Regional

Bengaluru, Sep 7 (IANS) In a setback to the ruling BJP, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday asked the special court for MP/MLAs to reconsider the corruption case against former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, recently nominated to the highest decision-making bodies of the BJP, the Central Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee.

The bench, headed by Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav, gave the order in connection with a petition filed by social activist T.J. Abraham demanding a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) against Yediyurappa and his family members.

The petition alleged that misusing power during his tenure as Chief Minister, Yediyurappa and his family members had received bribes to the tune of hundreds of crores from Ramalingam Construction Company for giving it contracts for housing projects of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA).

The special court has dismissed the private complaint against Yediyurappa and others for not taking prior consent of the Governor. The High Court has set aside this order and directed the lower court to reconsider the decision.

The petition has made Yediyurappa's son and BJP Vice President B.Y. Vijayendra, son-in-law Virupakshappa Yamakanamaradi, Yediyurappa's daughter's son-in-law, Chandrakanth Ramalingam, Co-operation Minister S.T. Somashekar, IAS officer Dr G.C. Prakash and others as parties in the corruption case.

The bench further stated that the special court will take a call on the registration of the FIR and probe. The case was registered with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC on November 11, 2020.

The decision of the court may prove a setback for Yediyurappa is gearing up to lead the BJP in Karnakata in the run-up to the upcoming Assembly elections.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 7 (IANS) The Madras High Court's Madurai bench has directed the Tamil Nadu government to give proper counselling to teenage sexual offenders.

Calling on the state government to set up a mechanism wherein counselling is given to teenagers involved in sexual offenses, a division bench of Justices J. Nisha Banu and N. Anand Venkatesh observed that the government must ensure that such efforts are undertaken or else the teenage first-time offenders have a chance of turning into hardened criminals.

The court said that the children would then lose their entire lives and said that the government must not allow such a scenario to happen.

The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a person who sought the quashing of the detention order passed by the Virudhunagar District Collector against his 18-year-old son in 2021.

The Collector had passed the detention orders against the teenager holding that he was a sexual offender and the petitioner sought a direction from the court to set his son free and at his liberty.

Setting aside the detention order, the court said that technology was posing a great challenge and was impacting the minds of teenagers, as it observed that the detenu was an 18-year-old and his co-accused, a minor girl.

It said that teenagers are easily falling prey to pornographic content through mobile phones and their minds are polluted and confused. It also observed that they do things without understanding their consequences, and once these teenagers are arrested and put in prison, the government must develop mechanisms and efforts must be taken to attend to their mental perversions.

It also stressed that the purpose of confining a teenager to prison is not to abandon him and throw him out of the mainstream of society.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 7 (IANS) AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday claimed that 10 MLAs of the ruling DMK were in touch with his camp to switch sides to the AIADMK, but denied rumours that his party were switching sides.

Terming the DMK as a family-run political party, he said that it was functioning like a corporate company and said that there was no respect in that party for the cadres and leaders. The AIADMK leader said that while Udayanidhi Stalin was just an MLA, he was being invited for all inaugurations while a mayor is not given adequate respect.

Referring to the CB-CID team reaching AIADMK headquarters on Wednesday to conduct investigation on the July 11 clashes, Palaniswami said that the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu has touched its lowest ebb and that the CB-CID reached party headquarters only after he had approached the court for the same.

He also ruled out any possibility of V.K. Sasikala and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran coming back to the party fold, saying that AIADMK cadres do not want them.

--IANS
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Kochi, Sep 7 (IANS) A Kerala fisherman, returning after catching fish on Wednesday, was shot on his ear, police said.

Sebastian, along with his fishing mates, was in the boat nearing the shore when the incident occurred.

"I felt someone was slapping me in my ear. Soon my friend said that I am bleeding. I had no clue of what was happening. I was then taken to a hospital. Am told there are five stitches," he said.

The incident occurred close to the Cochin Naval Base and the fishermen allege that firing took place from the naval compound.

But the Navy officials flatly denied this and said that the official spokesperson will be issuing a statement.

A .2 mm bullet has been recovered from the boat and ballistic experts will analyse this, said the Coastal Police, which has started a probe into the incident.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Sep 7 (IANS) Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday stated that the Karnataka government has prepared a rain damage estimate and urged the Central government to release a fair compensation.

