Coastal Karnataka celebrates Eid al-Fitr; thousands offer prayers braving rains

In a shocking incident, a woman allegedly sold her five-day-old baby boy to two siblings in Karnataka’s Davanagere for Rs 5,000 on Tuesday (May 26) in connivance with a hospital employee, according to police.

Acting on a complaint by Honnali child development project officer Mahantesh Poojar, police booked a case against six persons in connection with the incident and arrested four of them by Tuesday night.

Police said the woman allegedly sold the baby, born on May 20 at Honnali taluk hospital, to Annesh Naik, 36, and his sister Lavanya, 39, in the early hours of Tuesday in front of the Honnali KSRTC bus stand.

The six accused have been identified as Kumar, 44, a staff nurse at Honnali hospital; Mahesh, a group ‘D’ employee at the hospital who facilitated the deal; Basavaraj, 36, a lab technician at Hirekerur hospital; Annesh; Lavanya; and the mother of the infant.

May 10: Azaan is an integral part of the faith, not the gadget, says veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, asking that the Islamic call to prayer on loudspeakers should be stopped as it causes "discomfort" to others.

In a tweet on Saturday, Akhtar wondered why the practice was 'halaal' (allowed) when it was, for nearly half a century in the country, considered 'haraam' or forbidden.

"In India for almost 50 years Azaan on the loud speak was Haraam. Then it became Halaal and so halaal that there is no end to it, but there should be an end to it. Azaan is fine but loud speaker does cause of discomfort for others. I hope that atleast this time they will do it themselves (sic)," Akhtar tweeted.

When a user asked his opinion on loudspeakers being used in temples, the 75-year-old writer said everyday use of speakers is a cause of concern.

"Whether it's a temple or a mosque, if you're using loudspeakers during a festival, it's fine. But it shouldn't be used everyday in either temples or mosques.

"For more than thousand years Azaan was given without the loud speaker. Azaan is the integral part of your faith, not this gadget," he replied.

Earlier in March, Akhtar had supported the demand to shut mosques amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, saying even Kaaba and Medina have been closed due to the pandemic.

He had also appealed to the Muslim community to offer prayers from home in the holy month of Ramzan, which began on April 24.

"I request all the Muslim brothers that now that Ramzan is coming, please say your prayers but make sure that this doesn't cause problems to anyone else. The prayers that you do in the mosque, you can do that at home. According to you, the house, the ground, this all has been made by Him. Then you can do your prayers anywhere," he had said.

Bengaluru, Jun 2:  With easing of COVID-19 lockdown curbs, the Karnataka excise department has accorded permission for fresh brewing or production of beer and to sell it in microbreweries as takeaways.

"Permission is hereby accorded to microbreweries for fresh brewing/production and sale of beer as takeaway in glass, ceramic or stainless steel container (up to 2 litre) till 30-06-2020, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the Excise Commissioner in a letter dated June 1 to Deputy Excise Commissioners of all districts said.

The opening and closing hours of the microbreweries shall be from 9 am to 9 pm, it said, adding that all other conditions as laid down will remain unaltered.

Earlier, in a letter dated May 12, the Excise Commissioner had "conditionally" granted permission for microbreweries to sell their beer stock as takeaway on experimental basis for the period from May 14 to June 30 or until exhaustion of existing beer stock, whichever is earlier.

It had called for measures like social distancing, cleanliness, usage of masks and sanitizers, among others, and had said, microbreweries situated in containment zones are not allowed to function.