According to a recent survey conducted by Satellite Political Survey (SAS), the newly launched All India Mahila Empowerment Party’s (MEP), is going to emerge as the second largest party in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections.

According to SAS, MEP is going to bag 70 seats out of the 224 seats, claiming 31.2%.

The survey has put the incumbent Congress party, at 71 seats, BJP at 53 seats, JD(s) at 17 seats and others at 13 seats.

Founded by Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Dr. Nowhera Shaik, MEP is contesting in all the 224 constituencies in the state.

The party, which was launched on 12th November 2017 at New Delhi, announced its participation in the Karnataka elections a month later on December 12th in Bangalore.

After the launch, hundreds of people have joined the party all over the state. More than 6,000 candidates have applied for the position of MLAs.

According to Dr. Shaikh, MEP will reserve 33% of seats to women from all sections of society.

Unnao (UP): The father of an 18-year-old woman, who alleged that she was raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brothers, today died in custody here, prompting her to charge that he was killed inside the jail at the behest of the lawmaker. Pappu Singh, around 50, was rushed to a hospital from the district jail last night and died during treatment today.

District Magistrate Ravi Kumar NG said that the postmortem examination of the victim would be conducted by a panel of doctors to ascertain the exact cause of death. After her father’s death, the gang-rape victim alleged that he was “killed at the behest of the BJP MLA” inside the jail.

“We were getting threats and they killed my father,” she told reporters. UP cabinet minister and government spokesman Srikant Sharma told reporters here that a magisterial probe had been ordered. “If the allegations are true, it’s a very unfortunate incident. For a fair probe, the inquiry has been shifted to Lucknow from Unnao. The state government is committed to ensuring justice to the victim’s family,” he said.

Superintendent of Police, Unnao, Pushpanjali said four accused — Sonu, Baua, Vinit and Shailu — named in the FIR had been arrested and Makhi police station SHO Ashok Kumar Singh had been suspended. Director General of Police O P Singh said a team of Lucknow police had been constituted to probe the entire matter.

“Whosoever is found guilty, strict action will be taken. None will be spared. Pappu was arrested on April 5 under the Arms Act after he was allegedly beaten up by Anil Singh, the MLA’s brother. The daughter of the deceased had yesterday tried to immolate herself near the chief minister’s residence in Lucknow, alleging that she was raped by the BJP MLA and his brothers.

The immolation bid was, however, foiled by the police. Attacking the BJP government, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet, “In (UP) state a girl, going for coaching classes is being shot dead…Another girl accusing BJP MLA of gangrape tried to immolate herself in front of CM’s residence after disappointment from the government. Is this fear of the government of ‘encounter’ that instead of criminals, woman are getting terrified?(sic)”

Gautampalli police station inspector Vijaysen Singh said, “The incident took place outside the Golf Club gate (near the official residence of the chief minister), where the girl from Unnao alleged that she was raped. She also alleged that the Unnao police had not registered a case against the BJP MLA despite her complaint and no action was taken.”

Sengar represents the Bangermau constituency in Unnao district, around 90 km from the state capital. The police inspector said the girl was made to appear before Rajiv Krishan, the Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow, who ordered a probe by the Lucknow police.

When contacted, Sengar refuted the allegations against him and said, “It is a conspiracy hatched by my political opponents to tarnish my image and damage my reputation…I have no problem with any probe. Let a probe be conducted, and the guilty be given the stringent punishment. If I am found guilty in the probe, I am ready to face punishment.”

(PTI)

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) rode on Nitish Rana’s all-round show and Sunil Narine’s whirlwind 19-ball 50 to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by four wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash here on Sunday.

In front of a packed Eden Gardens and co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, part time off-spinner Rana (2/11) picked up the big wickets of A.B. de Villiers and skipper Virat Kohli in successive deliveries to reduce the visitors to 127/4 in 14.3 overs.

Later, Mandeep Singh’s 18-ball 37 helped RCB to a challenging 176/7, but mystery spinner Narine — used effectively as a destructive opener by KKR since last season — made light of the target with a fiery 19-ball 50 (4×4, 5×6) along with Rana who scored a vital 25-ball 34 to steer the hosts over the line with seven balls to spare.

