednesday. The matter has been posted to November 11 and the accused persons must now appear before the court and get the warrant recalled. Nandish said he had been supplying coffee seeds to Siddhartha's company ABC for many years. When Siddhartha was alive, he used to issue deferred cheques with an interest of 10 to 12%, Nandish said. "After his death, all our payments were held up but later the people in the company assured us that they will honour their cheques and our money will not go anywhere. When the cheques bounced the first time, I sent a legal notice to the company in March this year. They issued another set of cheques, which bounced too," he alleged, while adding that the company repeatedly assured him that his dues would be cleared by the end of October this year.  "We had outstanding payments to 1,020 Coffee planters of Chikkamagaluru and Hassan one year back.We have fully paid back 700 plus planters in the last 11 months. We have also made part payments to the remaining planters.The group's fundraising plans were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic and hence the delay in completing the payments. But we remain committed to meeting all our obligations," Cafe Coffee Day said in a statement. With inputs from PTI

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CBI questions ex-Cong minister Vinay Kulkarni in connection with murder of BJP leader

Crime

Police sources said Vinay Kulkarni allegedly conspired to kill Yogesh Gowda and is also suspected to have intimidated eight witnesses.

TNM Staff

Facebook

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday detained former Congress Minister Vinay Kulkarni in connection with the murder of BJP leader from Dharwad -- Yogesh Gowda. Police sources said that the investigators suspect that Vinay Kulkarni allegedly conspired to kill Yogesh Gowda and is also suspected to have intimidated eight witnesses when the case was set to go for trial in 2017.  The CBI arrived at Vinay Kulkarni’s residence early on Thursday morning and took him to the Dharwad Upanagara Police Station for questioning. Yogesh Gowda, a BJP zilla panchayat member in Dharwad, was brutally hacked to death in broad daylight on the morning of June 16, 2016, whilst he was on his way to the gymnasium he owned in the city’s Saptapurabavi area.  The incident was caught on CCTV cameras, where five men, who were waiting for Yogesh Gowda to arrive, attacked him with machetes. Just a day after the incident, the Dharwad Police had arrested Basavaraja Shivappa Muttagi, Vinayak Basavaraj Kadagi, Vikram Udaykumar, Sandeep alias Sandy Somashekhar, Keerti Kumar and Basavaraja Kurahatti near the Kalaghatagi Bypass Road.  The then Police Commissioner of Dharwad, Panduranga Rane had held a press conference and said that Yogesh Gowda was killed over a land dispute. The police had earlier said that Yogesh Gowda had allegedly occupied 15 acres of land belonging to Basavaraj Muttagi and had allegedly threatened to kill him. The police had said that Muttagi had planned to kill Yogesh to extract revenge.  The BJP, which was the opposition party at the time, had alleged the involvement of Congress party leaders in Yogesh Gowda’s murder. The BJP claimed that Yogesh was killed due to political vendetta.  However, after the BJP came to power in July 2019, the government requested the CBI to probe the matter. On September 24, 2019, the CBI took over the probe. In March this year, the CBI arrested six more persons in connection with the case including Dinesh, Sunil, Nutan, Ashwath, Shahnawaz and Nazeer Ahmed. The CBI also questioned former Dharwad Police Commissioner Panduranga Rane, and former Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) from Dharwad, Jinendra Kanagavi and Mallikarjuna Baladandi in connection with the case. In June this year, the CBI filed a preliminary chargesheet in the case and had stated that Yogesh Gowda’s murder was politically motivated.  Police sources told TNM that based on information received upon questioning the accused persons, the CBI suspects that Vinay Kulkarni allegedly hired men to kill Yogesh Gowda and that he was allegedly involved in intimidating eight witnesses in the case back in 2017.  “We have reason to believe that eight witnesses in the case were intimidated at the behest of Vinay Kulkarni. Our investigation found that four of them were taken to Rashi farm house in Dharwad, one person was taken to Goa, and three were taken to Ramya Residency Hotel in Dharwad in 2017 and were threatened to remain quiet about the murder. We are questioning Vinay Kulkarni about this,” a source said.  The CBI also suspects that Kulkarni allegedly hired hitmen to kill Yogesh Gowda. The BJP had in 2016 alleged that Yogesh Gowda was murdered due to his close proximity to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and that his rivals, allegedly from the Congress party, did not want him to grow politically. 

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Karnataka to decide on reopening schools after consulting with CM, ministers

Education

Education Minister Suresh Kumar said that the education department will hold meetings with the health, transport, social welfare and other departments this week.

TNM Staff

Representative image from Picxy

The Karnataka Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Wednesday announced that the state government will decide on schools reopening in the state after consulting with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. He added that the state government was concerned about children's education in the state and the number of children who could drop out if schools do not reopen for long. However, he said that the state government is not in a hurry to reopen schools in the state. Suresh Kumar said that the education department will hold meetings with several other departments, including the health department, transport department and social welfare department, this week. A report will be sent to the Chief Minister before deciding on the issue. After the Andhra Pradesh government decided to reopen schools in three phases, the Karnataka government, too, felt the need to deliberate on this model before announcing its final decision. The online meeting was convened but due to technical glitches, it had to be called off abruptly. The Education Minister added that the state, too, has agreed to reopen colleges from November 17. Meanwhile, the state is also witnessing a trend of COVID-19 cases coming down considerably. Students of private schools have been attending online classes since June while students of government schools have not had online classes. A Vidyagama programme was started to aid continuous learning for the students of government schools. As part of this initiative, teachers were going to various regions where these students lived and taught them in community spaces. This, however, had to be stopped in October after a spike in COVID-19 cases were reported. "Experts feel that prolonged closure of schools can have a negative impact on children's mind as well. Therefore, we are examining all these aspects before arriving at a final decision," Suresh Kumar said.

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Power bills to get expensive in Bengaluru and rest of Karnataka

Power

KERC has approved a hike for all electricity supply companies in the state.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

Bengalureans and people living in the rest of Karnataka are set to pay more for their monthly electricity bills as the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has approved a hike of 40 paise per unit for all electricity supply companies in the state like BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company). According to officials, this would mean on average, electric bills for an will increase by a little more than 5%. Officials said the cost has been increased as a measure to strike balance between the rise in demand and cost of supply. The 40 paise hike has been granted by the KERC at a time when BESCOM and other suppliers had sought a hike of Rs 1.26 per unit. The hike also comes at a time when a section of Bengaluru residents have been complaining about BESCOM overcharging its customers. In February, the Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) had pointed out that many consumers are made to pay for BESCOM’s inefficiency. Bescom had reported a revenue deficit of Rs 5,872 crore in the previous year. BPAC said that Bengaluru had the highest transmission and distribution losses in the country at a loss of 16.42%. This at a time when other places like Delhi have a much less transmission and distribution loss at less than 9%. BPAC said this was due to a huge amount of electricity consumption that goes unbilled and BESCOM has done nothing to counter this power theft over the years. BPAC also pointed out that there is often leakage of power subsidy given to farmers where the subsidy is misused by others, leading to further losses for BESCOM. Further, they stated that BESCOM’s inability to collect dues on time leads to cash deficit and constantly borrowing for operational expenses making it prone to debt servicing.  

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