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Karnataka government orders CID probe into M M Kalburgi’s assassination

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M M Kalburgi

Bengaluru: A CID probe was today announced by the Karnataka Chief Minister into the murder of progressive Kannada thinker and scholar M M Kalburgi at his residence at Dharwad in north Karnataka.

“We have decided to hand over the case to CID…. This incident should not have happened. It is highly condemnable,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters here, a day after Kalaburgi was shot dead at point-blank range by two unidentified men.

77-year-old Kalburgi was an associate of rationalist Govind Pansare of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, who also fell victim in similar circumstances in February, and had drawn the ire of some right-wing Hindu outfits like VHP and Bajrang Dal with his remarks about idol worship by Hindus.

He had often spoken against superstitions and courted controversies with his outspoken stand.

At Dharwad this morning, hundreds of admirers of Kalburgi paid last respects to him. The funeral will take place later in the day today.

Yesterday, the attackers had knocked at the door of Kalburgi’s house claiming to be his students and as it was opened, they pumped bullets into his forehead and chest and fled. He died in a hospital.

“Whoever is behind this, we will catch them and punish according to law,” said the Chief Minister, who visited Dharwad to pay last respects to Kalburgi yesterday.

Asked if the sleuths have got any clues, Home Minister K J George said the probe was being started. “It will be investigated from all angles.”

The Hubli-Dharwad police had announced a special team to probe the murder that has shaken the Kannada literary world.

Kalburgi had raised the hackles of right-wing outfits when he made certain remarks about idol worship by Hindus that were considered “derogatory” and “blasphemous” and also led to protests by them.

A winner of central and state “Sahitya Akademi” awards, he had also suggested the need for a better state anthem.

Part of his works on “Vachana”(verses)” literature had also come under criticism of the state’s majority “veerashaiva” (Lingayat) community, a liberal Shaivism founded by 12th century philosopher, poet and social reformer Basaveshwara.

(Agencies)

Bajrang Dal activist defends killing of MM Kalburgi, says Prof. Bhagawan is next target

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bajrang-dal

Mangaluru: A few Sangh Parivar activists in the coastal Karnataka have openly justified the killing of thinker Prof. MM Kalburgi and warned that a similar fate was awaited for those who “mock” Hinduism.

Bhuvith Shetty, who claims to be the co-convener of Bajrang Dal in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kananda district, tweeted on Sunday morning from his twitter handle @GarudaPurana that Prof. KS Bhagwan, a well known critic, would be the next target.

He tweeted at 10:41 a.m.: “Then it was UR Anantamoorty and now its MM Kalburgi. Mock Hinduism and die a dogs death. And dear KS Bhagwan you are next”(sic). The same person had tweeted on July 15: “You should know that I myself chopped off one Muslim’s hand for smuggling cows in Kalladka” (sic)

Both the tweets were retweeted by many tiwtterati on Sunday triggering a heated debated on social media. Some right wing social media activists even defended his provocative comments. When the matter was brought to the notice of authorities, the man deleted his tweets. However, the screenshots of his tweets continued to go viral on social media.

Prof. Kalburugi, the former vice chancellor of Hampi University, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at the former’s residence in Dharwad in the morning. Hindutva activists had warned him of dire consequences after he raised his voice against blind beliefs in Hindu society and criticised idol worship.

It is worth mentioning here that Sangh Parivar activists in Karnataka had organised celebrations and burst crackers on hearing the news of the death of Jnanpith award winner UR Ananthamoorthy one year ago.

ABL organizes a workshop on ‘Rain Water Harvesting’

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ABL ROOTS Blowers

Bengaluru: ABL Roots Blowers Private Limited had organized a two-day workshop on “Rain Water Harvesting”. The workshop was conducted to promote mass awareness among the young youth about the water issues, difficulties, facts and the solutions. A large number of participants were seen from farming and students communities.

