Late for Air India flight, Bengaluru techie makes bomb hoax call, lands in jail

Crime

The accused had come to the city to attend a wedding.

TNM Staff

In a bid to board his flight from Bengaluru on Monday evening, a techie after being late, made a hoax call claiming that there was a bomb on the Surat-bound Air India flight. However, based on CCTV footage, 49-year-old Prateek Rathore Mahesh Bhai is now in police custody. Soon after his call, airline staff and CISF staff maintaining security at the airport declared the flight safe after sanitising the flight before he could get on the flight. The Times of India reported that Surat-based Prateek had come to the city for a wedding and was planning to board a 7pm flight along with his wife and child.  Airline staff and CISF personnel reportedly suspected that at 6:57pm, when the airport authorities got the threat call, he had stepped out of the terminal building. The CCTV footage confirmed their suspicion, reports said. Soon, police was informed and Prateek was arrested. He reportedly admitted that the hoax call was his bid to board the flight after being late.  A similar fate was faced by a couple in February 2017, who faced arrest after they made a hoax call after being late to the airport. Incidentally, police in August 2018 had arrested one man for allegedly making three hoax calls to the airport in the same week. The accused Aditya Rao, who  is a 35-year-old MBA graduate, had also made a bomb hoax call to the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station.  According to police, he was using  two SIM cards to make the calls and would switch off his phone as soon as he hung up. He was tracked by narrowing down his location going by the location of the two SIM cards.  The series of phone calls had begun on August 20, when a call was received by the Nodal Manager at KIA informing him that a bomb was placed in the lobby of the airport. Just two days later, the same officer was called claiming a bomb was placed in the luggage of Air Asia India flights heading to either Kolkata or Thiruvananthapuram. And the third one was made on August 27 when he claimed that the security of Air Asia flights i5 1426 from Bengaluru to Pune and i5 1516 from Bengaluru to Hyderabad were compromised.

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JD(S) seeks 12 seats for LS polls, Cong says allocation will be based on winnability

Politics

Both the parties insisted that the end goal was to ensuring defeat for the BJP.

TNM Staff

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the seat sharing between the JD(S) and Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be purely based on winnability rather than ratio of seats allocated to both the parties. “Seat sharing cannot be on any ratio but should be on winnability as defeating BJP is the primary goal of both parties coming together,” Siddaramaiah said while addressing reporters in Hubbali. Siddaramaiah’s statement comes as both the parties have started the first round of talks with the JD(S) reportedly sticking to a demand of 12 out of the 28 seats.  The decision to form a pre-poll alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls was taken by the top brass of the two parties at a press conference just a week after Kumaraswamy won the floor test after days of political uncertainty in Karnataka in mid-2018.  The demand for 12 seats is more than the 1:3 formula applied for allotting ministership and chairmanship of boards, agreed during the formation of the post-poll coalition government post-Assembly polls. A meeting was also held on Monday between KPCC president DInesh Gundu Rao, Deputy CM G Parameshwara, JD(S) state president AH Vishwanath, JD(S) MP Kupendra Reddy and PWD minister HD Revanna. Confirming the development, former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda said, “I will not intervene at this juncture. However, if need be, I will hold discussions with the Congress’ national leaders in Delhi.” Deve Gowda has also previously said that he will only hold talks with AICC president Rahul Gandhi on the seat sharing issue.  Echoing Siddaramaiah’s statement, HD Revanna also said, “Our main aim is to keep away the communal forces. It is not about how many seats which party will contest. We are determined to win all 28 seats together. Senior leaders will finalise the seats.”  The initial seat sharing talks began on Monday after Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had raised alarm bells last week stating that his party were “not beggars”, reacting to speculation that they will be given a handful of seats.      

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CM Kumaraswamy invites ASEAN members to invest in Karnataka

Politics

To attract more investment, create jobs and provide global linkages, the state government will hold 'Global Investors Meet' in January 2020.

