Sexual abuse of 6-year-old girl: RSS worker remanded in judicial custody

Udupi, Jun 30: The novel coronavirus has claimed another life in the coastal district. The throat swabs of a 48-year-old man who breathed his last two days ago tested positive today. 

With this, the covid-19 death toll in the district rose to 3.

The man, who was a native of Kalthodu in Byndoor, had returned from Mumbai on June 2. He breathed his last on June 28 at his residence. 

The deceased’s swabs were collected on the same day. The report came today. He was reportedly suffering from some illnesses.

The funeral of the deceased was held as per protocol. The swab samples of primary contacts of the deceased were also taken.

Bengaluru, Jun 22: Concerned over the increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday directed officials to implement lockdown measures strictly in the clusters which have reported more infections.

Yediyurappa held a meeting with Ministers and senior officials regarding containing COVID-19 in Bengaluru and said it can be achieved only if preventive measures are implemented strictly and asked the officials to work in this direction.

"Lockdown shall be implemented strictly in the clusters which reported more cases, especially, K.R. Market and surrounding areas such as Siddapura, VV Puram, Kalasipalya etc. It was decided to seal the adjoining streets, where the cases are reported, a release from the Chief Minister's office said. Stringent action would be taken against those who violate quarantine norms and FIR would be filed if necessary, it said.

Till Sunday evening, the state capital has reported 1,272 cases of COVID-19, including 64 deaths and 411 discharges. On Sunday, as many as 196 fresh cases were recorded. Officers were directed to ensure hygiene and provide other basic amenities to the people who were quarantined in the social welfare department's hostels and other government institutions.

"COVID-19 should be contained without affecting the economic activities in Bengaluru, which resumed recently," the Chief Minister said.

Noting that booth-level officers and volunteers were working to trace contacts and monitor quarantined persons, he said the COVID war room shall have real-time information on the availability of beds in various designated hospitals and facilitate treatment to the infected without loss of time.

A bulletin from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body, said there were 298 active containment zones in the city. BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar along with the Chamarajpet Congress MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan visited a few slum areas in the city to take stock of the COVID-19 situation, officials said.

Patna, Mar 31: In arguably the first of its kind incident in the country, a young man in Bihar was beaten to death precisely because he had informed the district control room about two corona suspects who had arrived here in the State from Mumbai.

The incident took place in Sitamarhi in North Bihar where a 20-year-old youth Bablu Kumar was allegedly killed by Sudhir Mahto and Munna Mahto.

The two Mahtos had arrived from Mumbai to Sitamarhi around ten days back. Bablu, in the meantime, informed the district control room about the arrival of two persons from a State where a large number of people were afflicted with coronavirus.

A team of doctors on March 24 reached Runnisaidpur in Sitamarhi to examine the two suspects. Three days later, these two persons from Maharashtra tested negative.

But the incident (of informing control room and subsequent medial test) created such enmity between the family of Mahtos and Babloo that on Sunday when they found the 20-year-old young man sitting alone, they thrashed him so mercilessly that he died on the spot.

Shocked and grief-struck, Babloo’s father Vinod Singh eventually lodged an FIR with the police and named Sudhir Mahto, Munna Mahto, and their family members as accused in the killing of his son.

The police on Monday raided the place and arrested the Mahtos.

But then, this is not an isolated case of violence. In another incident that took place in Bihar’s Jehanabad district, a BDO Ajay Kumar and a police officer Chandrashekhar Kumar were attacked by fellow villagers when the officials reached there to quarantine those migrants who had reached there from Delhi. So angry were the villagers with the officials’ move to isolate the migrants that they smashed the window-panes of the government vehicles and attacked the officials.

The officials had to beat a hasty retreat. But they soon returned with additional police team which used brutal force and took local leaders into custody before restoring normalcy in the area.