The Special Investigating Team(SIT) investigating the brutal killing of Gauri Lankesh,journalist and activist today submitted a charge sheet stretching to 650 pages to the 3rd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court here.
The SIT team took around eight months before examining and interrogating about 131 people in this connection.It may be recalled here that the Editor of a Kannada tabloid was shot dead while she was entering her home in the evening.She was also an activist and an vocal critic of Sangh Pariwar activities.
Recently one Naveen has been arrested in connection with the murder case.It is said that it was he who showed her house to the assailants but however not disclosing their names.The police also gave a try in vain for lie detector test as he is refusing to undergo the same.
Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti
What a relief! Petrol, diesel prices down 1 paise after 16-day continuous surge
Prices of petrol and diesel were cut by one paise on Wednesday after the Indian Oil Corp’s (IOC) website initially showed a fall of around 50-60 paise per litre of the fuels.
IOC described the incident as a “technical glitch” and clarified that actual price cut was of one paise a litre.
“There was a technical glitch in posting the selling prices of petrol and diesel on our website today. The selling prices of petrol and diesel w.e.f. (with effect from) May 30, 2018 have been rectified on our website,” a spokesperson with company said, adding: “Today, there is a minor reduction in fuel prices.”
This price cut of “one paise” in petrol and diesel prices across the four metros on Wednesday, came after a daily hike for the last 16 days.
This cut in price, contrasts against nearly Rs 4 per litre rise during May 14-29, with daily hike in prices varying around 15-30 paise a litre.
In Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai petrol prices on Wednesday were at Rs 78.42, Rs 81.05, Rs 86.23 and Rs 81.42 per litre respectively, all prices down one paise from Tuesday, according to the revised data on the IOC website.
Further fall in domestic fuel prices is expected as crude oil prices internationally eased recently.
Prices of petrol in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai reached record levels during last two weeks and were scaling new highs everyday. In Kolkata, the fuel was sold near four-year high levels.
In tandem with the trend in petrol, diesel prices on Wednesday were at Rs 69.50, Rs 71.85, Rs 73.78 and Rs 73.17 per litre in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai respectively, again declining byone paise in the four cities.
Kannada Film Round UP
Film director Santoshkumar Shetty Left For His Heavenly Abode
Santshkumar Shetty, a Kannada film director has recently met with a tragic death early in the morning while trying for a photo shoot of the Yermay falls amidst the dense forests of Belthangadi taluk in South Canara district. He had directed the film Kanasu.
This is the 3rd death due to the heavy downpour in South Canara & Udupi coastal districts recently. It is said that the director had gone to the picturesque spot for a photo shoot along with 3 other members including a lady member of the unit.
As Santoshkumar Shetty was busy shooting the inflow from the falls increased by multiple times and he is said to have slipped and had an accidental fall.
According to an eyewitness
Santoshkumar Shetty was the only person who knew swimming.But he had tied robots to his legs weighing around 7 kgs altogether and when he fell in the falls he couldn’t swim due to the heavy weight on his legs.
The locals also admit that this is the 3rd tragedy in the same spot. One person had died about 4-5 months ago and one more a year back. Many tourists neglect the advice to not venture out into the slippery falls leading to avoidable tragedies.
Gauri Murder Case : 4 More Arrested
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Gauri Lankesh murder case will soon arrest Praveen alias Sujith as the second accused. Praveen was arrested by Upparpet police in Bengaluru in an illegal arms case on May 19, and will soon be arrested in the Gauri Lankesh case on Wednesday.
Praveen and K.T. Naveen Kumar are alleged to have conducted a reconnaissance of Gauri’s house prior to her murder. Naveen was arrested by the SIT on March 9 and Praveen was named as the second accused in the case then. Senior SIT officials confirmed that the Praveen arrested by Upparpet police was the one they were looking for. The SIT will also file a charge sheet against Naveen Kumar in a city court on Wednesday, since a considerable amount of evidence had been gathered to support his role in Lankesh’s murder.
