PIL in Supreme Court for action against cow vigilantes for violent acts

Bengaluru, Jul 3: The Karnataka government is allowing select asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic Covid-19 patients to recuperate at home as part of home isolation guidelines, an official said on Friday.

"Only those who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shall be allowed to be in isolation at home," said a health official, highlighting that such patients should be properly oriented on home isolation.

However, before home isolation, a health team will visit the patient's house and assess its suitability for executing home isolation.

Similarly, the patient should be provided with a tele-consultation link for initial triage, daily follow up and during the entire home isolation time.

For a daily update, the patient isolated at home should give a report on his health status to the physician or health authorities.

"The home isolation shall be with the knowledge of the family members, neighbours, treating physician and local health authorities," said the official.

Though home isolation is allowed, it is not a blanket permission for all asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases in Karnataka to avail.

"Such cases should have the requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation and also for quarantining the family contacts. A care giver should be available to provide care on 24x7 basis," said the official.

Likewise, the caregiver should also have a regular communication link between him and the hospital during the home isolation.

No patient above 50 years will be allowed to avail home isolation.

"If the patient has the following comorbidities: hypertension, diabetes, obesity, thyroid disease, they shall be well managed and under good clinical control as assessed by medical officer," he said.

However, patients with comorbidities such as kidney diseases, dialysis, heart diseases, stroke, tuberculosis, cancer and HIV cannot avail home isolation.

Likewise, immunity compromised patients and those on steroids also cannot be on home isolation.

Though pregnant women are not allowed to avail this facility, lactating women are allowed after due instruction and assessment.

The Health Department has also issued several other guidelines and protocols for a patient choosing home isolation.

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.

Mangaluru, Jan 23: Members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Thursday held a protest against the Karnataka government, accusing it of shielding Aditya Rao, the main accused of planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Mangaluru airport on January 20.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court has sent the accused Aditya Rao to 10 days police custody.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Bengaluru Police said that the procedure is being followed to hand-over to the Mangaluru Police a suspect who surrendered before it two days after planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Mangaluru International Airport.

The IED was later defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad.