After death of calf in mishap, cow vigilantes kill Muslim youth in Gujarat

Bengaluru, Feb 4: Karnataka High Court on Monday reserved order on plea, seeking cancellation of bail granted to Nithyananda for skipping the trial and fleeing the country.

After hearing the arguments, the court has reserved the matter for further orders which will be pronounced on February 5.

The plea, which was filed in the high court on January 23, was heard by Justice John Michael Cunha.

The counsel for the complainant Lenin put forth arguments that the self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda had fled the country to escape the trial. "Nityananda has been claiming to be in India in his exemption petitions filed before the trial court but during that time he sought asylum in Ecuador and is having a second passport," said Lenin.

The prosecutor informed the court that they do not need his presence for the trial at this time.

Nithyananda, accused of rape and child abuse, has been absconding since November 2018.

In December 2019, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the passport of Nithyananda was cancelled and a fresh application of the same was denied as he did not get the requisite clearance from police and several criminal cases have been lodged against him.

Police in Ahmedabad had arrested two woman administrators of the ashram, allegedly owned by Nithyananda, and freed two boys who were held captive there.

Two of his disciples, Pranpriya and Priyatattva, were arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by one Janardhan Sharma who alleged that his daughter was held captive in Nithyananda's ashram.

The police took the two women to Nithyananda's ashram in Hathiajan for an investigation and seized laptops, mobile phones among other things.

Bengaluru, May 9: Karnataka government in its latest order has allowed restaurants, pubs and bars to sell liquor at retail prices from May 9 till May 17. The third phase of coronavirus lockdown is slated to end on May 17.

"Karnataka government has allowed restaurants, pubs and bars to sell liquor at retail prices from tomorrow till May 17. However, they can be sold only in take away form," read an order issued by the state government.

Earlier, the government had allowed the opening of liquor shops in order to mobilise revenue. However, bars, pubs, restaurants were ordered to remain close amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

As per the latest update by the State Health Department, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state is 753. "Of 753 cases, 346 are active cases. 376 persons were discharged after treatment while 30 people have succumbed to the coronavirus," the Health Department said in a release. 

Mangaluru, May 19: With lockdown 4.0 coming into force, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) started bus services from Mangaluru to various destinations today.

According to officials, buses started plying from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Hubballi and other areas with limited passengers. A bus, which left for Bengaluru from Mangaluru had less than 30 passengers on board.

“Depending on the demand, the buses will be operated with 50% of the capacity. Measures have been taken to ensure that social distancing norms are adhered to while purchasing tickets from the counter,” said S N Arun, KSRTC Divisional Controller.

However, the KSRTC is yet to take a decision on operating Nagarasarige buses in the city. 

“Only those destinations, which can be reached by 7 pm has been considered by the KSRTC while operating the buses. As a result, after 11 am, no buses will travel to Bengaluru from Mangaluru. Further, permission will not be accorded for the travelling of pregnant women, children below 10 years old and senior citizens above 60 years old. Thermal scanning is used for checking the temperature of the passengers before boarding the buses. All the buses are sanitised after each trip,” he said.

Further, he said the contact number, name and address of the passengers are collected by the officials during the travel.