Mumbai: Mumbai cyber police have detained a 21-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru in connection with the ‘Bulli Bai’ app case, an official said on Tuesday.

Police had filed a first information report against unknown persons following complaints that photographs of Muslim women were uploaded for auction’ on the app hosted by GitHub platform.

The suspect was detained on Monday, the official said.

Mumbai cyber police station had also registered a case against the app developers and Twitter handles that promoted the app.

Hundreds of Muslim women were listed for auction’ on the ‘Bulli Bai’ app with photographs sourced without permission and doctored. It has happened for the second time in less than a year. The app appeared to be a clone of Sulli Deals which triggered a similar row last year.

New Delhi: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has approached the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the Air India disinvestment process and set aside the approvals given to it by authorities.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh is scheduled to hear the petition on Tuesday.

Swamy, a Rajya Sabha MP, has sought to set aside and revoke any action or decision or grant of any further approvals, permissions or permits by the authorities with respect to the present Air India disinvestment process.

Swamy, through advocate Satya Sabarwal, has also sought for a CBI investigation into the role and functioning of authorities and submission of a detailed report to the court.

In October last year, the central government accepted the highest bid made by a Tata Sons company for 100 per cent equity shares of Air India and Air India Express along with its 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company AISATS — the first privatisation in 20 years.

On October 25 last year, the government had signed the share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. Tatas would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and takeover Rs 13,500 crore of the airline’s debt.

Tatas beat the Rs 15,100 crore offer by a consortium led by Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of Rs 12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100 per cent stake in the loss-making carrier.

As of August 31, 2021, Air India had a total debt of Rs 61,562 crore. 75 per cent of this debt or Rs 46,262 crore will be transferred to a special purpose vehicle AIAHL before handing over the airline to the Tata group.

Noida: The Noida Police on Monday arrested a 55-year-old man for allegedly raping and killing his 50-year-old girlfriend’s three-year-old granddaughter as the couple believed she was a “hindrance to their marriage”, officials said.

The grandmother has also been detained for her role in the matter which was reported on December 25 after the child had gone “missing”, the police said, as it busted the blind murder case.

The girl’s body was recovered from an under-construction building near Ilahabas village on December 28, with the police launching a probe after it suspected that the child was sexually assaulted as well, officials said.

They said the girl had been living with her grandmother as her father had been in jail for the last two years while her mother had been living in her home district of Budaun due to a dispute between the couple.

“The woman had on December 25 informed the local Phase 2 police station that her granddaughter had gone missing on December 24. An FIR was lodged under Indian Penal Code section 363 (missing) and search launched for the child,” a police spokesperson said.

“After investigation and post-mortem report, sexual assault against the child was confirmed. It was also confirmed that there had been an attempt to hide the evidence as the body was hidden under a log of plywood in the under-construction building,” the official said.

With thorough investigation, the grandmother, who had reported the incident to the police, broke down during the questioning and confessed to her relationship with the man, the police claimed.

“The man hails from Bulandshahr district but had been staying near Sector 88 in Noida for a long time. He has a criminal mentality. He along with his girlfriend had conspired the murder of the child, believing she was hindrance to their marriage,” the spokesperson said.

The accused was arrested on Monday from Sector 88, while the woman has been detained and further legal proceedings are being carried out, the police said.

Charges under IPC section 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), among others, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been added in the case, the police added.

New Delhi: The Centre has allowed 50 per cent of its employees below the level of Under Secretary to work from home amid rising coronavirus cases, according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on Monday.

Persons with disabilities and pregnant women employees have been exempted from attending the offices, it said.

Central government officers/staff will have to follow staggered timing to avoid overcrowding in the offices, the order said.

All the officers/staff residing in Covid containment zones have also been exempted from coming to office till containment zones are de-notified, it said in the order issued to all central government departments.

“Physical attendance of government servants below the level of Under Secretary shall be restricted to 50 per cent of the actual strength and the remaining 50 per cent shall work from home, the order said.

Bengaluru: Witnessing a further surge in daily COVID-19 cases, Karnataka on Monday reported 1,290 fresh infections and 5 deaths, taking the count to 30,10,847 and the death toll to 38,351.

Of the new cases, 1,041 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 134 discharges and 3 deaths.

The total number of active cases is now at 11,345.

The state has registered a steady surge in fresh infections for the sixth consecutive day, since last Wednesday, when the daily caseload was 566.

There were 232 discharges today, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,61,122, a health department bulletin said.

