Voting underway in 102 ULB polls across Karnataka; bigwigs cast their vote

Bengaluru, Jan 28: Brace for hefty traffic penalties as the state government is all set to reverse a notification on revised fines which came into effect last September following pushback from road users and opposition parties.

The Karnataka government will implement traffic penalties as stipulated in the amended Motor Vehicles Act, 2019, in a phased manner following a diktat from the Centre. The government did not specify the timeline for it.

“At a recent meeting of transport ministers from various states, the Union government explained why it wanted to implement these huge fines. We found it convincing and will implement it in its original form,” said transport minister Laxman Savadi on Monday.

Savadi said India’s image globally has taken a beating due to the high number of road deaths and the Centre wants to change it at any cost. However, he said the entire set of hefty fines would not be reintroduced all at once.

BJP govt revised rates in Sept

The BJP government last September had revised fines on compoundable offences and those which are fined on the spot by traffic cops by 50%- 80%, barring drunken driving and racing.

As per the revised rates, helmetless riding attracted a penalty of Rs 500 against Rs 1,000 notified by the Centre. Driving without a licence attracted a fine of Rs 1,000 for

two- and three-wheelers and Rs 2,000 for light motor vehicles as against the earlier Rs 5,000 for all types of vehicles.

The central government recently told states and Union Territories they should enforce fines as per the amended Act and they cannot be rolled back. The road transport and highways ministry said fines cannot be reduced below the minimum amount fixed by law, unless the President gives his assent.

A 32-year-old Dalit man was allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of 13 youth in Karnataka's Vijayapura for reportedly touching a motorbike of an upper caste owner, police said on Monday.

"On a complaint by the Dalit victim (Kashinath Talwar), we have booked the 13 accused and investigating the incident, which occurred at Minajgi village near Talikoti on July 18," Vijayapura district Superintendent of Police Anupam Agarwal told reporters here.

"Though Talwar claimed that he touched the bike by mistake and pleaded for mercy, he said the accused severely thrashed him with sticks and footwear and took off his pants while he lay on the road haplessly," Agarwal said, citing from the victim's 2-page complaint in Kannada.

A video clip of the assault went viral on the social media and triggered outrage in the district against the upper caste accused, as the intervention by the victim's parents did not stop them from carrying the assault. Vijayapura is 524km northwest of Bengaluru.

Dalit man stripped, thrashed in Karnataka village just for ‘touching’ bike pic.twitter.com/pMLSnaVcTp

— coastaldigest.com (@coastaldigest) July 20, 2020

Talwar's father Yankappa also alleged that he, his wife and their daughter were also attacked by the accused when they tried to rescue him from being brutally assaulted.

In a related development, two-three women in the village also filed a complaint with the police against Talwar for allegedly eve-teasing and 'flashing' before them.

"We have summoned Talwar to inquire about his conduct as the women alleged that he teased them, touched them inappropriately and exposed his private parts while they were washing clothes outside their houses," Agarwal said.

2/2

Here is the FIR and complaint copy pic.twitter.com/mKmJ2NC5bR

— Kiran Parashar (@KiranParashar21) July 19, 2020

Bengaluru, May 17: Karnataka on Sunday extended lockdown for two days until midnight of Tuesday, May 19. Earlier today, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra extended the lockdown till May 31. The state government said that the guidelines and norms as followed during Coronavirus Lockdown 3 will remain in place till 19th midnight or till further notice.

Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in Karnataka rose to 1,146 on Saturday. With 37 deaths and 497 discharges, there are 611 active corona cases in the state. 

Out of 54 new cases, twentytwo are from Mandya, ten from Kalaburagi, six from Hassan, four from Dharwad, three each from Yadgir and Kolar, two each from Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga, and one each from Udupi and Vijayapura.