6 women die, 10 injure as jeep hits tractor trailer

Bengaluru, Jun 29: Bengaluru continued to see a sharp spike in covid- 19 cases as 738 more people tested positive on Monday that took the city's tally to 4052 of which 3427 is active.

The surge in Bengaluru pushed up the number of positive cases to 1105 across Karnataka. The total number of cases in Karnataka now stands at 14,295 of which 6382 are active.

The death toll stood at 230 as 19 more people died in the 24 hours till 5 pm on Monday.

Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, has seen a sharp rise in cases over the last two weeks indicating the possibility of community transmission and further rise in cases.

Estimates by government authorities project that Karnataka will have around 25,000 cases by mid-August.

R.Ashok, the revenue minister incharge of covid- 19 in Bengaluru on Monday told doctors that they would have to dedicate another six months to contain the virus indicating that authorities were expecting the case count to rise in subsequent days and months.

The city reported over 3,200 cases since 19 June as against 844 cases between 8 March and 18 June.

There are around 500 containment zones in Bengaluru that is likely to have an impact of business and activities in the state's growth capital and its efforts to revive the economy.

The state government on Monday held meetings with private hospitals to increase the number of beds available for treatment of covid- 19.

The number of people in intensive careunits (ICU) jumped to 268.

Bengaluru, Jan 10: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the murder case of journalist-activist Gauri, arrested absconding suspect Rushikesh Devdikar alias Murali (44) from Dhanbad district in Jharkhand on Thursday evening and is bringing him to the city.

Rushikesh is the 18th suspect arrested in the case, Chief Investigating Officer M N Anucheth said. The investigation has revealed that he was primarily involved in the conspiracy to murder Gauri.

Rushikesh, who was hiding in a house in Katras, Dhanbad, will be produced before the local Judicial Magistrate in Dhanbad on Friday, said Anucheth, adding that the SIT had searched his house for clues. "We will obtain a transit warrant from the court and then bring him to Bengaluru," the officer said.

Originally from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Rushikesh's family still lives there.

Gauri Lankesh was shot dead near her residence at around 8.20 pm on September 5, 2017, by two bike-borne men.

Bengaluru, Jul 21: Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah on Monday attacked the ruling government and said press conference of Health Minister B Siramulu was more like an exercise to hide facts than presenting proof with accurate data.

"Got to know about the press conference addressed by B Siramulu and Dr Ashwathnarayan CN to clear accusations of corruption. It looked more like an exercise to hide facts than presenting proof with accurate data," Siddaramaiah tweeted.

"It is still unclear about the points presented in the press conference. They have not answered any of my questions which were raised earlier. I will respond in detail once I receive the written explanation from the govt. Minister has claimed that both Health & Medical education department together have spent Rs323 Cr. But the data presented by them does not even add up to Rs100 Cr. What happened to the rest of the money?," asked Siddaramaiah.

He said that Centre has procured ventilators at Rs4 lakh per unit under PM Cares. But only in our state, the ventilators are procured at Rs12-Rs18 lakh per unit

"Prime Minister's Office has procured ventilators at Rs4 lakh per unit under PM Cares. But only in our state, the ventilators are procured at Rs12-Rs18 lakh per unit. Why do we see such a huge difference in price? Ministers, in the press conference, have told that quality & technological capabilities are the reasons for huge price difference. Does it mean ventilators under PM Cares lack quality? Why did they not present the technical specifications to justify the same?" he asked.

"Not just about the procurement of medical equipment, I had even asked data about food kits, PDS distribution, beds procured, quarantine centres & isolation wards. Where is the data for that?" he asked in a series of tweets.