Mr. Maninder Singh, Water Treatment Consultant was the key speaker and he said, “Water is an important natural resource and is the very basis of our life. Since ABL is into water treatment business and India strongly needs innovative water management systems, it was exciting to deliver informative lectures on Water Harvesting System & Techniques.”

Mr. Rahul Singh, Senior Manager – Projects, ABL Roots Blowers Private Limited said, “As per the existing CSR rules & regulations, we do not have any compulsion for planning and budgeting CSR activities for ABL. We did it voluntarily. Although the CSR provisions are not applicable on the company but we understand that as a business we have some moral or ethical responsibilities towards the society. Social welfare is always appreciated.”

ABL team shared the demo and case study of rain water harvesting in respective area and future plans for the implementation.

It is exciting to see the young companies glowing & growing well and coming ahead voluntarily to disseminate the much needed social messages for the country’s development.

ABL Roots Blowers Private Limited is a leading manufacturer of high-performance and energy efficient Roots Blowers using state-of-the-art latest technologies in the industry. The company offers a complete range of reliable Twin Lobe Rotary Air Blowers. ABL offices are situated in New Delhi, Haryana, Bangalore, Pune, Kerala and Chennai.

Pujara guides India to 292/8 at stumps

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Pujara

Colombo: Opener Cheteshwar Pujara’s sublime unbeaten 135-run knock helped India reach 292/8 at stumps on the second day of the third Test against hosts Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) here on Saturday.

Rain forced early conclusion of the second day’s proceedings but not before Pujara, partnered by lower-order batsman Amit Mishra (59), put on a 104-run eighth wicket stand to revive India from a precarious position at 119/5.

The stand was India’s highest eighth wicket partnership against Sri Lanka and was also the highest for the eighth wicket at this ground.

At stumps, Pujara was accompanied by Ishant Sharma, who was unbeaten on 2. It was Pujara’s, who is playing the first match of the series, seventh Test century.

The umpires called for halt of play on Saturday when a late shower forced a delay in the proceedings. They then decided to call off play for the day due to a wet outfield in which India scored 292 runs from 95.3 overs bowled.

Sri Lanka’s pacer Dhammika Prasad has been the home team’s best bowler, with an analysis of 83/4 from 23.3 overs when stumps were drawn.

India began at their overnight score of 50/2 only to lose Virat Kohli (18) and Rohit Sharma (26), both of whom perished after getting sound starts.

Kohli was dismissed by Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews who induced an edge from him to be caught by wicketkeeper Kushal Perera. He was sent to the pavilion fairly quickly, in the ninth over of the innings, when, after a 50-run third wicket partnership with Pujara, he flashed at a wide delivery outside his off stump to give an easy chance behind the stumps.

Rohit joined Pujara and they batted with caution, wary of the moving delivery.

Pujara grew in confidence as his duration at the crease increased and reached his fifty in the 43rd over. He batted patiently to negotiate the early morning bowling venom of the hosts.

He and Rohit put together a 55-run third wicket stand but their effort was undone just at the stroke of lunch when the latter edged a moving ball to the first slip.

India were reduced to 119/4 in 45.5 overs at lunch. India scored only 69 runs in 30.5 overs in the morning session, losing those two crucial wickets in the process.

It went from bad to worse when play resumed after lunch with all-rounder Stuart Binny (0) getting out on the first ball of the post-lunch session.

Debutant Naman Ojha (21) forged a 54-run stand for the sixth wicket with Pujara but perished when things began to look up for India. Ravichandran Ashwin’s (5) quick dismissal increased India’s troubles as they lost the seventh wicket for 180 runs.

But from there Pujara, with Mishra in tow, began the revival process. He remained unmoved by the flurry of wickets and played well all around the park — especially elegant while playing the cut shots.

The 27-year-old cut down his strokes as he moved near the three-figure mark even as Mishra played freely. He reached his century in 214 deliveries with the help of nine fours and later added another four boundaries.

Pujara also got a reprieve at his personal score of 117 as Nuwan Pradeep dropped a catch at fine-leg off a Mathews delivery.

