Karnataka govt declares holiday for all schools on July 25, 26 owing to bus strike

Bengaluru, Feb 25: A smooth-talking ‘swamiji’ has come under police radar after a widow lodged a complaint stating he cheated her of over Rs 27 crore and three kgs of gold between 2016 and 2019.

The woman, Geetha of Ramamurthynagar, was staying with her three sons after her husband, a landlord, died in 2009. Her family owned several sites in Tavarekere and other parts of the city, apart from a farm near Bethamangala in Kolar district.

Geetha, who had got into property disputes with her relatives, said she was introduced to the accused, Nagaraj C of Bangarapet, who claimed to possess powers to ward off evil spirits, by one of her farm labourers. “I was assured that all my problems would be solved. He came to my house and claimed he had been sent by god and would find solutions to all my problems,” she stated.

Nagaraj allegedly pretended to be possessed by spirits and directed her to give him gold bars. Geetha ended up giving three kgs of gold in the process. Later, he began directing her to sell a few properties stating these were the root cause of her problems. “I sold many properties and pledged a few residential sites. He took Rs 22.5 crore that came from selling properties, apart from Rs 5 crore cash from my husband’s savings,” she stated.

She said Nagaraj took the money from her on the promise of buying alternative properties. “When I demanded he return all my money, he threatened to kill me and my kids using evil spirits,” she alleged.

Police have registered a case of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation under various IPC sections and Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017, against Nagaraj and others.

Bengaluru, May 9: A three-year-old boy was killed by a leopard in the early hours of Saturday in Magadi taluk near Bengaluru.

According to police, the boy identified as C Hemanth, was sleeping with his parents - Chandrasekhar and Mangalagowramma - outside his grandfather Chikkanna's residence at Kadaraiana Palya.

The couple, residents of Dodderi, near Big Banyan Tree (Dodda Alada Mara), had been staying at Chikkanna's [Mangalagowramma's father] residence since past a few days following the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic in Bengaluru.

Some of the family members, with the child, had slept outside the residence on Friday as the temperature was high. The feline might have taken the child between 1.30 a.m. and 4 a.m., and killed it on the outskirts of the village, said the sources.

After a frantic search, family members and villagers found the mutilated body of the child in the early hours. The leopard had left the partially devoured body on the outskirts of the village, added the sources.

According to the villagers, many felines have been prowling in the area, probably arriving from forests around Magadi and attached areas, for the last several weeks.

The Forest Department officials said that they have launched an exercise to trap the animal by placing cages with live baits.

According to preliminary investigations, the child was killed by a leopard. Pugmarks were found near the body. A detailed investigation and post-mortem report will find the exact cause for the death.

The incident has sent shockwaves in the vicinity of the village. According to the sources, people are planning to launch a protest to condemn the killing of the boy.

Minister for Forest and Environment B.S. Anand Singh has announced a compensation of ₹7.5 lakh to the family of the victim.

Accompanied by Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha member D.K. Suresh, Magadi legislator Manjunath and senior officials, Mr. Singh visited the place on Saturday morning.

Addressing media persons, he said that the department has decided to start combing operations for the leopard.

Mr. Suresh said the leopard might have come from Thippagondanahalli reservoir's catchment area on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The leopard has already tasted the blood of the child and hence the department should initiate immediate action [as the chances of the feline becoming a man-eater is high, Mr. Suresh added.

Bengaluru, Apr 16: With two more people testing positive for COVID-19 in Karnataka, the state's corona cases count has reached 279, including 80 discharged and 12 deaths, said the government on Wednesday.

A total of 19 corona cases were confirmed in the state on Wednesday. 17 cases were reported earlier in the day, of which 15 are male patients and two are female. Of the 17 cases, nine are workers of a pharmaceutical company in Mysuru, the government stated.

Meanwhile, a 65-year-old from Chikkaballapur, who had tested positive for COVID-19, lost his life this afternoon.

"He was referred to a Bengaluru hospital with complaints of H1N1 positive, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with obstructive sleep apnea and a past history of diabetes and hypertension," the government said.