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Dr Vivek Jawali of Fortis Hospitals receives Honorary Doctorate from RGUHS

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Vivek Jawali

Bengaluru: Dr Vivek Jawali, Chairman – Cardio Vascular Sciences, & Medical Advisory Council Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore has been conferred with Honorary Doctorate from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Karnataka during its 18th Annual Convocation. The Honorable Governor of Karnataka, Sri Vajubhai Vala and Vice chancellor of RGUHS, Dr Ravindranath awarded Dr. Jawali with the honorary doctorate in the presence of students, teachers, members of RGUHS at NIMHANS convention centre, Bengaluru today.

“This is indeed an honor and I take great pride in receiving this award. I would like to extend my gratitude to the Honorable Governor of Karnataka and the Vice Chancellor of the university for conferring me with this prestigious degree. I accept this honour as something for me and my team mates that are associated with me for more than a quarter century. Together we could do some original contributions in heart surgery to navigate it on more patient friendly roads and add our tiniest bit of a shine on our national tricolour”, said Dr. Vivek Jawali, Chairman – Cardio Vascular Sciences & Medical Advisory Council Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore.

Dr Vivek Jawali has been a pioneer in the field of healthcare and has been presented with life time achievement award for medical excellence in India by “HARVARD MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL” in 2008. Some of his significant contributions and achievements include:

  • Performed more than 22,000 heart surgeries & presented more than 200 papers.
  • Performed the first beating heart bypass surgery of India in 1992 & was responsible for popularizing it in India. Today India does world’s highest number of beating heart bypass surgeries.
  • First person to do first minimally invasive bypass surgery in the Australasian continent in 1995 and
  • First to perform AWAKE open heart surgery of the world (quadruple bypass with aortic valve replacement) in a 74 yrs old patient without general anesthesia or ventilator in 2002
  • The only Indian in the editorial board of ‘Innovations in Cardiac Surgery’ – a journal of the international society of minimally invasive cardiac surgeons, published from USA

Karnataka is India’s top job creating state

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vidhana soudha

Bengaluru: Karnataka has been ranked as the country’s top job creating state with an over 24 per cent share during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, according to a report by industry body Assocham.

The state was followed by Maharashtra (23 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (10.5 per cent), it said.

The information technology (IT) sector created about 57 per cent of about nine lakh job openings recorded between January and March 2016, followed by services (19 per cent) and manufacturing (11 per cent), according to the report.

The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector accounted for just over 8 per cent share, followed by construction and real estate (3.5 per cent).

Within Karnataka, ITeS (IT-enabled services) accounted for an over 65 per cent share in job openings across the state, followed by services (16 per cent), manufacturing (8 per cent), BFSI (6 per cent) and construction and real estate sector (2.5 per cent).

The Assocham Economic Research Bureau (AERB) had analysed the data sourced primarily from vacancies posted by companies via various job portals together with advertisements offering employment opportunities published in national and regional dailies across India.

Karnataka had recorded 2.16 lakh job openings in the first quarter of last fiscal year, followed by Maharashtra (2 lakh), Tamil Nadu (93,000), the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region combined (82,000), and Haryana (72,000).

Sector-wise, Karnataka led in terms of job openings in the ITeS sector with 28 per cent share in over five lakh jobs created by the sector, followed by Maharashtra (20.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11 per cent), Andhra Pradesh-Telangana (10 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (8 per cent), it said.

The services sector recorded 1.69 lakh jobs in the January-March quarter of 2015-16 with Maharashtra accounting for the lion’s share of about 24 per cent, followed by Karnataka (21 per cent), Haryana (8.4 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (8.2 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh-Telangana (8.1 per cent).

In manufacturing sector, Maharashtra has recorded highest share with 22.5 per cent in over 99,000 job openings, followed by Karnataka (19 per cent), Tamil Nadu (12 per cent), Andhra Pradesh-Telangana (9 per cent) and Gujarat (8 per cent).

Maharashtra also topped with highest share in job openings recorded in BFSI, and construction and real estate with a share of about 31 per cent in both sectors each, while Karnataka followed with a share of 18 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, it added.

 

(Agencies)

Nitish Kumar declares Bihar a dry state

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nitish kumar

Patna: Four days after promulgation of partial prohibition in Bihar on April one, the Nitish Kumar government today decided to impose a total ban on alcohol in towns and cities.

