Suresh Gopi's anti-violence speech in Mangaluru irks Sangh Parivar

Mangaluru, May 15: Dakshina Kannada saw a record spike in the number of fresh COVID-19 cases today, which triggered panic among the people of the district, which is currently under orange zone.   

According to the mid-day bulletin of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, as many as 16 people from Dakshina Kannada tested positive for the covid-19. 

Among them 15 are the Gulf returnees who were brought by an Air India Express special flight from Dubai to Mangaluru International Airport on May 12. 

As many as 179 repatriates had landed at Mangaluru Airport. Among them 125 are quarantined in Dakshina Kannada, 49 in Udupi and five in Uttara Kannada districts.  

Meanwhile, a 68-year-old woman from Surathkal area in Mangaluru, who is suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) was also tested covid-19 positive.

This is the highest number of cases reported in a single day since first case registered in the district on March 22 when Dubai-bound youth from Bhatkal was tested positive. 

With this the total number of covid-19 cases in the district mounted to 50 including five deaths. Many of them have returned home after recovery.

3 members of a family test positive

According to Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh, three members of a same family are among 15 gulf returnees who are tested positive.  They are a 45-year-old man, his 33-year-old wife and their 6-year-old child. 

Six among those who tested positive today are above 60 years of age, said the deputy commissioner. 
 

Bengaluru, Feb 27: Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa turned 78 on Thursday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leaders greeting him.

Modi hailed Yediyurappa as a "hardworking" chief minister and wished him long life and good health, while several state leaders flocked to his residence and greeted the Lingayat strongman.

"Birthday greetings to Karnataka's hardworking CM @BSYBJP Ji. He is passionately working for the state's progress, especially on farmer welfare and rural development. I pray for his long life and good health," the Prime Minister tweeted.

A large-scale "non-partisan" birthday bash will be held here later in the evening.

The felicitation function will see Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and former chief minister S M Krishna besides Siddaramaiah of Congress and H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) sharing the stage.

Union Ministers D V Sadananda Gowda, also a former chief minister, Pralhad Joshi and Suresh Angadi will be in attendance.

BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B L Santosh and state party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel are among those who will be gracing the event.

While Santosh will release a felicitation volume in Kannada with 78 articles from a cross-section of people, including politicians, writers, bureaucrats, and spiritual leaders; Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy will unveil a coffee table book and documentary respectively.

Yediyurappa, on the eve of his birthday on Wednesday, had said whatever he has achieved is a result of the people's "blessings and faith" and requested well-wishers not to bring bouquets, flowers, shawls, sweets, turbans or any souvenirs to greet him.

The birthday function organised by "Yediyurappa Abhinandana Samiti" (Yediyurappa Felicitation Committee) is being seen in some quarters as an attempt by Yediyurappa and his loyalists to send a message to the party leadership that he was still "strong".

The BJP's current dispensation under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has retired several senior party leaders who crossed the age of 75.

However, an exception was said to have been made in Yediyurappa's case after the BJP won 25 of 28 seats in the Lok Sabha election under his leadership.

In the 2018 elections, he spearheaded the campaign of the BJP which emerged as the single largest party but fell short of the majority mark following which Congress and JD(S) came to power stitching a post-poll pact.

However, the coalition collapsed in July last year, paving the way for return of Yediyurappa as Chief Minister for the fourth time.

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Two Iranian nationals have been arrested by the Karnataka police for allegedly stealing money from car showrooms by diverting cashiers’ attention in Mangaluru, Udupi and Bengaluru.

The arrested are Saeed Rostami, 26 and his friend Saber Hossein Eghbalzadeh, 35, are both residents of Tehran and in India on tourist visa. They were caught by the sleuths of Bengaluru’s RMC Yard police station.

The accused would approach the cashiers, asking for change for Rs 2000 notes to divert their attention and flee with cash from the showroom. 

The duo landed in New Delhi on January 16. Later, they arrived in coastal Karnataka before reaching Bengaluru on February 1. 

The same day around 4pm, the two visited Trident Automobile Pvt Ltd’s service centre in RMC Yard. They went to cashier Kiran and sought change for Rs 2000. One of them dropped the note and Kiran picked it up for him. Meanwhile, Kiran also noticed there was no change in his cash box and informed the duo accordingly. 

“Kiran later realised Rs 44,000 was missing from the cash box. He verified CCTV footage and found the two visitors stole the money when he bent down to pick up the Rs 2000 note,” a police officer said.

Kiran filed a theft and cheating case against the men. RMC Yard police suggested Kiran circulate the footage at other car showrooms and service centres as they had heard about similar incidents being reported from Udupi, Mangaluru and other places in Bengaluru.

“Sharing of CCTV footage helped us nab the suspects. They visited a showroom near Cauvery junction on Ballari Road on February 6. The staff noticed the duo and realised they were the same guys, who had stolen the money at RMC Yard and informed us,” said police.