N Muthappa Rai, former gangster, activist, president of the Karnataka Athletics Association has received a notice from the Central Crime Branch police after he posted a video on social media performing a puja on arms and lethal weapons during the Ayudha Puja event .

In the video, Rai was seen with long guns and machetes. The video went viral on social media.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Organised Crime Wing issued a notice to Rai on Friday, seeking an explanation and the documents to own the weapons.

PTI

A woman worker of a software firm in Pakistan was told to either stop wearing hijab at workplace or resign, in perhaps the first incident of its kind in the Muslim-majority country.

The incident caused an uproar on social media, leading to the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Jawwad Kadir of the Creative Choas company.

She was told that she could keep her job only if she took off her hijab by her line manager who said that wearing hijab would spoil the company’s image as an “all-embracing” workplace.

Kadir initially tried to downplay the incident by issuing an apology.

“Yesterday, a senior member of our staff asked a colleague to resign on unprofessional and unethical grounds. She was told that her obligations may come in the way of her performance,” Kadir said.

“Not only is this action disgraceful but shows extremely poor moral judgement by her hiring manager. I take full responsibility for this failure and am deeply ashamed that a colleague was put through distress and trauma,” he said.

Kadir said the victim has been asked to withdraw her resignation and resume her job.

A Facebook post detailing the trauma faced by the hijab-wearing woman caused a hue and cry with majority of people terming it as discrimination against the woman.

The software firm in a Facebook post later said Kadir had been asked to step down “for workplace discrimination”.

In an email sent to the board members and associates, titled “My apology is not enough”, Kadir said he was resigning as the CEO of the software house.

“I have crossed a line which I deeply regret,” he wrote in the email, a copy of which was available on social media.

PTI

A 52-year-old woman devotee from Trichy in Tamil Nadu on Saturday faced angry devotees ahead of her darshan at Kerala’s Sabarimala temple as they surrounded her before the last few hallowed steps.

Dressed in a blue saree, Latha, who was accompanied by her husband and son, was stopped as Sabarimala traditionalists were on the look-out for women within the hitherto barred ages suspected her age and started shouting Ayyappa slogans.

They surrounded her as they assumed she was below 50 years, who were for centuries barred from entering the temple.

Ever since this practice was overruled by the Supreme Court’s September 28 verdict, the hilltop shrine has turned into a war zone since October 17 when the temple doors opened for the first time after the decision.

The couple on Saturday tried to explain that Latha has not broken any rules. That she was here at the temple in the past two years, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

It was only after senior BJP leader K. Surendran and others rushed to the spot detecting the commotion that the devotees allowed Latha passage to the sanctum sanctorum after checking her identification card.

The family then went up the hallowed 18 steps and performed the darshan.

Later she said the minor disturbance ahead of her darshan has hurt her as she had taken all the penance traditionally required for the Lord Ayyappa temple pilgrimage.

Three women were on Friday stopped from visiting the Ayyappan shrine despite police protection. Temple Tantri has threatened to close the Sabarimala temple if attempts were made by women of the barred age group to perform darshan.

Two minors were killed and one woman was injured in accidents and violent clashes reported from many parts of Uttar Pradesh during the idol immersion procession of Goddess Durga, police said on Saturday.

A minor girl and a teenage boy died while a woman sustained bullet injuries during the Vijaya Dashmi festivities late on Friday.

At least a dozen persons have been injured in similar incidents, a government official told IANS, adding that most of the violence was reported from Agra, Kaushambi and Sultanpur.

A seven-year-old girl was run over by a tractor during an immersion procession at Kusa village in Jaunpur. She died on the spot. While a 15-year-old boy, identified as Lokesh of Kutiliya village drowned in a pond during the immersion at Khuljan Devi Dham pond in Pratapgarh.

Anita Singh, 35, sustained bullet injuries during celebratory firing by revellers in the Vikrampur village of Pratapgarh district.

In Sultanpur, there were clashes in Kurebhar area. Police reinforcements was rushed to control the mob.

In Kaushambi, the situation went out of control when immersion procession revellers in Nara village accidentally threw some dry colours on a mosque wall.

Protests turned violent leading to injuries to at least four persons. Stones were pelted from both sides, a police officer said.

There was tension in Badaut of Bagpat district. Clashes broke out after two girls who had come to witness Dussehra Dusshera effigy burning at the Digambar Jain College complained of misbehaviour by some men.

“There was a minor scuffle and the accused were immediately taken into custody,” a police officer said.

In Khandauli area of Agra, clashes broke out after disagreement over the route of the procession in Nagla Asha.

All injured have been admitted to hospitals and police is patrolling the violence hit areas.

Huge protests by hundreds of devotees at the entrance of Sabarimala temple forced the Kerala Police accompanying two women on Friday to call off their journey towards the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

At 10.50 a.m., Kavita, the Hyderabad-based journalist and her four member crew along with another woman devotee Rehna Fathima from Kochi, began their descend towards Pamba foothills of the temple.

It was around 6.45 a.m., when the two women accompanied by a 100 policemen led by Inspector General of Police S.Sreejith started their two-hour climb. Twenty led them from the front while 80 officers backed them.

