Sajid A K elected president of Highland Islamic Forum

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Assuring support to reform the police department, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday directed officials to strengthen Cyber Crime, Economic Offences & Narcotics (CEN) stations and forensic labs in the state.

The Chief Minister who held a review of the Home Department, lauded the work of police personnel during the COVID-19 crisis, and promised necessary help to reform the department.

Pointing at the changing scenario, the Chief Minister instructed officials to give priority to strengthen CEN stations, his office said in a release. Similarly, for quick detection of crimes, necessary action will be taken to strengthen forensic labs, he added. During the meeting it was also decided to continue more than 3,000 home guards, who were in the fear of losing jobs, and to deploy them to various departments.

Yediyurappa directed officials to take necessary steps to make home guard services available to private organisations also. Officials informed the Chief Minister that all necessary COVID-19 related precautions have been taken at prisons and no case has been reported so far at jails. They said as per Supreme Court directions, 5,005 people were released on bail and parole, and congestion of prisoners at prisons has been reduced from 110 per cent to 95 per cent.

Yediyurappa also asked the officials to submit a proposal based on facts towards development of basic amenities that comes under the Home Department.

Thrissur, Mar 7: A local temple in Kerala is at the centre of a social media storm after the picture of a ''Brahmins-only toilet'' outside its main campus went viral on online platforms, prompting the management to remove the signboard.

The picture of three toilets, with signboards showing "Men", "Women" and "Brahmins", at the Kuttumukku Mahadeva Temple in Thrissur, has gone viral with many social media users viewing it as an unethical practise that can portray the progressive state in a bad light.

However, temple officials said the toilets were located outside the main campus and the board was brought to their notice only now.

Kannan, an official of the temple committee, said the board was placed nearly two decades ago and nobody raised any complaint against it so far.

"That particular toilet was being used by priests and other temple employees. We didn't even notice that board... As soon as we came to know about it, we removed it and affixed a staff-only board," he told PTI.

Also a CPI-M functionary and ward councillor, Kannan said the shrine and it's management was against all kinds of unethical customs.

The temple official said they were planning to pursue legal measures against the man who posted the photo of the toilets on social media.

"We suspect that he did it deliberately to create issues during the time of the festival and to tarnish the shrine's reputation. Not only that, the photo he shared was an old one though he claimed that it was taken during the time of the festival, " he said.

Mangaluru, Jan 22: Mangaluru Commissioner of Police PS Harsha said that Aditya Rao, who surrendered before Bengaluru Police after planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Mangaluru International Airport, is now in their custody.

"Our Investigation team arrested Aditya Rao in Bengaluru in connection with planting of an explosive device at Mangaluru Airport on January 20. We produced the accused before Bengaluru first JMFC court and court issued transit warrant," said Harsha.

"We have brought him to Mangaluru from Bengaluru, now the accused is in our custody, our investigation team will interrogate him. We will investigate all aspects. He will be produced before Mangaluru 6th JMFC Court," he added.

Rao hails from Udupi and has engineering and MBA degrees.

According to the police, the IED was recovered from a bag at Mangaluru airport on January 20. It was later defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad.