1. CCTV Footage Shows Haris Jr Punched First
CCTV footage from Farzi Cafe, in possession with the police, shows Mohammed Nalapad Haris and Vidvat L involved in a heated war of words on Saturday night. Following this, the lawmaker's son punches the youth, who retaliates. Despite this evidence, police officials are chary of admitting that Md Haris was the first to raise his hand in assault. Police say it is not clear who started the scuffle.
In a bid to milk this incident, BJP chief Amit Shah sought to give a political twist to the case by claiming that the assault victim, Vidvat, is a BJP worker. The police had failed to register an FIR in the case involving "our worker", he said in Bantwal. Later, questioned by reporters, Shah was forced to retract his statement. "Vidvat was not a party worker. It was a mistake," he clarified.
(Source: Times of India)
2. Smuggled Gold Worth Rs 95 Lakh Seized at KIA
Customs sleuths at the Kempegowda International Airport seized smuggled gold worth Rs 95 lakh in Bengaluru over the past three days. Kannad Kathasleem Arif (21), a passenger from Dubai was apprehended by the sleuths and gold weighing 895 gm worth Rs 28.43 lakh was seized from him.
He arrived by a flight (EK568) on Tuesday with gold in the form of foils concealed in corrugated boxes which in turn was used for wrapping toys. "It was a challenge for the sleuths as the gold foils were wrapped in black carbon papers making it difficult to appear on x-ray scanning," said Harsh Vardhan Umre, Additional Commissioner, Customs Bengaluru.
In a separate case, gold weighing 1,900 gm worth Rs 60 lakh was found by the sleuths in flight 572 from Singapore which arrived on 18 February.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
3. Congress Neta Hurls ‘Petrol Bomb’
After the controversy over MLA Haris’s son, another Congress leader is in the eye of a storm. Narayanaswamy, the ex-president of KR Puram’s Block Congress, has threatened to set the BBMP office on fire. According to sources, Narayanaswamy, who is alleged to have threatened a BBMP’s assistant revenue officer (ARO) by splashing petrol in the latter’s office at Horamavu after threatening to set it afire, is facing criminal charges. The Ram Murthy Nagar police registered a case against Narayanaswamy following the complaint by a BBMP’s revenue officer identified as Satish Kumar.
After the controversy over MLA Haris’s son, another Congress leader is in the eye of a storm. Narayanaswamy, the ex-president of KR Puram’s Block Congress, has threatened to set the BBMP office on fire. According to sources, Narayanaswamy, who is alleged to have threatened a BBMP’s assistant revenue officer (ARO) by splashing petrol in the latter’s office at Horamavu after threatening to set it afire, is facing criminal charges. The Ram Murthy Nagar police registered a case against Narayanaswamy following the complaint by a BBMP’s revenue officer identified as Satish Kumar.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
4. 2 Labourers Killed in Fire
Two labourers were charred to death in an accidental fire at a waste cloth sorting and collection godown at the Suvarna Layout in Chandra Layout on Monday night.
One of the deceased is Manju (27), a native of Melur village, KR Nagar in Mysuru and the other body is yet to be identified. They would sort out waste cloth pieces received from garment factories, the police said. The fire broke out on Monday night at a makeshift shed put up on a 100 square feet on a vacant land owned by Venkatappa. He had rented the land to Naseer, a resident of Shamanna garden, to put up the she
Manjunath, who stays next to the godown, alerted the fire control room who rushed three fire tenders to the spot.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Flower Vendor Killed, Three Injured as Car Goes Over Pavement
A flower vendor was killed on the spot and three people were injured when a software engineer lost control of her car and ran over the pavement on New Thippasandra Road in Jeevan Bima Nagar on Tuesday.
According to the police, the accident occurred at around 8.45 am, when Ruby Sharma, who works at an IT firm in Bagmane Tech Park, was driving to work. “We suspect that she pressed the accelerator instead of the clutch while negotiating a curve on the first gear. As a result the car got onto the footpath and knocked down four people,” said a police officer.
Kokila, 36, a roadside flower vendor, succumbed to her injuries at Manipal Hospital. The other three pedestrians who sustained injuries are said to be out of danger.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. KSPCB Data Shows Only Two Lakes in Bengaluru Pass Water Quality Test Many Are Going the Bellandur, Varthur Way
The deteriorating state of Bengaluru’s waterbodies has been highlighted yet again. Latest data on the quality of water in the city’s tanks/lakes shows that only two water bodies – Agara Lake and Ulsoor Lake training centre fishing area – have water quality index at satisfactory levels.
The water quality data comes from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), which collected samples from 53 waterbodies in the city between April and December last year. The lakes which failed to make the cut are spread across the city, and the water from most of them is not even fit for consumption by animals, let alone humans or for bathing. Even in lakes where the index is satisfactory, water can be used for human consumption only after conventional treatment followed by disinfection.
(Source: Times of India)
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