Archives for December 2023

Belagavi: Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday alleged complete deterioration of law and order situation in Karnataka, and asked whether the Congress government was “dead or alive”.

Making a preliminary submission before the Chair in the Legislative Assembly, seeking permission to move an adjournment motion on the law and order issue, he touched upon various incidents and accused the government of either inaction or failure in handling them.

“After Congress came to power in Karnataka, in the last four months, there has been an increase in cases. Is there law and order in Karnataka? Is the government dead or alive, I’m unable to understand,” Ashoka, a former Deputy Chief Minister, said.

“Under this government, 43,412 cases have been registered, about 60 dacoity, 718 burglary, 12,642 robbery, 1,349 riot cases, 6,226 causing harm related cases, 1,211 POCSO cases, 809 caste related atrocities cases, 216 rape related cases, 8,043 cyber crime, among other cases — a total of 43,412 cases have been registered, and till September-end 117 murder cases have been registered,” he alleged.

Pointing at Lawyers’ strike following alleged police assault on an advocate in Chikkamagaluru, Ashoka said after the Military, police are considered to be the next disciplined force and they never indulge in any kind of protest or strike, but in this case police too had staged a protest.

“But the government kept silent with their eyes shut and did not do anything. Even when police protested the Congress government remained silent. They did not intervene and hold negotiations,” he alleged.

Also referring to incidents with communal overtones in Shivamogga with one involving posters of Tipu Sultan, and the Home Minister terming it as a minor incident, Ashoka said, “why curfew was imposed if it was a minor incident? There were reports of those linked to the Popular Front of India behind the incident.”

He also highlighted alleged attacks on BJP and Hindu activists in Bhadravati, Belagavi, and Udupi among other several places, and also spoke about the recent incident where a woman was allegedly assaulted, paraded naked and tied to an electric pole in a village in Belagavi, which had shocked the state.

There are also reports of an incident about a Superintendent of Police’s high-handedness against protesting farmers, he said, adding, “is there no one to ask in this government? Is the government alive or dead? If alive, they should have taken action against the SP and also against the police who staged the protest.”

This government boasts of having the support of 136 MLAs, but they don’t take any action, Ashoka said, adding, the law and order situation in Karnataka has completely deteriorated; certain incidents (like parading of a women naked) taking place in Belagavi when the legislature session is under way here — “we have to bow our head in shame.”

Earlier, Home Minister G Parameshwara objected to Ashoka raising the issue under adjournment motion, pointing out that the issue of law and order cannot be taken up for discussion under the section.

Speaker Khader too stated that the law and order issue cannot be taken up for discussion under adjournment motion and he would allow the issue to be raised in some other format under a different rule.

However, Ashoka insisted that the Chair should hear his preliminary submission and then decide whether to allow discussion under adjournment motion or not. “Earlier too there have been instances where a law and order issue has been raised under adjournment motion…the chair has the right to convert the discussion under some other rule, based on my preliminary submission.”

Later, after hearing Ashoka’s preliminary submission, Speaker Khader said he will give an opportunity for discussion on the issue under some other rule in a couple of days, as law and order issues cannot be raised under adjournment motion.

Mysuru: Congress workers on Wednesday staged a protest outside the office of BJP MP Pratap Simha, on whose authorisation passes were issued to two persons who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery in a major security breach.

Police force controlled the situation and ensured that it did not lead to any untoward incident.

Congress workers in large numbers gathered outside the Mysuru MP’s office at Jaladarshini Guest House and raised slogans against him and accused him of being “responsible for what unfolded in the Lok Sabha” earlier in the day.

Manoranjan D, one of the accused who hailed from Mysuru, introduced co-accused Sagar Sharma as a friend to the MP’s office and got passes issued to them on the pretext of watching the new Parliament, according to sources.

Three passes were issued at the behest of Simha for Wednesday. However, one person, a woman, had to return as she arrived with her child whose name was not mentioned in her pass, sources close to the MP said.

Bengaluru: While allowing a rape victim to terminate a pregnancy that was in the 24th week, the High Court has directed that all jurisdictional police should inform victims of the option available for termination of pregnancy so that they do not have to approach the courts at a belated stage.

The 17-year-old victim’s father had approached the HC seeking for medical termination of her pregnancy. She is subject to a crime under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC and POCSO Act.

As a result of the crime she conceived and is currently 24 weeks pregnant. The petition claimed that the victim does not want to continue with the pregnancy and sought medical termination.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj, who heard the petition in his order on December 11, said such a situation would not have arisen “if at all such a decision had been taken earlier, then there would have been no requirement for the petitioner to approach this Court.” .

It, therefore, directed the Principal Secretary, Home Department, to issue necessary directions to all jurisdictional and/ or investigating officers “to make known the availability of an option of medical termination of pregnancy, the procedure and process required to be followed for the same if the victim and/or natural guardian so desire.”.

The investigating officer should also keep ready a member or representative of the jurisdictional Child Welfare Committee or the District Child Protection Unit, the court maintained.

The HC had also directed a Medical Board consisting of a gynecologist, pediatrician and psychologist to give an opinion on the fitness of the victim in the present case to undergo medical termination of pregnancy (MTP).

The report was submitted on December 12. The HC then allowed the MTP to be carried out.

The HC ordered that after the MTP, the tissue samples of the foetus should be preserved for the purpose of DNA analysis if required or ordered by the trial court in the POCSO case.