Rollout would also take aim at vaccine skepticism and misinformation.
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Saturday, January 16, 2021
Friday, January 15, 2021
UP cops arrest Karnataka man, accuse him of kidnapping and forcefully converting girl to Islam
According to the Chiluatal police, the girl’s father claimed in his complaint that Mehaboob had befriended her on Facebook by offering her a job.
Representation photo
The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday arrested a 21-year-old Muslim youth from Karnataka’s Vijayapura district on allegations kidnapping a minor girl from Gorakhpur for the purpose of forcefully converting her to Islam. In 2020, the Uttar Pradesh government passed the Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance and the UP Police have made multiple arrests of Muslim youth under this provision since then. Speaking to TNM, the accused Mehaboob Chapparband’s father, a porter at the railway station in Vijayapura’s Indi, said that he had no knowledge of his son’s relationship with the minor girl. “On Wednesday, the police came to my house (in Rajanal village) and told me that my son had kidnapped a girl from Uttar Pradesh and that he was accused of trying to forcefully convert a Hindu girl to Islam. I told them that my son was a good man and if he had done anything wrong, they could take action,” Mehaboob’s father said, while adding that he offered to help the police trace his son, who they claimed had absconded. “They took him to UP today. They didn’t tell me anything. My son had not come home for a few days and his phone was off,” he added. On January 11, the Chiluatal Police in UP’s Gorakhpur registered an FIR under sections 5 and 7 of the Ordinance. Section 5 prohibits conversion of religion through force, misrepresentation, undue influence, and allurement, or fraud, or marriage. Section 7 pertains to the powers vested in local police to register an FIR if such a complaint for forceful conversion is filed by the aggrieved person or their family members. The Indi Rural Police and their Chiluatal counterparts arrested Mehaboob near the Indi Railway Station, when he came to meet his father on Friday, the Indi Rural Police Inspector Siruguppi said. On January 5, the father of the minor girl filed a missing persons complaint with the Chiluatal Police stating that his daughter had not returned home from college. In his complaint, the father had stated that he had dropped his daughter to the Sardar patel Institute of Technology in Gorakhpur on January 4 and that she had not returned home. Her father had allegedly told the police that he had checked her Facebook profile and found that she had been in touch with Mehaboob Chappaband from Vijayapura district’s Indi taluk. According to the Chiluatal police, the girl’s father claimed in his complaint that Mehaboob had befriended her on Facebook by offering her a job and that he had allegedly concealed his religious identity. Based on the father’s complaint, the police registered an FIR against Mehaboob for kidnapping and under sections of the Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance 2020. Speaking to TNM, Vijayapura Superintendent of Police Anupam Aggarwal said that a team of three police officers arrived in Indi on Wednesday and began looking for the minor girl and Mehaboob. The police initially suspected that they were in Goa and enlisted the help fo Mehaboob’s father to track him down. “We don’t know whether he intended to forcefully convert the girl. We have to question him first. Investigation is on,” the Chiluatal police said.
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How Karnataka politicians have used CDs to target opponents
Multiple times politicians in Karnataka have claimed to have CDs containing compromising content and in some cases even leaked it. But did it really impact political careers?
TNM
The political drama unfolding in Karnataka currently is surrounding a CD that Yediyurappa’s detractors in the BJP and in the opposition claim has ‘compromising content’ against the Karnataka Chief Minister and his son BY Vijayendra. Bijapur City MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal started the controversy by stating on Thursday that a CD was in the possession of BJP MLC CP Yogeshwar. According to Yatnal, Yogeshwar used this CD to ensure that he becomes a minister. While no one really knows if this CD exists, the political theater surrounding ‘CDs’ is not new to Karnataka. From 2006 or so, many politicians have claimed to have CDs with video evidence of wrongdoings by rivals. Though these CDs have created a flutter and grabbed eyeballs, they have never really toppled governments. One of the first instances of a politician claiming to have video evidence against his rival surfaced in 2006, when the then Member of Legislative Council and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy claimed to have a video of former Forest Minister Chennigappa accepting a bribe of Rs 150 crore from owners of mining companies. He claimed that Chennigappa was the go-between man who allegedly procured the money for the then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Although Janardhana Reddy had kept the issue alive for two months, he ultimately released just a photo of Chennigappa sitting with huge amounts of money. Kumaraswamy went on to serve as the Chief Minister for 20 months and in 2008, Janardhana Reddy was made the Tourism Minister. However, this incident marked the beginning of a long-standing feud between Kumaraswamy and Janardhana Reddy. In 2011, a video containing a conversation between Janardhana Reddy (who was the tourism minister then) and a man purported to be the confidante of the then Governor Hansraj Bharadwaj, found its way to a Kannada TV channel. The video showed an alleged agent of the