IANS

PTI

Portraying Karnataka as a land of opportunities with assured return on investments, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday invited ASEAN businesses to invest in the southern state in a big way. "All those who are not yet present in Karnataka, I invite them to explore trade and business opportunities to invest or expand their operations in the state," said Kumaraswamy at the first ASEAN Chamber of Commerce & Industry business meet here. As a regional inter-governmental organisation, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asia nations (ASEAN) promotes cooperation and facilities for two-way trade and investment among them and with the world over. Organised by the Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), in this tech hub, the 3-day summit has over 200 members of ASEAN, Asian-plus countries and global industry captains and policy makers on a single platform for mutual benefits. "The summit will enhance two-way investment, trade and technology flow from about 30 countries to our state in 18 identified and diversified sectors," Kumaraswamy told about 500 domestic and international delegates," said the Chief Minister. Noting that Karnataka was recognized as the preferred investment destination in the country, the Chief Minister said recently Bengaluru was recognized as the world's amost dynamic city. "India's bilateral economic and strategic engagement is flourishing in the ASEAN region, with renewed enthusiasm from its members to enter our state," said Kumaraswamy. With Rs 12-trillion Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2018-19, Karnataka is at the forefront of socio-economic development and poised to grow at 9.6 per cent by March 31. "As our government is growth-oriented to ensure economic benefits reach the poor and generate jobs, we have taken many corrective steps in the last eight months," said the Chief Minister. To attract more investment, create jobs and provide global linkages, the state government will hold 'Global Investors Meet' in January 2020.  

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Missed CM post because I’m Dalit: Parameshwara’s remark raises important questions

Politics

“I am a victim of suppression and hence couldn’t get the CM’s post. I reluctantly accepted the deputy CM’s post, in which I was not interested,” Parameshwara said.

Prajwal Bhat

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara stoked a political storm when he claimed on Sunday that he was denied the post of Chief Minister in the state because he belonged to a Dalit community. Parameshwara, who is the Deputy Chief Minister in the current JD(S)-Congress coalition government in the state, also contended that Congress leaders had denied him the chance to become the Chief Minister. He was speaking to a gathering of the Chalavadi community in Davangere when, in a moment of striking candidness, Parameshwara revealed that he felt that late Congress leader B Basavalingappa, former KPCC presidents KH Ranganath and Mallikarjun Kharge, should have been made CMs, but were denied a chance because they were Dalits. “Basavalingappa missed the Chief Ministerial post and so did KH Ranganath. My elder brother Mallikarjuna Kharge also could not become the Chief Minister. I missed it thrice. Somehow after much dilemma they made me the Deputy Chief Minister,” he said, according to PTI. “I am a victim of suppression and hence couldn’t get the CM’s post. I reluctantly accepted the deputy CM’s post, in which I was not interested,” Times of India quoted him as saying. Parameshwara’s comments have reignited a long standing debate in Karnataka's political circles about the representation of Dalit leaders in politics. "One of the first leaders in the state to voice the issue of Dalit representation in politics was Basavalingappa, who was prominent during Devaraj Urs' time as Chief Minister. He also had a strong view that because he was a Dalit, he was not given his due in leading the state. He also coined the term Boosa Sahitya – since literature did not reflect the reality on the ground," explains Sandeep Shastri, a noted political analyst and Pro Vice-chancellor of Jain University. Boosa Sahitya was a term used to describe the lack of ground-level connect in the quality of works of Kannada literature. "Another Dalit leader who came close to becoming CM was Rachaiah in 1996. He was then the Home Minister and was overlooked in favour of JH Patel. Two decades later, Mallikarjun Kharge was similarly overlooked in favour of Siddaramaiah," says Shastri. He further added that the lack of consolidation of Dalit votes was contributing to the lack of Dalit leaders emerging from the state. “Most Chief Ministers have been either Lingayats or Vokkaligas. The challenge to these communities came from the other backward caste leaders like Siddaramaiah. In between, the Dalit voice and representation is left out. The Dalit vote is equally distributed in favor of parties and has led to non-consolidation. This has hindered a leader from the community emerging as a candidate," he opines. His view is echoed by Rajendran Prabhakar, a Dalit rights activist based in Bengaluru who believes that political parties are not yet confident to project a Dalit person as a prominent candidate or leader. "They are scared that he/she will not be accepted by the larger savarna castes including Brahmins. There are conceptions that a Dalit person sitting in the Chief Minister's chair would make it impure. No party wants to be answerable to a Dalit Chief Minister," he says. It is not just the Congress party which has been accused of casteism. In an audio tape purportedly of a conversation involving BJP legislators including BS Yeddyurappa released earlier this month, Shivannagouda Naik, a BJP MLA, was allegedly heard making casteist remarks. "You'll make history by making a Veerashaiva as CM. Who is Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah? They have no caste, nothing. For us, we'll get the credit that a Lingayat became CM. You'll get that credit. It'll have long life," he reportedly said. Parameshwara is the first Dalit person to be named Deputy Chief Minister in Karnataka while there has been no Dalit leader made Chief Minister in the state yet. Parameshwara's comments over the issue come at a time the JD(S)-Congress coalition alliance has been under scrutiny ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in which both parties have entered into a seat-sharing arrangement.

