Police arrest prime accused in SDPI activist’s murder

Bengaluru, Apr 3: Four people, including three who attended the Tablighi Jamat meet in Delhi, tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking the total number of the affected in the state to 128, the Health department said here.

The three men from Belagavi had attended the Tablighi- Jamaat congregation from March 13 to 18 at Delhi, while the other case was that of a 75-year-old man, who is a resident of Bagalkote.

A detailed investigation was underway to ascertain how he got infected, the department said in a bulletin.

It said that till date, 128 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, including three deaths and 11 discharges.

"With 128 cases we are in ninth position in the country in number of cases.Today four new cases were confirmed, of which three were those who attended Tablighi-Jamaat congregation," Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar told reporters, giving details about the bulletin.

He said 187 of the total of 288 samples collected from those who attended the congregation had tested negative and only 13 had turned positive so far.

"Out of 288 samples collected, we have got report for only 200 cases and are awaiting reports for 88," he added.

Though Kumar did not give any figures on the total number of people who went from Karnataka to attend theDelhi meet, the health department on Thursday had said nearly 1,000 people (including 19 foreigners) linked to Tablighi Jamat had been screened and swab samples of more than 200 people had been collected, while efforts are on to find out others.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday held a meeting with Muslim leaders and MLAs even as the government stepped up efforts to track those who might have travelled to the state after taking part in the meet in Delhi last month, which has turned out to be the hotbed of COVID-19 spread in the country.

After the meeting, the Chief Minister said Muslim MLAs agreed to provide details of those who attended the Jamaat's congregation to the government and also convince them to undergo COVID-19 tests, along with quarantining themselves.

Out of total of 114 active cases in the state so far, 111 patients (including 1 pregnant woman) are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while three are in ICU (one on oxygen and two on Ventilators).

Seven of the 128 cases detected and confirmed were transit passengers of Kerala, who landed at airports in Karnataka and are being treated in the state.

Among the 128 positive cases, 51 were reported from Bengaluru, 21 from Mysuru, 10 from Bidar, nine from Dakshina Kannada, eight from Uttara Kannada, seven from Chikkaballapur, five from Kalaburgai, four from Ballari, three each from Davangere, Belagavi and Udupi, and one each from Kodagu, Tumakuru, Bagalkote and Dharwad.

Those discharged include nine patients from Bengaluru and two from Kalaburagi and among the deceased are one each are reported from Kalaburgari, Bengaluru and Tumakuru.

The Chief Minister held a series of meetings to review the measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19 and implementation of lockdown in the state.

He asked the labour department to deposit an additional Rs 1,000 from the Construction Workers Welfare Fund to the accounts of 15 lakh labourers in the sector.

The government has already deposited Rs 1000 to their accounts (amounting about Rs 150 crore) in the first round.

During the meeting the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Kits for Doctors and health care professionals was discussed.

"Work order has been issued for 1 lakh PPE kits, and the Chief Minister has issued directions for the supply of 2 lakh more PPE kits," Kumar said.

Yediyurappa also chaired a meeting with Ministers from Bengaluru on steps to be taken to control spread of COVID-19, as the city has more than half the confirmed cases in the state.

He also decided to covene a meeting of city legislators in this regard on Saturday morning.

Kumar said it was also decided not to provide food free of cost at the state run Indira Canteens as concerns were raised about the quality and misuse that was happening during the Chief Minister's meeting with ministers today.

"We have decided to stop free food supply...we are providing foodgrains to poor through ration already," he said.

However, the Canteens will continue to provide subsidized food- breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch and dinner at Rs 10.

The government last month had decided that Indira Canteens would provide food packets free of cost to the poor and needy in the wake of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, in view of COVID-19, emergency Additional Chief Secretary, H&FW Department ordered extension ofservices of Medical and Para-medical staff, Clinical and Nonclinical staff retiring in April and May this year, to June 30.

Amid reports of lack of co-ordination between Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar and Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu, Chief Minister Yediyurappa has tasked Suresh Kumar to brief the media on COVID-19 related daily bulletins, official sources said.

New Delhi, Feb 24: India has deeply appreciated the Senegal government's decision to extradite fugitive gangster Ravi Poojary to India, official sources said on Sunday.

Facilitation of transit provided by the Government of France has also been acknowledged, they said.

Ravi Prakash Poojary, accused of committing a number of serious offences including murder and extortion in multiple jurisdictions, was extradited from Senegal on Saturday.

The probe agencies have persistently pursued the case for his extradition with the authorities in Senegal. India had made a request with Senegal for his extradition in early 2019, sources said.

Poojary was associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Bengaluru, Jan 8: The second instalment of flood relief funds from the Centre, announced on Monday, has left BS Yediyurappa less than cheerful, with the chief minister insisting that it is barely adequate. The CM on Tuesday said he will urge the Union government to release more.

On Monday, the Centre announced it will release Rs 669.8 crore in addition to the Rs 1,200 crore it had released earlier towards flood relief and rehabilitation. The total sum is a small fraction of the loss, which the government pegged at a staggering Rs 38,000 crore.

“The Centre has released assistance in two instalments so far, but it is inadequate given the magnitude of the damage. I will request for more funds and I am confident the Centre will oblige,” Yediyurappa told reporters.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the state last week, Yediyurappa had urged him — even openly at a function — to release funds. This followed several pleas over the past four months, which barely drew a response from the Centre. Now, the CM himself suggests it’s barely a drop in the ocean.

The opposition has been criticizing both Yediyurappa and the Centre for their handling of the situation and on Tuesday, leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah of the Congress criticised the CM for “misguiding people” on the sum released by the Centre.

Siddaramaiah tweeted, “Reports from State govt officials say only Rs 669 cr of addl funds are released in 2nd instalment as opposed to the claim of Rs 1,870 cr by Karnataka BJP leaders. At a time when manufacturing industries are closing, BJP’s fake news factory is running at full potential ".

In another tweet, he said, “Moved by the plea of chief minister, Yediyurappa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released an additional Rs 669.8 crore, taking the total amount to Rs 1,869.8 crore. BJP leaders, who are devotees of the god of lies, attempts to depict the total relief amount as 1200+1869.85 = Rs 3,069 cr is ridiculous.”

A high-level committee chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah had sanctioned the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) funds on Monday. While the Press Information Bureau claimed Rs 1,869 crore was approved on Monday, state government officials clarified that the figure included the Rs 1,200 crore released in October.

Meanwhile, sources say the two instalments is all the assistance the state can expect from the Centre towards flood relief. Sources say the Rs 1,870 crore is roughly 60% of the funding — Rs 3,000 cr— which was supposed to be allocated for Karnataka, based on an inter-ministerial team’s assessment of losses in the state.

“Compared to other states for the same period, Karnataka has received the highest amount in flood relief. We cannot expect more,” said a revenue department official, who said the government will not approach the Centre for a special package.

However, revenue minister R Ashoka said the state will pitch for the entire Rs 3,000 crore. “The state government will pursue the matter with the Centre until it releases the entire Rs 3,000 crore. The state government will cover the remainder of the Rs 38,000 crore loss. We will not go back on our word,” Ashoka said. Incidentally, the state has spent about Rs 6,000 crore on relief and rehabilitation so far.