Narine brought up his fifty in 17 balls only to perish two balls later without adding to the tally, his wicket pocketed by Umesh Yadav.

While Narine and vice captain Robin Uthappa (13) associated for a 49-run stand for the second wicket, newly appointed skipper Dinesh Karthik, who was unbeaten on 35 off 29 balls, joined hands with Rana for a 55-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

For RCB, Yadav (2/27) bowled well to bag the wickets of Narine and Uthappa (13) while English pacer Chris Woakes (3/36) was the pick of the bowlers, picking up the wickets of big-hitting Australian opener Chris Lynn (5), Rinku Singh (6) and Andre Russell (15).

Earlier, veterans De Villiers (44) and opener Brendon McCullum (43) batted well for the three-time finalists before Mandeep’s cameo.

KKR took wickets at regular intervals but in the last over, Mandeep’s pyrotechnics guided RCB to a fighting total.

As many as 16 runs were leaked in the final over by Vinay Kumar who had a forgettable comeback for KKR. Two wickets also fell in that over.

De Villiers was at his imperious best, his 23-ball 44 laced with five sixes and one four. McCullum too looked good for his 27-ball 43 at the start.

De Villiers and Kohli (31) stitched together a third wicket stand of 64 runs off just 36 balls.

KKR however were off to a bad start as Vinay Kumar (2/30) leaked 14 runs in the first over, McCullum flicking him down the leg side for a four in the very first ball.

The visitors lost Quinton De Kock (4) early, the South African wicketkeeper-batsman trying to reverse sweep Piyush Chawla (1/31) and picking out Vinay Kumar at short third man.

McCullum and Kohli then engineered a 45-run stand for the second wicket.

But just when the visitors were looking steady with McCullum looking in fine touch and Kohli at ease playing second fiddle, Narine (1/30) got rid of the dangerous Kiwi with a shortish offbreak that dislodged the stumps.

In came de Villiers and took the bowlers to the cleaners in his trademark fashion. The 34-year-old smashed Kuldeep Yadav for two consecutive sixes in the 10th over and then hit Mitchell Johnson for a four and a six two overs later.

De Villiers survived a Decision Review System in the 12th over when the umpire gave him caught behind but reviews showed the ball missing the bat. He was then on 23.

In just 27 balls, the pair brought up the 50-run partnership before Rana got the back of the duo in successive balls. De Villiers mistimed Rana and Johnson took the catch between long on and deep mid wicket. Kohli was yorked.

Sarfraz Khan, who was retained by the franchise, managed just six runs with Johnson (1/30) taking his wicket while Mandeep and Woakes (5) fell to Vinay in the last over.

This match was also Kohli and Uthappa’s 150th match in the IPL.

Brief scores: vs Kolkata Knight Riders (Sunil Narine 50, Nitish Rana 34; Chris Woakes 3/36, Umesh Yadav 2/27 beat Royal Challengers Bangalore: 176/7 (Brendon McCullum 43, AB De Villiers 44, Mandeep Singh 37; R. Vinay Kumar 2/30, Nitish Rana 2/11)

(IANS)

Some 120 flights were cancelled and many more rescheduled due to a two-day closure of the Mumbai International Airport runway starting from Monday.

An official said the planned closure was necessitated “on account of pre-monsoon maintenance activities” and requested all passengers to contact their respective airlines for revised travel schedules.

Though airport officials did not reveal the exact number of flights affected due to the closure, individual airlines have been announcing cancellations or rescheduling of services to and from Mumbai.

Air India has announced cancellation of at least 34 flights and rescheduled around half a dozen other services till Tuesday evening.

While Jet Airways has cancelled at least 18 flights, Spicejet has also cancelled around 70 services.

A 68-year-old financier was smothered to death at his home in Devasandra close KR Puram by unidentified men.

The deceased has been identified as Sanjay Sathish assumed name Shailesh, a local of Uttar Pradesh. He has been living in Bengaluru for the past 30 years.

