A tweet allegedly made by a well-known doctor reportedly from Mahesh Hospital in Brahmavara, Udupi district, has stirred significant controversy in the area.

Dr. Keerthan Upadhya, a laparoscopic and laser surgeon, reportedly replied to a tweet on Saturday, July 13, stating “Muslim Community” in response to a question asking, “If you could delete one thing from the planet today – What would it be?”

The tweet quickly attracted widespread attention and criticism from netizens, who condemned the doctor’s Islamophobic remark. Many expressed shock and disappointment that such a statement could come from a medical professional. Screenshots of the tweet were widely circulated online, amplifying the backlash.

Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of the fact-checking organization Alt News, pointed out that Dr. Upadhya had deleted the controversial tweet and locked his Twitter profile, preventing access to his account and tweets.

In a subsequent post, Dr. Upadhya claimed that his account had been hacked and that the offending tweet was made by someone who had gained unauthorized access to his account.

Netizens also claimed that Dr. Upadhya had earlier made similar Islamophobic tweets and shared screenshots of the similar posts degrading Islam made from the same handle.

Mangaluru: Burglars broke into a house in Kotekani here in the wee hours of Tuesday and decamped with gold jewellery and cash, police said.

The incident was reported in Urva police limits. The burglars gained entry into the house by cutting the grills of the window. Only an elderly couple was staying in the house at the time of the theft, they said.

According to police, the burglars after taking gold and Rs 10,000 cash threatened the couple and secured the keys of a car and drove away. The car was found abandoned near Mulky town about 23 km from Mangaluru city. Police recovered a mobile phone in the abandoned vehicle, presumed to be used by the burglars.

This is the second housebreak incident in the past week with a similar ‘modus operandi.’

Police suspect that this gang was carrying out a survey of areas they wanted to target and only chose houses in which only elderly people were staying.

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, Mullai Muhilan announced the completion of preparations for the counting of votes schedule on June 4. He was addressing the media at the Mangaluru Press Club on Friday.

Providing details about the tight security measures deployed at the counting center in NITK, Surathkal, Muhilan said that the strong room where the EVMs are stored will be opened between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM, and will be under strict CCTV surveillance. In addition, the officials from the Election Commission can access the strong room only with an official ID card and by undergoing a three-phase security check.

He revealed that the counting of postal votes will begin at 8:00 AM, while the counting of EVM votes will begin at 8:30 AM.

A 100-meter radius around the center has been declared a pedestrian zone, and no vehicles will be allowed inside this area. There will be CCTV surveillance both around and inside the counting center. A steel frame mesh has been installed between the staff and agents at each counting desk to ensure the counting process is conducted peacefully and safely. Election agents must enter the counting center between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM; late entry will not be permitted.

A total of 14,09,653 votes were cast in EVMs in the district and 8,537 votes were cast through ballot papers, including home voting, service voters, and those on emergency service. A total of 536 ballot papers were sent to service voters, and so far, 231 ballot papers have been received. Ballot papers from service voters received up to one hour before the counting of votes will be accepted, said the Commissioner.

He further stated that the counting of votes by EVMs will be conducted in eight rooms with 14 tables each, totaling 112 tables for each assembly constituency. A separate room with 20 tables has been arranged for the counting of postal ballots. Apart from the Returning Officer, 8 Assistant Returning Officers have been appointed for EVM vote counting. The Commissioner explained that a total of 554 staff members will work in the counting center, including those handling EVM and postal ballots.

The Collector said that mobiles, iPads, calculators, scissors, knives, lighters, firecrackers, electronic items, weapons, and explosives are prohibited inside the counting station. “Candidates or agents are allowed to carry only a pen, sheet notepad, and Form 17C,” he added.

“The security at NITK, Surathkal will operate in three shifts. Civil Police and State Reserve Police Force will provide security at three levels in each shift,” said Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal speaking at the press conference. He further said that a total of 850 police personnel, including DCPs and ACPs, will be on duty on the counting day.

On the day of the election result, a ban has been issued on victory celebrations, including the bursting of explosives and firecrackers, from 5:00 AM to midnight on June 4 across the Dakshina Kannada district, stated DC Mullai Muhilan.

Mangaluru: A 23-year-old woman, who was found “aimlessly roaming” at the Mangaluru International Airport on Thursday was intercepted by the airport security and safely handed over to the police, officials said.

