Karnataka confers top civilian award on Kalam

Karnataka Government has conferred the prestigious Basava Puraskara award on former President A P J Abdul Kalam at a function organized in front of Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat.

Presenting the top civilian award to Kalam, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said Karnataka Government was honouring the former President in recognition of his services to the entire mankind.

“I deem it an honour to confer this coveted award on behalf of the state to a yogi, who provided us with an insight to look into the future and who equipped us with his noble thoughts and noblest ideas”, Kumaraswamy said.

The Basava Puraskara award instituted in the name of 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara carries a citation and a memento, besides Rs one million cash.

Speaking after accepting the award, Kalam said he would cherish the moment he received the award forever. “This is the moment, which I will cherish forever. Basavanna was a great social reformer, who wanted people to be free from sufferring and pain. The money I received will reach such a special people of this country”, Kalam said.

Congress rules out revival of ties with JD (S)

Congress party has ruled out the possibility of joining hands with the JD (S) in Karnataka to form an alternative coalition.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily, who has recently been appointed as the Chairman of the Media department of AICC, said the Congress was not interested in “polluting” itself by joining hands with the JD (S) again.

Referring to the crisis brewing over the transfer of power from JD (S) to BJP in the State, Moily said the coalition Government had outlived its utility. “The JD (S) had betrayed us after forming a coalition with Congress in 2004. In any case, the ball is in their court. In fact, the ball is being tossed from the court of the BJP to the court of JD (S). We are not in the picture”, he remarked.

Instead of joining the JD (S) and forming an alternative Government, Moily said the Congress party was keen on winning the next elections and forming a Government on its own. “So, rather than polluting the state, we will infuse oxygen into it”, he said.

Meanwhile, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary opined that the only way out of the present “fluid” situation in the State was for the Governor to recommend President’s Rule in the State.

Poojary told reporters in Mangalore that the Governor should recommend President’s Rule and the State should go for mid-term polls.

He said the Governor Rameshwar Thakur, on his own, can submit a report to the Federal Government on the present political situation in Karnataka.

Poojary also said that the Congress was prepared for mid-term polls. “We are not afraid of polls. The party has already taken a stand that it would prefer to face elections rather than go in for any sort of understanding with either of the coalition partners”, he said.

Poojary said the people of Karnataka were fed up with the political instability in the state and would send a clear message favouring the Congress in polls to urban local bodies. The same outcome will be repeated in the mid-term polls, he said confidently

Urban local bodies go to polls in Karnataka amid coalition crisis

Polling was held to a total of 209 urban local bodies in Karnataka yesterday amid the crisis gripping the ruling coalition in the State over the transfer of power from the JD (S) to the BJP.

The coalition partners JD (S) and BJP were pitted against the Opposition Congress in a triangular contest for 7 City Corporations, 44 City Municipal Councils, 93 Town Municipalities and 65 Town Panchayats.

Though the polling, in which more nine million voters were expected to exercise their franchise, was reported to be moderate, protests over missing of names in the voters’ list and minor skirmishes between rival party supporters were reported from different parts of the state like Kolar, Raichur and Mysore.

Trouble was also reported from Bellary, where JD (S) supporters allegedly threw stones on a vehicle in which Tourism Minister B Sriramulu and BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy were travelling.

The results of the election, scheduled to be declared on Sunday, will, however, be keenly awaited in the light of the uncertainty over the transfer of power in Karnataka.

According to political observers, JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, who is reluctant to hand over power to the BJP on October 3 as scheduled, may well prefer mid-term polls if his party fares well and the BJP does not. Even if BJP does well, Gowda is expected to bargain for a Lion’s share for his party in the coalition before handing over the mantle.

Gowda, who announced the suspension of talks on transfer of power to BJP in the wake of Tourism Minister Sriramulu’s attempt to murder complaint against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, has already welcomed mid-term polls to the State during a press conference he convened on Thursday.

“All the parties are talking about mid-term polls. Let it come. Even the media will be happy”, he had replied to a question.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy has denied that he would step down on October 3 to pave the way for its coalition partner BJP to assume the mantle of Chief Minister.

“I never said that I would be demitting office on October 3 as reported in a section of the media”, Kumaraswamy told reporters at his home office Krishna in Bangalore yesterday. A meeting of JD (S) legislators had been convened on Sunday and a decision will be taken only after the meeting, the Chief Minister clarified.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is tipped to become the Chief Minister, said he hoped Kumaraswamy will “reciprocate” the BJP’s gesture to support him for the past 20 months.

“In the last 20 months, the BJP has extended Kumaraswamy the fullest support. I hope he shows me the same gesture in coming 20 months”, Yediyurappa said.

Expressing optimism that the JD (S) will hand over power, Yediyurappa said he will meet Kumaraswamy and Gowda shortly and discuss the matter with them.

Karnataka coalition plunges into crisis

The ruling JD (S)-BJP coalition in Karnataka has plunged in a crisis in the wake of a BJP Minister accusing Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy of conspiring to kill him.

With the serious charge against the Chief Minister coming less than a week before the scheduled transfer of power from the JD (S) to the BJP on October 3, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda abruptly called off his meeting with BJP’s national leaders in New Delhi and returned to Bangalore yesterday.

Addressing a hurriedly convened press conference in the party office in Bangalore, Gowda announced the suspension of talks between JD (S) and BJP for the transfer of power.

“The atmosphere is not congenial for holding talks on the transfer of power now”, Gowda said after coming down heavily on Tourism Minister B Sriramulu for filing a police complaint against the Chief Minister for conspiring to kill him.

Gowda expressed his disappointment with the BJP leadership in Karnataka for standing by the Tourism Minister. “Despite knowing that their party’s Minister was making wild allegations against the Chief Minister, they have written a letter to the Election Commission seeking the transfer of the Superintendent of Bellary for misbehaving with Sriramulu when he went to lodge a police complaint”, Gowda said.

