Mysuru police book man for sexually abusing street dog

Animal Abuse

The complaint was filed by an animal welfare officer after he received video evidence of the incident.

Sanjana Deshpande

Representative Image/PTI

The Mysuru police have filed an FIR (First Information Report) against a man for sexually abusing a street dog. The accused, identified as Somashekhar, committed the crime on the night of February 15, at around 11 pm. The heinous act was caught on video. He was booked under Section 11 in The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. According to the FIR, a copy of which was accessed by TNM, the incident occurred on the main road of Ganapathi Temple in Gokulam 3rd stage of the city. The complaint was filed in VV Puram police station by an animal welfare officer, who produced the video evidence of the incident, reported TNIE. Harish KB, an animal welfare officer with People for Animals (PFA), Mysuru, said that a video of the incident was shared with him. “The man was seen inserting his fingers and genitals. This act amounts to committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature, with an animal and is a punishable offence and thus lodged a complaint against the 30-year-old accused. The dog was to undergo a medical examination on Tuesday. He then said that the situation can be aggravated if no stringent action is taken against it in the primitive stages. “They just think about fulfilling their carnal desires,” he expressed. When TNM tried to contact him, Harish KB remained unavailable for comment. It is suspected that the accused has Deviant Sexual Behaviour wherein people indulge in gratification through means that are considered odd, different, or unacceptable. Dr BN Raveesh, Professor and Head of the Psychiatry Department at Mysuru Medical College told TNM that they are expecting to assess the accused. He explained that the accused may have deviant sexual behaviour, “wherein people indulge in gratification through means that are considered odd, different, or unacceptable.” He further added, “A person with the condition mainly focuses on fulfilling their carnal desires at any cost; there are various causes like addiction to a substance can perpetrate this condition. It is also a biological condition and can be rectified with suitable measures.” 

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'We lost our only child': Father of Bengaluru student who lost life due to bad roads

Negligence

19-year-old Tasdeeq Bushra was returning from her first day at college when a BBMP truck collided with her as she tried to avoid a pothole.

Sanjana Deshpande

TNM

It has been over two weeks since 19-year-old Tasdeeq Bushra lost her life due to the poor conditions of Bengaluru’s roads. On February 6, 2021, Tasdeep was hit by an oncoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) truck while trying to avoid potholes on the Hennur-Lingarajapuram main road. The first-year medicine student was returning home from her first day college when the accident happened, said her father Mushtaq Ahmed. “We have lost our only child. There is no amount that can compensate for the loss of life of our daughter. Due to the negligence of the authorities, an innocent life was lost. We don’t want more innocent lives like Tasdeeq’s to be lost due to such negligence,” said the grieving father. He further added that they have registered a complaint against the driver of the truck. The driver has been arrested under section 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (death caused by negligence). “Whom will we pin the blame on? The vehicle was BBMP’s and so was the driver, the roads were poorly built by them. We just convinced ourselves saying maybe it was God’s will to call her so soon. But will we keep calling every accident that happened because some official did not exercise his duty properly as an ‘Act of God’?” expressed Mushtaq Ahmed. According to him, the authorities of BBMP, Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) and Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) have been blaming each other for the accident. Meanwhile, Citizens for Bengaluru, a group that actively advocates for increased citizen participation in local governance, have urged the people of Bengaluru to assist the distraught family in seeking justice for their daughter. They demand that stringent action be initiated against the authorities responsible for the poor maintenance of the road. “A press conference was conducted with participation from both political and social activist fronts. A blossoming flower was nipped in the bud. We the Citizens of Bengaluru urge the state government that stringent action is taken against the BBMP officials responsible for not maintaining the roads,” they wrote in a statement. Syed Humayun, who nearly met with an accident at the same spot moments after Tasdeeq, said that the officials had neither placed cone around the pothole, nor did they close it for two days. “We should appoint one civilian officer in every area to monitor the roads in the city. Every ward has an office and these officers should co-ordinate with ward-level officials and get maintenance work done. Without increased citizen participation, the situation will not change,” he said. Another activist, Asif said that the group is planning to start a Twitter campaign, wherein they will upload photos of bad roads and tag the accounts of the authorities, in a bid to prevent more lives from being lost. 

