We have come to power to change the Constitution of India: BJP leader

Mangaluru, Mar 12: Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh on Thursday said that the test reports of the 35-year-old passenger from Dubai have shown no signs of either Coronavirus (COVID-19) or H1N1.

In statement issued here Ms Rupesh said that the passenger has now been discharged from the Bantwal hospital. He has been asked to stay at home quarantined for the next 14 days.

The passenger, who had been diagnosed with fever after he arrived at the airport from Dubai on March 8, had left the Government Wenlock Hospital in the early hours of March 9 refusing to undergo tests.

Later, he was traced and admitted to the hospital in Bantwal and his throat swab samples had been sent to Viral Research Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) in Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences.

Meanwhile, throat swab samples of six patients were also found negative for COVID-19.

As many asf 49 people were under quarantine in the district of which five have completed the 28-day cycle.

All passengers arriving by international flights and those in contact with them should voluntarily report to the district health team and undergo self-quarantine for 14 days. If there were symptoms of cough, cold and fever, they should undergo tests for COVID-19. If the reports were positive for COVID-19, then they have to stay in the isolation ward of the Government Wenlock Hospital or in the seven select private hospitals for 28 days.

Screening facility at the airport has been strengthened by posting doctors from seven private medical colleges on rotation basis. These doctors would be in addition to the medical officer at the airport. An ambulance has been placed at the airport exclusively to shift people to the hospitals, she added.

The State government has issued a notification on Wednesday authorising Deputy Commissioners to get the affected admitted by force, if necessary.

Bengaluru, July 23: The High Court of Karnataka has directed the state government to formulate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for child protection, particularly for cases of child pornography and child missing.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice M Nagaprasanna passed a detailed order and asked the state government to submit compliance within three months.

The division bench passed the order on two PILs, including a suo motu litigation registered in 2018. The PILs were registered to ensure effective implementation of the directions of the Supreme Court on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act).

The bench observed that in normal courses, courts do not issue writ of mandamus to the legislature on rule-making aspects. However, when the failure of the state is demonstrated under exceptional circumstances, courts can issue directions. The bench directed the state government to expedite the rule-making process to ensure proper implementation of the JJ Act.

The bench expressed displeasure on the insensitive police investigation in cases of child pornography. “The police machinery did not show the sensitivity expected from it while dealing with cases of alleged child pornography. Therefore, it will be appropriate if the state issues SOP or guidelines for dealing with cases of child pornography so that proper investigation is carried out in such cases. As we are directing the formation of SOP for dealing with child pornography cases, the state is also directed to formulate guidelines on child missing cases,” the bench said.

The bench had been issuing several directions since 2018 and has also been monitoring police investigations. The court observed that while the state government has incorporated several directions, some issues still remain unaddressed.

The bench directed the government to have dedicated staff for the Directorate of Integrated Child Protection Scheme considering the sensitive nature of work.

On working of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB), the court asked the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court to issue directions to the principal magistrates of all the JJBs in the state to sit on all working days for a minimum of six hours a day. 

The high court directed the state to exercise the rule-making powers for obtaining an annual report from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Shivamogga, May 21: An FIR has been registered against Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district of Karnataka over tweets on May 11 by the party's official handle about PM-CARES fund.

The FIR, registered under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), identifies Gandhi as the handler of the social media account.

The complaint by advocate Praveen KV alleged that the Congress party, through the tweets, has made rumourous statements against the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was trying to provoke the people against the government.

According to the FIR, the Congress party had on May 11, 2020, made false and baseless allegations, claimed misappropriation of PM-CARES Fund and cast aspersions on the Government of India through the tweets.

"A Twitter account handled by All India Congress Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi had on May 11, 2020, published tweets terming PM CARES Fund as PM CARES Fraud. They had claimed that the PM CARES fund is not being used for the public," Praveen KV told ANI on Thursday.

He said that he has collected all the details related to the tweets and account from the handle and filed a complaint in the matter, following which a preliminary enquiry was conducted and an FIR was registered in the matter.

"They had also said that the Prime Minister was enjoying and going to foreign trips with this fund. This is clearly rumourous news against the Government of India in this COVID-19 pandemic situation. In this regard, I had filed a complaint. After a primary enquiry, the Sagar Police has filed an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, who heads the INC Twitter account," Praveen KV said.