When asked whether transfer of power to BJP will take place as scheduled on October 3, Gowda refused to give a direct answer and said the matter was before the BJP. “The ball is in their court now”, he said.

Gowda was upset with the party’s national leadership for remaining a mute spectator to the continued harassment of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is also his son. He recalled the corruption charges filed against the Chief Minister by BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy, who alleged that Kumaraswamy had been paid a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion for illegal mining in Bellary district.

Gowda admitted that he had been New Delhi on Wednesday to meet BJP’s national President Rajnath Singh, but returned after the recent developments. “I was upset. In such a situation, I felt there is no meaning in meeting Rajnath Singh or any other leader to discuss the transfer of power”, Gowda said.

Meanwhile, BJP leadership remains confident that Kumaraswamy will hand over the baton to Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa as scheduled.

BJP’s state President Sadanand Gowda told reporters that there was no need to link the controversy arising out of Sriramulu’s allegation to transfer of power.

Nevertheless, the BJP has convened a meeting of its MLAs in Bangalore on Monday and called upon the JD (S) leadership to convene a meeting of the co-ordination committee to sort out the dispute over Sriramulu’s allegations.

Tickets sold out for India’s first ODI with Australia in Bangalore

The tickets for the first match of one-day international series between India and Australia scheduled in Bangalore on September 29 were sold out within hours after the sale began.

India’s good performance in the T20 cricket world cup in South Africa had apparently fuelled the sale of tickets.

The fans had begun gathering outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Sunday evening, much before the counters opened on Monday morning. By afternoon, an estimated 12,000 tickets for the general public were sold and the authorities had to display the “Tickets Sold Out” board.

Though tickets for one-day internationals are normally sold out fast, the tickets for the September 29 match between India and Australia were taken away in quick time, thanks to the Indian team’s performance in the T20 world cup, a KSCA official said.

Meanwhile, the Bangalore police is bracing itself to provide the necessary security to the Indian cricket team when it arrives in the City for the one-day tie with Australia. “We will be ready. We expect large crowds at the airport, at the hotel and at the stadium as the people will be eager to new champions”, a police official said.

A hero’s welcome awaits the captain of the triumphant T20 cricket team Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Bangalore, given the excitement in the City over India’s thrilling victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 world cup finals at Johannesburg on Monday.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is himself a cricket enthusiast, has announced a cash prize of Rs 500,000 each to batsman Robin Uthappa and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad.

Kumaraswamy apprehensive of BJP rule in Karnataka

Expressing concern over the recent violent incidents in Bangalore involving suspected Sangh Parivar activists, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he is haunted by the prospect of handing over power to the BJP, which exploits religious sentiments of the people.

Claiming that police reports had established that Sangh Parivar activists were involved in not only the attack on the residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s daughter, but also the torching of a Chennai-bound bus, Kumaraswamy said he was now being forced to think twice before passing on the mantle to the BJP as per the power-sharing agreement.

Kumaraswamy’s apprehensions over BJP rule assume significance as they have been aired barely ten days before the scheduled transfer of power from the JD (S) to BJP on October 3.

Speaking to reporters in Davangere, Kumaraswamy came down heavily on the Sangh Parivar outfits for resorting to violence over the Sethusamudram project. “The project was not an issue concerning the people of Karnataka and the statement made by a politician of another state should not be opposed in such a manner”, he added.

He said the JD (S) had entered into an alliance with the BJP under certain circumstances to form a Government. “This does not mean our party will tolerate communal fanaticism”, the Chief Minister clarified.

However, Kumaraswamy said he would stick to his commitment and hand over the reins of power to the BJP on the condition that the saffron party ensures that such incidents don’t recur.

Meanwhile, participating in an Iftar party in Shimoga, the Chief Minister lashed out at the BJP’s Hindutva-based politics and called upon the minorities to support the JD (S) so that the party can solve the festering dispute over the shrine of Bababudangiri.

Referring to the BJP’s communal politics, Kumaraswamy said that everybody knows that the BJP is trying to create unrest in the society by raising the Datta Peetha issue every year. “They are deriving political mileage out of it. Support the JD (S) and help us solve the dispute just as we solved the Hubli Eidgah Maidan dispute”, Kumaraswamy said.

“If the BJP is really concerned about Rama Sethu, let them build bridges between people of different communities instead of dividing them”, he remarked.

Bangalore Police arrests 11 Sangh Parivar activists

The City police has arrested eleven Sangh Parivar activists for their involvement in the attack on the residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s daughter in Bangalore and the torching of a Chennai-bound bus.

Police said the suspects, who are now in police custody, first attacked Karunanidhi’s daughter Selvi’s house at J P Nagar in Bangalore and later travelled five kilometers east to the Bangalore-Hosur highway, where they waylaid a Chennai-bound bus, smashed its windscreens with clubs and set it on fire. Two passengers of the bus, who could not alight in time, were charred to death.

Police said the group comprised about 15 activists of the Sangh Parivar organizations represented by Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Sri Rama Sena. The suspects include residents of not only Bangalore, but also Dakshina Kannada and Chikmagalur districts.

The suspects had been apprehended on the basis of information given by eye-witnesses and others rounded up for questioning. The Sangh Parivar activists had carried out the attacks to protest against Karunanidhi’s remarks on Ram in the midst of the controversy over the Sethusamudram project.

Meanwhile, Karnataka has assured Tamil Nadu Government that the persons arrested by the Bangalore police and identified as Sangh Parivar activists would be dealt with seriously.

