Karnataka govt finally cancels Bengaluru steel flyover project

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.

Bengaluru,  Jun 28: Sixteen deaths due to COVID-19 and 1,267 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Karnataka, according to information provided by the State Health Department.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka has reached 13,190, including 783 cases from Bengaluru Urban. While 7,507 patients have been discharged after treatment, 207 deaths have been reported, said the health department.

With 19,906 new cases, the highest single-day spike so far, India's COVID-19 count touched 5,28,859 including 2,03,051 active cases, 3,09,713 cured/discharged/migrated, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 410 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours and the cumulative toll reached 16,095 deaths. 

Bengaluru, Jun 3: Lack of awareness on rail travel norms led to a tense situation on a Karnataka train as a female passenger was forced to disembark midway after her fellow passengers raised a hue and cry on seeing her knuckle stamped, mistaking it for a quarantine stamp, an official said on Tuesday.

"Many passengers on the train with the woman raised a hue and cry on seeing her stamped and complained to the TTE. She was later disembarked at Tumkur," a South Western Railway (SWR) zone official said.

The woman was travelling from Bengaluru to Belagavi as a transit passenger. Her status as such a passenger was stamped on her knuckle.

However, after some time, her fellow passengers observed her stamped hand and misunderstood that she was violating the quarantine norms.

Without realising that she was just a transit passenger who will be quarantined on reaching her destination, they created pandemonium and complained to the travelling ticket inspector.

"Following the public pressure, she was forcibly disembarked in Tumkur station," said the official.

Incidentally, the railways allows transit passengers to travel.

The official said the TTE would not have been aware of the rules and must have yielded to the passengers' pressure.

Later, the woman was allowed to board another train and reach her destination, the official said.