Udupi: Bajrang Dal men thrash 2 for transporting buffaloes; arrested

Bengaluru, Jan 30: There are around 3 lakh Bangladeshis across Karnataka and around 3,000 of them left Bengaluru following the recent crackdown, according to Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru city police commissioner.

It's the first time a high-ranking official has put a number to Bangladeshis in Karnataka following the debate over the new citizenship law.

At a conclave on 'Construction Workers Safety, Health and Welfare' organised by the labour department and IIMB here, he said the estimate was arrived at based on information sourced from Bangladeshis deported recently.

There's been no study to ascertain the Bangladeshi population in the state, Rao said, adding that most illegal Bangladeshis in Bengaluru are victims of human trafficking.

"They come to Bengaluru for employment. Unlike other cities, Bengaluru has a lot of job potential and pays good salaries too. There are a lot of Bangladeshis working in the construction industry," Rao said.

Workers from Bangladesh demand lower wages. While other labourers demand around Rs 500 to Rs 600 per day, Bangladeshi workers don’t complain about being paid around Rs 100-150,” Rao said, adding that this has encouraged human traffickers to increasingly bring in Bangladeshis.

Suresh Hari, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, however, said they’re not aware of the nationality of their workers as contractors bring workers registered for tasks. “It’s difficult to say where they are from as there’s also construction work outside Credai’s purview,” Hari said.

Mangaluru, Jan 31: Four people, including a minor and a teen-aged boy, have been arrested on charges of spreading false messages on social media with in Bantwal taluk of Dakshnina Kannada District.

Police said on Friday that the arrested have been identified as Siddik (27), K Mohammed (19), Hanif (25) and a 16-year-old boy.

They are accused of spreading false news on social media using different mobile numbers in Bantwal Taluk for disturbing communal harmony, police said adding a case had been registered at the Vitla police station in this connection.

Bengaluru, Apr 12: As many as 17 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on Sunday in Karnataka, taking the total number of infected to 232, the health department said.

This includes six deaths and 54 discharges.

According to the bulletin issued by the health department, six cases were reported from Vijayapura, four cases in Belagavi, three each in Bengaluru city and Kalaburagi and one in Mysuru.

Among the 17, four people are suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) -- two of whom are in Bengaluru and one each in Vijayapura and Kalaburagi, the department said.

Following the sudden spurt in cases in Vijayapura, the department has initiated contact tracing.

Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, Bengaluru continued to top the list with 76 cases, followed by Mysuru with 48 cases, Belagavi with 14 cases, Kalaburagi with 13 cases and Dakshina Kannada with 12 cases.