The decision to ban sale and consumption of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in municipal and town council areas with immediate effect was taken at a cabinet meeting, the chief minister told reporters here.

The Nitish Kumar government had banned sale and consumption of country and spiced liquor in rural areas from April 1 this year, but had allowed sale of foreign liquor in towns and cities.

“But, the tremendous response of people particularly women and children against liquor in Patna and other towns in a short period of four days only convinced us that a conducive environment against alcohol has been created in the state and that’s why we decided to go for total ban on liquor after four days only,” he said.

On ‘toddy’ which has created controversy in recent days following intervention of RJD President Lalu Prasad against its stoppage in view of interest of people associated with the trade, Kumar said the state cabinet decided to strictly impose the 1991 guidelines which allows consumption of “Neera” (drink from palm trees before sunrise) but disallows consumption of ‘toddy’ (after sunrise when the palm tree liquid gets fermented and gains alcoholic properties).

The 1991 guidelines prohibits sale and consumption of ‘Neera’ within 50 metre of places like hospital, education institutions, religious places among others in towns and 100 metres radius in rural areas, he added. The chief minister said “Neera” would be allowed, while ‘toddy’ drink would be barred.

The chief minister said that no license would be granted for sale and consumption of alcohol in places like hotels, club and bars in towns and cities too with immediate effect.

He, however, said Army cantonment areas would be out of it as they regulate sale and consumption of alochol in their own way.

Asked about fate of liquor manufacturing companies and factories existing in the state after total ban order today, the CM said they could continue manufacture but can not trade in it within the state.

“Besides, they have to abide by rules like having digital lock system and GPS monitoring equipment in vehicles transporting the liquor manufactured in outlets in Bihar to places outside the state for sale,” Kumar said.

In reply to a question as to what would be done with nearly 36,000 litres of foreign liquor lying with Bihar State Beverages Corporation Limited (BSBCL) which they had to supply to limited outlets in towns and cities under its strict supervision, the CM said the Excise department would prepare an action plan for disposal of residual IMFL.

“It (residual IMFL) should be destroyed as its not a good thing to keep in archive,” Kumar said speaking his mind on the stock of foreign brands lying with the corporation.

The CM said a high level committee headed by Development Commissioner and which would have Principal Secretaries of departments like Industries, Forest and Environment, Excise, Cooperative and COMFED would dwell on the issue how to make trade out of toddy trees more beneficial to people associated with it as was done in Tamil Nadu, which has maximum number of palm trees.

The committee would work in close association with Agriculture University of Tamil Nadu and ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture Research) to prepare a scheme for toddy trees products which would be put into action from next year, he said.

The CM said many beneficial products like preparing mat and tokri (basket) out of toddy tree products could be developed to help people associated with the trade to continue their livelihood with even better profits.

“Survey has brought to light that more than Rs 6,000 annually could be generated from a toddy tree by this means which is far more than earned through sale of fermented toddy drink,” Kumar said.

He said that the state government would provide technical and financial assistance in making the trade out of toddy trees more beneficial to those linked with it.

“Like collection and marketing of milk through COMFED (Bihar State Milk Co-Operative Federation Ltd.), Neera (toddy liquid before fermentation) trade would also be developed in an institutionalised manner,” Kumar said.

Asked about sale and consumption of liquor gaining in border areas with neighbouring states, the CM without naming any state said they would soon face similar protests from their people against liquor.

“Those states thinking of gaining revenue from liqour sale due to prohibition in Bihar are in delusion as very soon they would face a strong protest against alcohol there from people like in Bihar,” Kumar said.

Media reports have highlighted mushrooming of liquor outlets in areas of Jharkhand bordering with Bihar. The reports have claimed that liquor trade was up in bordering areas in Uttar Pradesh and Nepal after prohibition in Bihar.

“Bihar government had written several letters to Chief Ministers of neighbouring states to cooperate with us in implementation of prohibition. State police chief as well as senior officials of Excise department had also made a strong plea to them for assistance,” Kumar said.

The CM expressed happiness over tremendous response from people to the decision.

Around 4,933 people including those associated with illegal manufacture of liquor and also consumers, have been put behind bars so far in the intense campaign after promulgation of ban on liquor, he said.

