You can’t question the legitimacy of Hadiya’s marriage: SC tells NIA

Bengaluru, Mar 24: Underlining the seriousness of the coronavirus, which is spreading like wildfire in Karnataka, renowned Heart Surgeon and founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya Dr Devi Shetty on Tuesday predicted that Karnataka alone will have more than 80,000 people affected with the dreaded killer disease COVID-19 if people fail to protect themselves.

He urged the people to cooperate with the Government in preventing its further spread and immediately treat those who are affected.

Dr Shetty, urging the people to remain indoors and not to venture out, said those who are affected should not come out and remain in isolation even in their houses and take all precautions advised by doctors.

He said if 80,000 people in the state were affected, more than 20,000 need to be admitted to Hospital for treatment.

"More than 2000 affected need to be kept under ventilation and it requires more infrastructure in the hospitals," he said.

A 7-year-old Dalit girl who had gone missing from outside her residence in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukkottai district on June 30 was found dead last evening. 

Police sources said that the body with severe injures was found in a forest area bordering her village. The young girl had been sexually assaulted before the murder, according to police.

Victim’s neighbour, Raja, 25, who belongs to the Pandaram caste, has been arrested in connection with the incident.

While they have included murder charges in the First Information Report (FIR) against him, they are awaiting the post-mortem report to add sections of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offence Act (POCSO act) in the FIR.

"The girl was playing outside her home at 4pm. Her parents then found her missing and her father filed a complaint at the station at around 7pm. Efforts were then underway to find the girl," said an investigating official.

They found the minor's body in the forest area near her village on the evening of July 1. Her clothes were in a state of disarray and her face was severely injured.

"She has been beaten with sticks on the face and injuries are clearly visible. The post-mortem will reveal the actual cause of death," says an official from the district.

Police sources further add that the neighbour had found the minor roaming around the area on Wednesday and allegedly took advantage of the fact that she was alone.

"During inquiry he admitted that he had sexually assaulted and murdered the girl," says a police official from the district. "Further investigation is underway and we will have more clarity once we get the post mortem report," he adds.