BSY highly confident of forming BJP govt in Karnataka soon, says former minister

Mysuru, Jul 9: The renowned Mysore Palace has been closed on Thursday after a relative of an employee at the palace was tested COVID-19 positive, an official said.

The palace has been closed for the visitors in the view of rising COVID-19 cases. Authorities have decided to re-open the palace on Monday.

Earlier the Palace was closed for tourists for a week from March 15 to 22, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Mysore Palace committee said.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Karnataka has reported 28,877 COVID-19 positive cases including 16,531 active, 11,876 cured/discharged/migrated while 470 succumbed to the virus.

Tirumala, Jul 16: As many as 14 priests of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) were tested positive for COVID-19 in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, said Anil Kumar Singhal, Executive officer, TTD.

Singhal also held a meeting with temple priests, health and vigilance officials today.

On July 14, Singhal held 'Dial your EO' programme at TTD administrative building conference hall wherein the EO addressed the devotees and media and informed that 91 TTD employees have tested positive for COVID-19 till date.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the state has reported 35,451 COVID-19 cases including, 16,621 active cases, 18,378 recovered and 452 deaths so far.

Bengaluru, Jan 14: A woman has sustained burns on the left hand and the left chest in a vicious acid attack that occurred as she walked home in Mallappa Layout, Seegehalli, near KR Puram in Bengaluru.

Prabhavathi, the victim, and her husband, Radhakrishna Reddy, own an acre and six guntas of land in Seegehalli. They had constructed 20 houses on the parcel and rented them while keeping the rest of the land empty and building a boundary wall around it, according to a senior police officer. 

Four men named Ravi, Kumar, Ashirvadam and Shekar laid claim to the land and demolished the boundary wall two years ago. When the couple approached the cops, Manjunath, a sub-inspector from KR Puram police station, visited the spot along with other officers and allegedly abused Reddy and his family. 

Reddy then approached a senior police officer who suggested that he file a complaint against the sub-inspector as well as his rivals for threatening the family. The case is pending in a case. 

On January 7, Ravi, along with four others — Raghu, Kabalan, Ashrivadam and Munireddy — mocked Prabhavathi as she walked home. They asked her to withdraw the complaint. When she ignored them, one of the men motioned to another person. In a flash, a man in the group threw acid on Prabhavathi. The liquid fell on her left hand and left chest, gashing them. Her screams drew her family who rushed her to a hospital. 

Reddy said the suspects had been intimidating them to sell the remaining land. He accused the KR Puram sub-inspector of “threatening” the family.

According to Reddy, following their complaint, a departmental enquiry was launched against the sub-inspector and his promotion was stalled. He suggested that the suspects had used the acid attack as a weapon to “silence” and force them into withdrawing the complaints. 

Following the acid attack, KR Puram police booked eight people — Ravi, Raghu, Kabalan, Ashirvadam, Munireddy, Sachin, Rahul, and Kumareshan — under IPC sections 326 (a) (acid attack) and 506 (criminal intimidation). Efforts are on to track them down.