Indian constitution motivates me to promote rationalism: Bhagavan

Bengaluru, Apr 28: A CRPF jawan has been arrested in Karnataka for allegedly defying the COVID-19 lockdown norms with the paramilitary force taking strong exception to his 'ill treatment', following which an inquiry has been ordered by the state police.

State DGP Praveen Sood has ordered inquiry into the incident, which has triggered a row after a video of it went viral.

In the clip, some police constables are purportedly seen hitting CRPF soldier Sachin Sawant with sticks in Belagavi.

According to the information shared on social media, Sawant was washing his bike when a police team reached the spot and started beating him up for not wearing a mask during the lockdown.

Taking a serious view of the 'ill-treatment' meted out to its Cobra Commando, the CRPF has written a letter to the Karnataka police demanding an investigation into the matter.

In a letter to the DGP of Karnataka, the additional Director general of police of CRPF Sanjay Arora said Sawant was cleaning his bike when a skirmish happened between him and the police over not wearing the mask.

Arora wrote, "Sawant was manhandled and ill-treated, before his family members and paraded to the police station barefoot, where he was kept in chains and handcuff.

From the scrutiny of a viral video on social media, it is apparent that the conduct of police personnel was not citizen centric."

The CRPF ADGP also said the 'unpleasant' situation could have been avoided if the Karnataka police had taken CRPF hierarchy into confidence before making the arrest.

In response, Sood ordered an inquiry into the matter.

He tweeted that IGP Belagavi has been asked to conduct a probe into the incident involving CRPF constable. Action will be taken against guilty after receipt of report, he said.

According to sources, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has directed the state police chief to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident.

Denouncing the arrest, Karnataka Irrigation Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has sought the release of the CRPF jawan.

"It was wrong on the part of the constables to ill treat CRPF jawan and an inquiry be conducted against the erring policemen," said jarkiholi in a press release.

However, Superintendent of Police of Belagavi district, Laxman Nimbargi defended the arrest of Sawant.

Bengaluru, July 14: The Karnataka government has allowed some relaxations during the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru urban and rural districts. The lockdown will commence from 8p.m. today (July 14) and end at 5a.m. on July 22.  The government has released the guidelines for lockdown.

Restrictions

*No new flights or trains will be permitted; only flights and trains already scheduled will continue to operate. Flight and train tickets shall serve as passes for movement by taxis/cab aggregators/auto rickshaws.

* Metro rail services prohibited

* Taxis and services of cab aggregators will be prohibited except for emergency and as permitted in guidelines.

* Schools, colleges, educational/training/coaching institutions etc. will remain closed. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted. Examination already scheduled shall be permitted

* Hotels, restaurants, and hospitality services, prohibited except those meant for health/police/government officials/healthcare workers. Hotels and restaurants shall be permitted to operate kitchens for takeaway/home delivery of food items only.

* All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadia, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.

* All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural religious functions/other gatherings and large congregations.

* All religious places/places of worship shall be closed for public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited. Commercial and private establishment shall be closed down

Relaxations (outside containment zone)

* Shops including ration shops (PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, etc. to open only from 5 am to 12 noon. Home delivery of essential items shall be encouraged.

* All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies.

* All food processing and related industries.

* Banks, insurance offices and ATM.

* Print and electronic media.

* Telecommunication, internet services, broadcasting and cable services, IT and IT-enabled services with minimum staff for essential purposes. As far as possible, work from home should be encouraged.

* Delivery of essential items such as food, medicines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce.

* Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services.

* Capital and debt market services and notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)

* Cold storage and warehousing services.

* Private security services.

* Delivery of goods by E-Commerce companies. Industries/industrial establishments as listed below will be allowed to operate (outside containment zones):

i. Production units which require continuous process, and their supply chain.

ii. Food processing industries, manufacturing of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates.

iii. Manufacturing of packing materials.

iv. Manufacturing and other industrial establishment with access control in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or outside municipal limits and Export Oriented Units (EoUs), Industrial townships. Construction activities will be allowed in continuation of works in construction projects, where workers are available on site.

Bengaluru, Jul 11: Amidst the mounting number of covid-19 cases, Karnataka is witnessing another disturbing trend of increasing number of people ending their life. After the lockdown was relaxed, the state saw a worrying jump in the number of suicides.

According to statistics, as many as 2,211 suicide cases have been registered in just two months. The number of suicides rose by 23% in May to 1,127, and by another 18% in June to 1,084, from an average of 912 suicides in the first three months of the year. 

In April, however, the number nearly halved to 477. But April was also the month during which the lockdown (announced on March 24) was complete, and everyone was at home -- which, experts say, could have prevented people with suicidal tendencies from taking their own lives.

Shockingly, number of teenagers including school children committing suicide also increased in the state in past couple of months.

With the pandemic still accelerating and impacting people in multiple ways, the World Health Organisation has urged people to pay greater attention to mental health and suicide prevention. 

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, World Health Organisation (WHO), South-East Asia Region, said stigma related to Covid-19 infection may lead to feelings of isolation and depression. Another precipitating factor impacting mental health amidst Covid-19 could be domestic violence, which is reported to have increased globally as several countries imposed lockdowns, she said.

“Hitting lives and livelihoods, the pandemic is causing fear, anxiety, depression and stress among people. Social distancing, isolation and coping with perpetually evolving and changing information about the virus has both triggered and aggravated existing and pre-existing mental health conditions, which need urgent attention,” she said.

Dr H Chandrashekar, professor and head of the department of psychiatry at Victoria Hospital, said reasons for suicide are always multi-factored, combined, cumulative, unresolving and interrelated.

“There is grief everywhere now due to deaths related to Covid-19, and it may have an adverse effect on some. But people should be watchful of their family members, especially those who are in depression and have a history of suicide attempts. One should never ignore signs, like when someone says they feel like ending their life. They should not be left alone, and unconditional support needs to be given. Also, objects that could be used to commit suicide must be kept away from them,” Dr Chandrashekar said.