Ex-minister Shetty, who jumped to Cong after ticket denial, returns to BJP

Ballari, Jan 5: Thousands of Muslims, joined by the members of various organisations, on Saturday staged a massive protest in the town condemning the provocative speech by Bellary MLA G Somashekar Reddy.

The police caned the agitators after they tried to lay siege to the house of BJP legislator.

The protesters holding national flag took out a rally from Kaul Bazaar, which passed through the major streets, and culminated at Gadagi Channappa Circle. They raised slogans against the BJP and burnt the effigy of Somashekar Reddy.

The protest sent the traffic haywire Gadagi Channappa Circle and the cascading effect of it was seen across the town. SP C K Babu told the agitators that the MLA has been booked for making provocative speech and pleaded them to hold a protest at Municipal College grounds. But the agitators were in no mood to relent.

Inspector General (Bellary Range) I G Nanjundaswamy has rushed to the town to oversee security. The BJP MLA on Friday made inciting remarks against minorities during his speech at a pro-CAA rally in the town.

FIR against Reddy

The Gandhinagar police in the town on Saturday registered an FIR against MLA Somashekar Reddy, for making a provocative speech, under IPC Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between two religions), 295A (insulting religious beliefs) and 505B.

During his speech at a pro-CAA rally on Friday, Reddy had said, "Hindus are 80% of the population while minorities are 17%. What will happen to you if we hit back? Hence, you should be very careful about your moves and steps."

The legislator came down heavily on those staging protests against CAA in Ballari. "We won't keep quiet if another protest is staged against the CAA. Each Hindu is like Shivaji. Nobody will be alive if all Hindus come out to streets holding swords," he had said.

Udupi, Feb 5: A school boy died after being bitten by a venomous snake while he was returning home from a playground at Perdoor village in Udupi district.

The victim has been identified as Abhinav (9), son of Raju Shetty and Gita Shetty couple from the same village. 

Abhinav had returned from school yesterday evening as usually. He then went out to play. At around 7 p.m. while he was walking towards home, a snake bit him sources said. 

He was immediately taken to KMC Hospital in Manipal, where doctors pronounced him brought dead. 

A case of unnatural death has been registered in the jurisdictional police station.

Mangaluru, Apr 4: The chemistry department of National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K) here has started producing hand sanitizers in view of its shortage in the market after the coronavirus outbreak.

The social initiative led by Arun Isloor, professor and head of the department, was launched by NIT-K director K Uma Maheshwar Rao.

The raw materials needed for this product were provided by the institute.