Along with Praveen, three other people hailing from Maharastra were arrested. They have been identified as Amit Degwekar, Manohar Dundappa Evade and Amol Kale and are said to be sharpshooters, though their role in the murder is still not clear. SIT sources said that Naveen and Praveen were the locals providing information and support while the persons who shot Gauri came from another State, probably Maharastra. Their first target was rational thinker K.S. Bhagwan in Mysuru, for which they had even had a shooting practice in the Chamarajanagar forests. Later, when security was tightened around Bhagwan, the target shifted to Gauri Lankesh, said SIT.
CRICKET FIRST, PROJECT WORKS NEXT: By Joseph Hoover
The Karnataks State Cricket Association managing committee says it does not have money to increase the lunch allowance of active cricket clubs, but it holds a press conference to announce that KSCA wants to create rain-water harvesting system in all its centres.
Wow!
Where does this money come from for these projects?
When it can be done inhouse, why is an agency being entrusted with the works?
Approximately 70 to 80 crore has been spent on building infrastructure in Hubli, Belgaum, Shimoga and Alur. The MC gets the Finance Committee (FC) clearance without any hesitation.
But MC can’t convince the FC to raise the lunch allowance of clubs which are the backbone of the association and cricket ecosystem. A parsley Rs 2500 is doled out as allowance.
Clubs play matches as far away as 35 to 50km from the City. The facilities at these distant grounds are pathetic. The tarpaulin covers provided are often torn/ ripped apart by gusty winds and dogs. Matches get delayed often because of this issue. There is no medical aid (especially ice cubes/ packs) in these grounds. Hospitals are far away. But we don’t complain as we want Karnataka cricket to thrive!!!
We appreciate KSCA has created sub-air system at the M Chinnaswany stadium.
It doesn’t matter who made how much money from this project. The work cost KSCA over Rs 6 crore we are told.
But, we want to know how many league matches have been played at the main stadium? Dear MC, Please furnish the details of the number of local matches played after this humongously costly project was completed.
Instead of paying huge sums to private grounds, matches could very well be played at the home of Karnataka cricket. Cricketers would be happy to play in an environment where greats like GR Vishwanath, EAS Prasanna, B S Chandrashekar, Syed Kirmani, Brijesh Patel, Roger Binny, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath… Among others have played, mastered their skills and showcased their talent in international cricket.
Club secretaries met your nominated member Santosh Menon, at a meeting organised by KSCA, and requested him to take the grievances of cricket clubs to the MC/FC.
But when we asked Menon, he said the allowance has not been increased. It has remained Rs 2500 for the past several years, despite inflation and price rise.
But the costs of project works have escalated! There is no objections we presume when it relates to project works.
Somebody must be smiling all the way to the bank!
As an interim committee, which has long overstayed it’s tenure, it should not take up any projects. Let the new committee, which should be place in a couple of months time, take the decision to spend money on rain water harvesting system.
We wish to remind the MC that the primary duty, as in the preamble of the MOA, is to promote cricket. Sadly, cricket has been the last priority of this committee.
So before the MC takes up any more projects, let it care for its cricket clubs, cricketers, office staff, ground staff (who are paid measly salaries despite KSCA being one of the richest associations in the country) and the fans who have made cricket what it is today. In Cricket Service
FKCCI Delegation met Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Shri K Ravi, President, FKCCI along with delegation from FKCCI paid a courtesy call on the Hon’ble Chief Minister today and requested for extending special attention for the development of the Trade, Industry and Services by the Government.
He assured the delegation that he would bestow his full attention to the Industrial sector for the development of the State.
Dehradun International Cricket Stadium unveiled ahead of International debut
The Dehradun International Cricket Stadium was opened on Saturday, 26th May by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, after a senior delegation comprising experts from the International Cricket Council assessed the facility last week. Having evaluated all the facilities, the officials found the standards for player’s amenities, media and broadcast requirements in compliance to host all three formats of the international games and called it one of the best venues they have visited recently.
