Parmesh S Jain

A 29-year-old dhaba employee who sustained burn injuries after a group of men set fire to the dhaba succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as,Manoj was having dinner at around 12.40 am after cleaning the dhaba while his colleagues were sleeping.

He came out of the dhaba after hearing a blast sound followed by a flash of light.Thinking that it was a transformer blast due to an electric short circuit.

Manoj came out only to be confronted by an unidentified man,who splashed a chemical smell like petrol on him . 

Soon Manoj was engulfed in fire and ran inside the dhaba to get help from his colleague Tejas.

The other staff members doused the fire and ran out to safety before the dhaba was on fire .

The Soladevanahalli police based on the statement of Manoj, taken up a case against the unknown persons charging them under section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and section 307 ( attempt to murder) .

However after the death of Manoj, the police added a murder case against the accused and stepped up investigations to track them down said a senior officer.

BENGALURU: Over a span of a week, 21 Covid-19 cases have been reported in an apartment in Rajajinagar, creating yet another cluster in Bengaluru. Some of the residents of Sobha Indraprastha who tested positive, have a travel history.

“We are gathering their travel histories and have contained their flats, along with the floors above and below. We are testing all the other residents as well. The samples have been sent for genomic sequencing to ascertain which variant has caused the cluster,” said Dr Thrilok Chandra, Special Commissioner, (Health), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.

The city has 98 active containment zones, 31 of which are in Bommanahalli zone alone. This is followed by 19 in South Zone, 14 in Mahadevapura, 13 in East Zone, 10 in West, six in Yelahanka and five in RR Nagar. There are no containment zones in Dasarahalli.

BENGALURU: Amid fears of a third Covid wave, the state saw a 37.10 per cent jump in Wednesday’s Covid cases at 566 as compared to Tuesday’s tally of 356. This is the first time since early October that the state has recorded over 500 cases a day. With Wednesday’s numbers, total Covid cases have gone up to 30,05,798 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Cluster outbreaks were reported in Kolar and Mandya. At Morarji Desai School in Kolar, 10 students tested positive and at a private nursing college in Bangarpet, four students are Covid-positive. At the school, after a student reported symptoms of fever, she was tested and the result came positive. Later, all the 252 students were tested, of which ten are positive. The school has now been declared a containment zone.

At a village in Maddur taluk of Mandya district, five primary class students at the Hallikere Government School tested positive. Initially, one student tested positive and after that all the 50 students were made to give swab samples, of which four are positive. Health officials rushed to the spot and sanitised the school premises before sealing it for a few days. Taluk health officials said there is no need to worry as the students are asymptomatic and isolated. 

‘Safety a big concern’

Sr inivas Alavilli, head, civic participation, Janaagraha said, “Cities are flooded by private and personal
vehicles. The number of pedestrians is dwindling by the day. More peopl e want to cycle, but safety
is a major concern.

Unless we shift a lot of people from private vehicles to walking, cycling and enable public transport, our cities are going to see never-ending traffic jams. This Bill will address the rights of cyclists and pedestrians and could not have come at a better time.”

Bengaluru: Karnataka logged 289 cases of COVID-19 and four deaths on Monday, taking the total number of infections to 30,04,876 and the toll to 38,316.

The day also saw 254 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,59,082, a health department bulletin said.

Bengaluru Urban continued to top in number of cases (172), as the city saw 155 discharges and two deaths.

The total number of active cases in the state is now 7,449.

While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.49 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 1.38 per cent.

Besides the deaths in Bengaluru Urban, one fatality each was reported from Kodagu and Uttara Kannada.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 172, Kodagu 37, Tumakuru 15, Dakshina Kannada 12, followed by others.

Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,61,728, followed by Mysuru 1,80,231 and Tumakuru 1,21,317.

Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban was on top with 12,39,277, followed by Mysuru 1,77,699 and Tumakuru 1,20,080.

Cumulatively a total of 5,60,56,875 samples have been tested in the state so far, out of which 58,495 were done on Monday alone.

Bengaluru: BJP MP and President of BJP Yuva Morcha, Tejasvi Surya on Monday “Unconditionally” withdrew his comments about Hindu revival and “bringing back to the Hindu fold” all those who converted “over the course of India’s history”.

Surya, taking to his Twitter handle asserted that certain statements from his speech had created an avoidable controversy.

“At a program held in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt two days ago, I spoke on the subject of ‘Hindu Revival in Bharat’. Certain statements from my speech have regrettably created an avoidable controversy. I therefore unconditionally withdraw the statements,” Tejasvi Surya tweeted this morning.

On Saturday, the Karnataka BJP leader had said that those who left their “mother religion” must be brought back on priority and it was the “only possible solution” to an “anomaly”.

“The Hindu has been taken out from his mother religion. There is only one possible solution…there is only one solution to address this anomaly,” Tejasvi Surya had said at the Sri Krishna Mutt.

“Those people who have left their mother religion and have for various socio-political, economic reasons over the course of India’s history, those who have gone out of the Hindu fold, must be brought back in whole, brought back into the Hindu faith, brought back to the mother faith,” asserted the 31-year-old MP from Bangalore South.

