1. Cops Finish Grilling Belagere, He Keeps Mum on Motive for Supari
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has completed the interrogation of Ravi Belagere, the editor of Kannada weekly Hi Bengaluru, and will produce him before the court on Monday. Belagere was arrested on Friday for allegedly paying a sharpshooter to kill his colleague Sunil Heggaravalli. He was in police custody for four days. The CCB said there was no need to extend his custody.
Though he answered most of the questions asked by the investigating officer, he remained mum on why he gave the alleged supari. On Sunday, the CCB also recorded the statements of Heggaravalli, Belagere's second wife Yashomathi and the staff of Hi Bangalore.
Police have also video-recorded the statement of sharpshooter Shashidhar Ramachandra Mundewadi and taken his call detail report, which may play a major role in the investigation.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
2. Karnataka Healthcare Ailing From Staff Shortage
The shortage of medical staff is still ailing the state healthcare infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
To curb the disparity, the state government fixed a new salary of Rs 1.25 lakh per month for specialist doctors. Despite that, there was no response from doctors who qualify for the job. This has forced the health department to try an online bidding process.
A Health and Family Welfare Department official said, “In July, after opening the online bidding for 1,212 vacancies for recruitment drive for doctors in rural areas, we received around 2,883 applications. However, in most cases, the bidding amount was as high as Rs 5 lakh per month and only a handful of candidates where shortlisted from the doctors who bid the lowest amount.”
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
3. Man Falls to Death From Fourth Floor of Mall
A 33-year-old cook plunged to death from the fourth floor of Meenakshi Mall on Bannerghatta Road, on Saturday evening. The police said that the deceased has been identified as Nagesh.
CCTV footage from the mall showed that Nagesh entered the mall around 7:30 pm on Saturday and went to the fourth floor and climbed a five-feet barrier wall and jumped from it.
Nagesh hailed from Mandya and was staying in a rented house in Someshwara Layout near Hulimavu with wife Lakshmi and six-year-old son. According to the police, his wife in a statement said that Nagesh was depressed as he was suffering from a liver-related problem and he could not work. On Saturday, he left home in the evening and they received a message on Saturday night, she said.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
4. Parents Queue up From Night for Nursery Admission Forms, Say Process Must Go Online
At a time when alerts about everything from fee payment to security concerns are issued over email, WhatsApp and other social media, submission of admission forms in many city schools continues to remain a manual affair, giving a tough time to parents.
Though forms can be downloaded online from websites of many schools, the mandate is that they have to be submitted in person.
New Horizon Public School (NHPS), Indiranagar, had asked parents to submit nursery and LKG admission forms during school hours on 8 and 9 December. To avail of the first-come-first-serve benefit, parents began queuing up before the school a day earlier and spent the entire night waiting for their turn.
(Source: Times of India)
5.Inadequate Infrastructure a Bane of Dry Waste Collection Centres
A majority of dry waste collection centres (DWCCs) established by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) continue to struggle with minimal infrastructure. More often than not, a centre is nothing more than a simple structure with four walls and an asbestos roof.
Most DWCCs lack basic amenities such as power, water supply, and toilets for the staff. Apart from the inadequate infrastructure and cramped space, DWCC staff have to grapple with opposition from the locals.
K Kumuda, who managed the DWCC at Kathriguppe, said lack of space was the main problem they faced. “We collect around 1.5 tonnes of dry waste each day. Our centre measures just 144 sq ft and a team of 15 people work here. We don’t have adequate space to store the dry waste,” she said.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Former BBMP Councillor Hacked to Death
Former councillor in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Govinde Gowda, 58, was hacked to death in Hegganahalli cross on the city’s outskirts on Saturday.
Around 4:30 pm, Gowda was allegedly waylaid on the main road by a group of men armed with machetes and knives, said the Rajagopal Nagar Police, who are investigating the case. Noticing that the attackers came towards him, Gowda attempted to run into a kalyan mandapa, where the group attacked him and stabbed him.
He was severely injured following the attack and was taken to a hospital in Sunkadakatte where he died, the police said. Prima facie, said the police, the attack seemed to stem from a violent rivalry between two gangs.
(Source: The Hindu)
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