Karnataka’s Minister for Home M P Prakash told reporters that the police has been instructed by the Government to investigate the case thoroughly. “The police has been told that they are at a liberty to take serious action and there will be no interference from the Government whatsoever”, Prakash said.

Prakash said he was also in touch with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Federal Home Minister Shivaraj Patil on the steps being taken by the Bangalore police.

Meanwhile, the BJP, which is scheduled to take over the post of Chief Minister from H D Kumaraswamy on October 3, claimed that its frontal organizations were not involved in either torching of the bus or the attack on the house of Karunanidhi’s daughter.

BJP spokesman Suresh Kumar told reporters in Bangalore that chiefs of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishat had denied their role in the incidents. “These organizations would never indulge in inhuman activities like torching of the bus, which has led to the death of two persons”, Suresh Kumar said.

Indian army to promote Siachen as tourist spot

Siachen glacier, which had become the world’s highest battleground, will be now be converted into a tourist spot and thrown open to the tourists and general public.

This was disclosed by Chief of Indian Army Staff General J J Singh during his visit to Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre at Belgaum in Karnataka. The icy heights of Siachen glacier, situated in the Himalayan mountain ranges along the Indo-Pak border, will be thrown open to the public to promote of adventure tourism in the region.

“Tourists, especially trekkers will enjoy the snow covered Siachen and its natural beauty. Let the world see it as a part of our country’s heritage and beauty”, Singh said.

The Indian Army, which controls the 72-km Siachen glacier, has set up an information camp at the base to provide details on various sight-seeing spots, trekking routes and adventure spots for the benefit of visitors.

A group of 20, including eight to nine civilians and cadets from NCC, Rashtriya Indian Military College and Indian Military Academy, will be part of the first trekking trip to Siachen, beginning September 19. "The group will acclimatise and train at Leh for 10 days before they are sent to the Siachen base camp for further training. Thereafter, they will trek, through heights varying between 14,000-feet and 16,000-feet, to reach the forward Kumar Post," said an officer.

Army sources said the ceasefire between India and Pakistan has made it possible for the Indian Army to initiate steps to convert Siachen into a tourist spot. However, the trekking expeditions will be carefully vetted and allowed only on a limited scale.

Bus falls into well in Belgaum, 10 killed

Ten persons were killed and twenty others were injured when a state-owned bus lost control and fell into an open well at Parthanahalli village in Belgaum district’s Athani taluk on Saturday.

Police said the tragedy took place when the speeding Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus hit a boulder lying on the road before losing control and plunging into an open well by the roadside.

The ill-fated bus was carrying about 50 passengers, including children, before it fell into the well located barely a few feet away from the road. Though a few persons managed to come out of the drowning bus through its windows and door and swim to safety, the locals rushed to the spot managed to free save at least 10 passengers of the bus.

The authorities had to deploy a crane and other equipments to extricate the bus from the well, which was about 30 feet deep.

A majority of the twenty persons, who had been admitted to the Government hospital at Athani, had sufferred fractures in their hands and legs. A few had even sufferred head injuries.

According to a survivor, the bus was proceeding at a high speed when the mishap took place. “The bus hit a roadside boulder, flew a few feet in the air and fell into the well nearby. The driver was unable to control the bus after it hit the boulder”, the survivor said.

Most of the survivors said they managed to swim out of the drowning bus due to the presence of doors on both sides of the bus. Unlike most KSRTC buses, the buses plying in rural parts of Belgaum have doors on both sides.

While the conductor of the bus had been killed in the mishap, the driver was rescued and admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Air ambulances to offer emergency evacuation of patients in Bangalore

The helicopter division of Deccan Aviation has tied up with a leading private hospital in Bangalore to launch air ambulance service for emergency evacuation of patients.

The air ambulance service is expected to bring down the alarming rise in number of patients who die en-route to the hospital on the roads of Bangalore, which have become notorious for the traffic jams.

The air ambulance service launched jointly by Deccan Aviation and Apollo Hospitals in Bangalore will take just 30 minutes to respond to an emergency situation.

According to the Executive Director of Apollo Hospitals Sangita Reddy, the choppers will be fitted with oxygen cylinders and other medical paraphernalia, including a surgeon and paramedical staff, before they take off for medical evacuation. The air ambulances will land at the closest possible site to evacuate the patient. “The treatment can begin while the patient is in the hospital”, Ms Reddy said.

Ms Reddy laid emphasis on the “golden hour”, the first hour following the medical condition, for saving the life the patient. “Air lifting and medical evacuation can help save lives of accident victims and critically ill patients”, she said.

With the cost of medical evacuation ranging from Rs 100,000 to 200,000, depending on the distance to the hospital, or about Rs 75,000 per hour, Apollo Hospitals and Deccan Aviation are planning to rope in medical insurance companies to drive up the market.

Karnataka bans mobile phones for kids under 16

In an unprecedented move, the Government of Karnataka has decided to ban the use of mobile phones by children under the age of 16 years in schools and colleges.

Announcing the decision in Bangalore, Karnataka’s Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti said the Government had decided ban use of mobile phones by children as they harmed the physical and mental growth of children.

He said the mobile phones were a source of nuisance in the classrooms and instructions would be issued to the school authorities to confiscate them.

Pointing out that all institutions including Government and private, right upto pre university colleges, would be directed to implement the ban on use of mobile phones, Horatti said an appeal will also be to the parents not to purchase mobile phones for their children and prevent them from using it at home.

The teaching community in the State has already made out a case for banning use of mobile phones on campuses. “Mobile phones are a source of nuisance in educational institutions. Teachers have complained that the students played with their phones, listened to music and received calls in classrooms”, Horatti said.

Shopkeepers, handset manufacturers and telecom operators will be told to stop selling mobile phones to children under 16 years of age. Serious action will be initiated against persons found violating the ban, Horatti said.

