Karnataka's Covid positivity rate at 0.69 per cent

Coronavirus

With 522 new cases on Saturday, the state's Covid tally increased to 9,39,387

IANS

IMAGE FOR REPRESENTATION: PTI

Reversing the trend, 522 new Covid-19 cases in a day outnumbered 465 recoveries across Karnataka, said the state health bulletin on Sunday. "With 522 new cases on Saturday, the state's Covid tally increased to 9,39,387, including 6,029 positive cases, while recoveries rose to 9,21,122, with 465 patients discharged during the last 24 hours," said the bulletin. Of the 4 deaths occurred due to the virus in the day, 3 were from Bengaluru and 1 from Dharwad, taking the state's death toll to 12,217 since the pandemic broke in March last year. In Bengaluru, 242 fresh cases were registered on Saturday, taking its Covid tally to 3,98,886, including 3,827 active cases, while recoveries rose to 3,90,667 with 212 discharged during the day. Of 145 patients in the intensive care units (ICUs), 68 are in Bengaluru hospitals and 13 in Kalaburagi, while the rest are spread in the remaining 28 districts across the southern state. Out of 75,451 tests conducted in the day, 3,896 were through rapid-antigen detection and 71,555 through RT-PCR method. "Positivity rate was 0.69 per cent and case fatality rate 0.76 per cent across the state on Saturday," added the bulletin.  

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Leopard that's been entering Bengaluru apartment finally caught

Wildlife

The leopard fell into one of the traps set by the Forest Department on Monday morning.

TNM Staff

Representative Image

The leopard that had caused residents of Prestige Song, a residential society off Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta, distress has been caught by the officials on Monday morning. The leopard will be released in the nearby Bannerghatta National Park by the Forest Department officials. “We were about a team of seven on-duty. The leopard fell into one of the traps set by us around 3.30 am in the morning and we waited until it was bright enough. We are taking the leopard and will release it in a conducive environment so that it does not return again,” said Deputy Forest Range Officer Harsha, who was present at the location during the sighting. When the leopard was first spotted on January 24, it was believed that it strayed and entered the building. The CCTV camera footage accessed from the apartment then had shown the big cat crossing a road within the apartment complex. Since then, the video has been doing the rounds on social media platforms, including WhatsApp.  The leopard sighted at Prestige Song apartment building fell in the trap set by Forest Department officials The CCTV footage of the leopard created a scare among the residents of the building as well as others in the neighbouring areas of Begur and Koppa near the Hulimavu lake. After the incident, officials had set up camera traps and were using drones to trace the leopard. The police, along with the Forest Department, had also formed teams to comb the area in a bid to capture the big cat and release it back into the wild. Harsha and the team have been constantly monitoring the area.  The leopard was spotted again in the area on Friday, January 29. Residents had been distressed over the leopard still roaming around in the vicinity. The residents alleged that they have been sighting the leopard every day; although no untoward incident has been reported so far. Experts said the leopard was moving from the open forests, passing through the apartment complex to go to the caves nearby. 

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Karnataka schools to reopen for Classes 9 and 11 from Monday

Education

A timetable issued by the Karnataka Education Department to all high schools stated that classes will be held from Monday to Saturday.

TNM Staff

Representative Image/ PTI

With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the decline in coronavirus cases across Karnataka, regular classes for students of classes 9 and 11 will begin from Monday as per the guidelines, an education official said on Sunday. According to the protocols of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and guidelines of the Union Health Ministry, full-day classes for students of grades 9 and 11 will begin in all high schools across the state from Monday an official had said to IANS.  As schools and colleges remained shut since March 25, 2020, to contain the pandemic, students were attending classes online since July. Offline classes for classes 10 and 12 had begun from January 1. State Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had in December announced the reopening, however, attendance at schools and colleges was not mandatory.  Students could choose to attend classes online through the YouTube channel and practice other sources. The official added that school for students of classes 6-8 under the Vidyagama scheme will continue to be held in the open air on alternate days from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. According to a timetable issued by the Department to all high schools for classes 9,10, 11 and 12; the classes will commence from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm on all days [Monday-Saturday], he said. Wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distance and sanitising hands will be mandatory for all students, teachers and staff in all schools and colleges. The students have been advised to carry their own packed lunches, and have to furnish a consent letter signed by the parents to attend classes, which mentions that their wards are free from coronavirus. The Education Department has also directed all schools to sanitise classes and maintain hygiene in the premises to prevent the virus spread. The Education Department is yet to decide on starting classes for students of first to fifth grades in primary schools across the southern state. The Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar had announced on January 28 that the state government has decided to hold full-day classes for students of classes 9, 10, and first and second-year Pre-University across the state from February 1.

