Aiming to defeat HDK’s son, BJP backs Sumalatha Ambareesh in Mandya LS seat

Bengaluru, Jul 13: In an attempt to avoid the ugly scene of migrant workers walking to their native places due to the current week-long lockdown imposed in the state, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is running 1,600 additional buses on Monday and Tuesday to help them return safely.

The KSRTC has already run 249 additional buses from the State capital and has so far ferried 6,641 passengers and 231 buses have been booked.

The KSRTC appealed to the public not to panic as additional buses have been deployed. "After ensuring social distance and conducting thermal screening, passengers will be allowed to travel. It has already been planned to operate additional buses," the corporation stated in a press release here.

Bengaluru, May 1: Karnataka government has assigned State Nodal Officers after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order regarding the inter-state movement of stranded migrant workers, tourists, pilgrims and students during the lockdown period.

The Nodal officers have also been appointed for coordination with 11 different states.

In an order issued on Thursday, Karnataka Government wrote, "To facilitate smooth and orderly movement of persons across State borders as per SOPs, the undersigned, in the exercise of powers conferred under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and in the capacity as Chairman, State Executive Committee, hereby appoint the following officers as Nodal officers to coordinate with Nodal Officers of States/Union Territories (UTs) mentioned against their names."

Dr Rajkumar Khatri, IAS and Arun Jeji Chakravarthy, IPS will be overall in charge of the movement of stranded people from outside States/UTs to Karnataka.

N Manjunatha Prasad, IAS and P S Sandhu, IPS will be overall in charge of the movement of stranded people from Karnataka to other States/UTs.

Bidar, Jan 31: In a disturbing development, the police have arrested two women – a schoolteacher and mother of two students – in connection with staging a play against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens at a prestigious school in Karnataka’s Bidar.

The arrested have been identified as Farida Begum, headmistress of Shaheen Urdu Medium Primary School, and Navida, the mother of a student who played a role in the play.

The development comes days after police filed a sedition case against the management of Shaheen School following a complaint lodged by the ABVP claiming that play contained objectionable dialogues against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The drama was performed during an annual function of the school on January 21.

Bidar SP Sreedhara T confirmed the arrest of Farida Begum and Navida, and said the accused were remanded to judicial custody on Thursday.

Sreedhara said that based on the complaint by one Neelesh Rakshal, the police filed an FIR under sedition charges, initially against the headmistress and management of the school on Saturday. He said that the police have questioned about 50 people, including the members of the management committee of Shaheen Urdu Medium Primary School, staff of the school, audience, parents and students. Based on the statements and evidence, the headmistress and the parent have been arrested.

The SP said that as per the statements and evidence collected, they came to know that the headmistress played a major role in organising the controversial play. The students practised the drama for a week and the headmistress knew about its script containing controversial dialogues against the Prime Minister and senior BJP leaders.

Considering this, she has been booked for creating communal disharmony and abetting sections. The SP said that when a dialogue of slapping the Prime Minister was said on the stage, Navida gave her chappals to the child, to be used while saying the dialogue. She has been arrested for abetting.

Expressing shock over sedition case and arrests, Dr Abdul Qadeer, the chairman of Shaheen Group of Institutions, said that the school management would fight out legally.

About Shaheen Group

Founded by Dr Abdul Qadeer, Shaheen Group has spread its wings through nine states of India and runs 43 institutions and related units. It has also been running a unique course for Huffaz named as ‘Hifz Ul Quran Plus’ in which Huffaz are prepared to appear and excel in competitive exams (NEET-JEE(IIT)).

According to Dr Qadeer, Shaheen’s mission is to engage, educate and empower wards, equipping them with strengths to enter the world of opportunities through free education across various domains in state- owned academic centers of excellence.

The group also runs coaching centers for medical and engineering entrance examinations. So far 1,200 students from the Shaheen Group of institutions got seats in government medical colleges, he said.

‘Hifz Ul Quran Plus’ course was for huffaz between 12 and 17 years. A four-year integrated course is conducted for Huffaz-E-Karam for getting students modern education. By pursuing this course and by appearing in competitive exams (NEET-IIT JEE), Huffaz will be able to get admission into MBBS, BE, & MBA, he said.