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No, her name is not Disha Ravi 'Joseph': Friends debunk lies about arrested activist

Fact check

Multiple imposter Twitter accounts have also emerged claiming to be connected to Disha Ravi. However, her friends and family have debunked this as well.

Prajwal Bhat

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

The family of Disha Ravi, the 22-year-old climate activist who was arrested by the Delhi police in connection with the ‘toolkit’ or a Google open source document on the farmers’ protest on Sunday, has clarified that she is Hindu, after hundreds of tweets claimed that her actual name is “Disha Ravi Joseph” and claimed she is a Christian. Dismissing these claims, her family has said that her full name is Disha Annappa Ravi. Prasanna R, a lawyer and close friend of Disha's family, told TNM, "Her mother's name is Manjula Nanjaiah, father is Ravi. They are from Tiptur in Tumkur district of Karnataka." While debunking the fake theory made on Twitter to try to discredit Disha, Prasanna also added that it does not and should not matter what religion Disha belongs to. “Disha's religious identity does not matter here. How is it relevant if she is Christian or Hindu? She is a nature lover and had friends from all over. She has not followed any religion though she was brought up in a Lingayat household. It is unfortunate that we have to debunk this cooked up religious identity that is being used to spread hatred further,” he added. One of Disha's friends told TNM, "Her name is Disha A Ravi and I can't believe this is a conversation that needs to happen. It should not matter if someone belongs to a particular religion or caste. She is an Indian who believes in all of us coming together for the greater good and progress of this nation and us as humanity." Disha’s family also sought to debunk claims on Kannada media that she received foreign funds for her volunteering work. "There are so many obnoxious lies being spread about Disha. Kannada channels are you even saying that she received foreign funds. All these can be disproved easily, but channels are spreading lies,” Prasanna added. One of Disha’s friends, who regularly works with her in conducting cleanup drives and tree-planting drives in Bengaluru, said that the volunteers would manage their expenses themselves. “We manage Splitwise accounts and even share the costs of buying material like chart paper and colour,” said her friend. “Disha Ravi Joseph” was trending on Twitter in India on Wednesday morning with hundreds of tweets claiming that Disha Ravi is a “Syrian Christian from Kerala” and that she and Nikita Jacob, against whom a non-bailable warrant has been issued by the Delhi police in the same case, are “working together to conspire against India.” As of 10 am, there were over 10,000 tweets under this trend. One of the tweets with misinformation about her name has over 9,000 likes and 3,000 retweets. Prashant Patel Umrao, a Supreme Court lawyer, who is known for tweeting unverified claims and false news, also shared the fake claim on Twitter. Later, he deleted the tweet. Here is a screenshot: Geez! But what if her name is 'Disha Ravi Joseph'? Christians in India can't protest now? And what if she is single mother? Single mothers aren't allowed to speak up? Ad hominem is the lowest form of attack, only used by idiots who have nothing to say about the matter at hand. https://t.co/Ju1gjaTc8c — Neelima Vallangi (@NVallangi) February 17, 2021 Following her arrest, multiple imposter Twitter accounts have also emerged claiming to be connected to Disha Ravi. However, people close to Disha confirmed that no one in her family is posting tweets on any Twitter account in her name.  One particular Twitter handle - @climatedisha - has over 6,000 followers and over 24,000 likes on one of the tweets. The handle first claimed that it was Disha Ravi’s sister even though Disha is a single child. The handle later claimed that it was her cousin. This too was denied by Disha’s friends and family.   Told by multiple people close to Disha Ravi that no one in her family are tweeting from any Twitter account. Many imposter accounts have been set up in her name and have racked up thousands of followers. Please report this account. https://t.co/jTDBHF5SsY — Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) February 16, 2021 This is not the first false claim made against Disha Ravi. Earlier, Times Now misreported that Disha is a ‘single mother,’ a claim that was debunked by Alt News. On the condition of anonymity, Disha’s high-school friend told Alt News on a telephonic call, “The social media claim that Disha is a single mother is false.” Also read: Comparing Disha Ravi to Ajmal Kasab is just another day in new India  Disha's arrest is the first by the Delhi police in connection with the Greta toolkit case. Toolkits are nothing but Google Docs or online word documents that contain basic information on any issue, tweet suggestions and information on what hashtags to use and whom to tag on social media, and are a regular inventory while organising protests online. Various forms of toolkits are also used by social media teams of political parties as well when they need to plan a particular social media campaign. In this case however, the police have alleged that the toolkit was made by “Khalistanis” with an intention to “wage war against India.” Those who worked with Disha at Fridays for Future have, however, reiterated that young Indian activists amplifying information about protests and causes in India to an international audience is nothing unusual.

