Mangaluru: Rahul Gandhi to visit Kudroli temple, Ullal dargah, Rosary Cathedral

Bengaluru, Feb 16: Three students from Kashmir studying at a private engineering college in Hubballi district of Karnataka were arrested on sedition charges for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting a video of it on a messaging platform, police said on Saturday.

Police said, according to preliminary information, the students are from Shopian in Kashmir and action has been taken on the basis of a complaint from the college management.

"We received information that three students hailing from Kashmir studying at the KLE Institute of Technology had raised slogans supporting Pakistan. They had made a video about it which has gone viral. Immediately our team headed by Inspector Gokul Road station went to the spot and arrested them," Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissioner R Dileep said.

Right wing activists, including those from Bajarang Dal who had gathered near the college, demanded stringent action against the three.

As the students were being taken to the police station with their faces covered, an activist tried to attack them, but police escorted them safely.

The FIR has been lodged under IPC sections relating to sedition and affecting communal harmony, the official said.

"We are investigating, and whatever comes out as per evidence, law and facts, we will take further action. We will look into their background, whether anyone has tried to mislead them," Mr Dileep said, adding that the arrest should not be seen as action against any particular community or region.

According to officials, the selfie video of the three has gone viral as they posted it on WhatsApp. In the video one of them can be purportedly seen initially uttering something with background music on, after which they chant ''Azadi'' one after the other. Then joining chorus to the music that is playing, they purportedly say "Pakistan Zindabad."

The music they played is said to be Pakistani military's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) song, which police said needs to be ascertained.

The video seems to have been recorded at the college hostel, where the students were put up. College principal Basavaraj Anami said the college has given complaint to the police and the students will be suspended.

The students were admitted under central quota and two are doing their first year civil engineering, while the other is a third year student in the same stream, he said.

According to him, the three had made the video and posted it on WhatsApp.

"It came to our notice in the morning, following which I called the students immediately to my office, and informed the police," the principal told reporters.

"In the video, they have purportedly shouted pro-Pakistan slogans allegedly in the backdrop of the Pulwama attack anniversary yesterday," he added.

Union minister Pralhad Joshi, who hails from the district, described the act unfortunate and demanded strict action against those involved.

Bengaluru, Jun 29: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Congress leaders on Monday rode a bicycle from his residence to Minsk Square to protest against the hike in fuel prices.

KPCC President DK Shivakumar was also seen riding a bicycle along with other members of the Congress party to Minsk Square where the party staged the protest.

During the protest, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar along with party leaders carried a bike on their shoulders.

"We are carrying out our duty today. At the time of the UPA government's rule, when there was any hike in fuel prices, several BJP leaders had made bold statements. It is ironic that today, at the time of this COVID-19 pandemic, even despite the price of barrels falling, they have increased fuel prices," said Shivakumar.

"In Delhi, diesel prices have exceeded petrol prices. We must protest against this. The DCP can file whatever case he wants to. Despite several cases against us, we have never been shaken up. They are inconveniencing people and causing the people to burn in hell. These people must be protected," he added.

With the hike in fuel prices, the petrol prices stand at Rs 83.04/litre (increase by Rs 0.05), and the diesel prices stand at Rs 76.58/litre (increase by Rs 0.13) in Bengaluru, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

The Congress has termed the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel as "unjust" and "thoughtless", and urged the Central government to roll back the increase with immediate effect and pass on the benefit of low oil prices directly to the people.

Bengaluru, May 20: A mysterious "boom" heard in large parts of Bengaluru this afternoon left residents of the city and social media users puzzled. While the source of the sound is being investigated, the Indian Air Force (IAF) indicated that it could be the result of "routine test flights that necessitate going supersonic a times".

The sound was heard from as far as the Bengaluru airport in Devanahalli to the IT hub of Electronic City 54 km away. It was also heard in Kalyan Nagar in east Bengaluru, central Bengaluru's MG Road and areas such as Marathahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur and Hebbagodi.

IAF said no aircraft of training command was flying in the area. "However, ASTE (Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment) and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) could have been undertaking their routine test flying, which necessitates going supersonic at times. These are done well beyond the city limits in specified sectors. However, considering the atmospheric conditions and reduced noise levels in the city during these times, the aircraft sound may become clearly audible even if it happened way out from the city," said the air force statement.

Many people had speculated that the sound could have been caused by a fighter jet such as a Mirage 2000.

"We have also asked the Air Force Control Room to check if it was a jet or supersonic sound. Bengaluru police are awaiting confirmation from the Air Force," Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said in a statement.

It was not an earthquake, Karnataka's state disaster monitoring centre had tweeted earlier.

"Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread. We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today," the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said, quoting its director Srinivas Reddy.

"The activity reported in Bengaluru is not due to an earthquake. The seismometers did not capture any ground vibration as generally happens during a mild Tremor. The activity is purely a loud unknown noise," the agency tweeted.

#Bangalore and #BangaloreBoom was among the top trends on Twitter this afternoon.

"We are trying to ascertain the source of the noise," a senior police officer said. "In Whitefield area, we have searched on the ground and so far, there is no damage to any property," he added. There were no calls to the police control room reporting any damage.