Mangaluru: Gang attacks two Muslim youths at Bajal

Udupi, Feb 8: A rare sixth century granite idol of ‘Lajja Gauri’ has been discovered fixed on the road in Barkur village of Udupi district, according to information furnished by Dr. Shivakant Bajpai, Superintending Archaeologist of ASI Bangalore Circle. Lajja Gauri is depicted in nude form and is said to be a fertility symbol. The idol is rare, though very popular among certain cults.

Dr Shivakant Bajpai, who is on a tour of the coastal districts, said that he first came across the image when it went viral on social media. He subsequently traced it to a public road in Barkur, which is an ancient historical town of coastal Karnataka. It was the ancient capital of the Alupa kingdom and a seat of power for several centuries.

“This is a very important idol and hundreds of vehicles pass over it every day. We are rescuing it and I have issued an order to my local in-charge to keep it in safe custody. I have also sent a mail in this regard to the DC and SP of the district,” he said.

The idol is likely to be of 6th or 7th century, though further study is required to confirm a date, Dr. Bajpai said.

Lajja Gauri is a lotus-headed Hindu deity associated with abundance, fertility and sexuality, sometimes euphemistically described as Lajja ("modesty").

Mangalore, Jun 3: One man was arrested by the Crime Branch of city police from Mangalore for allegedly having links with gangster Ravi Pujari, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said on Wednesday.

According to the police, the man identified as Ghulam has been sent to 10-day police custody.

"During the investigation of a case related to Ravi Pujari, it was found that one Ghulam is a close associate of Pujari and had helped him in extortion and other illegal activity. Ghulam was arrested from Mangalore. He was produced before a court and sent to 10-day police custody," Patil said.

The senior police officer said that further investigation is on in the matter.

Pujari, who was wanted in several cases including ones related to heinous crimes like murder and extortion, was brought to Bengaluru earlier this year from Senegal. He had reportedly gone underground two decades ago and had allegedly been carrying out illegal activities from abroad.

Bengaluru, Mar 21: Three new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections to 18, the state government said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Health Minister B Sriramulu giving details about one positive case said, a 32-year old person from Gauribidanur in Chikkaballapura district, who has returned from Mecca has been confirmed for coronavirus infection.

The person has been admitted in a designated isolated hospital for treatment, he said in a tweet.

Details regarding the other two patients are still awaited.

The mid-day situation update by the government also said a circular has been issued to Health and Family Welfare Department officials and staff at all levels to work even on Sundays and general holidays without fail till March 31 in view of COVID-19.

A total of 48 government hospitals and 35 private hospitals have been identified as first respondent hospitals for the case management of COVID-19 cases, it said.

Mental health counselling is being done for positive COVID-19 cases and suspects in the identified hospitals and quarantined persons at home and hospital.

A total of 4,390 counselling sessions have been held till date, it added.

Sriramulu in a tweet, also said the government as a precautionary measure is planning to install thermal test CC cameras at government offices and certain important places.