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‘Conspiracy to wage war against India’: Details of FIR in Disha’s arrest

Disha Ravi arrest

Without any quotes from the toolkit to substantiate the claim, the FIR says the document “contains a detailed plan of a large conspiracy to wage a economic, social, cultural, and regional war against India.”

Prajwal Bhat

The first information report (FIR) filed by the Delhi police under which climate activist Disha Ravi was arrested from Bengaluru was accessed by her lawyers on Tuesday — two days after her arrest. It mentioned the ‘toolkit’ or Google document disseminating information about farmer protests, and stated that it “contains a detailed plan of a large conspiracy to wage a economic, social, cultural, and regional war against India.” It also mentioned two organisations including the “banned terrorist organisation Sikhs for Justice and Poetic Justice Foundation". While several parts of the Google document used for organising around farmers’ protest are quoted in the FIR, it does not specifically quote any section to substantiate the claim that the toolkit attempted to ‘wage a war on India’. The FIR stated that the tractor parade by farmers protesting Delhi on January 26 turned violent “as a result of the said instigation by elements behind this document and its toolkit.” However, the FIR did not specifically make a mention of the 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi who was arrested from her home in Bengaluru. It also did not specify the edits made by Disha Ravi in the Google document or explain her link to the tractor parade. The sedition law and a 1962 Supreme Court judgment specify that incitement to violence is a necessary condition for the law to be applied.  Disha was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 120B (whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).  “As for the contents of the above mentioned toolkits and the contained documents, prima facie an offence under sections 124A/153A/153/120B IPC is made out and hence a case under sections 124A/153A/153/120B IPC may please be registered,” the FIR stated. It added that the violence that took place in Delhi near the Red Fort on January 26 was a ‘pre-planned conspiracy’ to bring ‘hatred or contempt’ towards the government, ‘ill-will’ between different groups and provocation of riots.  Disha's arrest is the first by the Delhi police in connection with the Greta toolkit case. Toolkits are nothing but Google Docs or online word documents that contain basic information on any issue, tweet suggestions and information on what hashtags to use and whom to tag on social media, and are a regular inventory while organising protests online. Various forms of toolkits are also used by social media teams of political parties as well when they need to plan a particular social media campaign The FIR claimed that fake news on mass police resignations were being spread on social media. “Further, during social media monitoring on 04.02.2021 it came to notice that the link of a Google document that has been accidentally shared on Twitter contains a detailed plan of a large conspiracy to wage an economic, social, cultural, and regional war against India. The document says, “On 26 Jan, a major day of globally coordinated actions Show your support at (unclear) physical locations. Wherever you are, either find protests happening in your city/state/country and participate in large or small numbers or organise one. In addition to the options below, you are encouraged to organise solidarity protests either near Indian embassies, near your local government offices’,” the FIR read. It stated that the Google document discussed ways in which people can support the farmers protest in the month of February and mentioned actions people can take including recording videos, pictures and engaging in tweet storms.  “Moreover, the said document talked about "more ways to participate (from 21-26 Feb 2021)" in which it encourages people to record videos and take pictures to support the protest and says that the same would be shown to protesters at protest sites. A section of the document titled "Prior actions" urges people to do a number of things, including a TweetStorm on 23rd January, physical actions near Indian embassies, government offices, etc on 26th Jan and most notably, point no.7 says "Watch out for (or join) the farmers march/parade (first of its kind) into Delhi and back to the borders on 26 Jan" among other things,” read the FIR.  The FIR also mentioned the banned organisation Sikhs for Justice disrupted the farmers protest on January 26. “It is pertinent to mention that the secessionist banned organisation Sikhs for Justice based in the USA had declared a reward of USD 250,000 for waving secessionist flag at the India Gate on Republic Day 2021 which also contributed to the violence which happened as a result of the tractor rally,” it said. It is to be noted that while a flag was hoisted on one of the poles at Red Fort, it was not a Khalistani or secessionist flag, but rather the Sikh religious flag.  It further added that the toolkit contained campaign material by Poetic Justice Foundation, a Canada based organisation. “A perusal of the said toolkit also revealed that it was promoting campaign material by Poetic Justice Foundation, a Canada based organisation that openly and deliberately shares posts on social media that tend to create disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities,” the FIR said. “The accidentally shared confidential document lists a playbook of activities that were to take place during the tractor march held on Republic Day and other protests in Delhi and NCR. The document contains a detailed plan by the title : "Global day of action : Protesting for farmers on India's Republic Day January 26 2021". The documents contained in both the toolkits also have planned activities for 4th and 5th Feb 2021 in the form of a Twitter storm as well as on-ground action on 13th and 14th February,” it added. In addition to the arrest of Disha Ravi, non-bailable warrants were issued against Mumbai-based lawyer Nikita Jacob and activist Shantanu Muluk.

