1. CISF Takes Over Security of Aadhaar Data Centre in City
The identities of over 116 crore Indians have got an additional layer of protection, with an armed squad of 80 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) commandos taking over the security of the highly sensitive Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) data centre near Kodigehalli, north Bengaluru.
The centre is the repository of Aadhaar data and the security beef-up is to ensure its protection against any possible terror strike or threat.
Though CISF has been guarding the facility since December 2014 as part of a temporary measure, the Centre has now regularised its deployment and granted it the status of a full unit under protection. The data centre in Bengaluru is located in a building resistant to blasts, floods and earthquakes.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Mumbai-Based Model Alleges Harassment by Sandalwood Director
A Mumbai-based model and actor, who had travelled to Bengaluru to perform in an item song for a Kannada film, alleged she was harassed by the movie director because he had neither used her services nor did he pay her. She claimed they had fallen out after she refused him an unspecified favour. The director, Melwin Elpel, has denied the allegations.
Jayanagar police in south Bengaluru registered a non-cognisable-register (NCR) based on the actor's complaint. Police said they did not register an FIR as the victim had requested police to only get Elpel to pay up rather than prosecute him for harassment.
In a post on Facebook, the actor, who approached the police on Wednesday, 20 December, claimed Elpel had contacted her and had offered her a role in the film 'Huttada Sutta'. She said she agreed to the role for a fee of Rs 15,000 per day. She arrived in Bengaluru on 16 December, but never got to act in the film.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Mahadayi Gets Muddied Again
The Congress unit of Karnataka strongly objected to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar writing to BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa, expressing his intent to resolve the long-standing Mahadayi water-sharing dispute through an amicable settlement.
Questioning the propriety behind Parrikar’s letter, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the Goa Chief Minister’s action is an insult to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he was sidelined from the whole process.
“I never thought the BJP would stoop so low. The case was going on for the last two years. The PM was aware of it, but did not take any initiative. When elections are round the corner, BJP leaders, led by their party national president Amit Shah, held meetings to resolve the matter and the Goa Chief Minister wrote to BJP state president Yeddyurappa, not the Karnataka Chief Minister,” he said.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
4. 12-Yr-Old Boys Drown in Lake
Two boys, aged 12, drowned in the Kothanur Dinne Lake at JP Nagar 8th Phase. The Konanakunte police have identified them as Harish and Puneeth, both residents of Chunchaghatta, and class 8 students.
After returning from school on Thursday, 21 December, the boys told their parents they were going for a music programme, but headed to the lake instead. When the boys didn't return, the families got worried. They frantically searched for them, but the efforts proved futile.
Around 12.30 pm on Friday, 22 December, Madhusudhan, who is related to one of the families, went to the lake and saw Puneeth's clothes lying around. He called the fire brigade, and informed the families too. Emergency services' personnel fished out the bodies, which were shifted to KIMS Hospital for postmortem.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Youth Stabbed to Death a Day Before His Brother's Marriage
Marriage celebrations turned into mourning for a family as the younger brother of a groom was stabbed to death by his friends near his house in Rohan Nagar, DJ Halli over a trivial row on Thursday, 21 December.
The deceased, 22-year-old Sheikh Rizwan, a fabricator by profession, was busy with the marriage preparations of his elder brother Irfan scheduled on Friday, 22 December.
His friend, Syed Shahid, along with three others, called him out to talk. Soon, heated arguments ensued, following which Shahid stabbed Rizwan repeatedly and fled the scene. The profusely bleeding Rizwan was rushed to a hospital nearby, where he succumbed to injuries.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. BBMP Blames Lack of Surveyors for Tardy Encroachment Clearance Drive
In the firing line from citizens in areas inundated during the rains this year, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is under pressure to keep up the encroachment clearance drive it started last year. However, not having enough surveyors is being cited as a hurdle.
The BBMP has identified over 90 areas that need to be surveyed to ascertain the extent of encroachment. Many of these areas were flooded following heavy rains that lashed the city earlier this year.
According to senior BBMP officials, these areas were prioritised and identified for encroachment clearance given the extent of flooding and damage caused in September. The civic body even wrote to the Revenue Department, coming under the Deputy Commissioner (Urban), the same month requesting surveyors to be deputed for a survey.
(Source: The Hindu)
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