Karnataka offers Government job to Haneef

Expressing relief and happiness over the return of Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef from Australia, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he was planning to offer a suitable job in one of the hospitals in the State to doctor, who has been cleared of terror link charges.

“I am very happy that Haneef, a person from Bangalore, who faced agony for over a month in Australia, has now returned”, he told reporters.

Kumaraswamy, who was planning to call on Haneef at his house later on Monday, said he would make the job offer when he meets the doctor. “If he is willing to accept, I would offer him a job in one of the hospitals in Karnataka. Our state needs able doctors and Haneef is welcome to join”, Kumaraswamy said.

The Chief Minister said the dropping of charges against Haneef and his release from detention in Australia proves the allegations about Bangalore being a “hub of terror” have been proved wrong.

Karnataka Government’s job offer to Haneef comes at a time when the Australian authorities had refused to reinstate his work visa and his wife Firdous Arshiya’s firm refusal to allow him to return to work in Australia. “I guess he should not go back to Australia”, Firdous Arshiya told reporters.

Apart from the Karnataka Government, Haneef’s alma mater – Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore from where he graduated is also contemplating a move to offer Haneef a teaching job. Haneef had graduated from Ambedkar Medical College with an exceptional academic record in the year 2002.

Haneef was working as a Registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland before he was detained at Brisbane airport for interrogation into his links with the Glasgow terror suspects.

Karnataka seeks to replace expressway promoters mid-way through project

The H D Kumaraswamy Government in Karnataka, which is at loggerheads with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), promoters of the Rs 22.5 billion expressway corridor between Bangalore and Mysore, has sought the Supreme Court’s permission to hand over the infrastructure project to a new consortium of Indo-US companies.

According to information reaching here, the Karnataka Government has filed an additional affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking its nod to entrust the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project to a $ 250 billion Global Infrastructure Consortium (GIC), which has undertaken to not only complete the project in seven years time from the date of financial closure, but also construct a monorail along a 16 km-stretch of peripheral road at a cost of Rs 17 billion without any additional burden on the State.

The BMIC project, which began more than ten years ago, has been delayed on account of a series of litigations between NICE and the State Government. The Indo-US consortium has offered to take up the project on “as is where is basis” after paying for the existing infrastructure, whose cost could be assessed by an independent agency.

Apart from accepting the terms and conditions of the framework agreement between the Karnataka Government and NICE, the new consortium had agreed to return about 7,000 acres of excess land worth around Rs 300 billion, which the affidavit claims, NICE had illegally acquired to earn profit through real estate business.

The Karnataka Government has submitted to the Apex Court that it would be in the interest of the people of Karnataka if the new consortium is given the charge of the project, which envisages not only a 111-km-long state of the art expressway between Bangalore and Mysore, but also five townships en-route to reduce the congestion in Bangalore.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of NICE Ashok Kheny has reacted with strongly against the Karnataka Government’s move to oust his company from the project. Alleging that Indo-US consortium GIC was a “fictitious and phony” company, Kheny said he would be filing a complaint with the US State Department and Commerce Secretary seeking action under anti-corruption laws.

Referring to the presence of SKIL, a Mumbai-based infrastructure company in the Indo-US consortium, Kheny said the Government of Karnataka had connived with Nikhil Gandhi, who heads SKIL, to make an offer for BMIC. “He is the same person, who had bid for the Nandagudi Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the State Government had assured him of the SEZ only if they bid for the BMIC project”, he said.

Fresh uncertainty over transfer of power in Karnataka

Fresh uncertainty prevails in Karnataka over the scheduled transfer of power from the JD (S) to the BJP in the wake of renewed camaraderie between leaders of JD (S) and Congress, causing concern among the BJP, which is looking forward to tasting power for the first time in South India.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s decision to call on former Chief Minister Dharam Singh at the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday and his decision to fly with Dharam Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council H K Patil in a helicopter to from Bangalore to Mysore on Thursday to participate in the centenary celebrations of the co-operative movement have triggerred speculations over the revival of JD (S)-Congress ties.

The bonhomie between the JD (S) and Congress leaders, particularly Dharam Singh, who has not ruled out offer of support to the JD (S) if it snaps its ties with the “communal” BJP, has sent alarm bell ringing in the BJP camp.

Several JD (S) leaders including Ministers and MLAs have already publicly opposed the scheduled transfer of power to the BJP. Housing Minister D T Jayakumar created a furore in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly when he openly sought continuation of Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister, causing embarrassment to the BJP members and its Chief Ministerial candidate B S Yediyurappa, who was also present in the House.

As October 3, the date set for transfer of power from JD (S) to BJP in Karnataka draws nearer, the voices of dissent in the JD (S) appear to be only growing louder. After Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari, who was the first to come out against transfer of power, D T Jayakumar and party MLAs Venkatesh and B C Patil have also sought for continuation of Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister.

B C Patil, an actor-turned JD (S) MLA, who represents Hirekerur assembly constituency in Shimoga, which neighbours Shikaripur assembly segment represented by Yediyurappa, said the JD (S) should face elections instead of handing over power to the BJP. “I will not compromise on the issue of opposing the transfer of power to BJP, particularly Yediyurappa, who has been blocking all the developmental programmes in my constituency”, he said.

Skirmishes between the cadres of the JD (S) and the BJP in parts of rural Karnataka have also been reported in the run up to the transfer of power. In Anekal, a BJP activist was killed and the house of a JD (S) worker was torched, when partymen belonging to the coalition partners locked horns last week.

Concerned over the uncertainty on transfer of power, five BJP MLAs chose to hit out at the JD (S) leaders, who are seeking the continuation of Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister even after his term comes to an end in October.

The BJP MLAs, who spoke to reporters in the lounge of the Legislative Assembly have strongly defended Yediyurappa’s administrative capabilities in the wake of his criticism by the JD (S) leaders. He is an efficient administrator and the entire party is behind him, the BJP MLAs said and criticized the JD (S) leaders, particularly Housing Minister D T Jayakumar, who had opposed transfer of power in the Assembly.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has done little to clear the air of confusion over the issue of transfer of power to the BJP. “Wait and watch till October 3”, he remarked when reporters sought to his reaction to the speculations over the issue in political circles.

Fire at Bangalore’s tallest building

Fire broke out on the first floor of Public Utility Building on M G Road in Bangalore yesterday, spreading panic among the people in the 24-storeyed building.

Police said fire broke out inside a silk saris’ showroom on the first floor of the building on account of a short-circuit around 1 pm yesterday and soon spread to five other shops on the same floor.

Fire force personnel rushed to the spot and rescued people trapped on the first floor of the building with the help of ladders. The authorities had to smash the windows to rescue the people trapped in five shops on the first floor, which were gutted in the fire.

However, no serious damage has been caused to Shankar Nag theatre, popularly known as Symphony theatre, situated in the second floor of the building. The theatre was under renovation when the fire broke out.

Though no casualties were reported, several people, who were on different floors of the building, sufferred minor injuries when they rushed out on hearing the fire alarm. The Public Utility Building is the tallest building in Bangalore, housing a host of offices, showrooms, banks, shops and business establishments, besides restaurants and theatres.

With electricity supply to the building snapped, the escalators stopped functioning, forcing employees working in offices on various floors of the 24-storeyed building to use the staircase to make a hasty exit.

Meanwhile, the authorities blocked the roads leading to Public Utility Building and rushed the fire-fighting brigade to the spot. A total of twenty three fire tenders reached the spot and managed to extinguish the fire in about two hours time. Traffic on the busy road was thrown out of gear.

Since the last several years, the Karnataka State Fire Services Department had been raising an alarm over the absence of fire safety measures at Public Utility Building and had emphasized a need for building the mandatory alternate staircase to serve as an emergency exit in the case of outbreak of fire.

The Bangalore City Corporation, which owns the 24-storeyed tall structure, had even come in for criticism from various quarters for overlooking the National Building Code 1970 that stipulates fire safety measures.

Doctorate for Kannada actress Jayamala

Award winning Kannada actress Jayamala will be conferred with a doctorate by the Bangalore University for her research on rehabilitation of destitute women in Karnataka.

Jayamala, who was in the news a couple of months ago for entering the hill shrine of Sabarimala in neighbouring Kerala, kept out of bounds for women, will be awarded a doctorate during the next annual convocation of Bangalore University.

With the Bangalore University accepting her thesis on “A study on ehabilitation of destitute women under the administrative set up in Karnataka”, Jayamala becomes the first film personality in the State to secure a doctorate through actual study.

Jayamala, who had only studied till SSLC in regular school, completed her Master of Arts degree through distance education. She entered film world at a young age of 13 years.

The actress, who has so far worked in about 75 films, including Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies during her distinguished career, won the national award for her portrayal in the Kannada film “Tayi Saheba”. The movie, which had been produced by her, also received the “Swarna Kamala”, the highest film award in the country.

As part of her research, Jayamala made several trips to Bagewadi in north Karnataka’s Bijapur district to study the condition of women displaced by the construction of Alamatti dam.

Daughter’s photo moves Haneef to tears

Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef detained in Australia reportedly burst into tears when saw the photograph of his new-born daughter.

According for family sources here, Mohammed Haneef was shown the photograph of his new-born daughter Hania by a relative Imran Siddiqui on Tuesday at the Wolston Correctional Centre, west of Brisbane in Australia.