About 1.17 crore promise papers have been submitted by students of schools in Bihar taking oath from their parents against alcohol, he added.

More than 8,400 nukkad nataks and 7 lakh slogans have been written in different parts of Bihar as campaign in favour of prohibitioon, he added.

“A foundation of social change has been laid in Bihar through ban on liquor,” Kumar said.

(Agencies)

Utsav 2016- the legendary techno-cultural inter-collegiate fest at BMS College of Engineering draws to a close

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utsav

Bengaluru: Utsav 2016 voted Bangalore’s most popular Inter-collegiate fest organized by BMS College of Engineering drew to a close after three days of fun, excitement, challenging competitions and some nail biting adventure. Utsav 2016 held from 01-03 April, 2016 was the 29th edition of this hugely popular fest with all the competitions being held at the BMS campus. While BMSCE is celebrating its 70th year of existence, this 29th edition of UTSAV adds yet another cap to BMSCE’s list of achievements. More than 50,000 students from across colleges all around South India participated in Utsav 2016.

“The Legend Returns”, the name given to this year’s UTSAV was a Celebration of Faith. As it has a specialized theme every year, Utsav 2016 had its theme as Mythology, which included four mythologies namely Indian, Egyptian, Chinese and Greek. The campus was adorned with some of the renowned mythological characters and every nook and corner had a piece of art or a painting effectively made out of waste cardboards and banners of previous year’s UTSAV thus emphasizing on the eco-friendly nature of Utsav.

Sharing his views, Dr. Mallikharjuna Babu, Principal of BMSCE shared, “UTSAV creates opportunities for the students to showcase their talent to the world. The entire event is completely organized by BMSCE students with minimal support from the management and the faculty. Students themselves act as organizers, volunteers, coordinators, fund raisers and even as event managers and also take care of security issues.”

UTSAV 2016 was inauguration amidst much fanfare in the presence of various popular celebrities from the Kannada film industry including actors Sriimurali and Amulya, Cricketer Robin Uthappa, Playback Singer Pallavi Arun, film director Yogaraj Bhat, and Ventriloquist Indushree. The inauguration was a fusion of inspiring speeches, fascinating performances and colourful events.

Indushree kept the audience in splits with her power packed and hilarious ventriloquism performance. Robin Uthappa while sharing his thoughts with the students said “These are the golden days of your life; I have never enjoyed my college life because I was busy with cricket all the time. So enjoy being here. This is where you learn love, helping each other and learn moralities.” Ashok Gopinath, Chairman and Managing Director, Accenture, India, speaking at the inauguration his speech shared “Accenture India now is comprised of 1,50,000 employees PAN India, which will achieve steady growth in the future. I will continue partnering with BMSCE in recruiting future engineers to be a part of Accenture.”

Dr. Mallikharjuna Babu further shared, “As we want more students from other colleges to participate, we call for minimal participation from our students and there is a level playing field. This year we had more than 50,000 footfalls over the three days of the fest including students from nearby cities.” Various colleges in and around Bengaluru were invited to participate in the event. UTSAV’s schedule was filled with multiple innovative and captivating competitions.

Day 2 of the fest comprised of various technical and adventure related competitions. One of the most popular events was “Battle of Bands,” a music battle between the finest college bands. There was, Face on Fire, face painting competition in which Giridhar H.D from ESIC Medical College and Abhishek Yadav from PGIMSR College, Bengaluru won the first prize. In the mad ads event under the name of “Laughing Buddha,” Arjun & Team from RVCE College swept the first prize. Then there was the evergreen “Fashion show” which captured the attention of the students. Fashion show had the highest participation, which also had 10 first prize winners (Gagan, Shikha, Arpita, Kareen, Shruti, Sushma, Derlin, Aakash Nayeem and Arbaaz) all from VOGUE. Harini, from Amrutha College won the title for the “InkyWinky” writer, a contest for creative writing.

On the third and final day of the fest, Whiplash, a widely popular music show by numerous bands and musicians captivated the students. Artistic programs like Nishaada, Indian group music, Mahabharatha (Short Movies) and Kurukshetra, the street play turned the stage into a theatre. Divya & Team from NMIT College bagged the prizes for their outstanding performance in Kurukshetra. Sai Krishna V.K, Sagar Kathrisal and Nikhil A Inamdar from R.V College won the title for the Business and technology quiz. High energy prevailed on the battlegrounds of these combat ships.

