1. In 6 Months, Karnataka Lost Rs 8 Cr to ATM Theft
On 9 October, 2017, thieves stole nearly Rs 23 lakh from an ATM in Lingasugur taluk of Raichur district. In November, constables Usman and Beerlingappa were felicitated for foiling an ATM theft in Marathahalli, Bengaluru. On 18 December, a seven-member team from Karnataka police landed in Coimbatore to interrogate an inter-state gang local police had apprehended, hoping to get confessions.
These stories are from the second half of this financial year. But in the first half— 1 April to 30 September 2017— Karnataka saw thieves and dacoits steal eight times the money it had lost in the whole of 2016-17, according to information accessed from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
With Rs 7.96 crore lost to theft, robbery, burglary and dacoity in the said six months, the state tops the country, accounting for more than 43% of the Rs 18.48 crore lost across India.
Source: Times of India
2. Three Murders, Two Assaults During NYE Bash
The city saw three murders during drunken brawls and two assaults on New Year's Eve on Sunday. Two of the murders were reported from South Bengaluru's JP Nagar, while the third fatality occurred in Bellandur in the southeastern parts of the city.
Amith, an MBA graduate from Shakambari Nagar, was stabbed by three men known to him while cutting a cake during the celebrations. The JP Nagar police said they had picked up one of the suspects and were questioning him to ascertain the motive. They surmise that some sudden provocation led to the crime.
In the other incident in JP Nagar, Hemanth Kumar, a driver, was stabbed to death by his friend, Amruth, near Sindhoor Convention Centre. The police have arrested the suspect, who is a resident of Sarakki Agrahara.
Source: Deccan Herald
3. As Polls Near, BJP and Cong in a Tug of War Over Rice
With just four months to go for the assembly polls, BJP and Congress have locked horns over claiming credit for the populist Anna Bhagya programme. While BJP wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo at ration shops as the free rice given to the poor is highly subsidised by the Centre, the ruling Congress argues the scheme was implemented before Modi became PM.
The programme, which seeks to make Karnataka a hunger-free state by supplying free rice to the poor, has triggered a verbal showdown between the two parties on the political turf. While chief minister Siddaramaiah has made Anna Bhagya the most important weapon in his election arsenal, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa is attempting to neutralise him by terming it a fortune bestowed by Modi.
Yeddyurappa's argument is that the Centre procures rice at Rs 32.64 per kg and supplies it to the state government at Rs 3 per kg; the subsidy being borne by the Centre is a whopping Rs 29.64 per kg.
Source: Times of India
4. Doctors All Set to Go on a 12-Hour Strike
Medical practitioners from the city are geared up for another protest to show solidarity with the nationwide bandh called by the Indian Medical Association to protest against the National Medical Council Amendment Act.
The outpatient departments at all hospitals will be shut for 12 hours as a sign of protest against the NMC bill, which the doctors opine is more draconian in nature than the recently suggested Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Bill.
The bill is to be presented in the winter session of the parliament and calls for dissolving the Medical Council of India (MCI) and set up the National Medical Council in place to curb the issues ailing the medical education in the country.
Source: Bangalore Mirror
5. Most Labourers Leave Sobha Site
A majority of the 1,500-strong labour force working at a construction site of Sobha Ltd, which saw a cholera outbreak claiming two lives and leaving several with illness, left for their native place or shifted to other accommodation on Monday. Meanwhile, two more labourers have been hospitalised at St John's Hospital for suspected cholera.
Dr Krishnappa, medical officer, Varthur Primary Health Centre, who has been holding medical camps at the construction site from Friday, said that the developer had taken up pest control measures at the camp. “The labour camps are completely empty. Almost 95% of the workforce have left. Most of them returned to their native place out of fear and the rest may have shifted to other labour camps,” he said.
On Monday, he treated only seven patients of which he referred two to St John's Hospital for suspected cholera. However, Dr Krishnappa added that the situation is under control.
Source: The Hindu
6. Fire Audit: 12 More Notices Served
Fire safety audits continued on the first day of the new year with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services serving 12 notices to various establishments, mostly pubs and restaurants, on Monday.
The Fire Department has been on an inspection drive since 29 December, after a fire at a Mumbai rooftop pub claimed 14 lives. Though Fire Department officials maintained that the audit has been going on for many months and was not initiated after the Mumbai incident, there has been special focus on rooftop pubs and restaurants, which have been in the spotlight after the Mumbai tragedy.
The initial audits focused on establishments in Indiranagar and Koramangala, which have a large number of pubs and restaurants and have been drawing the ire of local residents, who have been engaged in a long-drawn battle against rampant and illegal commercialisation of residential areas.
Source: The Hindu
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