(IANS)

Sania gets Khel Ratna, Arjuna awards for 12 others

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Sania-Mirza

New Delhi: Tennis star Sania Mirza received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting honour on Saturday, while 12 others, including ace shooter Jitu Rai and hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh were conferred with the Arjuna award.

This year’s ceremony had its fair share of controversy as well since a division bench of the Delhi High Court on Saturday stayed a single-judge order directing the Centre to give the prestigious Dronacharya award to former chief national wrestling coach Vinod Kumar.

The Dronacharya award — conferred on eminent coaches — went to Anoop Kumar Dahiya (wrestling), Harbans Singh (athletics), Swatantar Raj Singh (boxing), Nihar Ameen (swimming) and Naval Singh (para-athletics).

In a glittering function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, President Pranab Mukherjee also handed out Arjuna awards to wrestlers Bajrang Singh, men’s singles shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, archer Sandeep Kumar, 2014 Commonwealth Games medal winning gymnast Dipa Karmakar, kabaddi players Manjeet Chillar and Abhilasha Shashikant Mhatre, roller skater Anup Kumar Yama, weightlifter Sivalingam Sathish Kumar, wushu athlete Y. Sanathoi Devi and para-swimmer Sharath M. Gaekwad.

Boxer Mandeep Jangra, women’s 400 metre runner M.R. Poovamma, female wrestler Babita Kumari, cricketer Rohit Sharma and rower Swarn Singh Virk were also named for the Arjuna award, but could not attend the function.

Jangra, Poovamma, Babita and Sharma are currently participating in international competitions abroad while Virk, who won gold at the Asian Rowing Championship in 2013, is in hospital with an injury.

They will receive their awards at a later date from sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Former India volleyball captain T.P.P. Nair, Davis Cup captain S.P. Misra and former hockey goalkeeper Romeo James bagged the Dhyan Chand award.

Meanwhile, the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award went to Arunima Sinha and Jot Singh (both land adventure), Wing Commander Paramvir Singh (water adventure), Lt. Colonel (retd.) Satyendra Verma (air adventure) and Colonel (Retd.) Satish Chander Sharma (lifetime achievement).

Punjabi University, Patiala, was conferred the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy.

The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskarar, intended to promote involvement of corporates and institutional boards in sports, went to Directorate General of Military Training, Haryana Police, Sports Coaching Foundation (Hyderabad) and Coal India Limited.

Sania, who became the first Indian woman to achieve the World No.1 spot in doubles, recently clinched the Wimbledon crown along with Swiss star Martina Hingis. She has four Grand Slam titles in her kitty.

The Hyderabadi is only the second tennis player after Leander Paes to be named for the top sports award. Paes received the honour in 1996 after clinching the bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

She had also received the Arjuna award in 2004 and was awarded the Padma Shri — the country’s fourth highest civilian honour — in 2006.

Among those who received the Arjuna awards, goalkeeper Sreejesh played a key role in India winning the Asian Games hockey gold medal and the Commonwealth Games (CWG) silver in 2014.

Rohit has scored 4312 runs in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. He holds the record of most number of runs (264) in an ODI. The right-handed batsman also played a key role in India’s performance at the 2015 World Cup where the team reached the semi-finals.

Pistol shooter Rai emerged champion at last year’s CWG and backed it up with another gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games. He is also a bronze medallist at last year’s World Championships.

Athlete Poovamma was part of the team that won the gold medals in the 4X400 metres relay race at the Asian Games as well as the Asian Athletics Championships. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres race at the Asian Games 2014.

Kabaddi players Chillar and Abhilasha were part of the Asian Games gold medal winning men’s and women’s teams.

Wrestler Bajrang won the silver medal in the 60kg category at the 2013 World Championships. The promising young grappler also bagged silver medals at last year’s Asian Games and CWG.

Women’s World Wrestling Championships bronze medallist Babita also won a gold in the 55kg class at the 2014 CWG.

