Two more temples burgled in Puttur

Hubli, Feb 24: Pro-Pakistan slogans were found written on the walls and doors of Higher Primary School in Budarsingi village here on Monday, said Raman Gouda Hatti, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), DCRB, Dharwad.

"The headmaster of the school noticed the slogans written on the walls and doors by chalk and he informed us. We will investigate the matter based on the complaint," said DSP Hatti.

The slogans were written in the Kannada language. Those behind the incident have not been identified so far.

The villagers staged a protest demanding action against those behind the act.

Congress leader HK Patil condemned the incident and asked for culprits to be identified and punished soon.

"Anti-social elements are involved in these acts. The government has failed to identify these people and punish them. The culprits behind this act need to be identified and punished. This incident is unfortunate and the intelligence department should work to stop these kinds of incidents," said Patil.

Bengaluru, Jan 23: An alleged low-intensity blast on Wednesday late evening in Shanthinagar left three-time Congress MLA NA Harris and six others with burn injuries. The blast reported at around 8:30 pm during a cultural programme gripped the central parts of Bengaluru in a panic especially after the incident of police recovering a live bomb in Mangaluru airport. 

According to sources in Shanthinagar, MLA Harris was attending the birthday celebrations of MGR organized by the locals close to his residence in Shanthinagar. Following the blast, Harris and a few others who standing close to the MLA sustained burn injuries and rushed to the nearby Philomena Hospital immediately and police officials from both the Ashok Nagar and Vivek Nagar visited the spot. The police officials are yet to confirm whether it was a bomb blast or due to the bursting of loud and powerful crackers. 

Chethan Singh Rathore, DCP (Central) visited the hospital and the blast site. A team of forensic science lab experts have also been summoned to the spot to collect samples for ascertaining the nature of the blast. MLA Harris’s son Mohammed Nalapad who rushed to the hospital along with supporters told media persons that they are completely shocked by the incident. 

“He was sitting on a chair and suddenly something that was hurled at him exploded beneath the chair. He sustained injuries to his leg and brought to the hospital. He is being treated by a team of doctors and other injured supporters are also being attended to by the doctors,” Nalapad said. 

Expressing shock over the incident, he said, “My father has been an MLA for 12-years and nothing of this sort had happened before in the constituency. We have no rivals and my father never had any gunmen. We are all shocked and have complained to the jurisdictional police.” 

Meantime, Dr Shankar Prasad, Medical Director, St Philomena’s Hospital explained that Harris and others are currently being treated for minor injuries. “None of them have any open cut injuries and they are being examined further,” Dr Prasad told DH. 

According to Dr Prasad, Harris had a minor blood clot in his left leg which was possibly due to a hard object hitting him during the blast. “We have taken X-Ray and examining further. At the look of it, it seems like a very minor injury,” he added.