Haneef is understood to have broken down when he saw, for the first time since his detention on July 2, pictures of his daughter, born on June 27, and his wife Arshiya Firdous. Though Haneef was in control initially, he wept as soon as the relative handed over the photographs. With tears in his eyes, he kept looking at the photographs for quite a long time. Haneef has been allowed to keep the photographs.

Firdous, who received a telephone call from Imran Siddiqui after the hour-long emotionally charged meeting with her husband, told reporters that “My husband was pleased to see the family photographs. Imran told us that he is fine”, she said.

She said Haneef was staying in a decent room in the Correctional Centre with a colour television and newspapers to keep himself busy. “He is being served halal food. He has lost some weight. He is not allowed to call his mother and speak to her in Urdu as the prison authorities have put a gag order against him speaking in any language except English”, she said.

Firdous also said Haneef wants to return to India at the earliest. “He wants to come back at the earliest and forget the past as a bad dream. We are waiting for that to happen”, she said.

Haneef’s counsel Peter Russo, who was also present during the meeting between the detained doctor and his relative, had been quoted in the newspapers here as saying “It was an emotional family interaction. He (Haneef) was very proud, he had the look of a doting dad and he looked at the photos for quite a length of time”.

Haneef had told the investigators that he was trying fly home to see his newborn child, who was sufferring from jaundice, when he was arrested at Brisbane International airport on July 2. He was subsequently charged with “recklessly” providing support to a terrorist organization.

Karnataka to invite Kalam to settle in Bangalore

Karnataka Government is planning to invite outgoing President A P J Abdul Kalam to settle down in Bangalore, which is home to a host of premier scientific research institutions, after he demits office.

Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Home Minister M P Prakash disclosed this to reporters at the high tea hosted by Governor T N Chaturvedi at Raj Bhavan in Bangalore to mark the centenary year of Karnataka’s Legislative Council.

The State Government, which was planning to hold a function in Bangalore shortly to felicitate Kalam, had already extended an invitation to the eminent scientist. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will extend a formal invitation to Kalam on the occasion, Yediyurappa said.

Prakash said the State Government will be pleased to make all arrangements for Kalam’s stay in Bangalore.

Kalam already owns a flat at Kendriya Vihar at Yelahanka on the outskirts of Bangalore, which is home to many prestigious research institutions like Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

If Kalam accepts the Karnataka Government’s invitation, he would become the third former President of India to settle down in Bangalore as a State guest after V V Giri and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.

Uproar over killing of peacocks

The killing of more than a hundred peacocks in a village in north Karnataka’s Gadag district by unidentified farmers triggered an outrage in the Karnataka Assembly with legislators forcing the Environment Minister C Chennigappa to order an inquiry into the matter.

After several members expressed concern over the reported poisoning to death of India’s national bird in such a large number at Balehosuru village in Gadag’s Shirahatti taluk in the last few days, Chennigappa said the Government shared their concern and directed the officials to visit the spot and identify the accused persons.

According to preliminary information, unidentified miscreants had mixed poisonous pesticides with food grains scattered in the agricultural fields to prevent the peacocks from destroying the crop.

The farmers in the area have been complaining about the destruction of their crop by peacocks and wild boars, which stray into their agricultural fields from the surrounding forest areas.

The forest department officials, who visited the village, were shocked to find a large the carcasses of a large number of peacocks and other small birds lying all over the agricultural fields in the area.

Quoting the villagers, the officials said the peacocks were found struggling for life. In the absence of veterinarians in the area, the locals had little option, but to helplessly watch them die. A few dogs, which fed on the dead peacocks, are also reported to have fallen ill in the area.

Though the exact number of peacocks, which had died due to reported poisoning could not be ascertained immediately, the officials learnt that the villagers had buried several peacocks already. Many villagers were found carrying the peacock feathers.

The local police officials had booked a case and were on the look-out for the miscreants, who had thrown the food grains laced with poisonous pesticides in the agricultural fields.

The issue was raised in the Karnataka Assembly by Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha legislator Vatal Nagaraj, who described the act as a serious crime. A host of legislators too joined the discussion and pressed the Government to immediately take action against the perpetrators of the crime.

Bangalore police seize pirated versions of bestsellers including latest Harry Potter release

In a major haul, the Bangalore police have seized thousands of pirated copies of bestsellers including the recently released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of policemen raided a printing press and an adjacent godown in Kumaraswamy Layout in Bangalore to find more than 10,000 pirated versions of several international bestsellers. The value of the seized books is estimated to be around Rs 4 million, according to Bangalore City’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Alok Kumar.

The police arrested Inayath, 32, while he was trying to transport a consignment of the pirated books from the godown on Sunday. Police said the pirated book printing and distribution racket was run by Inayath and his accomplice Babu, who managed to escape.

Alok Kumar said the police were on the look out for the book piracy racketeers for the last one month after a publication house in New Delhi informed them about sale of pirated books in Bangalore.

After waylaying a car transporting the pirated books and arresting the driver Inayath, the police team raided the nearby printing centre and the godown. Inayath and Babu used to operate the book piracy racket with networks in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. “They used to print the books between 11 pm and 3 am in the night”, he said.

Apart from J K Rowling’s latest “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, the raid also yielded copies of Arundhati Roy’s “God of Small Things”, Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf’s “In the Line of Fire” and out-going Indian President Abdul Kalam’s “Wings of Fire”, besides pirated versions of books published by Harward University Publications.

The policemen also recovered more than 4,000 covers of bestsellers authored by noted writers like J K Rowling of the Harry Potter fame and India-born British author Salman Rushdie. “The covers look like original. The racketeers have mastered the art of reproducing the cover of the originally published editions with immaculate precision”, Alok Kumar said.

Besides continuing the search for Babu, one of the racketeers, who is absconding, the police will organize similar raids in different parts of the City, he added.

Andhra Pradesh politics spills into Karnataka

In a major haul, the Bangalore police have seized thousands of pirated copies of bestsellers including the recently released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of policemen raided a printing press and an adjacent godown in Kumaraswamy Layout in Bangalore to find more than 10,000 pirated versions of several international bestsellers. The value of the seized books is estimated to be around Rs4 million, according to Bangalore City’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Alok Kumar.

The police arrested Inayath, 32, while he was trying to transport a consignment of the pirated books from the godown on Sunday. Police said the pirated book printing and distribution racket was run by Inayath and his accomplice Babu, who managed to escape.

Alok Kumar said the police were on the lookout for the book piracy racketeers for the last one month after a publication house in New Delhi informed them about sale of pirated books in Bangalore.

After waylaying a car transporting the pirated books and arresting the driver Inayath, the police team raided the nearby printing centre and the godown. Inayath and Babu used to operate the book piracy racket with networks in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. “They used to print the books between 11pm and 3am in the night,” he said.

Apart from J.K. Rowling’s latest Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the raid also yielded copies of Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things, Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf’s In the Line of Fire and out-going Indian President Abdul Kalam’s Wings of Fire, besides pirated versions of books published by Harward University Publications.

The policemen also recovered more than 4,000 covers of bestsellers authored by noted writers like J.K. Rowling of the Harry Potter fame and India-born British author Salman Rushdie. “The covers look like original. The racketeers have mastered the art of reproducing the cover of the originally published editions with immaculate precision,” Alok Kumar said.

Besides continuing the search for Babu, one of the racketeers, who is absconding, the police will organise similar raids in different parts of the city, he added.

Haneef’s relative leaves for Australia

Even as a relative of detained Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef reached Brisbane to assist him in the legal battle, his wife Firdaus Arshiya wants him to be cleared of all charges made against him by the Australian police.

Reacting to reports that the Australian Government was planning to deport the Indian doctor to contain the adverse political fallout of his detention in that country, Haneef’s wife made it clear that she does not want him to be deported from Australia.

“I don’t want him to be deported. I want him to be cleared of all charges. He has to come out clean”, she said.

Meanwhile, Firdaus Arshiya’s cousin Imran Siddiqui, who left Bangalore for Australia with pictures of Haneef’s new-born baby, had reached Brisbane. He was granted a visa by the Australian immigration department after necessary security checks.

“He would meet Haneef and hand over the photographs along with some letters. He would also meet Haneef’s counsel Peter Russo and discuss the various aspects of the case in which he has been framed”, she said.

Imran Siddiqui was chosen by the family to go to Australia as he is a well-travelled person. “We chose to send him because he is knowledgable”, Firdous Arshiya said. Imran Siddiqui is scheduled to meet the Indian High Commissioner in Australia on Monday.

Reacting to a question on the payment of surety amount to the Australian authorities for his release on bail, Firdous Arshiya said they had not thought anything about the payment of the bail amount. Before his visa was revoked by the Australian authorities, the court had granted him bail against a surety amount of 10,000 Australian dollars, which works out to around Rs 400,000.

“Imran is not going there to submit the bail amount, but only to extend support to Haneef that at this crucial moment he is not alone”, she said.

Meanwhile, a second relative of Haneef is also scheduled to visit Australia shortly. According to Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed, Haneef’s wife had approached him for assistance in facilitating a visa for another relative to visit Haneef.

Another relative – Iqbal Ahmed Siddiqui – has been granted visa and he will leave for Australia shortly, Ahamed told reporters in Bangalore.

India launches 64-page machine-readable passport booklets

Indian Government has launched new Machine Readable Passports (MRP), a 64-page jumbo booklet that would help frequent overseas travellers.

Presenting the first copy of the MRP jumbo booklet to Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies N R Narayana Murthy at a function in Bangalore on Saturday, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said the new machine-printed and machine-readable passport is twice the size of the previous passports.