Karnataka’s Health Minister Ashok, who was present during the press briefing, said “Use of mobile phones by growing children for long durations have adverse impact on brain, nervous system and ear. We have taken this decision on the advice of paediatricians. A circular will be issued in the regard shortly. Parents play an important role in enforcing this ban in the interest of their own children”.

Comprehensive guidelines for the ban will be formulated on consultation with the law department soon. “We will examine whether to authorize the police department to enforce the ban”, Ashok added.
The Government will also launch an extensive campaign through posters and other media to bring about awareness about the harmful effects of mobile phones on children’s health, Ashok said.

Veerappan’s wife to bring out a book on the slain bandit

Muthulakshmi, wife of the notorious jungle outlaw Veerappan is planning to bring out a book on her slain husband shortly.

Titled “Naan Arintha Veerappan” (The Veerappan I know), the book is expected to unravel the Veerappan made and destroyed by politicians of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “It will be a 400-page book with exclusive pictures”, Muthulakshmi told reporters.

Though she had slated the launch of the book for September 18, the third death anniversary of Veerappan, who was gunned down in an encounter by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Muthulakshmi said the book and already been completed, but is release had been slightly delayed.

The new book on Veerappan, authored by his own wife, will be published in not only Tamil and Kannada, but also Mayalayam and English.

When Muthulakshmi was asked whether the book would throw light on the best-kept secrets of Veerappan, including the abduction of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar and former Karnataka Minister Nagappa, the slain bandit’s wife sought to keep the suspense alive by claiming “Wait and Watch”.

However, Muthulakshmi is not the only person bringing out a book on Veerappan , who continues to fascinate people even three years after his terror-filled reign in the forests of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was cut short by the STF team in a meticulously executed operation on September 18, 2004.

Former Chief of Karnataka’s STF Shankar Bidri, whose operations against the bandit had brought down the number of persons in Veerappan’s gang to a handful, is also bringing out a book. “I have written nothing but the truth, which may be hard to digest”, he said. Shankar Bidri’s book will also contain some rare pictures.

Tamil Nadu’s Additional Director General of Police K Vijaykumar, who had led the successful operation against Veerappan in Paparapatti village in Dharmapuri on the fateful September 18, 2004, is racing against time to finish the yet-to-be-titled book.

Vijaykumar is understood to be piecing together a book on Veerappan using the many sensitive documents that had come into his possession during his stint as STF chief.

Books on Veerappan have been sold like hot cakes, particularly in South India. “Veerappan, the Untold Story” authored by Sunaad Raghuram and brought out by Penguin figured in the list of best-sellers.

Similiarly, former Karnataka Director General of Police C Dinakar’s controversial book “Veerappan’s prize catch: Rajkumar” had sold more than 250,000 copies within months after its release.

Seven arrested in Bangalore for mobile tower scam

Seven persons from New Delhi have been arrested in Bangalore on charges of cheating scores of people by claiming that they required their land for installing mobile phone towers of a leading telecommunication company.

The New Delhi-based gang had floated a bogus company, which had an office in Bangalore. A joint team of police from New Delhi and Bangalore raided the office and arrested seven of them.

The accused had issued advertisements in leading publications stating that they needed space for installing the mobile phone towers of a leading telecommunication company on rooftops, plots agricultural land. The advertisers offered to pay a monthly remuneration of Rs 20,000.

Scores of people from different parts of the State, particularly Bangalore, found the offer remunerative and responded to the advertisement by even paying an application fee of Rs 2,000.

The accused sent sanction orders with cheques, amounting to 240,000 as advance rent for one year. But, they asked the applicants to pay two months of the rent as deposit to encash the cheques they had received. Several gullible applicants fell for the bait and promptly paid a rent of two months, amounting to Rs 40,000, as deposit.

But, when they tried to encash the cheques, they were shocked to learn that their cheques had bounced, police said.

The victims of the fraud had launched complaints across several police stations in Karnataka, including Bangalore.

Realizing the gravity of the offence, Karnataka’s Director General of Police K R Srinivasan and Bangalore City Police Commissioner Neelam Achuta Rao instructed the central crime branch to investigate the matter.

The Bangalore police got in touch with the crime branch in New Delhi and exchanged valuable information pertaining to the accused, who had taken several people for a ride. The inter-state crime branch of New Delhi along with Bangalore police identified the office of the bogus company in Bangalore and arrested seven of them.

Poll aspirants appear for “eligibility” test

In a unique initiative, a citizens’ group conducted an eligibility test for politicians aspiring to contest the ensuing polls for the Mysore City Corporation.

About 80 persons aspiring to enter the electoral fray for the polls scheduled to be held on September 28 wrote the two-hour-long eligibility test conducted by Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) on Sunday.

However, the aspirants, who wrote the test, were by and large new faces to politics. Except for former Deputy Mayor Pushpavalli, no previously elected councillers appeared for the test, which focused on the civic problems facing Mysore City.

The poll aspirants, who wrote the test, welcomed the eligibility test. “I aspire to serve for the betterment of my City. It is hard to struggle against the political leaders to secure a party ticket. Hence, the eligibility test provides a good opportunity to genuine people”, an aspirant said.

But, many aspirants, who stayed away from the test, scoffed at the idea of the citizens’ group to hold an eligibility test. They not found the concept irritating, but also described it as “outrageous”. “How can they question our competence to contest the elections and serve the public”, questioned a counciller of the dissolved the civic body.

However, the test paper carried 100 marks and the candidates were asked to write about 100 words on one of the six topics concerning civic issues of Mysore. There was also a section on fill in the blanks, which sought to test the general knowledge of the candidates. The questions ranged from naming the President of India to Governor of Karnataka.

