Now Saudi women may drive thousands of NRI drivers out of the kingdom

Dammam, Feb 3: Harish Bangera, 32, who was arrested in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia more than a month ago after offensive Facebook post went viral, has remained incommunicado.

Bangera, who hails from Goyadibettu in Bijadi village of Kundapur taluk, Udupi district, was an air-conditioning technician for a company in Dammam, capital of Saudi's eastern province.

He was arrested on December 20, 2019 after he posted derogatory messages on Facebook against crown prince Mohammad bin Salman and went on to claim that a Ram temple will be built in the holy city of Makkah too just like in Ayodhya where the Babri mosque was demolished.

Fearing legal action, he later posted a video pleading for forgiveness. “I have committed a mistake. Please forgive me. I will never upload any such posts again," he is seen saying in the video.

After his arrest, his roommate, who happens to be a Pakistani, has reportedly made several attempt to contact him, but in vain. He also has approached many Indian and Saudi authorities in his bid to get Bangera out of prison, sources said.

The Saudi authorities have not even responded to the messages of Indian Ministry of External Affairs. "We've made many efforts to contact the Saudi authorities but they haven't responded,” MEA sources said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 29: Twenty more people were

detected with coronavirus in Kerala on Saturday, taking the total number of those undergoing treatment for the deadly infection to 181, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

While Kannur reported eight cases, Kasaragod 7, Thiruvananthapuram, Ernkulam, Thrissur, Palakad and Malappuram reported one case each, Shailaja said in a statement here.

Of the 20 people, 18 had come from abroad and two others had been infected through contact.

The man found positive here was in the isolation ICU of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital, while one positive case from Ernakulam was a health worker.

The samples of four persons who were under treatment at Pathnamthitta were found negative.

At least, 1,41,211 people are under observation across the state, the Minister addd.

Mangaluru, Mar 28: After a youth from Dakshina Kannada who tested positive for the deadly Covid-19 revealed that he had travelled by a bus, authorities have requested all his fellow passengers to visit their nearest district hospital. 

The 21-year-old man hailing from Belthangady taluk had flown from Dubai to Bengaluru on March 21 and on the same day travelled to Mangaluru by the KSRTC bus bearing registration number KA 19, F3329. 

As he was suffering from fever and cough he was admitted to Puttur government hospital on March 24. He was tested positive for the novel coronavirus on March 27.   

It is not yet know how many passengers were there on board the above mentioned bus which had departed Bengaluru at 4:30 p.m. on March 21. It is believed that most of the passengers who travelled by this bus are residents of Dakshina Kannada. 

Hence, the KSRTC authorities today requested all the passengers who travelled by this bus to visit their nearest district hospital for necessary checkup. The passengers also were urged to quarantine themselves for next couple of weeks.