“This has been done to help frequent travellers from the IT sector, businessmen and sportspersons”, he said.

Though the new passports were launched simultaneously at the passport offices in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, besides Bangalore, Narayana Murthy became the first recipient as he had pushed the Federal Government hard for increasing the number of pages in the passport. “We took up this issue at Narayana Murthy’s insistence and now many businesses and people will benefit from it”, he said.

The number of Indians travelling abroad recording a phenomenal growth in recent times, Ahamed said.

The decision to introduce 64-page machine-readable passports was taken in view of the large number of applicants. “The Ministry decided to increase the number of pages due to a rapid increase in the number of applicants. The demand is likely to increase due to the growth of the IT sector”, Ahamed added.

Out of the 4.4 million passports issued by the Ministry of External Affairs during the year 2006, Ahamed said the Regional Passport Office in Bangalore accounted for 310,000, an increase of 40 per cent over 2005.

Though District Passport Centres had also been set up in different parts of Karnataka, the Regional Passport Office in Bangalore was catering to a major chunk of passport applicants from Karnataka. The District Passport Centres account for less than four percent of the passport applicants from Karnataka, he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs was planning to set up a full-fledged Regional Passport Office in Mangalore shortly to share the burden of Bangalore Passport office, he said.

Meanwhile, officials at Regional Passport Office in Bangalore said the Machine-written and machine-readable passports are a norm recommended by the international civil aviation organizations. The machine-written passports eliminate errors in filing personal particulars of the holder, make the passport more visually presentable and would markedly reduce forgeries. “They will also help cut down time taken at immigration counters”, an official said.

Two washed away in floods in Karnataka

Two persons were washed away in the floods that caused by a rise in the water level of Kapila river flowing through the temple towns of Nanjangud and T Narsipur in south Karnataka.

Even as the Irrigation authorities issued a flood warning asking people residing along the banks of river Kapila to move to safer places, a priest who went to bathe in the river at T Narspura was drowned. A beggar on the banks of Kapila in Nanjangud was also washed away in the water.

With the catchment area of river Kapila in Wynad region of Kerala receiving heavy rainfall, the authorities were forced to discharge more than 40,000 cusecs of water from the Kabini reservoir into the river. Several parts of the temple town of Nanjangud remained submerged under the water.

Meanwhile, the discharge of 80,000 cusecs of water from KRS reservoir built across river Cauvery had flooded the famous Ranganathittu bird sanctuary near Srirangapatna.

Though the authorities, as a precautionary measure, suspended boating operations at the bird sanctuary, the nests and young ones of exotic birds like Open Stork Bills and White Ibis were washed away in the flood waters.

The Government authorities had established gruel centres at Nanjangud and T Narsipur in Mysore district.

JD (S) abstains from Presidential polls

The Janata Dal (S), which is heading the ruling coalition in Karnataka, stayed away from the Presidential election.

Ignoring a fervent appeal by its coalition partner BJP, the JD (S) MLAs abstained from voting, which was held at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.

The JD (S) announced its decision to keep away from the Presidential elections after party supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda convened a meeting of the party legislators at Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s residence in Bangalore on Wednesday.

“We have decided to abstain from voting during the Presidential elections in line with the party stand to remain equidistant from the BJP and the Congress”, JD (S) spokesperson Y S V Datta told reporters.

Fielding reporters queries, Datta said the party had to enter into an alliance with the BJP in the State to “avoid frequent elections”. “It is a purely local arrangement to avoid frequent elections”, he said.

Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pratibha Patil is pitted against National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-backed independent candidate Bhairon Singh Shekawath in the Presidential polls for which election was held amidst tight security at Vidhana Soudha here.

Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had called on Gowda two days ago seeking the support of JD (S) for Shekawath’s candidature. But, despite being a coalition partner with BJP in Karnataka, JD (S) decided to spurn the request and stayed away from the polls yesterday.

However, eight JD (S) rebels, who are followers of former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, cocked a snook at Gowda and declared their support to Pratibha Patil.
The value of each MLA’s vote is 131 in Karnataka, which has a total of 224 members. While the BJP has 78 members, the Congress has 69 members in the Karnataka Assembly. JD (S) has a total strength of 59 members

Cop gunned down by Maoists in Karnataka

An assistant sub inspector of police was killed in a shoot out between the policemen and naxalites in the forest areas near Agumbe in Karnataka’s Shimoga district on Tuesday night.

According to Inspector General of Police (Western Range) A N Prasad, the anti naxal force combing the forest areas encountered a group of naxalites in the forest late on Tuesday. During the exchange of fire, assistant sub inspector of police Venkatesh was killed while a women naxalite is suspected to have sufferred injuries.

The shoot-out continued for about three hours and the naxalites finally managed to escape under the cover of darkness. Heavy rains lashing the area prevented the anti naxal force from pursuing the naxalites.

The mortal remains of Venkatesh were consigned to flames yesterday. Meanwhile, the anti naxal force intensified its combing operations in the forests around Agumbe.

The encounter between police and naxals took place hours after a group of armed naxalites barged into the house of BJP leader Ranganath on the outskirts of Sringeri in the region and announced their decision to impose a dawn-to-dusk shut down in and around Kudremukh National Park on Thursday to protest the “fake encounter” at Menisanahadya last week.

Through Ranganath, who is the Sringeri Taluk’s BJP President, the naxalites sought to convey to the Government their demands, which included immediate withdrawal of the anti naxal force from the forest areas.

The naxalites even used Ranganath’s telephone to make calls to journalists in the region to convey to the public their call for a shutdown on Thursday. They said all educational institutions, shops and business establishments in the region should be closed in response to their call for shut down.

Fire at Vidhana Soudha

An accidental fire broke out on the second floor of Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat, in Bangalore on Tuesday.

The fire that broke out in room no. 203, which houses the office of the Deputy Secretary to the Department of Finance, Government of Karnataka, created panic among the employees of Vidhana Soudha. Even the legislature session was in progress when the fire broke out.

Though the fire services rushed to the spot and managed contain the fire from spreading and extinguish it, officials feared that important documents and files could have been ruined in the fire mishap.

However, Inspector General of Police (Fire and Emergency Services) Chandrashekar, who rushed to the spot, said no harm has been caused to any important Government files due to the fire. “The computer server and wiring have been damaged in the fire”, he said.

But, the fire disrupted the computer network in the Vidhana Soudha. “The server for the computer systems in Vidhana Soudha is located here”, said an employee in the office of the Deputy Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of Karnataka.

Employees attributed the outbreak of fire to a malfunctioning air conditioner in the office. However, Government officials said an inquiry would be held to ascertain the reason for the outbreak of fire.

Six die in blast at granite quarry

Six died in an explosion at a granite quarry in the border district of Chamarajanagar in Karnataka early yesterday morning.

Police said all the victims were quarry workers, who were killed when they were sleeping in their shed at the quarry at Kothalawadi village, about 35 kms from Chamarajanagar. “They were sleeping in their shed when the explosives stored for blasting the rocks went off accidentally”, said Superintendent of Chamarajanagar district police Srikantappa.

Out of the six workers, who were sleeping in the shed, five of them died on the spot while one person, who was severely injured, died at the Government hospital in Chamarajanagar a few hours later.

The bodies of the victims were found strewn all around the shed due to the impact of the blast. Post mortem of the bodies will have to be conducted at the site of the blast..

Police said two others, who were sleeping in an adjacent shed, escaped with minor injuries.

Senior police officials including Srikantappa, who visited the spot, suspected the blast to have taken place on account of one of the victims throwing the butt of a lit cigarette or a bidi. Attributing the mishap to lack of proper precautionary measures at the quarry, he said the jurisdictional sub inspector of police will be held responsible for the explosion.

Though the contractor, who had taken the land on lease for granite quarrying hailed from Bellary district in Karnataka, police said all the victims were from Chamarajanagar district.

Meanwhile, the Tahsildar of Chamarajanagar taluk and his driver sufferred injuries when the Jeep in which they were proceeding to the site of the blast turned turtle en-route. They too had to be admitted to the hospital in Chamarajanagar.

Naxals strike at village in Shimoga

A group of suspected naxalites struck at four isolated houses near Hosagatte village in Karnataka’s Shimoga district and made away with cash and gold ornaments, besides a gun.

The armed naxalites, who took away a total of Rs 85,000 in cash, gold ornaments weighing 500 grams and a gun, told the occupants of the houses that they were looting them to pay compensation to the families of the victims killed in the recent police encounter at Menasinahadya in neighbouring Chikmagalur district.

Police said about ten naxalites, including three women, first stormed the house of Nagesh, a private bus owner-cum contractor in Hosagatte in the early hours of Sunday and looted Rs 55,000 in cash, a gun and gold ornaments at gun-point. The naxalites, who were wearing hoods, told Nagesh that he had amassed a lot of wealth by executing poor quality of Government work in the village.

Next, the naxalites attacked the house of Nagesh’s brother Satish and snatched 23 grams of gold. They continued their looting spree by attacking the houses of Shankarappa Gouda and Umesh Gouda in the vicinity from where they took away all the valuables they could lay their hands on.

Police said the naxalites had come in two vehicles and had fired two rounds in the air when their first victim Satish refused to oblige to their call to open the door in the middle of the night.

Before fleeing, the naxalites told their victims that the cash and valuables robbed from them would be given as compensation to the children of Rame Gowda and his Kaveramma, who were killed in the recent police encounter.