ACICM convener Lakshmana told reporters that the questions were simple and pertained to Mysore’s geography, history and the issues plaguing the City. “Our intention is to ascertain if the aspirants are duly qualified to redress the grievances of the public and whom the public can really vote”, he said.
He said ACICM would send the names of all the candidates, who appeared for the test along with their ranks to the parties from which they wished to contest.

Wadiyar wins KSCA polls

Scion of Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar has clinched the post of President of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) defeating retired test cricketer Gundappa Vishwanath in a keenly fought polls in Bangalore on Sunday.

Wadiyar polled 553 votes against his challenger Gundappa Vishwanath, who secured 529 votes in a much-hyped election.

However, Wadiyar’s pet-hate and former cricketer Brijesh Patel too has managed to retained the powerful post of KSCA Secretary. A number of Brijesh Patel’s supporters including former test cricketer Roger Binny, who bagged the post of Vice President, and Tallam Venkatesh, who won the treasurer’s post, have also emerged victorious in the polls.

After much mud-slinging was witnessed in the run-up to the polls, the spoils appeared to be more or less equally shared between the two groups and the victory margins remained slim for most winners.

The polling, which was held at Chinnaswamy stadium, witnessed a record turnout with as many as 1,082 members out of the 1,405 registered members casting their votes.
UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya and film star turned politician Ambarish too turned up for the polls and told reporters that they had cast their vote in favour of Wadiyar.

Crashed aircraft belonged to Kerala based jewellers

The six-seater aircraft that crashed into a dry lakebed in Bangalore on Saturday afternoon belonged to well-known jewellers group of Kerala Joy Alukkas.

All the four persons, who died in the mishap, were licensed pilots and they were taking the recently acquired Italian-made P-68C to Kochi to pick up the group chairman Joy Alukka to take him to Trivandrum to attend a function.

The aircraft was piloted by Flying Officer Santosh Kumar while Shanmugam was the co-pilot. The other two occupants of the aircraft Sunil Joseph and Mohammed Shabeer also held valid pilot licenses, police said.

The four had taken off with the aircraft from the Jakkur Flying Club Hangar fuelled it at the HAL airport in Bangalore and were headed for Kochi when the mishap took place. Within five minutes after taking off from HAL airport at 3.35 pm, the pilot had radioed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) about a technical snag and said the aircraft was returning immediately.

But, the ATC lost track of the aircraft and soon dispatched a helicopter to search for the plane, which had disappeared from the radar. But, the helicopter returned after ATC received a call from the police about the crash.

According eye-witnesses, the aircraft was spotted wobbling as it flew low over a school in Gowdanapalya area before it hit a palm tree and a water tank. Next, the aircraft plummeted and fell upside down in the lake bed. The aircraft’s front wheel got detached and fell on the terrace of a house in the vicinity. The crash site is barely a kilometer away from the residence of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in Padmanabhanagar.

The localites rushed to the spot managed to pull out Shanmugam, who was still breathing. Though Shanmugam was rushed to the hospital, he breathed his last en-route. Fire and Emergency services too reached the spot and shifted the bodies to Victoria Hospital.

A spokesman for Joy Alukkas said the plane had been purchased a couple of months ago to take the group chairman to its branches spread in different parts of the country. The aircraft had made occasional flights between Bangalore, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and other places, where Joy Alukkas has its outlets.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Fire Services) T Suneel Kumar told reporters that ATC and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials will inspect the crash site and procure the black box to determine the cause of the crash. However, Suneel Kumar said the crash was due to a technical snag. “But, we are yet to pin point it”, he said.

Small aircraft crashes in Bangalore, four killed

A six-seater aircraft crashed in a lake in Bangalore yesterday afternoon, killing all the four persons on board including the pilot.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bangalore, Alok Kumar, the Cochin-bound private aircraft had crashed into the slush in a lake at Gowdanapalya in Bangalore after hitting a water tank.

Soon after the Italian-made aircraft plunged into the lake, apparently to avoid crashing into the densely populated Gowdanapalya locality in Bangalore, locals rushed to spot and managed to pull out a grieviously hurt person, who later succumbed to the injuries at a hospital.

The bodies of three others, who had died on the spot, were later extricated from the wreckage. The dead persons have been identified as Santosh Kumar, Sunil Joshi, Mohammed Shabbir and Shanmugam.

Though a technical fault has been identified as the reason for the crash, the exact cause would be investigated by a team of officials from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Police and fire force personnel reached the spot and cordoned off the lake bed. Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore Urban Sadiq rushed to the spot to supervise the operation to pull out the aircraft’s wreckage from the slushy lake.

Salvage team from Holland begin operation to rescue tilted Chinese cargo vessel

A team of salvage experts from Holland, which arrived in the port city of Mangalore, began an operation yesterday to rescue the tilted Chinese cargo vessel, which is stranded about four nautical miles off the coast of Tannirbavi in Karnataka.

With 28 crew members on board, the iron ore-laden Chinese freighter Cheng Le Men had left the New Mangalore Port on Thursday only to begin tilting in the sea after sailing for barely a few kilometers.

After the rescue operations launched by the Coast Guard authorities with the help of tug boats were unable to pull the tilting ship to safety, salvage experts had to be summoned from Holland.

The eight-member team of experts called “Switzers”, who arrived in Mangalore on Friday, launched a rescue operation yesterday after holding discussions with the crew members inside the ship.

A decision to summon the salvage experts was taken after the ship, which was carrying 16,100 tonnes of iron ore to China, had tilted by four degrees more to slant at an angle of 16 degrees from its axis on Friday, causing concern among the sailors and the port authorities.

Even as the coast guard helicopters hovered over the tilting ship and the salvage experts began the rescue operation, Deputy Conservator of New Mangalore Port Trust K V Vaswani told reporters that there was no danger to the lives of the 28 crew members on board the Chinese ship in distress. “The ship is not drifting any further and there is no threat to the lives of the crew members”, he said.