Located in the capital of Uttarakhand, the stadium is set against the backdrop of rolling hills and rivers and blends with the picturesque landscape of the state. A world-class facility for 25000 spectators, the intimate seating bowl provides uninterrupted views of the cricket field.
The design of the stadium reflects local architectural influences, recalling a proud past while serving as a bridge to a modern era. The stadium creates a 21st-century fan experience and a premier entertainment experience for sports, concert and convention-goers in the Uttarakhand capital.
The facility has state-of-the-art amenities including restaurants, retail, banquet halls and conference rooms to provide the spectators with an interactive viewing experience of the game. The stadium is equipped for complete evacuation in less than 8 minutes as per international security guidelines. The clubhouse complex with its allied facilities of guest rooms, restaurants, banquet halls, auditorium, bowling alley and indoor sports facility will make this the new destination in the city and region
Designed by Collage Design, the Dehradun International Cricket Stadium is India’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standard sporting arena. Collage Design, one of India’s leading sports infrastructure consultants, previously worked on the development of all six stadiums and 26 training sites (Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai and New Delhi) for India’s first FIFA tournament, the FIFA U-17 World Cup, that took place in October last year.
Describing the efforts that went in to building this facility, Ramkumar Subramaniam, CEO and Founder of Collage Design said, “It’s a complex and challenging process involving multiple stakeholdersto conceptualize and develop modern sports facilities. It has been an immensely fulfilling journey with the state Government of Uttarakhand to realise their vision of creating a world class facility that would serve as a benchmark for other states to invest and promote sports.”
The stadium has been selected as the home ground for the Afghanistan Cricket team, and it will host a three-match T20I series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh on June 3rd, 5th and 7th, 2018.
No screening of Indian films during Eid in Pakistan
Following the requests by the film exhibitors, distributors and production houses, Pakistan has imposed a temporary ban on the exhibition and screening of Indian films during Eid holidays.
According to media reports, the exhibition and screening of Indian and foreign films will be banned from two days before the Eid to until two weeks after the holidays.
Pakistani film producers and artists have been complaining for the last two years that their new films face stiff completion from the Indian and Hollywood movies.
Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw
Court grants interim protection to Chidambaram till June 5
A special court here on Wednesday granted interim protection to P. Chidambaram from arrest till June 5 in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.
Special Judge O.P. Saini announced the order and directed him to join the investigation on June 5, the date when Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked him to appear before it for questioning.
The court has asked ED to file a response on Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail plea and listed the matter for further hearing on June 5.
Earlier, the court granted interim protection to Karti Chidambaram from arrest till July 10 in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are investigating how Karti Chidambaram allegedly managed to get a clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the Aircel-Maxis deal when his father P. Chidambaram was the Finance Minister in 2006.
Schools, colleges shut in rain-hit coastal Karnataka
All schools and colleges across coastal Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district will remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday as heavy rains disrupt normal life, said an official.
“We have advised all state-run and private schools and colleges across the district to remain closed for two days as a safety measure due to heavy rains flooding roads and localities in the district,” Deputy Commissioner Sasikant Sentil told reporters here, about 350km from state capital Bengaluru.
A record 40mm rainfall on Tuesday in the port city of Manganluru inundated several areas, including roads and housing colonies and commercial hubs due to storm-water drains overflowing and garbage blocking their movement.
“Though the south-west monsoon is set to enter the state in the next two days, a cyclonic storm, low pressure and strong surface winds have brought moderate to heavy rains in the coastal areas since Monday,” a weather official told IANS.
Forecasting rain or thundershowers over the next two days in the coastal districts and south interior areas due to favouring conditions, the official said fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Arabian Sea and tourists were told to stay away from beaches facing high tides.
“Took stock of the situation in Dakshina Kannada due to heavy rains since Tuesday across the coastal district and directed the administration to take assistance of the coast guard to prevent loss of life and mitigate hardship,” tweeted state Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy from Bengaluru.
Pre-monsoon rains were also reported from Udupi, Honnavar, Agumbe, Karwar in the coastal region, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Gadag, affecting movement of people and goods and causing damage to crops.