The naxalites warned Satish against having an association with local BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra as the latter was on their “hit-list”. Pamphlets glorifying the struggle of naxalites in the region were also left behind the attackers.

Meanwhile, the naxal attack in Shimoga figured in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly yesterday with legislators from naxal-infested areas voicing concern over the safety of their lives in the wake of the open threat issued to them by the naxals.

The Opposition Congress party sought to know from the Government the steps it had taken to contain the naxal menace, which had increased in the last few months.

Home Minister M P Prakash said the Government would hold a high-level meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday to review the security scenario in the naxal-hit areas of the State. Adequate steps will be taken to ensure protection is provided to not only the public representatives in the region, but also the common man, he assured.

Sixteen killed in two road mishaps in Karnataka

A total of sixteen persons were killed in two separate road accidents taking place in Karnataka yesterday.

As many as fourteen persons, including five women and five children, were killed when the Tata Sumo vehicle they were travelling in collided with a private bus near Ukkada Gatri in Chitradurga district yesterday.

Police said the deceased belonged to two families from Kumaraswamy layout in Bangalore. They were proceeding on a pilgrimage to Ukkada Gatri when the mishap occurred. While the driver of the ill-fated Tata Sumo was also killed, the driver of the private bus is absconding.

Meanwhile, two others were killed in a different road accident at Bankapura in Haveri district when the maxi cab in which they were travelling collided with a tanker yesterday. Twenty one persons in the maxi-cab also sufferred injuries in the mishap. They have been admitted to a hospital in Haveri.

Haneef’s wife seeks PM’s intervention

With the prospects of Bangalore-based doctor Mohammed Haneef’s early release appearing bleak in the wake of charges made against him by the Australian police, his despairing wife Firdous Arshiya has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in the matter and secure the early release of her husband.

Firdous Arshiya told reporters at her father’s residence in BTM layout in Bangalore that she would appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A K Antony to intervene and help her husband, “who had been charged for no fault of his”.

“I plead for their intervention and his release as soon as possible because all the charges against him are baseless We have been patient for the last 12 days, but the developments are not encouraging and we are worried about his safety”, said Firdous Arshiya, who delivered a baby girl about three weeks ago.

“They (Australian authorities) cannot do this injustice to my husband, who is innocent. I had patience till now as I thought there was nothing for them to charge him. I did not know that they would charge him for something so senseless”, she said referring to the charge of supporting terrorist organization against Haneef for merely passing on a SIM card to his cousins.

Firdous Arshiya said her husband had not even been paying for the use of the SIM card after it was handed over to his cousins about a year ago before he moved to Australia from London. “Though they had kept in touch with each other, even after we moved to Australia, their conversations were limited to friendly chats. Sabeel used to enquire about medical environment in Australia”, she said.

She also said that they have not been able to get in touch with Hanif’s lawyer Peter Russo or any official in Australia, which had compounded their anxiety. When asked whether she managed to speak to Haneef, whose bail application has now been adjourned to Monday, Firdous Arshiya said “we are trying to contact him, but have not been able to. We are trying to do something”.

Bangalore to become Bengaluru in a week’s time - Minister

The city of Bangalore is all set to become Bengaluru in about a week’s time.

Disclosing this to reporters, Karnataka’s Minister for Kannada and Culture H S Mahadev Prasad said the State Government’s decision to change the anglicized names of Bangalore and twelve other cities in the State had reached the last phase with all the Departments of the Federal Government clearing the proposal.

“It is been approved by all the Departments with the Railways formally clearing it on Thursday”, Prasad told reporters. The Federal Department for Home Affairs is now expected to issue a notification in the regard in one week’s time, he added.

As soon as the Federal Government issues the notification, the State Cabinet will formally rename Bangalore as Bengaluru and twelve other cities in Karnataka. The other cities whose angilicized names will be officially replaced with new names include Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Gulbarga, Shimoga, Belgaum and Hospet. They will be called as Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubbali, Kalburgi, Shivamogga, Belagavi and Hosapete respectively.

Mahadev Prasad brushed aside the opposition to rename Belgaum as Belavi raised by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi, which has urged Maharashtra Government to act tough of the Karnataka Government’s move. “Changing the names of cities was the prerogative of the States concerned. Permission from the Federal Government was only a formality”, he remarked.

Karnataka Government had decided to replace the anglicized name of Bangalore to a more local Bengaluru during the 50th formation year of Karnataka on November 1 2006 after Kannada litterateurs had reasoned that Bengaluru came to be called as Bangalore after the colonial rulers found it difficult to pronounce the original name properly.

The Karnataka Government has also made it clear that the move to replace the anglicized names was in tune with similar changes effected by governments of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which renamed their capitals as Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata respectively a few years ago.

Haneef’s family crestfallen at “baseless” charges

The family of Bangalore-based doctor Mohammed Haneef is crestfallen and angry over the decision taken by Australian police to charge him with supporting a terrorist organization.

Haneef’s wife Firdous Arshiya, who was looking forward to her husband’s early release from detention in Australia, termed the charges as “baseless, flimsy and unfair”.

Referring to the Australian police charge that Haneef supported a terrorist organization by “recklessly” giving his mobile phone SIM card to people planning car bomb attacks in the UK, Firdous Arshiya pointed out that the Australian police was aware from day one that he had left his SIM card with cousins before leaving UK.

“Why did the police wait for 12 days to press these charges against him? They could not find anything substantial against him. Hence, they have charged him with this”, she said.

Haneef had handed over the SIM card with his cousins Sabeel Ahmed and Kafeel Ahmed, two other suspects in the foiled UK terror plot, before he left London for Brisbane as the two could make use of the free calls still available on his mobile phone plan.

Firdous wondered what was wrong in her husband’s act of leaving the SIM card with his cousins.

Maintaining that her husband was innocent and not connected to any terrorist organization, much less to the failed terror plot in UK, Firdous said it was “unfair” on the part of Australian police to level such “baseless and flimsy” charges.

Firdous along with Haneef’s mother, brother and sister, had been looking forward to his arrival after the Australian police had on Friday dropped their bid to seek extension of Haneef’s custody.

But, the fresh development arising out of the charges levelled by the police against him have dashed their hopes. The family is now unsure whether Haneef will allowed to travel to India even if he manages to secure bail.

The Australian police at detained Haneef at Brisbane on July 2 as he was about to board a flight to India. Haneef was coming to India to see his new-born girl child when the police, aroused by suspicion over his one-way ticket, decided to detain him.

Firdous said Haneef was coming on a one-way ticket as he was planning to take her and the new-born with him to Australia for which fresh tickets could be bought in India.

SC desists Karnataka from enforcing retirement rule on temple priests

In a major relief to more than 70,000 priests employed in various temples across Karnataka, the Supreme Court has directed the State Government to desist from the move to superannuate them at the age of 65 years.

According to information reaching here, a bench comprising Justice H K Sema and Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta said the priests were pursuing the profession hereditarily and the retirement age fixed for them under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act should not be implemented.

At least 35,000 priests in the State, who were facing the threat of termination from service as they had crossed 65 years, can now heave a sigh of relief, according to Akhila Karnataka Archaka Federation, an association of temple priests in the State.

“No coercive or punitive action should be taken against the priests”, the Bench cautioned the Karnataka Government, which was represented by counsel Sanjay Hegde.

But, Hegde contended before the court that the priests were not handing over the accounts of the temples to the Government though they were governed by the rules of the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments. “They are usurping the income of the Temples without spending it on other developmental activities”, alleged Hegde.

The Apex court, however, permitted the State Government to take over the management of the temples.

The Akhila Karnataka Archaka Federation had challenged the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act on the grounds that it was “discriminatory” and not uniformly applicable to all religious institutions.
The Federation has been seeking a hike in the emoluments of the priests from the existing Rs 490 per month to a reasonable amount. The Apex Court court urged the high level committee constituted by the Karnataka Government under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Rama Jois to put forth its suggestions for the welfare of the priests community, which is dependent on the temple for its livelihood for generations

Christmas vacation for students cancelled in Karnataka

The JD (S)-BJP Government has decided to scrap the Christmas vacation in Karnataka from the ensuing academic year.

With the Education Department’s recent decision to introduce semester system in place of trimester system, millions of students studying in state syllabus schools across Karnataka will have only summer vacation and mid-term vacation.

With the entire academic year being divided into two parts, the Department was forced to cancel the Christmas vacation during December, an official said. While the first semester will henceforth start from June 1 and end on October 9, the second semester would start from October 30 and end on April 10.

Now, the students will have mid-term vacations from October 10 to 30 while the summer vacation will start from April 11 and end on May 20. “There will be no Christmas vacations from this year”, the official said.

But, educational institutions, particularly private schools, are planning to appeal to the Government to allow them to squeeze in Christmas vacations during December by reducing the number of holidays during the mid-term vacations.

“Of the 19 days of vacation in October, we will tell the Department that we would close for 11 days in October and 8 days during Christmas. We will, however, stick to the academic schedule set by the Department and complete the syllabus on time”, a principal of a private school said.

Apart from scrapping the trimester system, which has led to the cancellation of the Christmas vacations, the Department of State Education, Research and Training (DSERT), Karnataka, has also overhauled the teaching-learning system in schools from this academic year by introducing new guidelines.

Flood situation turns grim in Belgaum

Despite a respite from the incessant rainfall lashing northern parts of Karnataka, the flood situation in Belgaum district has turned grim with water released from reservoirs in neighbouring Maharashtra increasing the level of river Krishna and submerging roads, bridges and agricultural lands.