Woman gymnast Dipa got bronze medals in the CWG 2014 as well as at the Asian Championships.

Sathish is an Asian Games champion, while Sanathoi won a bronze medal in the wushu competition at the 2014 Asiad.

(IANS)

Annual journal of Mahfil-e-Nisa ‘Meraas’ released

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‘Meraas’ the annual magazine released at the event.

‘Meraas’ the annual magazine released at the event.

Bengaluru: Mahfil-e-Nisa, the all women’s movement  to ‘learn Urdu and teach Urdu’, celebrated its third annual function here at the Hasanath women college.

Prof. Ali Ahmed Fatmi, Head, Dept of Urdu, Allahabad University was the chief guest. He lamented the current state of Urdu in the country and praised the efforts of organisations like Mahfil-e-Nisa to promote the cause of Urdu.

DSCN3718

Chief Editor of Nasheman Urdu Weekly Mr. Rizwan Asad, commended the work of Mahfil-e-Nisa, and called for more such organisations to be formed.

The annual magazine ‘Meraas’ was released by the guests.

Dr. Fouzia Chowdhary, chairperson, Karnataka Urdu Academy, Dr. Syed Sha Madar Aqeel, Former Head, Dept of Urdu, Kuvempu University, Shimoga, Dr. Shaista Yusuf, President, Mahfil-e-Nisa, Convenor, Azeezulla Baig, were also present.

British Library rejects Taliban archive over terror law

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National institution says documents are of academic value, but laws may restrict researchers’ ability to access them.

British Library

by Shafik Mandhai, Al Jazeera

The British Library has decided not to acquire an archive of Taliban documents over fears that researchers accessing the materials could fall foul of the country’s terrorism laws.

In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the library acknowledged that the collection was of research value, but some of the material would present “restrictions” on the library’s ability to provide access to the archive.

“The Terrorism Act places specific responsibilities on anyone in the UK who might provide access to terrorist publications, and the legal advice received jointly by the British Library and other similar institutions advises against making this type of material accessible,” the statement read.

The library had been in talks with the consultancy, Thesigers, which represents the Taliban Sources Project, to provide access to the digitised collection.

The materials include poetry, maps, press releases, and edicts published by the Afghan armed group, which has been in a long-running fight against the Afghan government and NATO troops.

‘Self-censorship’

Rizwaan Sabir, an academic at Liverpool John Moores University who specialises in the study of counterterrorism and armed movements, said British terrorism laws were creating a climate of fear and self-censorship.

“The decision of the British Library may seem far-fetched to some, but the law is clear…it says that sharing information that encourages or is useful for terrorism is a criminal offence,” Sabir told Al Jazeera.

“Simply holding or sharing the information is a criminal offence that can carry a prison sentence…such laws have a deeply damaging effect on the freedom of scholars to research.

“Where such offences exist, a climate of fear and self-censorship becomes inevitable, and free scholarly inquiry becomes next to impossible.”

Sabir was himself arrested in 2008 while conducting research on terrorism for downloading an al-Qaeda training manual from the US Department of Justice website. In 2011, he won compensation and an apology from the British police for false impirsonment.

Academic Thomas Hegghammer, who leads terrorism research at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, said the issue was the library’s “excessive risk aversion”.

In a series of tweets posted on Friday evening, Hegghammer said the British Library already held documents by other controversial groups.

The UK Terrorism Act of 2006 makes it a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment, to possess “material likely to be understood” as direct or indirect encouragement to carry out acts considered terrorist in nature.

The British Home Office told Al Jazeera the British Library had acted on their “own independent legal advice and decided not to accept this material into its collections”.

Al Jazeera staff sentenced to jail in Egypt

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Condemnation of verdict as Egypt court finds Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy, and Peter Greste guilty in delayed trial.

Al Jazeera retrial

by Al Jazeera

A Cairo court has sentenced three Al Jazeera journalists to three years in jail after finding them guilty of “aiding a terrorist organisation”.

