Dubai: Karnataka NRI Forum holds meeting on govt’s NRK card

Kuwait: State of Karnataka is enriched with Daasa culture, which had contributed immensely to its literature, culture, art & philosophy. Daasa tradition in Karnataka was part of the Bhakti movement which flourished from around 15th century and it extended considerable spiritual influence over the masses. Kuwait Kannada Koota, a socio-cultural association for the people of Karnataka in Kuwait, organized its annual Daasotsava on 14th February 2020 in remembrance of these saints, thereby displaying the rich cultural heritage of the state. 

The program started with a warm welcome address by Mrs. Spoorthy Kamath, convener of cultural committee. Divine invocation prayer by Mrs. Vasantha Ashok and Mrs. Sandhya Arun set the trend for the event. This was followed by lighting of the traditional lamp by the 2020 executive committee, comprising of President Mr. Rajesh Vittal, Vice President Mr. Sandeep Chabba, General Secretary Mr. Praveen Kumar Shetty and Treasurer Mr. Pradeep Rao. President, while welcoming the gathering, spoke about the importance of Daasas in Kannada literature & history and briefed about the series of upcoming programs. Cultural programs started with fancy dress competition by Koota children comprising of all age group starting from infants to elder kids. This program stole the show as the efforts & time invested by children and their parents were clearly visible. 

2019 executive committee was felicitated by the current committee for wonderfully managing Koota affairs & programs. This was followed by the release of Koota magazine “Marala Mallige", comprising of informative articles, drawings, poems etc., entirely contributed by the association members. Event’s main attraction “Vrindavana Leelavarana", a colorful dance drama spectacularly portrayed by 54 Koota children, was very well appreciated & received by the attendees. Association children who successfully completed 10th and 12th were felicitated as a token of encouragement. Executive committee gave away prizes to Kids who excelled in the stage competitions held earlier. Audience was treated to a divine and melodious Bhajan program conducted astutely by the ladies & men. Koota women performed Bhajan Kolata, along with ladies bhajan, in a well-coordinated manner. Vote of thanks was proposed by the secretary of Koota, thanking those who contributed for the success of the event. Another attraction was a quiz competition “Rasa Prashne", conducted efficiently between the programs, by Mr. Mahesh Shiramgond. 

The whole event was planned and executed astutely by the cultural committee under the leadership of Convener, Mrs. Spoorthy Kamath. Public Relations Committee, led by Mrs. Suparna Dambal, welcomed the members in a vibrant & colorful way, showcasing a beautifully erected divine mantap. The event was sponsored by Unimoni, LIC HFL, VSPL, Geetherb, Kotak Life Insurance, Joy Alukkas, Lulu Hypermarket & Total Environment. The program ended with a sumptuous satvik lunch, sponsored by the senior Koota member, Mr. Ramachandran Seetharaman.

Davangere, Jul 19: A 9-year-old sniffer dog ran 12 km in the night to trace a murder accused and helped the police arrest him in Karnataka's Davangere rural area, an official said on Sunday.

"Doberman Pincher Tunga ran 12 km non-stop from the crime spot at Basavapattana in the city to a house at Kashipur in the rural where murder accused Chethan, 25, was hiding and helped us arrest him on July 17," Davangere Police Superintendent Hanumantha Rai said on phone.

Davangere is 260 km northwest of Bengaluru.

"Though Chethan allegedly shot dead his friend Chandra Nayak with a stolen service revolver on July 10 over sharing the booty (gold ornaments) of the theft they had committed recently with two others. We took female dog Tunga to the crime spot on July 16. She led the sleuths to the area where Chethan was hiding with two accomplices," Rai recalled.

While trained sniffer dogs normally run 4-5 km from a crime spot, Tunga could track the accused 12 km away.

When Tunga's handler (Head Constable Prakash) took her to the crime scene at 9.30 pm, she sniffed around and ran 12 km non-stop to Kashipur. She halted at a wine shop and went to a food joint later. Then she stopped at a house nearby at 12.30 am.

The prime accused (Chethan) was present in the house of his relative. He was arrested after he confessed to the theft and the murder.

The police are on the hunt to trace Chethan's two accomplices who fled from the house they were hiding in.

Karnataka Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Amar Kumar Pandey felicitated Tunga on July 17 at a function here for cracking the murder case with its exceptional sniffing traits.

Feb 25: Two Customs Preventive officers allegedly involved in gold smuggling cases in Kerala were removed from service, a top official said in Kochi on Monday.

Sumit Kumar, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Kochi, said that he took action against Radhakrishnan B, Superintendent of Customs, and Rahul, Inspector of Customs, who were allegedly involved in gold smuggling cases in the state.

Radhakrishnan was involved in attempted smuggling of gold weighing 24998.61 grams having a market value of over Rs 8 crore through Thiruvananthapuram international airport on May 13, 2019, Kumar said.

Rahul was involved in attempted smuggling of gold weighing 11,035.54 grams valued at over Rs 4 crore through international airport on August 19, 2019, the Customs Commissioner added.

Radhakrishnan is currently lodged in Central prison, Thiruvananthapuram after the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau under the Union Finance Ministry issued detention order under COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974).

Rahul, against whom detention order under COFEPOSA was issued, is absconding.

"Two Customs officers of the Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Kochi, who were involved in gold smuggling cases were removed from service by Sumit Kumar, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Cochin," an official release said.

Kumar said that both the cases were booked and investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and while show cause notice under Customs Act 1962 has been issued against Radhakrishnan, investigation is under progress in the other case.

"Both the officers were removed from service, after due process of law under Rule 19 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965," the release said.