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Karnataka govt issues fresh containment zone rules

Coronavirus

Containment zones with other protocols have been brought back for colleges and hostels in Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

Karnataka has now mandated that all those arriving in the state from Kerala and checking into hotels, resorts, hostels, home stays, and dormitories will have to compulsorily produce a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours. Owners of these establishments will have to ensure that COVID-19 negative certificates are produced by the residents.  The above was among the several new protocols regarding COVID-19 in the state announced by the Karnataka government, after a spike in COVID-19 cases recently. The rules also said that if a cluster of five or more people are identified in places such as hostels and educational institutions, those places will be declared ‘contamination zones’ and additional steps, such as re-testing after seven days, will be taken. These measures were put in place after several cases were identified in Manjushree Nursing College where several students had travelled from Kerala to attend exams. More than 105 COVID-19 cases were also detected in SNN Raj Lake View Apartment in Bengaluru. The apartment became a cluster after an anniversary party was held which more than 100 people attended. Several of the new rules pertain to students. For instance, a competent authority at an educational institution will have to maintain a list of students travelling to and from Kerala from the hostel or college. Kerala has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the country.  “The students shall compulsorily produce RT PCR negative test reports, not older than 72 hours, each time they return from Kerala and till the situation improves,” the state government has said.  The following public health measures have also been recommended by the state government: - Only urgent/necessary needs for taking things from the room are allowed; and students staying in campus or security guards can help in picking and moving.  - As far as possible, all the students residing in the hostel should stay in separate rooms to maintain adequate physical distance and avoid crowding.  - Any potential for super spreading avenues (such as crowding in dining areas, waiting for halls, reading rooms, indoor playing areas, gymnasium etc) should be prevented inside the hostel and colleges/schools.  - The meal timings should be staggered to ensure that there is no crowding in the dining area.  - Day scholars travelling from Kerala to schools or colleges in any part of Karnataka shall be subjected to RT-PCR testing fortnightly. Further, college hostels are not to allow any visitors for any purpose. “Residents should not be allowed to have visitors/relatives without obtaining express permission from the COVID nodal officers.” For employees working in Multinational Companies the government has mandated that they should get the RT PCR test done at their own cost. Furthermore, the general COVID-19 protocols such as wearing masks, physical distancing and preventing crowds along with increased surveillance has been recommended in the circular.

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Biden admin rushes to close virus-sequencing gap as variants spread

So far, though, the federal effort is lagging.

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Storms likely causing 'widespread' delays of vaccine shipments, CDC says

At least two shipping hubs that multiple states rely on for vaccine distribution have been affected.

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