Though rains had retreated in Belgaum district, officials said river Krishna continued to flow in spate as Maharashtra was releasing more than 200,000 cusecs of water every day from the upstream Koyna reservoir.

With the level of Krishna continuing to rise, the Irrigation Department authorities in lower riparian state of Karnataka have begun releasing water from Almatti reservoir. To match the outflow of reservoirs in Maharashtra, authorities in Karnataka were releasing 217,000 cusecs of water from Almatti.

A total of 51 villages had been flooded with water while 24 bridges across the district had been submerged under the water. Similiarly, travel on a total of 28 roads criss-crossing the district have been suspended as the roads too have been submerged in the water.

Thousands of acres of agricultural land had also been inundated with water. The district administration has estimated a loss of Rs 750 million due to loss of crops in view of the floods.

With the water level in Krishna and its tributaries rising by almost two feet in the last two days, the authorities have begun evacuating people from several villages and shifting them to make-shift rehabilitation camps.
Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is expected to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shortly and seek financial assistance to tackle the flood situation which has turned grim in Belgaum and other northern parts of the State

Locals protest killing of “naxalites”

The gunning down of five suspected Maoists at Menasinahadya in Karnataka’s Chickmagalur district on Tuesday has triggerred a violent reaction from the locals, who set fire to a police jeep to protest the killing of “innocent” persons in the guise of anti-naxalite operations.

A large number of people gathered outside the house of Rame Gowda, where the shoot-out took place, and prevented the police from shifting the dead bodies for post-mortem. The angry locals, many of whom bared their chests and dared the police to shoot at them, later set fire to a police jeep stationed near the scene of the encounter, besides bringing down trees to block the road leading Menasinahadya.

The locals identified one of the victims of the shoot-out as Paramesh, a tribal leader, who was also the office bearer of Kudremukh National Park Struggle Committee, while the other person named as Subramanya was an arecanut labourer, who had been to Rame Gowda’s house to spray pesticides the previous night.

The villagers argued that Paramesh, who was Rame Gowda’s nephew, and Subramanya stayed overnight at Rame Gowda’s house as it was raining. The locals, who were demanding a high-level probe to expose the police action, said the dead bodies of three persons, including Rame Gowda and his wife, were found inside the house. “They have killed innocent persons in the name of anti-naxal operations”, the locals alleged.

Though the police managed to shift the bodies to Chickmagalur for a post-mortem yesterday, almost 24 hours after the shoot-out, hundreds of people from adjoining villages in Koppa and Sringeri taluk, besides Balehonnur set out for Chickmagalur, where the Kudremukh National Park Struggle Committee was planning to stage a massive demonstration.

With a view to preventing any untoward incident, the police detained hundreds of people en-route to Chickmagalur. More than 80 persons were also arrested in Balehonnur and cases were booked against ten of them for taking part in the violent incidents at Menasinahadya in the wake of the police encounter.

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Director General of Police K R Srinivasan said Gautham, one of the persons killed in the encounter, was an office bearer of Karnataka State Committee of CPI (Maoists) while Paramesh was also involved in naxalite activities for the last three to four years.
Though the police insisted that the three others killed in the shoot-out were also naxalites, details about their antecedents and links with the naxalites were not shared with the media.

The issue figured in the State Legislature with Home Minister M P Prakash justifying the police action of opening fire at the naxalites in Menasinahadya. The recovery of a sten gun with ammunition and a country made pistol from the site of the encounter proves that the persons killed were naxalites, Prakash reasoned.

A grenade lobbed at the police by the ultras that did not explode had also been recovered. Two more naxals had escaped into the surrounding forests with arms and ammunition. He said the police had also found pamphlets and naxalite literature from the persons killed in the encounter.

Meanwhile, a police constable Raghav, who sustained bullet injuries in the exchange of fire with the naxalites, had been admitted to a hospital in Manipal in neighbouring Udupi district. He is said to be out of danger.

Event manager shot dead in Bangalore

Even as the Bangalore police was busy probing the foiled UK terror strike, two unidentified assailants entered the office of an event management company in the busy upmarket Indiranagar on Tuesday evening and shot dead its 38-year-old Managing Director.

Additional Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Bipin Gopalakrishna said the two unidentified persons, who arrived at the second floor office of Bangalore Convention and Trade Fair Limited in Indiranagar along with its Managing Director Madhusudan Aravind, had a long conversation with him before pumping bullets into him.

The assailants, who spoke English with a Malayali accent, had fired three shots with a low caliber .22 revolver at his chest and hands, Gopalakrishna said. After spraying bullets at the victim, the duo hurriedly walked out of the office and made good their escape in a getaway vehicle.

Madhusudan’s company is engaged in organizing events for software companies and designing posters for several government organizations.

According to Sanjana, an employee, who was in the office when Madhusudan brought the two unidentified visitors in his own car, the incident took place when most of the employees were preparing to leave office. As she was waiting downstairs along with other employees, she heard Madhusudan argue with the visitors. Suddenly, gun shots were heard and the two visitors came down hurriedly and went out of the building.

“I climbed the staircase and reached Madhusudan’s office only to find him lying in a pool of blood. I called out for help and alerted the police. But, by the time help came, it was too late”, she said.

Gopalkrishna said the victim, who was a native of Palakkad in Kerala, had been receiving threatening calls from the owners of a hotel on Queens Road in Bangalore. “We are investigating in this direction and hope to get to the root of the matter soon”, he said.

However, the cold-blooded murder of a young managing director of an event management company has shaken the posh and upscale neighbourhood, which is home to celebrities and bureaucrats.

The deceased Madhusudan is survived by his wife Lakshmi and a five-month-old baby, police said.

Five naxalites gunned down in Karnataka

Five naxalites were killed in an encounter with the police at Menasinahadya village in Karnataka’s Chikmagalur district early on Tuesday.

Disclosing this to reporters in Bangalore, Karnataka’s Director General of Police K R Srinivasan said an exchange of fire took place between the police force and naxalites holed up inside a house in the village. Two policemen were also injured in the shoot-out, he said.

A group of naxalites led by Gautham, who belongs to the outlawed CPI (Maoist), had gathered at the house of one Rame Gowda on Monday night for a meeting. As soon as the police received a tip-off, the Anti Naxal Force (ANF) and the local police swiftly surrounded the house, where the naxals were holed up.

Even as the ANF and police personnel were keeping a watch outside the house, the Maoists sensed trouble and came out opening fire, Inspector General of Police (Western Range) A M Prasad said.

When the police fired in retaliation, five naxalites including a woman were killed. Two more naxalites are believed to have escaped into the surrounding forests under the cover of darkness. The police recovered a sten gun from the spot.

The dead naxalites have been identified as Gautham, Paramesh, Kaveri, Rame Gowda and Subramanya.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy convened a meeting of senior police officials in Bangalore on Tuesday to review the security in the State in the wake of not only the increased naxal activity, but also the Bangalore link to the foiled terror plot at Glasgow airport.

Additional forces drawn from neighbouring Shimoga and Udupi districts have been deployed in the region for intensification of combing operations, police said.

The gun battle between police and naxals at Menasinahadya village in the wee hours of Tuesday comes close on the heels of the setting to fire of a bus belonging to state-owned Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) by armed naxals near Agumbe. A couple of weeks ago, naxals had shot dead a “police informer” near Sringeri in the area.

Border row: Kannada activists assault pro-Goan outfit leaders

The police arrested several Kannada activists at Karwar in coastal Karnataka yesterday after they assaulted leaders of a pro-Goa outfit, which is campaigning for merger of Konkani-speaking regions of Uttara Kannada with neighbouring Goa.

The activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike led by Pravin Shetty, who had reached Karwar from Bangalore, are reported to have accosted the President of Goa Konkani Rajya Ekikaran Manch Asha Palankar and her husband Prakash Palankar when they were proceeding on a two-wheeler. Soon, the Kannada activists began pelting eggs at the husband-wife duo.

But, the police reached the spot immediately and took the Kannada activists into custody. The situation remained tense in Karwar in view of the incident. While Asha Palankar heads the Manch, her husband Prakash Palankar is an executive member of the outfit.

Police said a team of Kannada activists under the leadership of Shetty had arrived in Karwar to oppose the efforts by pro-Konkani organizations to secure the merger of Karwar, Joida and Haliyal taluks of Uttara Kannada districts with Goa.

Much to the chagrin of Kannada activists, the pro-Konkani organizations in Karwar had already moved the Supreme Court seeking the merger on the grounds that majority of people in the three taluks speak Konkani, the official language of Goa.

The issue even figured in the Karnataka legislature with several members of the Legislative Council, cutting across party lines, urging the Government to banish the activists of the Konkani organizations for carrying out a signature campaign in support of the unification.

Meanwhile, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, who paid a visit to Belgaum, said the merger of the three taluks of Karnataka with Goa was not before his Government. He claimed that the pro-Konkani organizations had not even brought the issue to the notice of Goa Government.

Bangalore police seize Kafeel’s hard disk

Stepping up its investigations into the foiled terror plot in UK, the Bangalore police have seized the hard disk of the computer from the residence of suspect Kafeel Ahmed in the City.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Neelam Achuta Rao said the police have been able to seize a computer hard disk of a “high capacity” and other materials left behind by Kafeel Ahmed before he left for UK in May this year.

“The hard disk is being examined to ascertain the content and check for any connection to the failed terror plot in UK or other terrorist activities all over the world”, he said.

