Agencies under Modi govt trying to pin fictitious charges on me: Dr Zakir Naik

Ernakulam, May 25: Miscreants belonging to self-proclaimed Hindutva outfits have demolished a church set erected for the shoot of a Malayalam film at Kalady in Kerala’s Ernakulam district.

The set was erected to shoot the climax scene of the super hero film Minnal Murali, directed by Basil Joseph and starring Tovino Thomas and newcomer actor Femina.

The incident took place on Sunday. Members of the Antharashtra Hindu Parishad claimed that with the help of their sister outfit Antarashtra Bajrang Dal, they demolished the church set, erected on an island on the Periyar river in Kalady.

Hari Palode, the General Secretary of AHP, an organisation founded by Praveen Togadia, boasted on Facebook that they were not used to pleading to anyone, and decided to demolish the church set that was constructed near the Adi Sankaracharya mutt. 

“When they built such a structure in front of the Mahadeva shrine in Kalady, we said no. We had also submitted several complaints. We do not have the habit of pleading. We decided to demolish it. Our self respect must be protected at all cost,” AHP’s General Secretary Hari Palode wrote on his Facebook post along with pictures of members demolishing the set. 

The post also credited members of the Anrarashtra Bajrang Dal and its Ernakulam Division President Malayatoor Ratheesh for participating in the ‘service work’ of razing the church set. 

Mini Biju, member of Kalady Town panchayat confirmed that the film unit had indeed secured permission from the department before going ahead with the construction of the set.

“They had submitted a letter seeking permission to raise a temporary set. This was back in February before construction began. The panchayat committee had approved this request,” Mini said.

Mangaluru, Jun 15: NMAM Institute of Technology (NMAMIT), Nitte, is organizing a webinar on 'Engineering Education & Employment Prospects - Post COVID’ on June 20 from 10 am to 11 am.

Dr Niranjan N Chiplunkar, principal, NMAMIT, Prof (Dr) K Rajesh Shetty, dean (Admissions & Alumni Affairs) department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, NMAMIT and Prof Shalini K Sharma, head, Abhyuday, department of Counselling, Welfare, Training & Placement, NMAMIT, will be the resource persons for the event.

The panel will be discussing on engineering streams, career opportunities, how students are groomed for success etc. There will be a question and answer session before the conclusion of the webinar. Dr Grynal D’mello, assistant professor, department of Mechanical Engineering will be the moderator for the event.

Please visit https://forms.gle/nwrLuFoPNs57tfK56 for registrations.

Bengaluru, Mar 3: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu has said that a medical team is monitoring the health condition of all those people who had stayed with the coronavirus-hit techie who is admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

The first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Telangana was reported from Hyderabad on Monday where a man from Bengaluru, who recently returned from Dubai, tested positive for the virus.

"It has come to our knowledge that the coronavirus-hit person in Hyderabad had gone from Bengaluru. Therefore, all the members in the house where he had stayed here have been identified and are under watch," Mr Sriramulu tweeted on late Monday night.

The minister said he has convened a meeting with the additional chief secretary, commissioner and other senior officials of the health department today.

"Our government has initiated all the measures to prevent the spread of this virus," the minister said.

It is learnt that the 24-year-old techie had not contracted it when he was in Bengaluru but all precautionary measures have been taken.

The software engineer, who works in Bengaluru, had worked with people from Hong Kong in Dubai last month where he is suspected to have contracted the virus, Telangana health minister E Rajender told reporters in Hyderabad.

The man reached Bengaluru on February 19/20 and later went to Hyderabad in a bus.

He took treatment for fever after coming to Hyderabad and was admitted to a private super speciality hospital in the city. As it did not subside, he came to the state-run Gandhi hospital on Sunday evening, Mr Rajender said.