Governor approaching Janardhana Reddy to offer him a deal to wriggle out of the office of profit case filed by Congress MLC KC Kondaiah. The news had led to a bitter battle between Governor HR Bharadwaj and Janardhan Reddy with the former ultimately recommending Reddy’s disqualification. Although it was believed that Reddy leaked the video to expose the Governor, the video did not cause any harm to Governor Bharadwaj. In 2012, after Janardhana Reddy’s arrest, when the illegal mining scam was being covered closely by the media, one of his relatives Dasarath Reddy, who was arrested by the anti corruption bureau claimed to have a video where a session court judge in Andhra Pradesh had accepted Rs 10 crore bribe to grant bail to Reddy. At the time, three judges were arrested in the case. One of the judges, D Prabhakar Rao died in 2016. The mining scam with all its related controversies led to the fall of the mining baron. While Chief Minister Yediyurappa was made to step down, the BJP government remained in power with Jagadish Shettar as the CM. In 2013, ahead of the Assembly elections, an explicit video of BJP MLA from Udupi Raghupati Bhat was released to the media. At the time, Raghupati Bhat lost his ticket to contest the elections. After a five-year break he was once again elected as the MLA from Udupi. Although the video did not have a lasting impact on his image, he did face a temporary setback in his career. In 2016, two years after Yediyurappa let go of his rebellion and returned to the BJP, the founding member of Karnataka Janata Paksha, Padmanabha Prasanna claimed that he had a CD containing the video of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa getting married to Shobha Karandlaje. While no video was released, this episode did not have a lasting impact on Yediyurappa’s popularity. CD controversies have popped up many times later too, but one of the biggest news stories was regarding a CD that BJP leader Eshwarappa possessed. In 2018, Eshwarappa’s personal assistant was kidnapped and BSY’s political secretary NR Santhosh. Congress leader DK Shivakumar then claimed that Eshwarappa’s PA had a CD containing incriminating information against Santosh, which led to the kidnapping. In 2019, Kumaraswamy released two audio clips in which voices purported to be BS Yeddyurappa and two other BJP leaders were heard trying to lure Gurmitkal JD(S) MLA Nagangouda Kankur’s son Sharangouda into their fold. A few weeks later, BJP MLA Aravind Limbavalli alleged that the BJP is in possession of a video tape where Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is seen demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from aspirants for the MLC seat. While Kumaraswamy produced the audio tape, Limbavalli did not release any video to the media. Ultimately, Kumaraswamy’s allegation of poaching came true and the Congress-JD(S) coalition fell in 2019. In the same year, an explicit video of MLA Arvind Limbavalli was released to the media. The Mahadevapura MLA, who was slated to be given the post of the Deputy CM, lost his chance and had to wait till January this year to bag a ministry. While the video did have a temporary set back, it did not cause long-lasting harm to Limbavalli’s career. The latest in the long tryst that Karnataka has had with mysterious CDs, is the one linked to the Chief Minister himself. But if one were to go by history, this tide will pass soon.
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K’taka CM Yediyurappa hints at change in his cabinet again
Karnataka Chief Minister has hinted towards a cabinet change two days after he inducted seven new members.
PTI
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has hinted towards yet another change in the Cabinet. Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s impending visit to Karnataka, the distribution of portfolios has been held off by the CM. The core committee is all set to meet tomorrow to discuss the changes in the cabinet. There’s a possibility of interchanging the ministerial berths within the selected people. The CM said to the press, “We [the core committee] are working on the distribution of ministerial berths again and the committee will further take a decision on who will be included in the cabinet. The distribution of portfolios will happen once Home Minister Amit Shah reviews the list after his arrival in the city.” He also added that new members may get the ministerial berth concurrently hinting at the possibility of interchange between the legislators who entered the cabinet. After the cabinet expansion on January 13, many disgruntled legislators cried foul and issued derogatory statements against CM Yediyurappa. On one hand the BJP MLA for Bommanahalli, Satish Reddy criticised Yediyurappa. He in a tweet questioned the criteria for selecting candidates eligible for ministerial berths. In addition to that, Bijapur City MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal said that the decision to keep party loyalists out of the cabinet marked “the end” to Yediyurappa’s political career. “Mark my words now. This will be the end of Yediyurappa and his son Vijayendra,” Yatnal had said. He also alleged that the CM has given people the ministerial positions because they were allegedly blackmailing him. Yatnal also added that they used CDs and pen drives to blackmail the CM. Other discontented members are Yediyurappa’s political advisor and Honnali legislator Renukacharya, Ballari MLA G Somashekara Reddy and Harappanahalli MLA Karunakar Reddy. The leaders implicitly expressed their unhappiness about not being inducted into the cabinet. CM Yediyurappa on Thursday asked the disgruntled members to approach the high command in Delhi. He also appealed to them not to “damage” the reputation of the party. Meanwhile, leaders like Munirathna sided with the CM.
