Forget 50,000 Dalits, BJP's Yatra fails to attract 500; Amit Shah escapes

Mangaluru, Apr 20: Dakshina Kannada police have warned of stringent legal action against people who share photos of the coronavirus victims in the district and other patients on social websites.

District superintendent of police B M Laxmi Prasad in a release, warned the people that strict legal action will be taken against those who flout rules.

Police have noted that a picture of one of the COVID-19 victims in the area is being shared on social media.

Providing any information about coronavirus-infected patients or victims publicly is a punishable offence, he said.

The police are putting together information about the people who shared the photo and other information about the COVID-19 in the district and have initiated legal action.

A 50-year old woman from Bantwal had died of Covid-19 at the Wenlock hospital here on Sunday.

She is the first coronavirus victim in the district.

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, Feb 19: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Karnataka High Court, seeking a stay on Anand Singh functioning as Minister of Forests, Environment and Ecology contending that there are criminal cases filed against him by the Ministry.

"A stay be granted prohibiting Anand Singh from functioning as the Cabinet Minister for the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology. Any other order that the Honourable Court may deem fit in the interest of justice and equity," the PIL prays.

The petition, filed by advocate Vijay Kumar, said that the Chief Minister has allocated the portfolio of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology to Singh without considering the fact that there are several criminal faces filed against him by the Ministry.

It said that the allocation of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology portfolio to Singh is in the conflict of interest.

"The holding of the post of Cabinet minister for the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology is against public interest and completely in conflict of interest as he has business for which the subject Ministry is the overseeing authority and further he will also have access to the case files which again is in conflict of interest," the PIL said.

PIL adds that "it is pertinent and absolutely necessary" to deny the incumbent from accessing files related to his cases and from taking any decisions which may provide him with pecuniary benefits through his businesses.