Winning or losing didn’t’ matter to most participants. As one of the participants in the Whiplash event aptly shared, “Defeat shouldn’t stop you, while success shouldn’t make you too proud. Winning and losing are part of any game.” To conclude BMSCE’s UTSAV 2016 was a total feast to the eyes, blessing to the ears and a great place to learn teamwork.

Heavy voting in West Bengal, Assam in first phase of Assembly polls

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(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Kolkata: Brisk polling was recorded in the first phase of balloting in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam with an estimated 70 and 67 per cent voters respectively exercising their franchise in the two states till 3:30 pm.

Polling is being conducted under heavy security and no violence or untoward incident has been reported from anywhere in the two states so far, official sources said.

In West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is making a determined bid for a second successive term, heavy voter turnout was recorded with an estimated 70 per cent of 40.09 lakh electors casting their ballots in 18 of the state’s 294 constituencies where polling is in progress till 3:30 pm. Most of these constituencies are in areas where Maoists earlier wielded considerable influence.

“There were some issues with EVMs in some booths which were immediately addressed and polling is going on smoothly. We got some other complaints also and they have been addressed,” Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar told PTI.

Of the 18 seats, 13 are in Jangalmahal area earlier affected by Maoist violence where voting will end at 4 PM due to security considerations. In the remaining five seats of Purulia, Manbazar, Kashipur, Para and Raghunathpur voting will go on till 6 PM.

A key contestant in this phase is Tribal Affairs Minister Sukumar Hansda, who is trying his luck from Jhargram.

All major contenders to power- Trinamool, Left-Congress alliance and BJP- have fielded candidates in all 18 seats.

Mamata Banerjee, who has held sway over West Bengal politics since coming to power five years ago, if facing a challenge from foe-turned-friends– the CPI(M)-led Left Front-Congress combine, besides BJP, which is seeking to make inroads into the eastern state.

In Assam, where Congress under Tarun Gogoi is seeking a fourth straight term, 67 per cent of little over 95.11 lakh voters cast their ballots till 3:30 pm. There were no reports of violence in any of the 65 of the 126 constituencies where polling is being held in the first phase.

The 65 constituencies are spread across Upper Assam, the hill districts, the northern banks and the Barak Valley.

Prominent Congress candidates in the fray in the first phas include Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi from Titabor and Speaker of the outgoing Assembly Pranab Gogoi from Sibsagar.

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is trying his luck from Majuli, while party’s Lok Sabha member from Jorhat Kamakhya Prasad Tasa is crossing swords with Tarun Gogoi in Titabor.

(PTI)

Movie Review: ‘Rocky Handsome’ can be recommended only for die hard action movie lovers

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Rocky-Handsome

Producer: John Abraham (JA Entertainment)
Director: Nishikant Kamath
Star Cast: John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Baby Diya Chalwad, Nathalia Kaur, Nishikant Kamath

Director Nishikant Kamath has given good films earlier but sadly he disappoints cine goers with his latest mad caper violent offering Rocky Handsome, and pray why was he tempted to don a villainous avtar in his own directorial venture which is also very disappointing and one which is a very huge put off for the audiences.

The plotted scenario of Rocky Handsome kicks off an extremely silent Rocky (John Abraham) buying fishes & flowers. The very moment he smells the flowers, the film goes into a ‘flashback mode’ followed by the introduction of Rocky’s beautiful wife Rukshida Kabir Ahlawat (Shruti Hasan). When the movie is brought to the present day, a cute little girl by the name of Naomi (Baby Diya Chalwad) gets introduced. She is a frequent visitor to Rocky’s pawn shop. On one such visit, when she starts conversing with the ferocious looking Rocky, she confesses that all her friends call him as ‘Handsome’ and that, she has been deliberately told to stay away from him because ‘he had committed a crime’, something that her heart refuses to believe. As days pass by, she opens up about her dreaded life before Rocky. She confesses that her mother (Nathalia Kaur) is a hardcore drug addict who gets beaten up always by some men. The unsaid bond of friendship gradually increases between the 2 and Rocky becomes extremely protective about her. One fine day, when Rocky enters his shop, he becomes shell shocked to see that his shop has been broken into and that some men are driving away with Naomi in their captive. All of this leads to a deal that Rocky strikes with Naomi’s kidnappers Kevin (Nishikanth Kamath) and his psycho brother. As per the deal, Rocky should deliver a certain (drug) consignment to an assigned place, in return of the freedom of Naomi and her mother. And when Rocky lands up at the assigned place for the delivery, he realises that the police has cordoned the area. What follows after that is oodles and oodles of violence including many merciless killings and brutal murders all for a single reason. Amidst all this, the police department discovers Rocky’s past that shocks the daylights out of them.