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a Kannadiga’, claims Karnataka Dy CM Karjol

Politics

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol claimed that Chhatrapati Shivaji’s forefathers migrated from Gadag district’s Soratur to Maharashtra.

IANS

Govind Karjol, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, on January 31, claimed that Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji was a 'Kannadiga'. He claimed that the King’s forefather Belliyappa was a Kannadiga from Soratur of Gadag district. His comments came in response to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s statement on the inter-state border row. Speaking to reporters in Belgavi, Karjol said, “Shivaji's forefather Belliyappa was a Kannadiga from Soratur in Karnataka's Gadag district. When drought struck Gadag, he [Belliyappa] migrated to Maharashtra, and Shivaji was the fourth generation of his family. Thackeray should at least know this much about Shivaji, who is Shiv Sena's icon and named the party after.” Karjol like other Karnataka legislators asserted that raking up the old inter-state border row was an attempt by Thackeray to divert attention from internal bickering in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, which was formed by Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on November 28, 2019, in Maharashtra. At a book launch on the border dispute between the two states, in Mumbai on January 27, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said areas dominated by Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka like Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani should be declared as the 'Union Territory' till the Supreme Court gave the final verdict in the decades-old case. Belagavi, about 500km northwest of Bengaluru was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency during the British rule but was given to Mysore state during the reorganisation of the states on linguistic grounds in 1956. Maharashtra then said that there were more Marathi-speaking people living in Belagavi and hundreds of its villages, which was part of Karnataka. The Union government then constituted the Mahajan Commission in 1967 to settle the inter-state boundary dispute. The Mahajan committee that was set up recommended that 264 villages be transferred to Maharashtra and that Belgaum and 247 villages remain with Karnataka. Maharashtra did not agree with the report, unlike Karnataka. Maharashtra filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Mahajan report and the case is still pending in the top court.

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Car rams into a lorry, four youth die in Bengaluru

Accident

Three among the four travelling in the car died on the spot.

TNM Staff

Representative Image/ Pixabay

Four young people were killed in a road crash on Bellali road on January 31 during the wee hours of the night. The car that the youth were travelling in, rammed into the back of a concrete mixer lorry near Chikkajala in Bengaluru.  According to the statement released by the police, those involved in the accident were Madhusudhan (26), Milan Raj (19), P Shivashankar (26) and M Anusha (22) and were all residents of Bagalur, a village in the northern part of the Bengaluru. While the three men died on the spot, Anusha succumbed to her injuries at Columbia Asia Hospital in the city.  A case was registered against the driver of the lorry and Madhusudhan under Indian Penal Code 279(punishes a person driving recklessly or negligently endangering others), 304 (A) (causing death due to negligent act, not amounting to homicide) and under clause 134 (non-compliance with the regulations pertaining to motor accident) of The Motor Vehicle Act. The statement read, “A case has been registered against the lorry driver and Madhusudhan based on the complaint by a resident of Satanur village, SK Channegowda at the nearby Traffic Police station. The case is being investigated by Joint Commissioner of Police B R Ravanekanta Gowda, Deputy Commissioner of Traffic North Division Sajith VJ and Assistant Commissioner of Police Northeast Sub-division and the local inspector.” According to the investigating officer, inspector Muralidhar P of Chikkajala Traffic Police Station, an investigation of the claims made by Channegowda against the lorry driver, will commence today. He further added that the relative who claimed to be an uncle of the deceased had filed a complaint after he [Channegowda] learnt all the details upon arriving at the scene.

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Authorities struggle to find leopard that's been entering Bengaluru apartment for days

Wildlife

The leopard was seen entering a residential complex off Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta on January 29.

