Mangaluru: Gulf returnees pour out their woes at consultation meet

Mangaluru, Jan 31: Mahesh Vikram Hegde, the co-founder of website 'Postcard News', known for spreading fake news on behalf of Sangh Parivar, was taken aback when he was asked to sing 'Vande Mataram' to prove his patriotism by a group of women activists at Mangaluru International Airport.

The video of the incident which occurred on Friday, days after editor-in-chief and co-founder of Republic TV Arnab Goswami was heckled by comedian Kunal Kamra on a flight, went viral on social media within hours.

Hegde was spotted by social activist Kavitha Reddy, and other young orators – Najma Nazeer and Amulya Leona – at the airport where he was waiting to board a plane to Bengaluru.

In a video, the three women are seen coercing Hegde to sing 'Vande Mataram' and prove his patriotism. In another video being circulated, the women are heard telling the journalist that he is getting an opportunity to become a 'hero' from 'zero' if he sings 'Vande Mataram.' However, he refused to open his mouth.

Reddy is seen asking Hegde whether he knew the time when Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

Hegde was arrested in 2018 for posting a fake news aimed at creating communal conflict.

When saffron journalist Vikram Hegde refuses to sing 'Vande Mataram' pic.twitter.com/4TZHbpkvtd

— coastaldigest.com (@coastaldigest) February 1, 2020

Benglauru, May 17: A garment company manager jumped to death from his third-floor house on Saturday, four days after having killed his wife and wrapping her body in a blanket. 

Manish Kumar, 42, gave a relative and neighbours frightening moments before committing suicide at AECS Layout, Kudlu Gate, Southeast Bengaluru. The relative had come over after Kumar’s brother called him from Delhi, saying he had stopped responding to phone calls. 

The relative, who lives in Hongasandra, arrived at Kumar’s house around noon. He knocked on the door which was bolted from the inside but didn’t get a response. When he asked the neighbours, they said they didn’t have a clue. The relative and the neighbours decided to break the door open. 

But as they entered the house, they got the shock of their lives. Kumar was slitting his wrist with a blade. He then ran into the bathroom and locked himself in. They followed him and asked him to open the door. But he ignored them. They had to break open the bathroom door, too. By this time, Kumar had slashed his hands, chest and other parts of the body. Waving the blade at them, he asked them to stay away. 

Even the relative and the neighbours pleaded with him to drop the blade, he ran out and jumped off the building. He was taken to a hospital but it was too late. 

A bigger shock awaited them. They felt a foul smell emanating from the house. When they went in, they found the decomposed body of Kumar’s wife, Sandhya, 35, wrapped in a blanket. They called the cops. 

Police found a death note purportedly written by Kumar on May 12. “We suspect he killed her on that day,” said a police officer investigating the case. 

Police said the death note specifies what made Kumar kill his wife and commit suicide. Sandhya suspected him of having an affair since he regularly chatted up some bar dancers he had met in Gurgaon and Delhi. She accessed his phone and saw the calls and the WhatsApp messages he had sent them. The issue rocked their marital life and they often fought over it. He then decided to kill his wife and commit suicide, as per the death note. 

Police said Kumar appeared to have spent the last four days at home, with his wife’s body wrapped in the blanket. “We don’t know whether he tried to dispose of the body or didn’t want to see it,” the officer said. Police couldn’t determine how he killed her and are waiting for the post-mortem report. 

Joshi Srinath Mahadev, DCP (Southeast), said the couple hailed from Bihar. “We are waiting for Sandhya’s relatives to arrive in Bengaluru. A case of murder and suicide has been registered at the Parappana Agrahara police station.” Another officer said the couple had a love marriage.

Bengaluru, Mar 31: With many departmental stores, shops and establishments insisting on people to wear masks, Karnataka government on Tuesday clarified that as a rule every one need not wear a mask.

The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare Services in an advisory said a person is suppose to wear mask only when he or she has symptoms of cold or cough or fever or any other respiratory problem.

It said a person who is caring for COVID-19 suspect or confirmed patient should wear mask. Also, a health worker who is attending to a patient with respiratory symptoms should wear a mask.

The advisory also noted that those treating or handling COVID-19 suspects or patients need to wear N95 mask, while others can wear triple layer surgical mask.

The advisory from the Commissionerate has come amid shops and establishments, also police on road insisting people to wear masks when they venture out.