According to port officials, the ship had begun tilting probably on account of its inability to bear the load of its merchandise. Faulty loading could also have worsened the situation.

One of the option before the salvage experts was to jettison the cargo on board and try to lower its centre of gravity in an effort to bring it on even keel, Vaswani said. The ship, which is stranded at a distance of about 1,400 metres from the shore, is laden with not only 1,400 tonnes of iron ore, but also 372 tonnes of furnace oil and 60 tonnes of diesel.

Meanwhile, the crew members led by Captain Yang Jing Mu had sent a message to the Coast Guard and the port authorities that they would not abandon the ship till all possible efforts are made to revive the ship. According to international maritime rules, the captain and the crew cannot abandon the ship till all hopes of reviving a sinking ship are given up.

The Chinese cargo vessel is stranded in the waters of Arabian sea off Tannirbavi coast barely half a kilometer away from the spot where the Eritrean ship Den Den sank about three months ago.

Notorious gangster gunned down by police

Dreaded gangster Pravin Shintre, who was wanted by the police in several cases of rape and murder, was killed in an encounter with the police in Belgaum yesterday.

The gangster had been arrested by a special team of policemen from a lodge in Udupi in the wee hours of Thursday and was brought to his rented accommodation in Belgaum, where Shintre had reportedly snatched a revolver and tried to fire at a policeman.

The police inspector, who escaped the shot, retaliated by opening fire at the gangster and killing him on the spot.

Karnataka’s Home Minister M P Prakash has justified the killing of Shintre in a police encounter. “He tried to escape and the police had to open fire at him, which led to his death”, Prakash told reporters in Bangalore.

Pravin Shintre had been on the run ever since there was a public outrage against the rape and murder of Sheetal Chougale, the wife of a prominent contractor Ravindra Chougale in a contract killing.

After eluding the police for several weeks, Shintre was finally arrested at a lodge in Udupi in the early hours of Thursday. Police said Shintre had made an attempt to escape from the clutches of the police when he was being brought to Belgaum. But, his efforts were foiled.

After reaching Belgaum, Shintre was taken to Rajdeep bungalow, his rented accommodation, where the gangster and his henchmen had carried out a series of rapes and murders. The shoot-out had taken place the same bungalow, police said.

Police said Shintre was wanted in a total of 38 criminal cases, including rape and murder. Shintre and his gang is accused of murdering at least seven people in the bungalow in the last few weeks and thrown their bodies in the river that flows behind the bungalow.

A host of women’s organizations in Belgaum had launched an agitation seeking the arrest of Shintre. Hundreds of women had taken to the streets in Belgaum last Friday, enforcing a dawn to dusk shutdown of the town to build pressure on the police to nab the elusive gangster and his henchmen for their inhuman crimes.
The failure of the police to bring Shintre to book had even taken a political colour with the Opposition Congress party accusing the Government of shielding the notorious gangster.

Mishap near Bababudangiri hills claims nine lives

Nine persons were killed and 28 others were injured when a private bus carrying them tumbled down a 200 feet gorge near the disputed hill shrine of Bababudangiri in Karnataka’s Chikmagalur district.

Police said the mishap took place when the private bus, carrying around 40 passengers, was returning to Chikmagalur town from Bababudangiri on Wednesday. The bus slipped into the gorge while yielding way to another vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

Six persons died on the spot and the remaining three breathed their last at the Government hospital in Chikmagalur district. Residents of nearby villages rushed to the accident spot and transported the injured persons to the hospitals. Three seriously injured persons have been rushed to a private hospital in Bangalore.

Police said the deceased persons included a tourist from Bihar. A majority of the passengers of the ill-fated bus were tourists, including fakirs from Ajmer. Out of the nine persons, who died in the mishap, two were women from Chikmagalur.

The police had a tough time extricating the dead bodies from the mangled remains of the private bus, which had tumbled down the 200 feet gorge. The private bus was no more than a mass of twisted metal after came to a halt at Kavikalagundi about 20 kms from Chikmagalur.

India to have satellite navigation by 2012

A constellation of seven satellites will be positioned in space by 2012 to meet the navigational requirements of cars, trains and aircraft in India, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair said.

The Rs 16 billion Indian Regional Navigation System (IRNS) is designed to inform drivers of cars, trucks and buses about their precise location in the country and also guide them along the network of highways supported by the Global Positioning System (GPS). The navigation system will also help train drivers and pilots.

“Design of the satellites is more or less complete. We are in the process of building the first proto model”, said Nair on the sidelines of prestigious second meeting of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems being held in Bangalore.

The launch of the first among the seven satellites is scheduled around 2010. “We should be able to complete all the satellites by 2012”, he said. All the seven satellites will be geo-stationary, which means they will be stationary in relation to any point on earth. “They would be positioned in space above India to provide an all-country coverage”, he said.

According to ISRO’s Deputy Director S Pal, the IRNS aims to provide an accuracy of 20 metres.

Though the GPS of the United States, which has a constellation of 24 orbiting satellites, has a global coverage, the Indian Regional Navigation System will be confined to cover India. “Seven such satellites are adequate to provide all-India coverage”, he said.

When the entire constellation of seven satellites is in space, a positional accuracy similar to GPS will be provided for 2,000 kms across the country, the ISRO official said.

INSAT-4CR to become operational in a month’s time – Madhavan Nair

India’s latest communication satellite INSAT-4CR that was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Sunday will become operational in a month’s time, according to Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the second meeting of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems in Bangalore yesterday, Nair said the orbit raising process of INSAT-4CR would be carried out on Wednesday and the satellite will become operational in a month’s time.