TNM Staff

Representative Image

The elusive leopard, which was last seen at an apartment complex in Bengaluru last week, was spotted there again on Friday, January 29. It was sighted on the premises of Prestige Song, a residential society off Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta. On January 24, when it was spotted first, it created a scare among the residents of the building as well as others in the neighbouring areas of Begur and Koppa near the Hulimavu lake. The police, along with the forest department, had formed teams to comb the area in a bid to capture the big cat and release it back into the wild.  “The leopard was sighted again around 3 am on Friday. However, we couldn’t take any action since the team from Bannerghatta National Park doctors, who could sedate the big cat, was not present at the time of the incident. We have set up cages at four different points nearby to trap the animal, which could be wandering in the caves and terrains nearby, and to release it back into the wild,” said Deputy Forest Range Officer Harsha, who was present at the location during the sighting. When the leopard was first spotted on January 24, it was believed that it strayed and entered the building. The CCTV camera footage accessed from the apartment then had shown the big cat crossing a road within the apartment complex. Since then, the video has been doing the rounds on social media platforms, including WhatsApp.  After the incident, the officials had set up camera traps and were using drones to trace the leopard. Harsha and the team have been constantly monitoring the area.  The officer added that they cannot do much in sending the wild cat back into the forest because of fears over losing it into the dark. Besides, according to the Standard Operating Protocols issued by Karnataka’s Forest Department, no animal can be sedated in an open space after 6 pm, said the head of the Bannerghatta National Park team, Dr Umashankar.  “There are chances that the shot of tranquilliser may kill the animal. The drugs are very potent, which start showing effects quickly. Using it in open space when it is dark, can cause the loss of the wild animal,” said Dr Umashankar, adding that the team is trying to assist the police as best as possible. However, the distress among the residents has been mounting with the leopard still roaming around in the vicinity. The residents alleged that they have been sighting the leopard every day; although no untoward incident has been reported so far. The residents reportedly said that the big cat has been coming at night to use the compound to move between two sites. The residents are planning to increase the height of their compound wall and fix a barbed wire to prevent such incidents in future.

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Six held for rape and trafficking of 15-yr-old girl in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru

Crime

The FIR registered in Sringeri police station accused more than 15 people of rape and sexual abuse of the minor.

Prajwal Bhat

Image for representation

Six people have been arrested for the rape, sexual abuse and trafficking of a 15-year-old girl in Karnakta’s Chikkamagaluru district. A first information report was registered at the Sringeri police station in the district after a complaint by the district child welfare committee accused more than 15 people of rape and sexual abuse of the minor.  Speaking to TNM, Chikkamagaluru SP Hakay Akshay Machindra told TNM that six people were arrested in the case. The complaint by Subramanya G, who heads the child welfare committee in Chikkamagaluru, stated that Small Abhi, a local resident, Girish, a driver and his friends had allegedly raped and sexually abused the girl in the last five months. Those accused include the survivor's aunt Vidya* after it emerged that she had known about the repeated sexual abuse. "Vidya solicited her into this and others who allegedly sexually abused her regularly have also been arrested. The investigation is underway and we will follow up the allegations made by the girl," Hakay Akshay Machindra said. Vidya, the survivor’s aunt, works at a crushing unit located close to their home. According to the child welfare committee, the survivor has been living with Vidya since her mother passed away around three years ago. In September 2020, the girl was allegedly asked to work for a few days at the crushing unit in place of her aunt when she fell ill. Her work was clerical and involved noting down numbers of vehicles. It was here that she met Girish, a driver, who allegedly raped her. According to the complainant, Girish then brought other friends along with him to sexually abuse and rape the girl. This included Chikka Abhi or Small Abhi, a resident in Kikre village of Chikkamagaluru.  "Girish would tell her that she has to spend time with other men. There is an allegation she was given birth control pills twice in this period," said Subramanya.  He added that the survivor was blackmailed with photos by the group of men and warned against complaining about the abuse. "There are many more people who were not named in the FIR because the survivor could not recognise them. The police should investigate this thoroughly," Subramanya added. The incident came to light on Thursday and the survivor was rescued and is now being counselled.  The accused in the case are Girish, driver, Small Abhi, Vikas, Manikanta, Sampath, Ashwath Gowda, Rajesh, Amith, Santosh, Deekshit, Niranjan, Narayana Gowda, Abhi Gowda, Yogesh and Vidya, the survivor's aunt.  The FIR was registered in Sringeri police station and the accused members were charged under sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 370 (trafficking), 376 (3) (rape), 376 (n) (repeated rape) of the Indian Penal Code. They have also been booked under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Immoral Traffic Prevention Act and Child Labour Amendment Act, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act). 'MGR Crushers' has been named in the FIR and its owner has been booked.  *Name changed to protect identity of the survivor

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