Director Nishikant Kamath seems to have made Rocky Handsome only to please his money bags producer John Abraham and to further John’s hardcore action image and also tried to further showcase his non – existent talent. Both the actor John & the director Nishikant were highly inspired by a Korean film The Man From Nohere which the duo must have watched at least a 100 times to copy and make its frame by frame indianised version and wrongly titled it as Rocky Handsome but what one fails to understand is what was so handsome about the whole film. The only handsomest thing about Rocky Handsome is its mind blowing action sequence
but with a mind numbing overdose of it.

Performance wise the film clearly belongs too John Abraham, but seriously speaking he has failed to live up to the cine goers expectations. Finally Abraham Baba has proved that he is not at all better or rather worst than other past models turned wooden performers. Yet another disappointment comes from Nishikant Kamath himself, for his extremely forgettable villainous avatar. Shruti Hassan, in a very, very special appearance is just about ok. But it is certainly Baby Diya Chalwad who imparts a very heart touching performance.

Tail Piece: Rocky Handsome can be recommended for die hard action movie lovers but strictly at their own risk.

Movie Review: ‘Kapoor And Sons’ is a very sensitive, heart touching & heart warming film

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Alia-Bhatt-Sidharth-Fawad

Banner: Dharma Production
Producer: Karan Johar
Director: Shakun Batra
Star Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt, Rajat Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rishi Kapoor et al

Shakun Batra, in his 1st ever directorial outing had delivered an impresssive film namely the Kareena Kapoor & Imran Khan starrer Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu regardless of its Box Office prospects at the turnstiles, and now in his latest directorial offering Kapoor And Sons he has come up with an extremely sensitive & heart touching film harping on the dysfunctionality of a nuclear family ties.

The well – knitted scripted scenario of Kapoor And Sons kicks off with a 90 year old Daadu (Rishi Kapoor) who is rehearsing his death sequence and suddenly gets a heart attack. His son Harsh (Rajat Kapoor) & daughter -in – law Sunita (Ratna Pathak Shah) are forced to summon their 2 sons Rahul (Fawad Khan) & Arjun (Siddharth Malhotra). Rahul & Arjun are living a completely different life in London & New Jersey respectively. Rahul is the perfect son, mature, successful and an established writer and on the other hand Arjun works as a part time bartender who is struggling hard to make it big as a writer. Arjun is always over shadowed by his elder brother Rahul. Daadu is doing every bit to bring the family close. Harsh & Sunita whose marriage too has turned sour are also trying to rediscover love in their life. Here comes the entry of a cute & lively Tia (Alia Bhatt) who is also dealing with her past tragedy. Arjun & Tia’s friendship blossoms into love but Tia who kisses Arjun’s brother Rahul in a drunken state is scared of revealing this to Arjun. It is also revealed later that Rahul’s bestseller novel’s idea was similar to his younger brother Arjun. But Arjun never confronted Rahul as his mother had asked him not to do so. In the 2nd part there are some heart breaking revelations about the entire family. Rahul who portrays a perfect son is a gay. His life is not at all perfect. Harsh Kapoor is having a long time affair with his colleague. Arjun parted ways with Tia on learning about Tia’s & Rahul’s kissing incident. Sunita has a tussle with Harsh on learning about his affair. Harsh leaves the house in the heat of the moment. He meets with an accident and passes away. At the same time Arjun & Rahul have a tiff and it is revealed that Sunita gave Arjun’s novella’s script to Rahul in order to push his career to new heights. The entire family is now shattered beyond redemption.
Director Shakun Batra’s flawless directorial finesse is evident in the fact that he has made every actor to literally live up to their roles and Rishi Kapoor tops the list amongst all of them. Kudos also goes on a platter to Karan Johar for producing such a lovely film. Don’t miss some of the nicest comic punches. Besides cinematography is the main stay of Kapoor And Sons.