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Biden taps D.C. veteran David Kessler to head Warp Speed
Kessler will replace former pharmaceutical executive Moncef Slaoui, who will step down from leading Warp Speed to consult on the initiative for a month.
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Bengaluru colleges reopen campus but offline classes yet to begin
While St Joseph's College of Commerce allows only those with consent forms, Christ University is open only for practical sessions.
Sanjana Deshpande
Offline classes for students of undergraduate, postgraduate, engineering and diploma courses were to resume from Friday in Karnataka. However, though colleges in Bengaluru have opened their campuses while following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the state government, offline classes are yet to resume. While St Joseph’s College of Commerce (SJCC) has allowed students to come to campus with a consent letter, Christ (deemed to be) University has opened their campus only to conduct practical classes and exams, without allowing any other students in the premises. “We sent a Google form to the students to gauge how many wanted to attend offline classes and among 112 students, as much as 12 per cent students opted for offline classes,” said Father Daniel Fernandes, Principal of SJCC. He further added that the online method of teaching has been running smoothly, which is why they are continuing with it. The officials at the Christ (deemed to be) University, however, said that allowing their 26,000-strong student body to attend offline classes at once would be very chaotic. This is why the administration chose to open the college only for practical sessions and doctorate students who need resources for their research. In addition to following the SOPs issued by the state, some colleges are asking students to produce a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test report taken 72 hours before coming to the campus. The SOPs issued by Deputy CM and state Minister of Higher Education. According to the Deputy Chief Minister and in charge of higher education, CN Ashwath Narayan’s notification, colleges can also resume cultural and sports activities. However, so far, colleges have refrained from doing so. “Students are allowed to come on campus, they can sit in the library or use computer laboratories and can individually play sports. However, the students cannot represent the college in any inter-collegiate cultural or sports activity. Our canteen is also open but we have only allowed the sale of packaged goods. The students wanted to attend offline classes; the parents weren’t consenting to this. We won’t allow any student to come to campus without consent letter,” added Father Fernandes of SJCC. Meanwhile, students are yearning to go back to their campuses after a year of online education. A group of students of the Life Sciences Department at Christ University said that they have not been given any notification regarding the commencement of offline classes. “It is imperative for our course that we come and practically conduct experiments, thus we have been allowed to come to the campus. However, we have to maintain social distance, wear masks and sanitise our hands at all times. Many of us coming to the campus are either final year students or doctorate students,” they said. They added that producing a negative COVID-19 test report is not mandatory for them. A student of the BBA Department in SJCC said, “The offline classes have not yet resumed and will likely begin from February. The online classes will continue until then. We have to always carry a consent form signed by our parents mandatorily. We are waiting for the recommencement of offline classes.” “Due to unstable internet connection and other factors, we sometimes cannot hear the professor clearly and have had issues grasping the basic concepts because of the same. If they resumed offline classes, it will help us study better. Undoubtedly, conducting the exam has become easier owing to the online model, but we are struggling,” added another student.
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Bengaluru biker King Richard Srinivasan dies after colliding with camel
The 45-year-old was accompanied by Narayan from Bengaluru, and Dr Vijay and Venugopal from Chennai on the tour.
Screengrab
A popular cross-country biker from Bengaluru, King Richard Srinivasan, died on Wednesday night after a crash involving a camel in Rajasthan. The incident took place in Fatehgarh subdivision of Jaisalmer district on Wednesday night when Srinivasan, along with three friends, was headed to Jaisalmer town, the police said. The camel reportedly came in front of Srinivasan's motorcycle suddenly, forcing him to collide with the animal. Srinivasan sustained head injuries in the accident. The body was handed over to his family members after a post-mortem examination on Thursday, Head Constable of Sangarh police station Sonaram Bhati told PTI. 45-year-old Srinivasan was accompanied by Narayan from Bengaluru, and Dr Vijay and Venugopal from Chennai on the tour. Their tour was to conclude in Bengaluru on January 23, the police official said. Srinivasan is known for undertaking multiple expeditions from Bengaluru and has covered the continents of Asia, Europe, America, and Australia on his Tiger 800. He had recently upgraded to BMW GS and was planning to go on an expedition to Africa. According to an interview in The Hindu published in January 2020, Richard, who ran an aluminium furnace business, had taken to riding bikes only in 2015 and had come in touch with some foreigners who had done world tours. It is only then that he decided to pursue cross-country biking. In 2018, he embarked on a world tour in which he covered 21 countries, riding from Bengaluru to London. Later in 2019, he started on his second world tour, covering the USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. In this tour, he had intended to ride in Kashmir and had started his journey from Bengaluru on January 7, according to reports.
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