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Documentary ‘Wild Karnataka’ narrated by Sir David Attenborough to premiere in March

Wildlife

A team of 20 filmmakers worked in tandem with forest officials travelling and filming through swathes of forest areas across the state.

Prajwal Bhat

Photographs Courtesy: Wild Karnataka Team

It was in December 2014 that filmmakers Amoghavarsha JS and Kalyan Sharma along with forest officer Vijay Mohan Raj, and naturalist Sarath Champati set out to do something very few have explored - film Karnataka's rich biodiversity in ultra HD. More than four years later, the team is set to premiere the documentary titled 'Wild Karnataka' showcasing the wildlife in the state in all its glory and narrated by British broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough. The release trailer of the documentary has generated buzz on social media and has already racked up almost 300,000 views in less than a week. "We wanted to focus on the entire bio-diversity and showcase lesser known flora, fauna. So we decided to focus on unique behaviour and locations," says Amoghavarsha JS, one of the filmmakers. Bengaluru-based Amoghavarsha is an award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker who has worked with BBC and National Geographic in the past. But with Wild Karnataka, he is now exploring a topic closer to home. Amoghavarsha JS Kalyan Sharma "People from India have always looked at the western part of the world for natural history films so we felt it was time to change that perspective. India is no longer on the back-foot when it comes to filming technology and we are definitely not falling short when it comes to flora and fauna," explains Amoghavarsha. He also believes that there is no shortage of  biodiversity in Karnataka and it is only waiting to be captured. "Karnataka is a state with the highest number of (Asian) elephants and tigers in the world. It’s high time we feel proud about the biodiversity in our own country," he says. A team of 20 filmmakers worked in tandem with forest officials travelling through swathes of forest areas across the state. Starting from Gokak, the team went on to film over 400 hours of footage spending more than 20,000 hours on the field in Honnavar, Bidar, Sharavathi, Koppal, Hampi, Siruguppa, Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, BRT, Nagarahole, Agumbe, Bhimgad and Daroji. After filming the documentary, the filmmakers went a step further and managed to convince their production partners to get Sir David Attenborough on board to narrate the film. "Kalyan and I both were in Bristol few months ago and worked together to convince our production partner in UK and to get Sir David on board, it’s a long story but we did hustle and the quality of film really helped." Sir David has worked in a number of natural history films and has also narrated BBC's Planet Earth, a series spanning 11 episodes each of which focused on a different habitat on earth.  The documentary film has been completed in collaboration with the Karnataka Forest Department and is set to premiere in Bengaluru on March 3. All photographs courtesy : Wild Karnataka team

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Bandipur forest fire: 4 IAF helicopters pressed into service on Day 5

Environment

The Forest Department hopes the IAF will douse the fire by Monday evening or Tuesday.