“Tomorrow, we will carry out the orbit raising process and within a month the satellite will be operational”, Nair said.

Meanwhile, ISRO said in a press statement that the first orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-4CR was carried out by firing 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor on board the satellite for a duration of 27 minutes by commanding the satellite from the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka.

“With this operation, the perigree (nearest point to earth) of INSAT-4CR has been raised to 2,983 kms and the apogee (the farthest point to earth) to 31,702 kms. The inclination of the orbit with respect to the equatorial plane has been reduced to 11.1 degrees”, ISRO said. All systems on board the satellite are functioning normally, the statement added.

The INSAT-4CR carries 12 high-power Ku-and transponders designed to provide communication services such as Direct-To-Home (DTH) television services, Video Picture Transmission and Digital Satellite News gathering.

The satellite is designed for a mission life of ten years. Once the satellite becomes operational, 40 DTH transponders will be available for use by the existing DTH players.

The DTH players, who were facing a shortage of transponders, will now be able to carry 520-600 channels. A transponder is a device fitted on a satellite that receives, amplifies and re-transmits television or communication signals back to earth. Each transponder can carry 12 to 15 channels, according to ISRO officials.

Hyderabad blast suspects in Bangalore for narco analysis

Two persons suspected to be involved in the August 25 blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Park in Hyderabad have been brought to Bangalore for narco analysis tests.

A special investigation team of the Hyderabad police brought Imran and Rafiq to Bangalore and subjected them to brain-mapping tests at the Forensic Sciences Laboratory here. The duo is scheduled to undergo narco analysis and other forensic tests at the laboratory before being taken back to Hyderabad, according to sources in Bangalore City police.

Meanwhile, another police team from Hyderabad is also in Bangalore, apparently looking for a Bangladeshi national who bears a striking resemblance with the sketch of the twin blasts suspect released by Andhra Pradesh police.

The team is trying to trace a person named Rizwan Gazi, the brother of Rafsanjani, a Bangladeshi woman arrested in Hyderabad for travelling without valid documents.
The police team arrived in Bangalore after the woman told them during interrogation that she had received a call from Bangalore made by her brother Rizwan Gazi.

Though Rizwan too had been staying in Hyderabad for the last six years, he had apparently left for Bangalore after the August 25 explosions. The police team had seized the ration card, driving license and other documents obtained by Rizwan by giving different addresses.

After reaching Bangalore, the Hyderabad police is learnt to have to have picked up a woman from a house in Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore in the connection, but could not trace Rizwan. Though Rizwan’s face bears a resemblance to the sketch released by the Andhra Pradesh police, his involvement in the blasts is yet to be established.

Poachers luring elephants to swallow bombs – Forest cell police

The Forest cell of Karnataka police has stumbled upon evidence of poachers luring elephants to swallow bombs concealed in their food with a view to killing them.

According to Superintendent of Karnataka police’s Crime Investigation Department (Forest Cell) S D Jawaharlal, the post mortem report of at least two elephants, who were found dead under mysterious circumstances in the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary, had revealed that the jumbos had chewed explosives that had exploded in their oral cavity.

“Both the elephants might have consumed explosives hidden inside ragi flour balls. It appears to be an act of poachers”, Jawaharlal told reporters.

The post-mortem reports of the two elephants is part of a larger inquiry by the Forest Cell of the police department into the death of 16 elephants in Bandipur and adjoining Nagarhole national park between June 2006 and June 2007.

The revelations of the post mortem report have come as a shock to wildlife conservationists, who had expressed concern over the increasing number of elephant deaths reported in the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary situated on the Karnataka-Kerala border.

Though studies on elephant killings across the country have documented the death of the jumbos by shooting, poisoning and electrocution, besides spearing in a few tribal dominated states, the gruesome method of killing elephants for their valuable ivory by hiding explosives in its food has emerged as a new and growing phenomenon in South India.

According to Forest Cell officials, the poachers pack explosives in ragi flour balls, jackfruit, fodder and other edibles in the forest regions on the Karnataka-Kerala border. “When the elephant bites the bait, it triggers an explosion maiming the animal, which dies a painful death”, an official said.

The post mortem report on the death of one of the two elephants states “severe injuries with scuffing of lower lips, tongue, tissues of buckle cavity, multiple fracture of mandible and cranial bones” and adds that the jumbo had “chewed the concealed explosives that had exploded in its oral cavity”.

Inspector General of Police of Crime Investigation Department (Forest Cell) K S N Chikkerur said the police was suspecting the involvement of inter-state poachers in the killing of elephants with the use of explosives concealed in its food.

Gowda appoints Merajuddin as party chief ahead of transfer of power

Ahead of the scheduled transfer of power from the JD (S) to BJP in Karnataka, former Prime Minister and JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda has sought to exhibit his secular credentials by appointing a Muslim leader Merajuddin Patel as the President of the party’s state unit.

The appointment of Merajuddin Patel, an MLA from Humnabad in Bidar district, as the President of JD (S) Karnataka unit in place of Home Minister M P Prakash is seen a strategy by Gowda to woo minorities, who had drifted away from the party after its alliance with BJP.

Announcing Merajuddin Patel as the new party President in Karnataka at a convention of minorities at the party office in Bangalore, Gowda issued a veiled threat to the BJP by stating that his party will not allow the coalition Government to continue if the interests of minorities are not protected.

Pointing out that millions of Muslims reside in India, Gowda said neither the Federal Government nor the State Governments could function by ignoring the interests of such a large section of the society. “I will not hesitate to pull down the Government that works against the interests of minorities. I will not compromise on that front”, Gowda said.

Gowda said that Home Minister M P Prakash, who was holding additional charge as the President of the party’s state unit, had been pleading with the leadership to relieve him of one of the two posts, as he was unable to concentrate on both. But, the party was waiting for an appropriate time to concede his request.

