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Bengaluru, Jul 1: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the state Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa should apologise to the nation for the Ballari incident.

"It is shocking to see the Ballari incident. The way the dead bodies of the corona victims have been treated is very unfortunate. The entire country witnessed it. I request the Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to apologise to the nation. India is known for its values and traditions," Shivakumar told reporters here.

Earlier, Shivakumar had posted a video which allegedly showed officials 'inhumanly' dumping bodies of those patients who die of COVID into a pit in Ballari, the district administration confirmed it and said that the entire field team involved in the incident has been disbanded.

"It's disturbing to see bodies of COVID patients who have died being dumped inhumanly into a pit in Ballari. Is this civility? This is a reflection of how the government has handled this Corona crisis. I urge the govt to take immediate action and ensure that this doesn't happen again," Shivakumar's tweet, which also had a video of the incident embedded, read.

The Deputy Commissioner, Ballari issued a press note which stated that it had conducted an enquiry after the video surfaced and it was found that the video belonged to the district and "comprises of burial of eight people who passed away after succumbing to COVID-19."

Although, according to the DC, all protocols and SOPs were followed by the team during the burial process, however, the "disrespectful handling of the bodies while being lowered on to the ground by the field staff" led to the entire field team involved being disbanded and will be replaced by a new team trained by the HOD, Forensic, VIMS.

The district administration also issued an unconditional apology to the families of the deceased and to others who were hurt by the incident.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also termed the behaviour of the staff "very inhuman and very painful" and urged the staff to tread cautiously with humanity in handling the funeral of those affected by the disease, and added, "Let's walk with humanity, and realize that there is no greater religion than humanity." 

Mangaluru, Mar 5: As many as 29 police officers and personnel were examined by Udupi Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesha, head of the magisterial enquiry into the police firing in the city in December 2019 which killed two anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protesters.

A total of 176 police personnel have been directed to present their evidence before the magistrate for the enquiry.

ACPs K U Belliappa and Kodandarama presented his evidence on Wednesday, while ACP (central sub division) M Jagdish and ACP (traffic) M Manjunatha Shetty submitted their evidencein writing.

The next hearing is slated to be held on March 9 when statements of 41 officers including DCP (law and order) Arunangshu Giri will be recorded.

City police commissioner P S Harsha has been asked to submit his evidence on March 12, Jagadeesha said.

The enquiry report is to be submitted to the government on March 23.

Jagadeesha said he will seek an extension in the case of any delay in the recording of evidences.

Two people - Nausheen and Jaleel - were killed in the firing on December 19, 2019 during the protests here against the CAA.

The Karnataka government had decided to hold a CID probe and a magisterial enquiry into the incident.

New Delhi, Jul 7: Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao's wife Tabu Gundu Rao informed that four of their employees have tested positive for coronavirus.

"Well sadly our PA, one more Gunman and 2 house staff tested positive. We are all thankfully negative but in isolation and quarantine for 10 to 14 days from today, to check if we develop symptoms as we are primary contacts to them. Hopefully we should get through this," Tabu tweeted.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 23,474 coronavirus cases in Karnataka including 13,255 and 372 deaths.