Rao said the police will also look into the hard disk for clues to Indian Institute of Science (IISc) attack in Bangalore during December 2005. “We have an investigation continuing into the IISc attack. We will see if there is any connection to it”, he added.

Claiming that the Federal and the State investigative agencies were working in close co-ordination to probe the alleged links of Kafeel Ahmed and his brother Sabeel Ahmed with terrorist outfits, Rao said the probe, so far, had not been able to establish any connection between the duo and the strike at IISc.

Responding to a question, Rao said the Bangalore police had no information about the key accused in the Glasgow terror plot Bilal Ahmed making a visit to India. “As of now, we have no information of his visit”, he said.

However, the investigating teams were trying to probe whether the trio had any network in India and Bangalore in particular.

Though Rao maintained that the authorities were still examining the materials seized from Kafeel Ahmed’s residence, police sources said claimed that the investigating agencies had stumbled upon compact disks featuring documentaries on the plight of Muslims in regions like Chechnya and Bosnia. E-mails exchanged by the two brothers with others are also being scanned for any connection to terrorist outfits, the police sources added.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has convened a meeting of senior police officials in Bangalore on Tuesday to review the security scenario in the State in the light of the Bangalore connection to the UK terror plot.

Temple elephant stamps boy to death in Karnataka

An eight-year-old boy was stamped to death by an elephant in a temple at Yediyur in Karnataka’s Tumkur district.

Police said the tragic incident took place when the boy identified as Sachin was feeding bananas to the female elephant tied inside the Siddalingeshwar Temple at Yediyur on Sunday along with his 12-year-old brother Sanjay.

Sachin was caught unawares when the pachyderm suddenly caught him in its trunk and thrashed him to the ground. The boy died almost instantly.

Sachin and Sanjay had accompanied their father Manjunath, an autorickshaw driver in Bangalore, to a wedding at Bellur Cross. After attending the wedding, they arrived at the Siddalingeshwar Temple at Yediyur and arranged for a special pooja.

When Manjunath was busy with the ceremonies inside the Temple, the children strayed in the compound and reached the rear side, where the elephant had been tied beyond a small wall. After scaling the wall, Sachin and Sanjay began feeding the elephant.

Though the elephant took the first banana offered by the children in its trunk and began eating it peacefully, it suddenly caught hold of Sachin when he tried to feed it for the second time. Immediately, Sanjay ran and informed the matter to his father.

By the time, Manjunath and others in the Temple could rush to the spot, the elephant had stamped Sachin, who was lying in a pool of blood. Soon, the boy breathed his last. The mahout was not present when the tragic incident took place.

Meanwhile, the locals, enraged over the tragedy, ransacked the administration office of the Temple. Computers and other equipments kept inside the office were ransacked. Later, they kept the dead body of the child and staged a protest.

Soon, the local legislators and district administration officials rushed to the spot and consoled the child’s father. Deputy Commissioner of Tumkur district Umashankar announced a compensation of Rs 50,000.

Umashankar said the elephant had been domesticated and had never behaved in an aggressive manner. However, he assured to direct the Temple authorities to build a separate shed for the elephant and keep it out of bounds for the visitors. “Though a wall been built and the elephant is tied within it, the boys had scaled the wall when the mahout was not present, leading to the disaster”, he said.

Eight sailors rescued from sea off Mangalore coast

The Indian Coast Guard personnel rescued eight sailors on board a crude oil tanker that was caught in the rough seas off the Mangalore coast on Saturday.

According to Coast Guard Commander Manoj V Baadkar, the sailors on board Abdul Kalam Azad, a vessel transporting crude oil from Mumbai to Mangalore, sent a distress call after its helmsman Madhusudan Paul, 55, was washed overboard when he was trying to repair the pilot ladder.

Though the sailors immediately rushed to the rescue of Paul by using a life-boat, they could not return to the ship despite their best efforts in view of the turbulent waves.

Immediately after receiving the distress call, the Coast Guard pressed its fast patrol vessel Kasturba Gandhi into service to rescue the sailors who were struggling to keep afloat in the high seas five nautical miles off the Mangalore coast. “We managed to successfully save all of them. Though the rescue team too had to face rough seas, all the sailors of the oil tanker were rescued and brought to the shore”, Baadkar added.

After reaching the coast, Madhusudan Paul, a resident of Hooghly in West Bengal, who had accidentally fallen in to the sea while repairing the pilot ladder, was admitted to a local hospital.

The New Mangalore Port Trust too assisted the Coast Guard personnel in the rescue operation by deploying its vessel Varahi to tug the stranded oil tanker. The Port officials managed to anchor the tanker, which would be de-fuelled soon.

According to the Coast Guard officials, the rescued sailors have been identified as Chief Officer Vikrant Vikram, Engineer A C Dalal, besides crew members Qamarul Haq, Siraj Ahmed, Anil Ghosh and A A Bagarkar.

The rescue of sailors on board the crude oil tanker comes close on the heels of the drowning of one sailor when a Eritrean freighter Den Den, carrying 23 persons, sank off the Mangalore coast recently.

IUML decries linking of terrorism to Islam

Decrying the tendency to ascribe every act of terrorism to Islam, National President of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) G M Banatwala regretted that the foiled attack on Glasgow airport had been blown out of proportions to create a “sensational piece of news”.

Speaking to reporters after addressing the national convention of IUML in Bangalore on Saturday, Banatwala sought to clarify that Islam preached peace and harmony and not terrorism.

“Let us remember that two persons had been detained for investigations and no charges had been made so far. It is premature to say anything. Even if the two are guilty, let us underline the fact that they are two out of the 150 to 200 million Muslims in India What is more, they were in Britain and not on Indian soil”, Banatwala said.

He also asserted that the authorities should deal with breach of peace and law and order in the society strictly.

Blaming the West for giving birth to terrorism across the globe, the IUML President emphasized the need to debate the circumstances in the world that had brought the situation to such a head. He was apparently referring to the manner in which the crisis in West Asia had been handled by the US and Britain.

The Glasgow terror plot had cast its shadow on the IUML’s national convention in Bangalore, which was scheduled to discuss a host of issues.

President of Karnataka’s Forum for Dignity K M Sharief said any act of terrorism, irrespective of the religion of the perpetrator, was condemnable. “It is too soon to draw conclusions. But, all speculations made in the media and the public, implicating the whole community is very hurting”, he said.

Noted Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq regretted the circle suspicion surrounding the entire Muslim community even before the culpability of the detained Muslim youths in the Glasgow terror strike has been established. “How do Muslims who believe in secular ideology survive in a situation like this?”, she queried.

Tibetans pledge to give up non-vegetarian food

Hundreds of Tibetan exiles in Karnataka, who gathered in Bangalore for the Dalai Lama’s 72nd birthday, pledged to give up non-vegetarian food for the next one year.

Offerring prayers to the deities and scarves of the portrait of Dalai Lama as part of the ‘Sangsol’ ceremony to mark his birthday celebrations, the Tibetans from various refugee camps across Karnataka prayed for the Dalai Lama’s long life at the Office of the Tibetans Chief Representative (South) in Bangalore on Friday.

Volunteers of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in Karnataka said the Tibetan community believes that the birth years of 13 and 73 are inauspicious and apprehends that the Dalai Lama, their spiritual head, may face obstacles. “Hence, we have urged Tibetans to go strictly vegetarian for the whole of next year in an effort to reduce the obstacles in the personal life of Dalai Lama”, a volunteer said.

Thousands of Tibetans reside in Karnataka at their settlements at Bylakuppe in Kodagu districts and Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district. Tibetans in other parts of India including Dharmashala, the headquarters of the Tibetan Government in Exile, have also pledged to keep off non-vegetarian food for a year, the volunteer added.

Tibetans, who are followers of the Buddhist religion, are not basically vegetarian and their diet normally includes meat of a variety of animals.

Elephant population in Karnataka rises in post-Veerappan era

Elephant population in Karnataka’s forests is understood to have risen considerably during the last two years.

According to data available from the recently-held elephant census, the population of jumbos in the State had risen from around 4,500 during 2005 to about 6,000 during 2007. With the country’s elephant population estimated to be around 24,000, Karnataka accounts for a quarter of India’s pachyderm population, according to forest officials.

Much of the rise in elephant population in Karnataka has been noticed in Biligiri Rangana Hills, Bandipur National Forests and Kanakapura Wildlife Division, which was once the home of forest bandit Veerappan. “This region now has a dense elephant population numbering around 2,000”, said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Raju.

Forest bandits including Veerappan’s gang were indiscriminately poaching elephants for their valuable ivory. “These areas had witnessed many cases of poaching and mysterious elephant deaths during Veerappan’s regime. After his death, we are finding many elephants roaming around the forests freely”, he said.

The notorious forest brigand Veerappan, who was killed in an encounter with the police in October 2004, was accused of not only chopping sandalwood trees, but also killing elephants for their ivory, which fetched a huge price.

It may be mentioned here that the hundreds of forest department officials, wildlife enthusiasts and volunteers scoured the jungles of Karnataka as part of an elaborate elephant census held between May 7 and 9 this year. The elephant census in Karnataka was part of the simultaneous exercise carried out by the forest departments of all the South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, besides Karnataka.

Sabeel’s family taken away to undisclosed location

After their sustained questioning by a team of Bangalore City police, the mother and sister of Sabeel Ahmed, one of the suspects in the foiled terror plot in UK, left their residence in Banashankari in Bangalore to an undisclosed location escorted by their advocate.