The incident came to light when the neighbours observed foul scent coming from his flat. The house proprietor utilized the copy key to open Shailesh’s door and discovered his decomposed body. They immediately informed the police who arrived at the spot. The police presume that Shailesh could have been killed five days prior.

Investigations uncovered that Shailesh had hitched a local lady, but separated from her after seven years. He then married for the second time and remained in Malleswaram. Presently his wife and son, a software engineer, are settled in New Zealand.

The assailants had bound his hands and legs and squeezed a pillow to his face and murdered him before locking the door from outside and escaping the place, said the police, who are checking the CCTV footages for indentifications of Shailesh’s murderers.

A video of DCP Ravi Channannavar addressing a group of street vendors of Majestic area has gone viral with many praising him in the social media.

Ravi D Channannavar, who recently got posted as DCP (West), Bengaluru held a meeting with street vendors of Majestic area and called upon everyone not to harass the vendors, but instead to respect them. During the meeting, he also offered free education to the children of vendors in his hometown much to the appreciation of the vendors.

In the viral video, the super cop can be seen addressing street vendors at his office where he says that no one should live in fear in an area like Majestic. “This Majestic area belongs to you. When it comes to Majestic area, people are afraid and they talk about rise in thefts and criminal activities. In order to make the area safe, we need support from vendors like you and there is a need to create people-friendly atmosphere here.”
During the meeting Channannavar also offered free education to the children of vendors.”Your children must not become street vendors. Instead they should be getting educated. It is not easy to send your children to schools in a place like Bengaluru,” he said adding that he would help them if they can send their children to Mysuru.

“There is a school supported by several donors. There is no discrimination in the name religion, caste or colour in this school. Your children can avail education from high school to graduation. Be it Ram, Rahim or Antony I will make sure that your children get education there without any discrimination,” he told them.

Channannavar is known for his people-friendly initiatives and stern action against trouble mongers. As a SP of Belagavi his Bollywood style of functioning during a particular communal riot won much praise from general public. Earlier his people-friendly initiatives in Mysuru as superintendent of police and in Shivamogga earned the support of his department as well as the general public.

Pakistan approached the World Bank to complain that India despite the arbitrator’s pause period had completed the construction of the disputed $860-million Kishanganga hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dawn newspaper, citing an unnamed official, reported on Thursday that power division of the Energy Ministry sent a fresh communiqué early this week to the World Bank, urging it to ensure that India abided by the the Indus Waters Treaty — a 1960 pact that gives control over the water flowing from Beas, Ravi and Sutlej rivers to India.

The control over the water flowing in three western rivers — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum — all in Jammu and Kashmir — was given to Pakistan.

Islamabad had in the past reached out to the World Bank, the mediator between the two countries in the water treaty, to express its objection to the design and construction of the two projects — the 330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project and the 850 MW Ratle hydroelectric project — on the tributaries of the Indus in Jammu and Kashmir.

India says it has the right under the treaty to set up hydropower plants on the tributaries of the rivers flowing through its territory. But Pakistan fears this might reduce the water flow of the rivers into its territory.

The Pakistani official said there was no doubt that India had completed the Kishanganga project during the period the World Bank “paused” the process for constitution of a Court of Arbitration (COA) as requested by Pakistan in early 2016.

The Pakistani request was countered by India by calling for a neutral expert, Dawn reported.

Pakistan had called for resolution of disputes over Kishanganga project on the Neelum river and 850 MW Ratle hydropower project on the Chenab.

The daily said that Islamabad had received reports in August 2017 that New Delhi had completed the Kishanganga project as per the design that had been objected to by the former.

The new letter was sent to the World Bank after a Pakistani delegation of the Indus Waters Commission was not allowed to visit various controversial projects in India, including Kishanganga and Ratle schemes, it said.

In December 2016, the Bank announced that it had “paused” the process for either appointing a COA or a neutral expert and started mediation between the two countries. Since then the Bank arranged two rounds of talks between the two sides but the Indians kept on building the project, the daily said.

The last round of bank-facilitated and secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan were held in Washington in September but no consensus was reached.

In view of the inability of the parties to agree on the matter, the World Bank was reported to have called another round of discussions but failed to bring New Delhi to the negotiating table, the daily said.