“I have now decided to bestow the responsibility on Merajuddin Patel with the consent of Prakash”, Gowda said. Calling upon Merajuddin Patel to organize the party with new vigour, Gowda said “you have our full support in preparing the JD (S) for the political battles ahead. You have the blessings of Allah”, he told in front of the gathering at the convention of minorities.

Merajuddin Patel, who has a task cut out, expressed confidence of winning the hearts of minorities and building the party as an effective alternative to the Congress and BJP.

The distancing of the minorities from the JD (S) after its tie-up with the BJP in January 2006 had come as a big blow to the party. The JD (S) was unable to garner enough votes during by-elections to Chamundeshwari and Ullal assembly constituencies and lost both the polls to the Congress.

ISRO official succumbs to injuries

Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Director for Public Relations and Publications S Krishnamurthy, who was seriously hurt in a road accident last week, succumbed to the injuries at a private hospital in Tirupati.

ISRO sources said Krishnamurthy, 57, had sufferred serious multiple injuries when the car in which he was travelling had hit a stationary truck near the temple town of Tirupati on August 24. He died at Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences in Tirupati on Saturday due to the complications arising from his multiple injuries.

Krishnamurthy’s death comes a day ahead of the scheduled launch of INSAT-4CR, India’s latest communication satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Incidentally, Krishnamurthy was proceeding to Sriharikota on the fateful August 24 night along with scientific secretary to ISRO Rajeev Lochan when the mishap took place. Lochan and the car driver Chandran were killed on the spot in the accident.

An electronics engineering, Krishnamurthy had joined the ISRO in 1972 and rose to become the Director of Public Relations and Publicity in 1989. He had been serving in that position for the last 18 years. Krishnamurthy’s body was brought to Bangalore yesterday for the last rites.

Little known statute offers reward for hunting animals in Karnataka

Even as the nation’s attention is riveted on legal battles the brawny film star Salman Khan is facing for killing a blackbuck in the forests of Rajasthan, the existence of a little-known statute in Karnataka that actually provides for rewards to people hunting animals has aroused the ire of wildlife activists and forest department officials.

According to a statute in the Manual of Contingent Expenditure 1958, which exists in the records of Government of Karnataka, killing of wild animals is not a crime, but a symbol of bravery, which entitles a person hunting animals to a reward money starting from Rs 2 to Rs 500.

The statute also allows the hunter, if he wishes, to keep the skin, nails, claws or any other body parts. Surprisingly, the statute in the Manual of Contingent Expenditure exists in contradiction to the Indian Wildlife Act 1972, which prohibits killing of wild animals.

Karnataka’s Principal Conservator of Forests A K Varma is planning to take up the matter seriously. “I will take suitable initiative against the Manual of Contingent Expenditure 1958”, he said. Wildlife activists and environmentalists are also planning to bring pressure on the authorities for deletion of the statute from the Manual.

Former public prosecutor Bagalahalli Vishweshwara said the statute could have become part of the Manual of Contingent Expenditure to curb wild animal menace. “Unfortunately, it is an archaic rule, which interestingly continues to exist even there is a ban on killing of wild animals. This should be deleted from the Manual of Contingent Expenditure immediately”, he opined.

The Manual prescribes reward money of Rs 2 for killing a wild pig, Rs 5 for a hyena, Rs 10 for a wolf, Rs 35 for a tiger and Rs 500 for an elephant. Applicants should produce untanned skin, teeth and claws of the killed animal along with his application to the Tahsildar or the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner, on the basis of risk and bravery displayed by the hunter, will decide the exact reward money.

Women force shutdown in Belgaum

Routine life came to a grinding halt in Belgaum yesterday as angry women activists took to the streets to build pressure on the police authorities to bring to book a dreaded gangster, who is accused of scripting a series of rapes and murder of women.

Shops and business establishments remained closed as the women marched through the streets of Belgaum in large numbers enforcing a dawn to dusk shutdown to protest the police inaction against tracing the gangster Pravin Shintre and his henchmen, who are still at large.

Pravin Shintre, who is also a politician, is accused in the sensational murder of Sheetal Chougale and Raziya Badebhai, which had kicked up a public outcry in Belgaum recently.

Sheetal Chougale, wife of a prominent contractor Ravindra Chougale, is alleged to have raped and killed by the members of the notorious gang at the behest of Chougale in a contract killing. Shintre’s gang is also suspected in the murder of Raziya Badebhai, a teacher in an Urdu primary.

A host of women’s organizations including Maratha Mandal and Priyadarshina Mahila Sangha, who had been organizing protests and road blockades in Belgaum since the murder of Sheetal Chougale came to light in the second week of August, called for a shutdown on Friday and took out a protest march through the streets of the town.

Though the police have arrested Ravindra Chougale and claim that a manhunt has been launched to nab Shintre and his gang members, the women’s organizations have accused the police of looking the other way on account of Shintre’s political connections.

The women’s activists have also been demanding the police to hand over to them Ravindra Chougale. “Hand over Ravindra Chougale to us in the same manner he had thrown his wife Sheetal to the jackals of Shintre’s gang. We will do justice to him”, said a woman activist, who had gathered at Rani Chennamma circle for a protest march. “Every woman in Belgaum is feeling insecure after Sheetal and Raziya murders came to light”, she said.

The women’s organizations went ahead with their decision to observe a shutdown in Belgaum despite an assurance by Belgaum’s Superintendent of Police Hemant Nimbalkar that the police will arrest Shintre. “We have already arrested five members of his gang. We will nab him as well as the remaining members soon”, Nimbalkar said. But, the women’s organizations paid no heed to his pleas to withdraw the shutdown call.