1. Karnataka Lokayukta Vishwanath Shetty Stabbed in his Office, Condition Stable
Karnataka Lokayukta P Vishwanath Shetty was stabbed in his office on Wednesday afternoon. The assailant has been identified as one Tejas Sharma. He is said to be an advocate, based on his entry in the register at the Lokayukta’s office.
Sources said Sharma entered the office on the pretext of lodging a complaint. Five minutes later, the staff outside heard screams and when they rushed in, they found Shetty in a pool of blood after having been stabbed thrice. They rushed him to the nearby Mallya Hospital, whose doctors have confirmed to The Hindu that his condition is now stable.
Police have taken Sharma into custody. They are trying to ascertain the reason for the attack.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Sasikala VIP Treatment row: Ex DGP says he Followed CM's Order, Siddaramaiah Denies
Retired Director General of Police (prisons) HN Satyanarayana Rao, who is facing corruption charges for allegedly providing special privileges to VK Sasikala in Parapanna Agrahara Central Jail, made a startling revelation on Tuesday.
In a statement submitted to the Karnataka High Court, Rao alleged that he was only following orders given by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in providing special privileges to Sasikala, who was former TN CM Jayalalithaa’s aide.
The former DGP had moved the High Court challenging the FIR filed against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Reacting strongly to Rao’s statement, CM Siddaramaiah said that he had not directed Rao to provide luxurious facilities to Sasikala and that the former DGP was making baseless allegations.
(Source: The News Minute)
3. Bengaluru’s Vehicle Count Breaches 72 Lakh Mark
There appears to be no stopping the vehicle boom in traffic-choked Bengaluru. The vehicle population has crossed 72.58 lakh, out which over 50 lakh are two-wheelers and 14 lakh are cars, according to the Transport Department data until December 2017.
“Going by data of previous years, every day, on an average, 1,900 new vehicles of all categories get registered in the city. It is just matter of a few months before the vehicle population crosses 75 lakh,” said an official.
Compared to this, the city had 41.56 lakh vehicles as on March 2012.
The number of two-wheeler registrations has seen a huge spike. The city had 28.67 lakh two-wheelers as on March 2012. As on December 2017, this number had crossed 50.30 lakh.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Nalapad Bail Plea on Hold; Counsel Says he was Falsely Implicated
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday adjourned the bail plea of Mohammed Nalapad Haris, arrested for his involvement in assaulting a man in a pub.
Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar adjourned the petition, saying he will hear the main bail plea and not the interim application after Special Public Prosecutor MS Shyamsundar sought two days to file objections on allowing Nalapad on bail.
Justice Kumar also allowed Alam Pasha, who runs an NGO, to assist the prosecution in the case.
Senior council CA Nagesh, representing Nalapad, raised no objections on Pasha assisting the prosecution.
Advocate Usman P, who filed Nalapad's bail application, said the son of the Shantinagar MLA was falsely implicated in the case and that dented his reputation. The complaint does not indicate that Nalapad committed any overt act that could be considered a non-bailable offence.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Mom, son 'Kidnapped' by cop Fall to Death
A 60-year-old woman and her 34-year-old son, who were being held in captivity by a police inspector, allegedly fell to their death from his fifth-floor flat in Belthur village, near Whitefield, in the early hours of Tuesday. The son had married the inspector's sister against her family's wishes three years ago. The sister is missing since 17 February.
Kadugodi cops detained the inspector, HN Chandrappa, who was with the Kolar district special branch. Four days ago, Chandrappa brought Sundaramma and her son Mounesh K from Shahapur town in Yadgir district of Hyderabad-Karnataka region and confined them in his house in the MSC Empress apartment complex.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Karnataka govt Withdraws Transfer of Hassan DC Rohini Sindhuri and 4 other Officials
The Karnataka state government withdrew its controversial transfer of five government officials, including Hassan Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri, weeks after the Election Commission had stalled it.
Sindhuri was among seven government officers shuffled overnight, a list which included MV Jayanthi, V Chaitra, SB Shettannavar, MV Venkatesh, K Rajendra and BR Mamatha.
However, the transfers of two officers – MV Jayanthi, Karnataka Appellate Tribunal chairperson and V Chaitra, Labour Commissioner – included in the order notified on 22 January, will go ahead.
A day after DC Rohini Sindhuri was transferred, the Election Commission had asked the state government to withdraw its order to transfer Sindhuri and two other DCs until the final publication of electoral rolls on 28 February.
(Source: The News Minute)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)