According to the Bajpe police, she had come to Mangaluru airport from Bengaluru by road in the morning. She has also given her place of origin as Davanagere.

Her relatives had filed a missing person report in Davangere four days ago.

The police have sent her to the government’s Wenlock hospital. Her relatives have been informed about her safety and they will be arriving later in the day, police said.

The woman is suspected to be battling depression. However, police said, they are yet to verify from the doctors about her condition.

This is the second incident of a woman roaming free in the airport, only to be secured by the alert security personnel and handed over to the police.

A woman from Kadri in Mangaluru city had travelled to the airport on May 14 and was reunited with her family later.

Hubballi: BJP national president J P Nadda on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the murder of 23-year-old college student Neha Hiremath here recently.

Neha, daughter of Congress corporator Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death by her former classmate in the premises of her college in Dharwad on April 18 sparking widespread protests.

Nadda visited Neha Hiremath’s house and offered condolences to her family. Later, he said the BJP will cooperate if the investigation of the case needs to be handed over to CBI so that the victim gets justice.

Addressing reporters, Nadda said, “I offered condolences to the family and came here to stand with them in this hour of grief.”

“From what I have heard from her (Neha’s) father and the way her mother narrated the incident, it is such a heart breaking incident…,” he added.

Condemning the incident, the BJP chief assured justice to the family of the deceased.

Taking exception to the statements made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara, he said it would “influence and “dilute” the probe.

If the state police was unable to handle the investigation of the case, Nadda said he would request the state government to handover the case to CBI.

“If the state government wants, they can refer the case to CBI and BJP will cooperate so that this innocent girl gets justice, humanity gets justice and such incidents do not recur in future… even her father has demanded for a CBI probe because he doesn’t have faith in the state police and wants the investigation into the murder of his daughter to be transferred to the CBI,” Nadda said.

The incident snowballed into a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP in Karnataka.

While the ruling party has tried to project it as an “incident with a personal angle”, the saffron party suspects “love jihad” and said that it points to the “deterioration of law and order” in the state.

Bengaluru: KPCC President and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar made a call to Niranjan Hiremath, the father of murder victim Neha Hiremath, to offer his condolences on Sunday.

“We are shocked by the incident too. We grieve with your family, and the government stands by you. The guilty shall be surely punished,” D K Shivakumar assured Hiremath. He further assured the distraught father that strict action under the law would be taken against the accused.

D K Shivakumar made the call during a campaign for Bengaluru Rural Congress candidate D K Suresh, his brother. He expressed his inability to visit Hubli due to preplanned campaigns and assured Hiremath of a visit once the elections were completed, reports stated.

Neha Hiremath, a 23 year old MCA student, was stabbed to death by her former classmate Fayaz Khondunaik in the campus of BVB College, Hubli on April 18. Niranjan Hiremath, her father, is a Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Muncipal Corporation. The case caused huge uproar across the state and has seen numerous protests urging severe measures against Neha’s killer. BJP has accused a ‘love jihad’ angle to the case which has been refuted by the State government.

Chitradurga: The dead bodies of a 40-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter, who were staying with their family at the Tipperudraswamy Ashram on Turuvanooru Road, were found inside the sump of the Ashram on Tuesday night.

The women have been identified as Geetha and her daughter Priyanka, who were natives of Bhadravathi. The duo reportedly worked at the Tipperudraswamy Temple in Chitradurga, with the family, including Geetha’s husband and son, residing at the Ashram.

On Tuesday evening, the men were out of the Ashram premises and learned of Geetha and Priyanka’s death when they returned at night, the local police officers have said.

Mysuru (Karnataka): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called the Congress “the sultan of tukde tukde gang”, as he accused the opposition party of having the dangerous intention to “divide, break and weaken” the country.

He was addressing a mega public meeting at Maharaja’s college ground here aimed at drumming up support for BJP and JD(S) candidates from Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Hassan Lok Sabha constituencies.

“This is a land where mothers dream about sending their children to armed forces in the service of the nation. On the other hand, there is a Congress party which is going around becoming the ‘Sultan of tukde tukde gang’. The dangerous intention of Congress to divide, break and weaken the country is still the same,” Modi claimed.

JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was among those who shared the dais with Modi in a show of strength by the NDA.

The JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year. Of the total 28 seats in Karnataka, BJP is contesting in 25 and the JD(S) in three, including neighbouring Mandya.

“In Karnataka, NDA has the guidance of senior leaders like H D Deve Gowda and (BJP leader B S) Yediyurappa and cooperation of (JD(S) leader) H D Kumaraswamy”, Modi said.

Modi claimed that the Congress has crossed “all the limits of hating the country”.

“People of Karnataka are witness that those who speak against India, Congress as a reward gives them an election ticket. Recently you might have seen at a Congress election rally a person made people shout ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogan, but before doing it, he had to seek the permission of leaders sitting on the stage,” the prime minister said.

Questioning whether one requires permission to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, he asked, “Will the country, Karnataka, Mysuru forgive such a Congress? First opposed ‘Vande Mataram’ and now hesitated to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. This is the height of Congress’s downfall.”

Scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar is the BJP candidate in the coming Lok Sabha elections here. Deve Gowda’s son, former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy is contesting from Mandya.

Karnataka is very important for the BJP as it’s the only state in South India where the party has had held power.

In the 2019 general elections, BJP bagged 25 seats, while an independent backed by the party also emerged victorious.

The Congress and JD(S) which fought the polls in an alliance back then secured just one seat each.

Accusing the Congress of playing with fire for the sake of power, the PM said that at the time when India’s stature is increasing globally, Congress leaders going abroad are not leaving any opportunity to project India in poor light.

“The country gives a befitting reply to its enemies, but Congress seeks evidence for ‘surgical strikes’ from the army. Congress is working with a political wing of a banned organisation which is involved in terror activities,” he alleged.

Claiming that an “open game” of appeasement is on in the country, Modi alleged that efforts are on to put a stop to fairs and festivals.

“Will you give the country’s administration into the hands of those playing this game of vote bank politics?” he asked, as he hit out at the Congress and INDIA bloc for “boycotting” the Ram Mandir consecration at Ayodhya by rejecting the invitation, which “insulted our faith”.

Alleging that the INDIA alliance people want to “end Sanatan”, and “destroy Hindu Dharma’s Shakti”, the PM said, “Until there is Modi, and he has your blessings, these forces of hate will never be successful. This is Modi’s guarantee.”

Karnataka is going to the polls in two phases. While polling for 14 Lok Sabha segments in the southern part of the state will be held on April 26, the second phase of voting in northern districts will be held on May 7.

Mangaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a massive road show in this coastal city of Karnataka, waving at an enthusiastic large crowd along the route.

Standing on a specially designed vehicle, Modi greeted the people gathered on the sides of the roads and on nearby buildings, many of whom were seen chanting ‘Modi, Modi’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans, amid loud cheers and sounds of drum beat, in what appeared to be a festive atmosphere in several places.

People showered flower petals as his cavalcade passed through the stretch from Narayana Guru circle to Nava Bharat circle in the city in Dakshina Kannada district, which is a BJP stronghold.

The Prime Minister, who was wearing a saffron cap and holding a lotus symbol, was accompanied by Dakshina Kannada BJP Lok Sabha candidate Captain Brijesh Chowta and party nominee for neighbouring Udupi-Chikmagalur seat Kota Srinivas Poojary.

Shivamogga (Karnataka): Rebel BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa on Friday filed his nomination from Shivamogga for the May 7 Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate to take on official party nominee B Y Raghavendra, who is seeking reelection from the segment.

In Kalaburagi, Radhakrishna Doddamani, son-in-law of Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge, also filed his papers. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress chief D K Shivakumar.

Raghavendra is the son of BJP veteran and member of the party’s Parliamentary Board and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

BJP leaders had appealed to Eshwarappa to desist from contesting but he remained steadfast on his decision.

Eshwarappa, who had also served as the party’s state unit president, is miffed over his son K E Kanthesh being denied the ticket from the neighbouring Haveri segment.

The 75-year-old had alleged that Yediyurappa had promised to get the ticket for his son but betrayed him.

Eshwarappa, who has raised a banner of revolt against the party’s state unit, has repeatedly attacked the Lingayat strongman Yediyurappa, saying the BJP is in the grip of his family.

Karnataka is going to the polls in two phases. While 14 Lok Sabha segments in the southern parts of the state will vote on April 26, the remaining 14 constituencies in the northern parts will vote in the second phase on May 7.