Egyptian Baher Mohamed, Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Australian Peter Greste were all handed three-year jail sentences when the court delivered the verdict on Saturday, sparking worldwide outrage.

Mohamed was sentenced to an additional six months for possession of a spent bullet casing.

The journalists had been initially found guilty in June 2014 of aiding a “terrorist organisation”, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was outlawed in Egypt after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Judge Hassan Farid, in his ruling on Saturday, said he sentenced the men to prison at least partly because they had not registered with the country’s journalist “syndicate”.

He also said the men brought in equipment without security officials’ approval, had broadcast “false news” on Al Jazeera and used a hotel as a broadcasting point without permission.

The verdict was immediately condemned by Al Jazeera Media Network’s Acting Director General Dr Mostefa Souag, who said: “Today’s verdict defies logic and common sense. Our colleagues Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy will now have to return to prison, and Peter Greste is sentenced in absentia.

“The whole case has been heavily politicised and has not been conducted in a free and fair manner.”

Dr Souag continued, “There is no evidence proving that our colleagues in any way fabricated news or aided and abetted terrorist organisations, and at no point during the long drawn out retrial did any of the unfounded allegations stand up to scrutiny.

“A report issued by a technical committee assigned by the court in Egypt contradicted the accusations made by the public prosecutor and stated in its report that the seized videos were not fabricated.

“Baher, Peter and Mohamed have been sentenced despite the fact that not a shred of evidence was found to support the extraordinary and false charges against them.

“Today’s verdict is yet another deliberate attack on press freedom. It is a dark day for the Egyptian judiciary; rather than defend liberties and a free and fair media, they have compromised their independence for political reasons.”

Speaking from Sydney, Greste labelled the verdict “outrageous”.

“We did nothing wrong. The court presented no evidence. For us to be convicted as terrorists is outrageous. It can only be a political verdict. This is unethical,” Greste said.

Al Jazeera’s next step is to file an appeal before the Court of Cassation. Such an appeal should be filed within 60 days.

In January, an appeals court ordered a retrial, saying the initial verdict lacked evidence against the three journalists working for the Doha-based network’s English channel.

The journalists and Al Jazeera have vigorously denied the accusations during the trial.

Ten previous sessions in the court had all been adjourned.

Greste has already been deported to his native Australia under a law allowing the transfer of foreigners on trial to their home countries, but he was retried in absentia.

Fahmy and Mohamed were on bail ahead of the verdict after spending more than 400 days in detention.

The Cairo court said on Saturday that the previous time spent in prison will be accounted for as time served.

Fahmy renounced his Egyptian nationality hoping he too would be deported.

Canadian Minister of State Lynne Yelich issued a statement after Saturday’s verdict calling on Egyptian authorities to release Fahmy.

“Canada is disappointed with Mohamed Fahmy’s conviction today. ‎This decision severely undermines confidence in the rule of law in Egypt,” Yelich said.

“The government of Canada continues to call on the Egyptian government to use all tools at its disposal to resolve Mr Fahmy’s case and allow his immediate return to Canada.”

The three men have received support from governments, media organisations and rights groups from around the world.

About 200 feared dead in Libya refugee boat disaster

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Officials say 105 dead and at least 100 missing after boat sinks off Libyan coast in latest Mediterranean disaster.

boat-libya

by Al Jazeera

At least 105 people have been killed and more than one hundred others are still missing after a boat, reportedly packed with refugees bound for Italy, capsized and sunk off the Libyan coast.

Hussein Asheini, the head of Libya’s Red Crescent in Zuwara, told the Associated Press news agency that 105 bodies had been recovered. Nearly 200 others had been rescued, the organisation said.

A security official in Zuwarah, a town in the North African nation’s west from where the overcrowded boat had set off, said that there were about 400 people on board.

The UNHCR, the UN Agency for refugees, in a statement, released on Friday, said there were about 500 people on board.

Sources told Al Jazeera that many of the dead had been trapped in the cargo hold when the boat capsized on Thursday.