Performances wise after Rishi Kapoor’s par excellence act it is Pakistani heart throb Fawad Khan who walks away with an extraordinarily eye catching performance as a budding gay writer (Time to take a bow Karan Johar). Fawad Khan has really stunned one and all by portraying the hollowness of his gay oriented life very genuinely. That apart other actors like Rajat Kapoor & Ratna Pathak Shah are picture perfect in their respective roles. Siddharth Kapoor & Alia Bhatt are also good enough and have tried their level best to be the best.

Tail Piece: Kapoor And Sons is strongly recommended for one and all at least for a single viewing.

Bhumika: The Smita Patil Film Festival in Bengaluru from April 8-10, 2016

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smita_patil

Bengaluru: Trailblazer. Screen-scorcher. Essayer of powerful roles. Padma Shri and national award recipient who mesmerised the world in a short but brilliant career.

Say ‘Smita Patil’ and there is that special glint in the eye of movie enthusiasts who had the privilege of watching this charismatic actor on screen. Whether it was Bhumika, Manthan, Gaman, Arth or Mirch Masala, movie after movie Smita breathed magic into every role, transforming effortlessly into the character she played on screen. Achiever and performer extraordinaire, Smita would have been 60 if she were alive today.

Join us, a group of Bangaloreans, as we celebrate her life and cinema by screening nine of her movies across different languages, including Marathi, Tamil and Malayalam besides, of course, Hindi. All this over three days, beginning on the Kannada Ugadi habba and Maharashtrian Gudi Padwa festival, at the stately National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Bengaluru.

Renowned director Shyam Benegal, who drew out some of the finest facets of Smita the actor, has agreed to open ‘Bhumika’, the Smita Patil film festival, named after his own film. Mahesh Bhatt, whose Arth brought together two of India’s finest female actors, will be the guest of honour.

While the movies promise to be a treat for cine buffs, a collection of rare photographs featuring Smita as well as those shot by Smita will be on display at NGMA.

In tandem, at Alliance Francaise, the Bengaluru launch of the actor’s biography Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence will take place in the presence of author Maithili Rao. We also wish to use the community-funded film festival as a forum to talk about two crucial issues that Indian cinema faces today: ‘Whither Parallel Cinema?’ and ‘Locating Women in Mainstream Indian Cinema’.

The festival will give us the perfect opportunity to hear both seasoned and fresh voices from the Hindi and Kannada cinema industry who are acting, directing, scripting, producing and collaborating on some sparkling work. This will be our tribute to what Smita so uniquely epitomised in her time – a new language of cinema which was also redefining and recasting the role of the woman, both on the screen and behind. Her Bhumika.

Abducted Indian priest is safe, Sushma tells church delegation

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Thomas Uzhunnallil

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday assured a Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) delegation that abducted Salesian Order priest Father Thomas Uzhunnallil is safe and all efforts are being taken to free him, a statement said.

“Sushma Swaraj has categorically assured the delegation that Fr. Tom Uzhunnallil is safe and that the government is adopting all possible means for the quick and safe release of Father Tom,” said a CBCI statement.

However, she did not reveal the finer details of the negotiations and the technicalities involved in securing the release of the Indian priest, abducted by the IS in Yemen, as it may jeopardise the entire process.

“The minister also said that the wild rumours being spread about any harm done to Fr. Tom, are totally baseless,” the statement said, thus quashing the rumours that Uzhunnallil was crucified by the IS terrorists on Good Friday.

The minister also told the delegation, led by CBCI deputy secretary general Joseph Chinnayyan, of the strenuous efforts being undertaken by the ministry and her personally to obtain the safe passage of the only surviving nun, sister Rema.

On March 4, the priest from Kerala was kidnapped after IS terrorists barged into a Missionaries of Charity care home in Aden for which he is the caretaker and shot dead many people, including four nuns, one of them from India.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Archbishop of Bengaluru, Father Bernard Moras, has called upon the general public in Bengaluru to join for a three-hour prayer vigil for Uzhunnalil to observe the completion of a month of his abduction.

(Agencies)

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