In a never-before move, around 30 employees attached to the temple tantri and the chief priest went on protest as they stopped their rituals and sat down in front of the hallowed 18 steps leading to the sanctum santorum and sang Ayyappa hymns after they heard that the two women were about to reach the shrine.

When the group reached the first entry point to the temple, hundreds of protesters were lying on the road leading to the hilltop temple.

Soon Sreejith received a call. He told the protesters that the government has decided not to use force and asked them to relent.

“Now I have to talk to the two women, who also have their rights according to the Supreme Court directives and it too has to be protected. Please do not create any disturbances here, but you can continue to chant the hymns,” said Sreejith.

After an hour, Sreejith told the media that he had a word with the temple tantri who categorically told him he would be forced to close down the temple if there was any violation of tradition and faith.

“So we told the two women about it and they also decided to abandon their trek and return, asking for protection till they reached home,” Sreejith said, adding that would be provided. “So we are taking them back.”

However, Kerala Minister of Devasoms, Kadakampally Surendran told the media here that they have come to know that the two women were actually activists.

“After coming to know that, it becomes our duty to protect the rights of the devotees and not that of activists.

“Our request to women activists is not to ply their trade in hallowed places. The police should have been more cautious. They should have found out more about these women. The state government is duty-bound to protect the rights of the devotees,” said Surendran.

Fathima’s house in Kochi was meanwhile damaged by angry devotees.

“We have just come here after hearing about the damage caused to her home. We do not know if there were other residents around,” said a police official.

Fathima works with the BSNL in Kochi and lives with her partner. Both had started out for the temple.

“There are no separate rule of law for activists, or others. There is only one law. She is not an activist and she has the right to go and pray as per the apex court directive,” said Fathima’s partner who is a news producer, who along with his team is present at the protest venue.

BSNL has issued a statement saying it was not connected with Rehana Fathima’s action, who is a staff of their Ernakulam Business Area.

“Outside BSNL premises, Rehana Fathima alone shall be fully responsible for her action in her own personal capacity outside the normal business hours.

“This is in no way related to the written assigned official responsibilities, as per BSNL conduct and service rules and regulations,” the statement said.

When the police along with the two women were on their ascend, the temple Tantri family and members of the Pandalam royal family went into a huddle.

They were considering closing down of the temple in order to stop the women from entering, according to informed sources.

Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam summoned police chief Loknath Behra to his office and spoke to him about the overall situation.

Devasom Minister Surendran spoke to state CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and lashed out at the state government and Sreejith for violating the Kerala Police Act Rule 43.

“According to the Rules, none other than a police official can use their dress or their equipment. We wish to know how come Sreejith allowed the two women to use police uniform and helmet.

“This destroys the sanctity of the Sabarimala temple. We warn the Kerala government not to try tricks to forcefully impose the apex court verdict,” said Surendran.

The temple opened its doors on Wednesday for the first time since the September 28 Supreme Court verdict that allowed women from the 10-50 age group to enter the famed shrine.

On Thursday, there was a dawn-to-dusk shutdown across Kerala called by outfits owing loyalty to Hindu groups and the BJP.

IANS

Grand muftis, Islamic religious leaders, from 73 countries on Thursday concluded here a three-day conference aimed at moderating how religious figures discuss Islam so as to counter the effects of extremism and increase the involvement of Muslim youth in peaceful displays of their faith.

During the fourth edition of the conference, held in Cairo and focused on the issuance of “fatwa” – religious guidelines promulgated by religious leaders, participants discussed a broad spectrum of topics, including organ transplants, divorce and stem cells.

“Our main concern in this summit is to redefine fatwa and reclaim fatwa from the radicals,” Ibrahim Negm, adviser to Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam told Efe.

Touching on topics ranging from divorce and marriage practices to inheritance and scientific activities, a fatwa is released publically as a way for Muslims to live an involved and connected spiritual life in the modern world.

“Our purpose is to revisit the Muslim tradition and … the heritage (writen in) books hundreds of years ago. We want to read them afresh in the light of contemporary issues. We are living in the 21st century, we are living in a global village and this has impacted how fatwas are issued,” Negm added.

The conference also discussed women’s rights and the use of the “niqab,” the long Muslim women’s gown and veil which completely covers the body and face.

“We emphasize the essence rather than the form … the way people dress is different from one Muslim country to another, so you have in the Gulf a certain way of dressing while in Egypt the way Muslims dress is different … (The same is the case) in Turkey. Meanwhile, in Europe Muslim (men and women dress in a different way), this is based on customs and traditions of Muslim community,” Negm stressed.

Negm announced that religious leaders will “launch an online portal that reaches young people and speaks to them in different languages”.

IANS

The historical, annual Srirangapatna Dasara to be held from tomorrow till Oct.18

CM H.D. Kumaraswamy inaugurated the three-day event by offering flowers to Goddess Chamundeshwari, seated in ‘ambari’ on elephant ‘Abhimanyu’ at Bannimantap at Kirangur Circle off Bengaluru-Mysuru highway.

CM H.D K was accompanied by Bandeppa Kashempur, S.R. Mahesh, D.C. Thammanna and C.S. Puttaraju.