Palakkad MP slams ANF for Vittala arrest, atrocities on tribals

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Ahmed Anwar)
April 18, 2012

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Mangalore, April 18: M B Rajesh, Palakkad MP, paid a visit to the Mangalore Jail on Wednesday and met Vittala Malekudiya, the MCJ student of Mangalore University who has been arrested by ANF for alleged naxal links.

Speaking to mediapersons later, the MP said that the allegations against Vittala are baseless. Terming the move of police as a gross human rights violation, Mr. Rajesh said that an attempt to suppress dissenting voices is being made by the authorities.

“This is not the first time it is happening. Earlier, Kerala journalist Shahina too was falsely arrested for alleged links with extremists. The proof that police claims to have got against Vittala is a book on Bhagat Singh and packets of sugar and rice in his house. If by merely reading a book on Bhagat Singh is a crime, we all should be put behind bars”, Mr. Rajesh said.

The CPI (M) leader, on the occasion, said that neither CPI nor DYFI that Vittala is a member of, supports naxalism. “Maoists and Naxals are killing our own people in Bengal. We are against naxalism”, he said.

Terming the Anti Naxal Force as 'anti-social', Mr. Rajesh alleged that the security forces are carrying out atrocities on tribals in the region. “I visited Vittala's village and spoke to his mother and the villagers. They are being tortured by the ANF. They take them away and torture them by keeping them in legal custody. This cannot be tolerated”, he said.

Accusing policemen of violating the court order, Mr. Rajesh said that the cops are not allowing Vittala to have access to his books in the jail. “When the court has permitted him to write the exams, it is their duty to allow him to have access to his books. By not doing so, they are violating the court order”, he said.

Vittala's detention will be made a national issue and a struggle at the national level will be initiated, the MP said. “I will bring this to the notice of the Chief Minister and raise the issue in the parliament. We will approach the National Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Scheduled Tribes too. Public opinion will be mobilized and a struggle will be carried out throughout the country”, he said.

Stating that the larger issue is of land grab, Mr. Rajesh said that the state government and police are working hand in glove in troubling the tribals. “They want to snatch the forest land legally owned by tribals. In Kodachadri too, tribals were made to evict. The package offered by the government is paltry. They want to offer Rs. 10 lakh when according to its own valuation, it comes up to about 25 to 50 lakhs. Even that amount of Rs 10 lakh does not reach the tribals in full. People are being forced to accept the amount and they receive mere 8 lakhs. The rest is consumed by NGO middlemen as commission. The government is also violating the Forest Rights Act”, he said.

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News Network
January 21,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 21: Operations at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) are normal, a day after security agencies detonated a bomb recovered from the airport in a controlled explosion, an official said on Tuesday.

"All operations are normal at Mangluru International Airport. Everything is normal," told the airport director V.V. Rao to IANS.

Rao said even on Monday, there was no interruption to the airport operations, except for that one recalled IndiGo flight to Bengaluru.

"As the explosive was isolated and taken away from the airport, there was no disturbance to flights, except one Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight which suffered a few hours delay and took off later," said Rao.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened at the airport.

Mangluru north assistant commissioner of police Belliappa told media that the police are still on the hunt for the culprits who planted the bomb at the airport.

"We are trying to trace the culprits, we got the footage of the suspects," said Belliappa, highlighting that the police are yet to find the name, age and other details of the suspects.

At Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the number of police personnel has been increased in a bid to tighten the security and 24 hour searching of vehicles is underway.

"We have set up two check posts on the way to the airport and randomly checking vehicles," told Devanahalli assistant commissioner of police Subramanya to media.

All Karnataka airports, including Hubballi and Belagavi, are on high alert.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 18,2020

Mangaluru, July 18: The Dakshina Kannada district administration is likely to earmark a common burial ground in the wake of growing resistance from residents of various localities in Mangaluru against burial of Covid-19 victims in their vicinity.

Recently, following protests by residents on Bolar, the body of a Covid-19 victim remained in the ambulance for hours together. The residents refused to allow the victim to be laid to rest at a burial ground attached to a mosque. The victim, who had been a resident of Idya in Surathkal, was subsequently laid to rest after DC’s intervention.

In a bid to avoid such instances in the future, the district administration has identified a burial ground on the outskirts of Mangaluru. 

Former minister and incumbent Mangaluru MLA UT Khader said that he had discussed the problem at length with the officials of the Dakshina Kannada district administration, and had suggested they look for a relatively isolated space on the outskirts of Mangaluru city in order to avoid confrontation with the public.

“A parcel of land at Badaga Yekkuru, some 20km from the city has been identified as being suitable for the burial ground, but the district administration is yet to take a final decision,” Khader said.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 25,2020

Bengaluru, May 25: Helpless dairy farmers in a village in Bangaluru Rural district have dumped around 4,000 litres of milk into drains and on anthills.

The shocking incident took place at Chikka Korati near Hoskote yesterday after the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) refused to collect the milk because a pregnant woman in the village had tested positive for Covid-19.

The village was sealed off three days ago and three of the woman’s family was sent to institutional quarantine. The incident is an embarrassment since the government has been urging people not to stigmatise patients or their contacts.

“In Hoskote taluk, we lead in milk production,” Guru Korati, a villager, said. “There are around 130 families in the village, but we have two milk producers’ cooperative societies (MPCSs) – Chikka Korati MPCS and Dinne Korati MPCS. Our village produces more than 4,000 litres per day. The KMF refused to collect milk from both societies after they learnt about the positive case. Frustrated, we poured the milk down the drain.”

Guru wanted the government to address the village’s problems. “We are not only struggling to sell milk, but we also cannot transport vegetables which we cultivate,” he said.

Veerabhadrappa, from Chikka Korati in Bayala Narasapura gram panchayat, said: “Several families have cows enough to yield more than 50 litres of milk. What will they do with such a huge quantity of milk?”

Mehaboob Sab, panchayat development officer (PDO) of Bayala Narasapura GP, said, “We aren’t sure how the woman contracted Covid-19. A family member had visited Tamil Nadu and the woman also frequently visited a hospital in Kolar for checkups. We are still tracing her contacts.” 

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