The people on board had come from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Syria, Morocco, and Bangladesh, the Libyan security official said.

The UNHCR also announced on Friday that more than 300,000 refugees and migrants had risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean to Europe in the first nine months of 2015 alone.

About 2,500 people had died while making the perilous journey, the UNHCR said.

“This represents a large increase from last year, when around 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean during the whole of 2014,” the UN said.

Zuwarah, Libya’s most western town located near the Tunisian border, is a major launchpad for smugglers moving refugees to Italy.

Libya has turned into a transit route for people fleeing conflict and poverty to make it to Europe.

Cross-border smuggler networks exploit the country’s lawlessness and chaos to bring Syrians into Libya via Egypt or nationals of sub-Saharan countries via Niger, Sudan, and Chad.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Anas El Gomati, who founded the Tripoli-based think-tank The Sadeq Institute, said Libya’s government does not feel it should be helping pay the bill to deal with refugees making their way to Europe as it is facing continued violence across the country.

“Libya’s security approach – and security apparatus – is now completely disorganised and in chaos,” he said.

“You have hundreds of different groups that are operating on the ground now, some of them taking advantage of a very, very chaotic situation – one of civil war.”

In a separate incident on Thursday, 71 refugees were found dead in a parked lorry on a highway in Austria near the Hungarian border on Thursday.

The refrigerated vehicle was found by an Austrian motorway patrol with fluids from the decomposing bodies seeping from its back door.

At a Geneva briefing, the UNHCR said that in another incident on Thursday, 51 people suffocated in the hold of a boat.

Survivors said they had been beaten to force them into the hold and then had to pay money to smugglers just to come out to breathe.

One man, an Iraqi orthopaedic surgeon, said he had paid 3,000 euros ($3,400) to come up on to the top deck with his wife and two-year-old son.

Last week, 49 people died in another boat’s hold after inhaling poisonous fumes, and on Wednesday 21 people are thought to have died after a dinghy with 145 on board got into difficulty, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

Nationwide truck strike from October 1: AIMTC

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AIMTC

New Delhi: The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) on Friday announced it will go on a nationwide indefinite strike from October 1 after the government did not respond to their demand to revoke TDS and toll charges.

“We had a meeting with Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari Thursday who refused to talk on the issues (including removal of toll charges),” Bhim Wadhwa, the president of the apex transporters’ body, told IANS.

He said the transporters body, representing over 80 lakh vehicles across the country, had given a deadline of August 25 to the Centre to address their issues. But the demand appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

“Eventually, there is no option left, except going on an indefinite nationwide strike from October 1,” Wadhwa said.

Wadhwa said the government would lose about Rs.1,700 crore per day on account of the countrywide strike, but clarified that the transporters’ body was not against the government revenues raised through toll.

He urged the government to work out alternate toll collection methods that would not only contain “illegal collection” but also save diesel worth thousands of crores of rupees.

He said the apex body’s demand for a barrier free India would save public money to the tune of Rs.87,000 crore per year.

“The transport fraternity cannot sustain operations in light of burgeoning corruption, harassment and time delays at the toll plazas and check post barriers. They have decided not to pay toll on road and want that the revenue may be collected as indirect tax and therefore proclaim ‘barrier free India’ and removal of toll plazas across the country,” Wadhwa said.

He said that toll charge constitutes about 20 percent of total operating cost and fuel (diesel) around 45-50 percent.

In addition, Wadhwa also demanded revocation of TDS imposed on the transport sector from July 1.

“The levy of TDS on the transport sector has unleashed utter confusion and other practical difficulties like cash flow constriction, difficulties in keeping records, collecting TDS certificates, reconciling and taking refund of TDS, on deposit of TDS by the consignor are obvious,” he said.

“It is now time for the government to wake up and take note of the wave of disappointment and resentment among the fraternity at the utter callousness of the government towards this sector,” Wadhwa said.

(IANS)

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