After two rounds of questioning by a team of Bangalore police led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravi Kante Gowda on Thursday night and Friday afternoon, Sabeel Ahmed’s mother Zakia Ahmed and sister Sadia Kausar, clad in burkhas, went out of their residence yesterday, accompanied by their lawyer, even as hordes of media personnel hung around awaiting fresh developments in the Bangalore link to the terror plot.

Sabeel Ahmed’s father Maqbool Ahmed, who apparently suffers from dementia, was neither questioned nor taken away by the lawyer.

Meanwhile, a team of Bangalore Police, which had questioned Zakia Ahmed and Sadia Kausar for two hours on Thursday night, returned on Friday afternoon to resume the questioning.

Apart from trying to ascertain the veracity of reports that Kafeel Ahmed, the injured suspect who drove the vehicle that exploded in Glasgow, was Sabeel Ahmed’s elder brother, the police is understood to have gathered information on the communication between the two brothers and their family members through telephone and e-mails.

Though reports suggested that Kafeel Ahmed was Sabeel Ahmed’s brother, Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Neelam Achuta Rao refused to confirm the same.

Speaking about the inquiry, Rao told reporters that Zakia Ahmed had told the police that she had a son named Kafeel Ahmed also, who had left for UK, but was unclear about his activities overseas and his involvement with fundamentalist groups. She was also unable to confirm whether the photos splashed of the driver in the burning vehicle were that of Kafeel Ahmed.

However, a marble plaque outside the home of Zakia Ahmed and Maqbool Ahmed in Banashankari bears the names of not only Sabeel Ahmed and Sadia Kausar, but also Kafeel Ahmed.

Kafeel Ahmed, the elder brother of Sabeel Ahmed, had studied mechanical engineering at UBDT Engineering College in Davangere in Karnataka during 1996-2000. A bright student, Kafeel Ahmed had not only secured fifth rank in the final year Mechanical Engineering examination, but was admired by his classmates and teachers for his exceptional oratory.

After leaving for UK, Kafeel Ahmed was pursuing his doctorate degree at Anglia Polytechnic University at Cambridge.

Demand for merger of Karnataka taluks with Goa decried by lawmakers

The demand for merger of three border taluks of Karnataka with neighbouring Goa figured in the Karnataka legislature yesterday with the angry lawmakers urging the Government to banish the activists of two Konkani organizations that had moved the Supreme Court in the regard.

The matter was raised in the Legislative Council by BJP MLC Mukhyamantri Chandru, who sought to draw the Government’s attention to the efforts being made by the activists of the Konkani organizations to secure the merger of Karwar, Joida and Haliyal in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka with Goa for the creation of “Greater Goa”.

Goa Konkani Rajya Samithi and Samyuktha Gomantak Manch, the two Karwar-based pro-Konkani organizations, have already ruffled the feathers of Kannada organizations by moving the Apex court seeking the merger of the three border taluks with Goa on the grounds that a majority of the people in the region speaks Konkani, the official language of Goa.

As if to rub salt in the wounds of people of Karnataka, Mukhyamantri Chandru said the two organizations have now begun sending teams of activists to different parts of the three taluks to collect signatures in favour of their campaign. “The activists are also videographing roads and other places in these areas to claim that they have been neglected by Karnataka Government in a bid to justify their demand for merger with Goa”, he said.

With the petitions filed by the Konkani-based organizations expected to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court, Mukhyamantri Chandru urged the Government to take proper measures to ensure that the Apex court dismisses the petition.

Home Minister M P Prakash sought to assure the members of the Karnataka Legislative Council that the Government would initiate necessary measures prevent the organizations from misleading the people in the region. Similiarly, all legal steps will also be taken to fight the matter in the Supreme Court, he said.

Train passengers drugged and robbed

A total of thirteen passengers from Bangalore on board the New Delhi-bound Karnataka Express were reportedly drugged and robbed of their belongings.

According to police, the thirteen passengers, all men, were found unconscious in their compartment at Guntakal on Wednesday, a couple of hours after the train left Bangalore. Their baggage and tickets were also missing.

Co-passengers, who found them unconscious at Hindupur, alerted the Railway police. The unconscious passengers were carried out of the train at Guntakal and admitted to a Government hospital.

“The identity of the unconscious passengers is yet to be ascertain. As their luggage is missing, we can’t identify them. They were all in the general compartment. They are undergoing treatment and doctors have opined that will regain consciousness only by Friday”, an official said.

The police suspect the victims to have consumed biscuits laced with sedatives offered by unidentified miscreants. After the victims lost consciousness within minutes of eating the biscuits, the miscreants may have picked up their baggage and got off the train.

Railway police claimed that this was the second such incident in the last one month. On June 5, a Bangalore-based software professional was robbed of his valuables on the Bangalore-bound Kakinada Express in a similar fashion.

The victim Veeranna, 28, who was returning home from Mehboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh was offered tea by miscreants. He regained consciousness in a hospital several hours after the Railway police found him unconscious in his train compartment.

Bangalore police to probe antecedents of UK terror suspects

Bangalore police has begun investigations into the antecedents of the two doctors hailing from the City - Mohammed Haneef and Sabeel Ahmed – who had been detained in connection with the failed terror attack at Glasgow airport in United Kingdom last week.

Though the Bangalore Police had not received any request from either the police in UK or Australia for assistance in the probe, Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Neelam Achuta Rao said the counter-terrorism cell of the police would try to find out whether the duo had been “indoctrinated” in Bangalore or other parts of the State.

“We are trying to find out whether they have got anything to do with indoctrination here in the State or in the City. Whether there is any incriminating material with them or any of their associates”, he said.

Ever since Bangalore came on the terror-map, Neelam Achuta Rao said a counter-terrorism cell had been set up. “That cell has been conducting investigations and inquiries and gathering intelligence. It is an on-going process and the cell will investigate into this matter also”, he said.

However, he admitted that there has been no official request from either UK or Australia for information about the antecedents of Mohammed Haneef and Sabeel Ahmed. “We are conducting the inquiries on our own”, the Bangalore City Police Commissioner added.

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Home Minister M P Prakash said the Government would mount a vigil on students from outside the State, who are pursuing higher education in the State. “We will have to keep a tab on their activities as it has become necessary in the wake of certain developments”, he said.

“On most occasions, the terrorists appear very well-behaved and impressive. It is all being done in the interest of safety and security of the State”, he said.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Haneef’s wife Firdous, who had delivered a baby girl last week, told television reporters at her residence in Bangalore, that her husband was innocent and expressed hope that he would return to India.

Rubbishing allegations that he was fleeing Australia on a one-way ticket, Firdous said Mohammed Haneef had purchased a one-way ticket as he planned to take her and the new-born on his return journey.
She said her husband had been detained simply because the SIM card used by another suspect Sabeel Ahmed belonged to him. “He had handed over the SIM card of his mobile to him at the time of leaving for Australia”, she said

Families of bomb suspects claim they are innocent

Shock and anxiety gripped the family members of two doctors from Bangalore Mohammed Haneef and Sabeel Ahmed, who had been detained as suspects in the failed terror attack near Glasgow International airport in UK last week.

Claiming that the doctors were innocent, the family members of Mohammed Haneef, 27, and Sabeel Ahmed, 26, expressed confidence that they would be let off after questioning.

According to information available here, Mohammed Haneef and Sabeel Ahmed are reported to be distantly related to each other and had passed from Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore before going to UK in pursuit of their medical careers.

Mohammed Haneef’s mother Khurath Ul Ain told reporters at her apartment in Frazer Town in Bangalore that her son was returning to India to see his new-born daughter. “I pray Allah that he returns safely”, the anxious mother said before accusing the authorities of arresting her son “just because he is a Muslim”.

Mohammed Haneef’s sister Sumayya said her brother was the sole bread-winner of the family after they lost her father in a road accident ten years ago. The family originally hailed from Mudigere in Karnataka’s Chikmagalur district. “He is a very studious and academically inclined person. He secured the MBBS seat on merit”, she said.

Expressing concern over her husband’s safety, Mohammed Haneef’s wife Firdous said the family was trying to establish contact with him through the Indian High Commission in Australia. “We are requesting the Indian High Commission to intervene in the matter and provide him consular access. He is all alone there”, she said.

Similiarly, Zakia Ahmed, mother of the other suspect Sabeel Ahmed, said her son was innocent. “He has only been detained for questioning. I am sure he will return safely”, she said at her residence at Banashankari in Bangalore. “We are in touch with his friends there and they have assured us that all will be well soon”, she said.

Referring to the allegations of his Islamic fundamentalism levelled against him, Zakia Ahmed snapped back “Who is not a fundamentalist. You are fundamentalist about your religion. I am fundamentalist about my religion”.

Meanwhile, Registrar of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, Sachchidananda said Sabeel Ahmed and Mohammed Haneef had passed out of Ambedkar College in Bangalore during 2003 and 2002 respectively.

Though Mohammed Haneef, who had a brilliant academic record, passed out with good marks, Sabeel had taken six years to pass the four-and-a half-year-long MBBS course, Sachchidananda told reporters.

Principal of Ambedkar Medical College Ramesh remembers Mohammed Haneef as a “very quite and sensitive” boy. “He was conversant in both English and Kannada, and used to help others. It is hard to imagine him as part of any terrorist plot”, he added.

However, police in Bangalore said they have not received any communication about the investigation into the failed terror attack in UK having links with Bangalore. Senior police officers in Bangalore said they had not received information about the detention of doctors from Bangalore from either Australia or UK.

Spectre of flood looms large over Karnataka

The spectre of floods loomed large over several parts of Karnataka with the rivers flowing in spate in the wake of heavy rains and discharge of excess water from upstream reservoirs.

Several parts of Belgaum and Gulbarga district in north Karnataka faced the threat of imminent floods for the third year in succession as the water level in river Krishna was rising steadily on account of heavy rains and release of excess water from the reservoirs of Maharashtra.

The swirling waters of river Krishna and had already submerged several bridges and roads across Belgaum and Gulbarga. Similiarly, the swollen river Bhima posed a threat to residents of Gulbarga district.

The irrigation department authorities in Karnataka have been forced to release a large volume of water from its Narayanpur and Alamatti dams, which were fast reaching its full reservoir levels, worsening the situation.

The authorities have warned people living in villages along the rivers of Krishna and Bhima in Belgaum and Gulbarga to move to safer places along with their livestock.

The high-level Cabinet sub-committee on natural calamities, which met in Bangalore on Monday, has decided to dispatch Karnataka Chief Secretary P B Mahishi and other senior officials of Revenue Department to Mumbai to seek advance information from Maharashtra on the release of water from its reservoirs.

A large quantity of water had been released into Krishna river from the Rajapur dam and barrage across Panchaganga in Maharashtra during the last few days.

In other parts of the state, the river Tunga flowed just three feet below danger mark, threatening to flood low lying areas across Shimoga district, while the water from river Hemavathi submerged several areas in Hassan district.

Heavy rainfall continued to lash Kodagu district, which is the catchment area for river Cauvery. The swelling of Cauvery river led to submergence of several bridges in Kodagu and disrupted movement of traffic on many roads.

While one person was killed in Kodlipet in Kodagu district when the wall of his shed came crashing down on him in the rains, more than a thousand houses has collapsed in different parts of the state in the rains.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who estimated the loss to the state on account of the rains to be around Rs 1.5 billion, will shortly lead a delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking release of Federal funds to take up relief works.

Naxals torch bus near Agumbe

Armed Maoists intercepted a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus near Agumbe in Karnataka’s Shimoga district on Sunday and set fire to the vehicle after directing the passengers and the crew to alight.

The bus, which was on its way to Bangalore from Agumbe, was halted by a group of people at Gubbiga, around 7 kms from Agumbe. The driver of the bus Eeranna Patel, suspecting them to be passengers, stopped the vehicle.

Soon, the gang, which included two women, surrounded the bus and asked the driver, conductor and a few passengers to alight from the vehicle. Next, the Maoists, who were wearing masks and carrying guns, broke open the fuel tank with the help of a rod. Collecting the diesel from the tank, they sprayed it all over the bus and set it on fire.

The armed naxalites told the frightened bus crew and passengers that they had burnt the bus to avenge the killing of senior Maoist leader Raju Mouli in a police encounter in Andhra Pradesh. The naxalites also threw pamphlets at the spot that condemned the killing of Raju Mouli in fake encounter.

Within minutes of setting the bus on fire, the Maoists disappeared into the adjoining forests.

After receiving information about the strike, personnel from Anti Naxal Force rushed to the spot and began combing operations in the surrounding forests.

Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who also hails from Shimoga district, told reporters that the Government will not only intensify combing operations in the forests, but also provide armed security to buses passing through naxal-infested areas in the State.

Six-year-old boy falls to death in Bangalore mall

In a heart-rending incident, a six-year-old boy accidentally fell off the fourth floor of a shopping mall in Bangalore and succumbed to serious head injuries.

The deceased Ahan Bhandari, who went to watch a movie at the multiplex theatre at the Garuda shopping mall in Bangalore on Sunday evening along with his parents and relatives, slipped through a gap between the escalator and the metal railing before the fatal plunge 50 feet down.

A student of class I at Vidya Shilpa School in Yelahanka, Ahan was playing with a few other children on the fourth floor of the shopping mall, where the multiplex is located. A product promotion campaign taking place on the ground floor drew Ahan’s attention.

“When he was taking a peek at the campaign from the gap between the metal railing and the escalator, Ahan sought to hold on to the railings of the escalator for a better view. But, the moment he held onto the railings, the escalator dragged him up and the boy lost balance and fell down on the banners of the promotional show on the ground floor”, said an eye-witness.

Blood started flowing out of Ahan’s ears as soon as he fell down and he was rushed to a nearby hospital in an autorickshaw. A team of five specialist doctors attended on him, but the boy breathed his last later in the evening.

Doctors of Hosmat, who attended on Ahan, said the boy had sufferred severe head injuries and could not be saved despite doing their best. The boy’s father Bharat Bhandari, an industrialist, and mother were inconsolable over the loss of their son.

70 year old NRI killed in Bangalore

The mystery surrounding the murder of a 70-year-old NRI in Bangalore, has been solved. City police have arrested a 31-year-old man in Chennai for the murder of the NRI.

The deceased, Ali Mohammed Khan, who had retired as a project manager from Saudi Arabia air force a couple of years ago, was in Bangalore for the last three months before his body was recovered from a car in Garvebavipalya here on June 23.

Though the police initially suspected it to be the handiwork of real estate mafia as Khan was planning to buy a residential site in Banaglore, investigations by a special team of City police revealed that he had been murdered by Amanulla.

The accused was angry with the elderly man for his alleged deceitful behaviour with his (Amanulla’s) polio-hit wife Prema.

Police said Khan was attracted towards Prema. He used to meet the couple often during evening walks. While Amanulla, also known as Agneeshwar, was a post graduate in Tamil literature and was hunting for a job in Bangalore, Prema was employed with a software firm. Khan had introduced himself as an NRI doctor from UK and offered to cure Prema’s ailment free of cost.

When the couple expressed their readiness, Khan examined Prema in his car on June 19. Though Khan had allegedly molested Prema, she did not lodge a police complaint, hoping he would cure her. But, she kept her husband informed about his behaviour.

The next day, after Prema left for office, Amanulla met Khan and invited him to his house in Garvebavipalya on the pretext of treating his wife. After reaching the house in Khan’s car, Amanulla questioned the elderly NRI about his medical qualifications, which led to a heated altercation.

Eventually, Khan reportedly whipped out a kitchen knife and tried to assault Amanulla. But, the 31-year-old Amanulla overpowered the elderly man and strangled him to death. He later put the body back into the car, drove it to a distance and abandoned it. Amanulla later fled to Chennai. The police traced the calls made to Khan’s mobile and arrested Amanulla in Chennai.

India’s first wi-fy railway station at Bangalore

Bangalore railway station will be come the first in India to be equipped with wi-fi connectivity by August this year,

Disclosing this to reporters, Rail Tel Corporation of India’s Managing Director K K Bajpeyee said the infrastructural facilities, including the telecommunication tower, was already in place at Bangalore railway station. “In the next two months, wi-fy facility will be available to train passengers at Bangalore railway station”, he said.

Rail Tel had already signed an agreement with Bangalore-based Airlink company, a subsidiary of American multinational company Pronto.

Initially, wi-fy connectivity will be available within a radius of 2 to 4 kilometres. But, it will gradually expand to cover larger region including the surrounding commercial and residential areas.

Soon after Bangalore railway station becomes wi-fy enabled, the facility will be commissioned at Jaipur railway station. “It will deliver a new experience to passengers by deploying wi-fi hotspots at railway stations. It will be delivered on wimax/wi-fi-based platform and will provide Internet services to having wi-fi/wimax enabled computers and laptops”, he said.

Rail Tel has chalked out plans to provide wi-fy connectivity to 50 railway stations across the country in the first phase. Subsequently, it will be expanded to 500 stations.

Bajpeyee also expressed confidence of providing wi-fi connectivity inside the compartments of running trains in the next two to three years. “If more mobile towers are set up, wi-fi connectivity can be provided even inside moving trains, allowing the passengers to convert their compartments into hi-tech offices”, he said.

Though Rail Tel had established Internet cafes at more than 20 railway stations across the country under the brand of “Cyber Express”, Bajpeyee said the returns at small stations were not remunerative to the persons running the cafes.

“The daily earnings at small stations barely cross Rs 600 to Rs 800. However, the cafes at some of the big railway stations like Pune were doing well with the owners earning around Rs 4,000 daily”, he said and emphasizing the need to revise the business plans with regard to Cyber Express.

Air tickets to be sold through post offices in Karnataka

Flight tickets of low cost airline Air Deccan will now be sold across the counter at the 500 computerized post offices spread across Karnataka.

The Postal Department of Karnataka and Air Deccan entered into an agreement to sell the air tickets of the low budget carrier, which operates more than 350 flights every day, connecting a host of destinations across the country.

Speaking to reporters, Air Deccan’s Executive Chairman G R Gopinath said the pact is aimed at taking air travel to the door-step of the common man in rural parts and smaller towns of the State. “Our tie-up with Department of Posts will give us enhanced visibility and trigger the aspirations of rural Indian taking to the skies”, he said.

Air Deccan had trained over 1,000 postal department employees in the past three months in the process of issuing tickets.

Chief Post Master General of Karnataka Circle Meera Datta said service would be extended about an additional 1,300 post offices in the State, which will be computerized in the next five years. “It the scheme is successful, there is no reason why it should not be replicated in other states of the country”, she said.

The tie-up between Air Deccan and Postal Department in Karnataka is the first of its kind in the entire country. “For the first time, Post offices will sell air tickets”, Meera Datta said.