He held a meeting with the central team led by Joint Secretary, Union Home Ministry Ashish Kumar, which arrived here this morning to study the flood situation.

The team was asked to take a stock of flood situation in Bengaluru city, neighbouring Mandya and Ramanagar districts.

CM Bommai also provided inputs on the extensive damage caused due to floods in July, August and the current month. The team members were also briefed on relief measures taken up by the state government.

The central team is scheduled to visit Chitradurga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Haveri, Dharwad, Gadag, Bidar and Kalaburgi districts districts which have seen floods due to excessive rains.

CM Bommai suggested them also to visit Kodagu, Dakshina Kannad and Uttara Kannada districts that witnessed the massive landslide, sea erosion and other damage.

Bommai informed the team that this time, a large number of fishing boats, shops and other business establishments had been damaged. In Ramanagar, silk reeling unit and twisting units too have suffered damage.

This kind of damage has happened for the first time. It has impacted lives of people. The team must try to extend the maximum help on the humanitarian ground, he demanded.

He said Karnataka has a coastal area of 330 km and works worth Rs 350 crore have been taken up to prevent the sea erosion in several sensitive places. But, the erosion has happened in the new spots. The central government assistance is required for the protection of complete coastal region.

"The North-Karnataka region too faced unprecedented floods in districts like Kalaburgi, Gadag, Bidar and Koppal. In fact, the state has been receiving intermittent rains since November last year and there is a need to undertake a study of the rain pattern in the state.

Almost all the tanks are full and overflowing. Many tanks have breached and caused floods. This situation was quite contrast to the floods caused by overflowing rivers," he explained.

The CM said rains have been pouring since last one week causing severe damage in Bengaluru, Ramanagar, Mandya and other districts.

A proposal regarding the damages caused in the last one week would be submitted immediately.

The central team comprises of Mahesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Bhavya Pandey, Assistant Director, Department of Energy, Ashok Kumar from Ministry of Jalshakthi, V.V.Shastri, Executive Engineer, Union Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways.

Dr K.Manoharan from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and S.B.Tiwari, Under Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development.

Ministers Govind Karjol, C.C. Patil, B.C.Patil, Araga Jnanendra, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma were also present in the meeting.

--IANS
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Bhopal, Sep 7 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh Congress will organise a 'Sarvadharm Prarthana Sabha' at Bhopal's New Market area to extend support to the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

On this occasion, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary Rajiv Singh appealed to the party leader and workers to assemble in the area for the 'prarthana sabha (prayers meet)'. Dignitaries associated with all religions have also been invited to participate in the meet at 4.30 p.m.

During the prayer meet, the MPCC has set up a big screen for the live telecast of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Besides, various programmes have been prepared for this occasion at the party's district offices across the state, Rajiv Singh told IANS.

With an eye on the 2024 general elections, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will launch the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari this evening. The 3,500 kilometre-long-yatra will be covered in nearly 150 days.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi paid tribute at the memorial of his late father Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur, where the former Prime Minister was killed in a suicide attack on May 21, 1991.

After visiting his father's memorial, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too. Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome."

Gandhi will attend an event at Kanyakumari's Mahatma Gandhi Mandapam in the evening where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will hand over the national flag to him for the yatra launch.

The 3,500 kilometre-long-yatra, dubbed by the Congress as the "longest march" organised in the country over the last century, will be launched at around 5 p.m. with a rally, and the 'padyatra' or foot march will begin from Thursday morning.

--IANS
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Kanpur, Sep 7 (IANS) A PhD student in IIT-Kanpur ended his life by suicide on the campus, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when a student informed the security personnel that Prashant Singh's room was locked from inside and he was not responding to knocks.

The institute's administrators forcibly opened the door and found Prasant Singh hanging from the ceiling with the help of a bedsheet.

He was rushed to the health centre of the Institute, where the on-call physician pronounced him dead.

The police and the forensic team were called in and the student's family was also informed about the incident. The student's body has been kept in the mortuary of the Hallet hospital.

In a release, the staff and students of IIT-K have condoled the demise of the student who had outstanding academic qualifications.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 7 (IANS) The Kerala Police on Wednesday said that the kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy from his house near Kollam, was carried out on the behest of a relative to recover Rs one million loaned to the family.

The incident occurred on Monday evening when a nine-member gang from neighbouring Tamil Nadu executed the crime.