KOLKATA: BCCI president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been admitted to a city hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, the cricket board sources said on Tuesday.

Ganguly is double vaccinated and has been travelling extensively, taking part in all professional activities.

The 49-year-old was rushed to a hospital late on Monday night as a precautionary measure after his RT-PCR test returned positive.

“He was taken to Woodlands Nursing Home last night. He has been given medication and is currently stable,” a BCCI source, who is keeping track of Ganguly’s health, told PTI.

Ganguly was admitted to hospital twice earlier this year and underwent emergency angioplasty after having some cardiac issues.

His elder brother Snehasish Ganguly had also tested positive for COVID early this year.

Parmesh S Jain

A group of four men who are reportedly in an inebriated state set fire to the dhaba in Soladevanahalli after the staff demanded a bill citing closure timing on Sunday night .

While furniture and goods were gutted in the mishpa, a staffer also sustained burn injuries in the melee and was hospitalized.

Senior officer visited the spot and after taking stock of the situation he said,The accused,who had come to have dinner,created ruckus after the staff told them to pay the bill since it was closing time .

A Heated arguments endured which took an ugly turn when they went out and later returned to set fire on the dhaba and escaped.

In the fire the supplier sustained burn injuries and is undergoing treatment in Victoria hospital and his condition is said to be critical due to burn injuries.

A case has been registered in Soladevanahalli police station special teams are now on the lookout for the accused he added.

Parmesh S Jain

The Annapoorneshwari Nagar police have arrested a gang of seven which robbed a FMCG agency after threatening the staff with lethal weapons on December 20.

The accused has been identified as,Goutham, Srikanth,Hemanth,Jnanesh,Ashwath,Pradeep, Naveen.

Senior officer told media persons a armed gang robbed a private limited company in which the accused barged into Sudha agency situated on Nagarabhavi 9th block at around 8.30 pm, threatened the staff robbed cash,mobile phones and gold valuables from the staff and escaped in motorcycles.

Based on the complaint, ACP,Crime squad with other senior officers rushed to spot and after collecting information and Analysing CCTV footage with the help of technology skill of investigation the police track down one of the accused obtained from in and around the area.

The accused confessed the crime during investigation the team grilled him further who spilled the beans and Based on his information, the police arrested his associates and recovered Cash Rs 80,000, three mobile phones,four bikes and gold valuables which they has robbed from the staff members .

The accused have been take into custody to ascertain their criminal background, while efforts are on to track down two more accused who are presently on the run and further investigation is on.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant has appreciated Addl CP West,Soumendhu Mukherjee,DCP West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil,ACP, Nanjundegowda K,PI,Lohith BN,and ACP Crime squad who has done a exemplary and excellent investigation in nabbing the robbery gang and recovered stolen property from them a suitable reward will be given to the team he added.

Parmesh S Jain

Night curfew has been imposed in the state in the interest of public health,Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said speaking to media persons on Monday.

Solatium is being paid to BPL families of those who lost their lives due to Covid in all districts and taluks.A programme in this regard is being held in Bengaluru as well,he said.

Reacting to displeasure among the business community against the night curfew he said,the measure has been taken in the interest of public health. People would have to strictly follow Covid norms at tourist spots.

The BJP State Executive Committee meeting to be held in Hubballi would discuss issues related to party organisation and other developments.

The meeting,which is held once every two months,would take important decisions,he said.

Replying to a question about much expected cabinet expansion,Bommai said, it is an internal matter of the party and the party high command would take a call on that.

There is good coordination between the party and the administration.The government will come up with more good programmes in the days ahead and seek public mandate in 2023 on the basis of its good work for the people he added.

Parmesh S Jain

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday exhorted the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation(BMTC) to be the number one transport corporation in the country with improved quality service,better look and efficient utilisation of human resources.

Speaking at a function to induct electric and BS-6 diesel buses into the service by BMTC he assured all necessary support from the government in this regard.

Rejuvenation of Transport Corpns & ESCOMS

It is difficult to run Transport Corporations with government subsidies. A committee headed by retired Additional Chief Secretary,MR Srinivasa Murthy has been constituted for the revival of these transport corporations,he said.

The committee would present recommendations on plugging the pilferage in these transport corporations.

It would suggest ways and means to improve their service,raise resources and thus turn profitable,Bommai said.

Similarly a committee headed by retired Additional Chief Secretary,K Jairaj has been constituted for rejuvenation of Electric Supply Companies(ESCOMS), he added.

Pollution-free buses

Bommai expressed his happiness at the introduction of BS-6 buses and the move for getting 300 pollution-free electric buses by BMTC.

Presently 90 electric buses are being introduced. It would help in reducing the air pollution in the city, he said and appealed to the people to prefer the electric vehicles for commuting, he said.

Referring to raise the revenue of BMTC, he said, earlier many city based Public Sector Enterprises used to hire BMTC buses to ferry their employees.We will talk to the PSUs like HAL and IT companies to convince them to utilise BMTC services.”

The Chief Minister also suggested BMTC to change its look and design to make it more appealing for the commuters.

Transport minister B Sriramulu, Cooperation minister ST Somashekar and other dignitaries were present.