Mangaluru: 100-bed Sharada Ayurveda Hospital inaugurated

Bengaluru, Feb 11: A 36-year-old woman who fought back after being stabbed eight times by a helmet-clad intruder succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

Susheela was in shock after she pulled off the attacker’s helmet as it was her own brother-in-law. Before breathing her last, she explained the sequence of events to the police.

She said her brother-in-law attacked her because he was eyeing their ancestral property worth over Rs 10 crore. “Susheela put up a stiff resistance and identified her assailant. But the stab injuries proved to be fatal,” said a police officer. Based on her statement, Ananth Kumar, 42, was arrested on murder charges.

The attack occurred on February 7 at Honaganahatti village in Tavarekere, off Magadi Road. Susheela, whose husband Gangaraju died in a road accident 12 years ago, was living with her 14-year-old daughter and 75-year-old mother, Rudramma.

On Friday, her daughter had gone to school and Rudramma was sitting outside the house when a man walked in wearing a full-faced helmet and attacked Susheela with a knife. She defended herself with a stick used for making ragi balls and by throwing chilli powder at his face. But the attacker stabbed her on the hand, neck and head. He fled when Susheela identified him and raised an alarm. Neighbours rushed her to a hospital.

During questioning, Kumar reportedly confessed to the crime, saying he wanted to get rid of her as she was not agreeing to sell five acres of their ancestral property.

Susheela’s nephew Kiran G said: “The family owned six acres. Kumar sold one acre for Rs 50 lakh a few years ago after convincing Susheela. He, however, paid her only Rs 5 lakh. Lately, he was pestering Susheela to sell the remaining land as buyers were ready to pay Rs 2.5 crore per acre. But she was hesitating as she had been cheated by him earlier.”

Police are now examining the circumstances under which Gangaraju was killed. “We learnt the driver who had been arrested in connection with Gangaraju’s accident is currently working with Kumar,” said an officer.

Mangaluru, Feb 18: Customs at International Airport here have seized Rs 58.95 lakh worth gold in two incidents and arrested two smugglers, Customs Commissionerate said on Monday.

According to the department, two men have been arrested by the customs officials in two separate incidents last evening for attempting to smuggle gold into the country valuing over Rs. 58.95 Lakhs.

In the first incident, Muhammed Swalih Chappathodi, 22, hailing from Malappuram, Kerala who arrived from Dubai by Spice jet flight concealed capsules containing gold in paste form inside his rectum which upon purification resulted in the recovery of 797 gm of 24 karats valued at Rs.32,35,820.

Shivamogga, Jul 24: The protest by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) under the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) entered its 14th day on Friday demanding personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and a salary of at least Rs 12,000 per month.

They have been protesting in different parts of Karnataka since July 10.

Staging a protest in front of the deputy commissioner's office, the ASHA workers complained of the government turning a deaf ear to their problems.

Clad in their signature pink saris, they raised slogans to demand appropriate salary for their work and the necessary equipment to protect them from the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. 

They said that they worked tirelessly during the COVID-19-induced lockdown without any safety. The department only provided them with sub-standard equipment to combat the deadly virus. All they were asking for is a basic pay of Rs 12,000 against the current pay of Rs 6,000.

Prema, an ASHA said, "The authorities are praising our work, clapping for us and showering flowers on us but are not listening to our grievances."