According to police, the gang had arrived two days ago and conducted a recc of the place and the movements of the family members.

On Monday late evening, when the boy's parents had gone out, the gang forcefully took him away but not before assaulting a boy who resisted the crime.

The boy's home is located about 70 kms from the state capital and the gang travelled in a car and travelled with the boy to the Tamil Nadu border.

But on being alerted, the Kerala police swung into action and outsmarted the gang when they were just 100 metres away from the neighbouring state.

In the standoff with the kidnappers, the police managed to take into custody the kingpin of the gang who hails from Tamil Nadu.

The boy was found unconscious as he was sedated.

During interrogation, the gang leader revealed that the boy's family had taken a loan of Rs one million from one of their relatives.

Despite several requests, the boy's father failed to return the money and a gang was entrusted to kidnap the boy and were promised Rs one lakh for it.

The person in custody said they were asked to bring the boy to Marthandam near Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu to be handed over to the "relative" who would have demanded the money back.

The car used for commissioning the crime has been seized and a manhunt has been launched to nab the other members of the gang.

Of the nine, only one person is from Kerala.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Sep 7 (IANS) The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted continuous rainfall in Bengaluru for next five days. Yellow alert was issued on Wednesday.

Sources said that the people will have to bear with the present condition for a few more days and they be ready for the worst in the coming days in view of the more rail alert. The authorities are crossing their fingers as the staff are working day and night to respond to the flood-affected people.

Those living in ground floors in the rain-affected areas have been forced to shift to their relatives and friends' houses. The people, who are living on the first floor and above are forced to commute on tractors and boats for emergencies. They are also facing the problem of shortage of drinking water. The situation is likely to turn serious with more rainfall in the coming days.

According to official statistics, 85 regions and 2,000 houses in Bengaluru have been inundated due to heavy rain. A total of 1,500 sheds have also come under water, forcing the labourers to shift to safer places. 22,000 vehicles have been damaged and 30 apartments have been surrounded by the flood water.

The two zones in Bengaluru's East, Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli, which house major IT companies, have been affected the most. Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali stated that all the water from the city flows through Mahadevapura resulting in the present situation. Encroachments were being removed to allow water to flow out of residential localities on a war footing basis, he stated.

Bengaluru has received 135 mm of rainfall between August 31 and September 6. Normally the city received 34 mm of rainfall in this period. From September 5, usually, 6 mm of rainfall is received in 24 hours, but this time 34 mm rains have been received. The south west Monsoon brought 130 mm of rainfall till September 6, however, 317 mm of rainfall has been received, according to statistics released by authorities.

The state has recorded nine deaths till date due to the rain related tragedies. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who took up rounds in the rain-affected areas of Bengaluru on Monday night, appreciated the efforts of MLA and officials for working day and night for three days to give relief to the flood-affected people.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 7 (IANS) The urban development department of the Uttar Pradesh government will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) to bring down pollution levels.

The Delhi-based research organisation will guide the local bodies in the coming months on ways to bring down air and water pollution.

According to the government spokesman, local bodies in industrial towns such as Ghaziabad, Agra, Kanpur, Moradabad and Aligarh, among others, will be asked to work closely with the organisation to suggest measures that can be taken up to mitigate effluents and waste water.

Among the 734 cities and towns that are governed by the local bodies, only 31 have partial sewerage system coverage that can tackle 40 per cent of the waste among these towns, reveals data maintained by the central pollution control board.

A member of the programme support unit of the organisation said that best practices being followed in Odisha will be shared with the government officials.

Principal secretary of the department, Amrit Abhijat said, "Since the programme and workshop is extremely important, executive heads of more than 200 local bodies have been asked to remain present while the remaining ones will join the proceedings virtually on Wednesday."

After signing the MoU, the daylong workshop scheduled on Wednesday will focus on improving the urban schemes being provided in the state.

Representatives of Deloitte have been called to brief the executive heads on the expectations from the urban development department in achieving the US $1 trillion economy by 2027.

The grievances redressal system through Sambhav portal that was launched by Uttar Pradesh minister A.K. Sharma will also be reviewed. Minimising air pollution before the onset of the winter season and Diwali festivities will be another agenda that will be taken up in the workshop.

Similarly, the progress being made on the schemes and projects announced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and urban development minister A.K. Sharma will also be done.

--IANS
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