Soumya Chatterjee

PTI

Four helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were deployed on Monday afternoon to douse the fire, which has been raging since Thursday in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The operation on Monday was primarily limited to the Gopalaswamy Betta Range in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district. The other two ranges that were majorly affected were Kundakere and Bandipur. The helicopters were deployed after Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday sought help from the Indian Air Force.   IAF helicopters during fire fighting op #BandipurForestFire pic.twitter.com/7PP6B80k4L — Soumya Chatterjee (@Csoumya21) February 25, 2019   Sridhar Punnati, the head of the Forest Department, told TNM, “The Air Force has done a recce and identified the water source, including Nagu dam. In total, four helicopters are being pressed into service. We hope to douse the fire by Monday evening or latest by Tuesday morning. We think 15-20 sorties may be required to completely contain the fire.” He, however, adds that a lot depends on the winds. “Currently, the wind speed is more than 12km/hour while the place usually sees a wind speed of around 5km/hour. The fire is spreading and may reach the power plant near Tamil Nadu border. Hence, choppers have been pressed into service.” While the exact extent of the damage is yet to be assessed, Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday said 2,000 hectares of forest land has been affected. Officials in the CM’s office also said Chief Secretary TM Vijaya Bhaskar has been given the responsibility to personally monitor the operation to douse the fire. More resources were allocated to the Chamarajanagar district police and fire officials from neighbouring districts. These developments come after activists on the ground claimed lack of initiative from the political class. Ganesh C, a volunteer assisting the firefighting operations, for the last few days, said, “Till 3 pm, the choppers had only carried out an aerial survey. The smoke is much less now and everything that could be burnt already burnt in the last three days. We are now on the other side of the GS Betta range in Maddur, where the fire seems to be less compared to Sunday. In Bandipur also, there is less smoke. Even in Gundlupet side, there is less fire.”  

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Fact check: Images of burnt animals supposedly from Bandipur fire are fake

Fact check

Old images of charred animals are being forwarded as animals that died in Bandipur forest fire.

Haripriya Suresh

Warning: Graphic images Multiple images of animals charred to death are being forwarded following the horrific forest fire in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district. The fire is estimated to have gutted 2,000-3,000 hectares of the forest. There have been reports of loss of wildlife, but nothing has been confirmed so far. As for the four images of animals charred to death doing the rounds, all of them are from different parts of the world and were taken at different times. TNM did a reverse image search for each of the four pictures that we got on multiple WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages and this is what we found.     The image of the snake charred to death doing the rounds is from the department of Antioquia in northwest Colombia, in a fire that broke out in the Necoclí region. This image appeared online on April 24, 2015, for the first time, and therefore cannot be from Bandipur.     The image of a rabbit suffering from burns is from the Woolsey Fire in Malibu in California, USA, that began on November 8, 2018. The image was taken by Chris Rusanowsky from the Zuma Press, and was taken on or before November 14, 2018. This image is of endangered Bornean orangutans was taken in late February 2016 and released by the Center of Orangutan Protection on March 3, 2016, according to international news agency Agence France-Presse. It was taken after a forest fire at the Kutai National Park in Borneo Island, in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Orangutans are not found in India, and are only found in Borneo and Sumatra.   The final image is of a flock of sheep that were burned to death in a wildfire on July 23, 2012, in Darnius, close to the Spanish-French border, and reportedly gutted over 17,000 acres. It was taken by AFP photographer Lluis Gene. Punnati Shridhar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), told TNM that the main tiger reserve was intact, and they have not, so far, seen dead animals. “As far as we could see, there were none. The animals usually move away seeing the heat. There is a lot of cooked up things in social media,” he said. An activist present on the ground told TNM on Saturday that deer were seen running away from the fire. “This is also breeding season for reptiles and there are ground nesting which we expect will be affected,” the activist said. (With inputs from Soumya Chatterjee)

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