While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.60 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 0.38 per cent.

Of the deaths, three are from Bengaluru Urban, and one each from Chitradurga, and Hassan.

Apart from Bengaluru Urban, Dakshina Kannada recorded the second highest of 52 new cases, Udupi 43, and Dharwad 19.

Bengaluru Urban district now has a total of 12,66,392 positive cases, followed by Mysuru 1,80,338 and Tumakuru 1,21,367.

According to the bulletin, Bengaluru Urban tops the list among discharges with 12,40,408, followed by Mysuru 1,77,779 and Tumakuru 1,20,158.

Cumulatively a total of 5,67,76,742 samples have been tested in the state, of which 80,409 were tested on Monday alone.

Ramanagara: Karnataka Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and state’s lone Congress Lok Sabha member representing Bangalore Rural D K Suresh, almost came to blows in full public view at an event in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai here on Monday.

The government event was to unveil the statues of B R Ambedkar and Bengaluru founder Kempegowda, here.

This was also Bommai’s first visit to the district as the Chief Minister.

In what seemed like a veiled attack on Congress leaders, Narayan made an aggressive speech targeting opponents.

He claimed that the present BJP government was here to win the trust of the people and not to betray them, and challenged others to prove their work, as he attacked those who allegedly tried to disturb the event by raising certain slogans.

This apparently enraged Suresh, and the MP, who was visibly angry making certain gestures, barged towards Narayan.

Security personnel and some dignitaries on the stage including Health Minister K Sudhakar intervened and separated the two.

Suresh, the younger brother of state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, was joined by Congress MLC S Ravi, who tried to snatch the mike that was used by Narayan, resulting in a melee, as the Minister forcefully grabbed the mike back from him.

Suresh and other Congress leaders subsequently sat down on the stage in protest.

Amid the protest, Bommai, addressing the gathering, said individual egos should not come in the way of respecting icons like Ambedkar and Kempegowda.

Pointing out that he has come to Ramanagara for the first time as CM, he said, “I have come here to contribute to development. The development will happen with everybody’s cooperation and not by one individual….let’s all work together for development….”

Suresh, who spoke later, said he would only apologize to the Chief Minister for what happened and not to anyone else, and attacked Narayan in his speech.

“Are you challenging us on the stage? fix the time….what culture is this? Did RSS teach this?…..Don’t talk about our culture, we have culture. Mr Ashwath Narayan, we need not learn from you,” he said.

As Suresh referred to RSS, BJP supporters among the audience objected to it.

Later, after the event, Congress workers tore up Narayan’s posters as the mark of protest.

Bommai, later speaking to reporters, termed the incident as unfortunate and said it will in no way affect his government’s commitment for the development of Ramanagara district.

“We should all work together for development….there is no need to create an atmosphere of election, much before the election,” he said.

Stating that the incident is the best example to prove that Congress culture is “goonda culture”, state BJP in a tweet, condemning it, said “it is ironic that an MP doesn’t have the basic sense as to how to behave on the stage, where the Chief Minister is present.”

Several BJP leaders including its state President Nalin Kumar Kateel and Narayan’s cabinet colleagues condemned Suresh’s conduct.

Meanwhile, jumping to his brother Suresh’s defence, Congress President D K Shivakumar questioned Ashwath Narayan’s relationship with Ramanagara. “What has he or BJP done for the district? It is sheer arrogance on part of the Minister.”

Congress and JD(S) are major players in Vokkaliga dominated Ramanagara district, where BJP is attempting to make inroads.

Narayan, a Vokkaliga himself, who was earlier the in-charge Minister of Ramanagara, is at the forefront of BJP’s attempts to make inroads into the district by taking on the ‘DK brothers’ (Shivakumar and Suresh), and today’s incident is seen as a sequel to those efforts.

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita Kumaraswamy are also MLAs from the district.

Kottayam: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday expressed his strong disapproval of attempts to ridicule other religions and create dissensions in the society, saying every person has the right to practice and preach his or her faith in the country.

“Practice your religion but don’t abuse and indulge in hate speech and writings,” the Vice President said at an event organised to mark the 150th death anniversary of Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, a spiritual leader and social reformer from the Kerala Catholic community, at Mannanam near here.

Observing that hate speeches and writings are against culture, heritage, traditions, constitutional rights and ethos, Naidu said secularism is in the blood of every Indian and the country is respected world-over for its culture and heritage.

In this context, the Vice President called for strengthening the Indian value system, an official statement said.

The Vice President said community service must be made compulsory for students studying in government as well as private schools as it would help them to develop an attitude of sharing and caring in their interaction with others.

“Today, there is a dire need to inculcate the spirit of service from a young age in the youth of this country. Once this pandemic is behind us and normalcy returns, I would suggest that government schools as well as those in the private sector must make community service of at least two to three weeks compulsory for students,” he said.

Urging youngsters to imbibe, protect and promote Indian cultural values, Naidu highlighted the importance of India’s philosophy of sharing and caring for others.

He said that living for others will not only give a person a lot of satisfaction but will also make the people remember that person for a long time for his or her good deeds.

The Vice President said inculcating the spirit of service in youngsters at school level would help them to develop an attitude of sharing and caring in their interaction with others.

“As a matter of fact, the philosophy of share-and-care is at the core of India’s age-old culture and must be widely propagated. For us, the whole world is one family as encapsulated in our timeless ideal, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. It is with this spirit that we should move forward together,” Naidu said.

Naidu also advised youngsters to remain physically fit by doing yoga or any other form of physical exercise and “to love and live with nature.”

He asked them to protect nature and preserve culture for a better future.

Highlighting the contributions of visionary spiritual leaders like legendary social reformer Sree Narayana Guru and St Chavara in various fields, the Vice President also urged other states to take a cue from Kerala in the fields of education, social justice and women’s empowerment.

“I would like to take this opportunity to urge other states to take a cue from Kerala in the fields of education, social justice and women’s empowerment as outlined in the pioneering initiatives of Saint Chavara and Narayana Guru. Their pathbreaking work proves that every state can be transformed into an engine of growth and progress and that this can be achieved through the social and educational empowerment of women and youth belonging to poorer sections of society,” Naidu said.

He said the benefits of development must percolate down to the last man in the most backward and impoverished segments of our socio-economic order as spelt out in the philosophy of Antyodaya articulated by the visionary thinker, activist and reformer, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

Naidu said though the identity and vision of Saint Chavara were shaped and formed on the ideals of his Catholic faith, his deeds of social and educational services were not restricted to the progress and development of that community alone.

“Saint Chavara combined the spirit of the renaissance with the mission of charity and noble Christian concept of universal brotherhood,” the Vice President said and expressed happiness over the involvement of these congregations founded by him in the educational and health fields in the country.

Paying tributes to Saint Chavara, he said “this iconic spiritual and social leader of Kerala, whom people considered as a saint during his lifetime, was a true visionary in every sense of the term.”

He said that Saint Chavara engaged himself as a spiritual, educational, social, and cultural reformer of Kerala society in the 19th century and contributed richly to the social reawakening of the people.

Stating that Saint Chavara contributed immensely to achieving communal harmony and tolerance in society, Naidu said that he always showed a deep concern for the wellbeing of all and taught us that peaceful human relationships are sacred and more important than anything else.

“Today, we need a Chavara in every community a towering individual with a vision to unite all sections of society socially and culturally, and take the country forward,” he stressed.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, Minister for Cooperation and Registration, Government of Kerala, V N Vasavan, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Lok Sabha M P Thomas Chazhikadan and senior priests and nuns of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) were present on the occasion.

The Vice President also visited the tomb of Saint Chavara at Mannanam.

Bengaluru: Ten more cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the State’s Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Monday.

This takes the state’s Omicron tally to 76.

“Ten new cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Karnataka on Jan 2nd taking the tally to 76. Bengaluru: 8 cases (of which 5 are international travellers). Dharwad: 2 cases,” Sudhakar said in a tweet.

The country’s first two Omicron cases were detected in the state on December 2.

According to the state health department, among the ten new cases, two are children and the rest are all adults who are fully vaccinated with COVID vaccine.

The cases include international travellers like- a 19-year-old male from the USA, a 40-year old female from Belgium, a 46-year old male from Dubai, two 49-year old females from Dubai.

Rest are- a 13-year old female primary contact of omicron positive international traveller, 42 and 65-year ld females travelled from Mumbai, 14 and 53-year old females who are contacts of COVID positive cases.

Most of the cases are currently asymptomatic and are under hospital isolation.

While for two cases- 14 and 53-year old females who are contacts of COVID positive cases- the department said, “they are currently healthy, asymptomatic discharged hence inactive and in home quarantine, as part of recovery.”

The primary and secondary contacts of all these cases have been traced and tested.