Belagavi, Nov 21: Four students feared drowned in Savagaon pond in Belagavi District of Karnataka on Wednesday when they went for swimming.
Police said that the victims were identified as Salil, Chetan, Aman Singh and Gautam.
They had gone to the pond in two bike telling their parents that they are going to attend a birth day party.
The students had gone to the pond for swimming when the mishap took place.
One body was recovered and efforts are continuing to recover other three bodies.
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to extend all possible help to the victims of JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna's alleged sexual abuse.
In a letter to Siddaramaiah, Gandhi condemned the actions of Revanna, an MP from Hassan in Karnataka, and accused him of enjoying immunity with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
In a veiled attack on Modi, the Congress leader said he has never come across a senior public representative who has constantly chosen silence in the face of untold violence against women.
"I request you to kindly extend all possible support to the victims," Gandhi said in his letter to the Karnataka chief minister.
"They deserve our compassion and solidarity as they fight their battle for justice. We have a collective duty to ensure that all parties responsible for these heinous crimes are brought to book," he added.
Describing the incidents as "horrific sexual violence" unleashed by the incumbent Member of Parliament, Gandhi alleged that Revanna sexually assaulted and filmed hundreds of women over several years.
"Many who looked up to him as a brother and son were brutalised in the most violent manner and robbed of their dignity. The rape of our mothers and sisters warrants the strictest possible punishment."
"I am deeply shocked to learn that as far back as December 2023, our Home Minister Shri Amit Shah was informed by Shri G Devaraje Gowda about Prajwal Revanna's antecedents, especially his history of sexual violence and the presence of videos filmed by the perpetrator," the former Congress chief said.
He said what is even more shocking is that despite these gruesome allegations being brought to the notice of the seniormost leadership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, Modi campaigned and canvassed for a "mass rapist".
"Furthermore, the Union government wilfully allowed him to flee India to derail any meaningful investigation. The deeply perverse nature of these crimes and the absolute immunity enjoyed by Prajwal Revanna with the blessings of the Prime Minister and Home Minister deserves the strongest condemnation," Gandhi said.
"In my two decades in public life, I have never come across a senior public representative who has constantly chosen silence in the face of untold violence against women. From our wrestlers in Haryana to our sisters in Manipur, Indian women are bearing the brunt of the Prime Minister's tacit support for such criminals," he alleged.
In this backdrop, Gandhi said the Congress has a moral duty to fight for justice for "our mothers and sisters".
"I understand that the Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the grave allegations, and a request has been made to the Prime Minister to cancel Prajwal Revanna's diplomatic passport and get him extradited to India at the earliest," he said.
H D Revanna, the Janata Dal (Secular) MLA from Holenarasipura in Karnataka's Hassan district, is the son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and elder brother of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. He is facing allegations of sexually abusing women.
Several women, believed to be victims of Prajwal Revanna, have left their homes in Karnataka's Hassan district over the last ten days, according to media reports.
These departures reportedly come amid fear and stigma after their identities became public due to the circulating video clips showing the women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Prajwal Revanna.
"The entire district is in H D Revanna’s control. You speak ill about them and chances are high that it will reach them, because the family and the party have a large following," a shopkeeper in Hagare - 20 km from Hassan – was quoted as saying by the news paper.
Hassan is the bastion of the JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda, and Prajwal, his grandson, is the sitting MP.
The family of the woman whose complaint was the basis of the first FIR against Prajwal has now left their home, the publication reported, citing a neighbour who said, "The woman worked at Revanna’s house as a house help. Some of her videos started to circulate and then, her house was seen locked. We don’t know when she left."
Notably, a former Zilla Panchayat member has also filed a rape case against Prajwal, and in that village many women who worked for the party formerly are now incommunicado, a JD(S) leader told the publication. "We noticed many of the party women deleting their photos with Prajwal on social media. In some instances, men are questioning their wives about their association with the MP. It is shattering the lives of many women in the district," he said.
The local leader added that the former Zilla Panchayat member was there on April 24, but no one had seen the family since the videos came out.
The case is currently being probed by an SIT team and when they reached the Revanna residence, party workers were reportedly heard talking about the women. "I know this woman, she lived close to our residence and was very active in JD(S) activities. Her house is locked… she has small children," one said, as per IE.
Another shopkeeper added, "It was really wrong to reveal the faces of the women. I know some of them, and they have gone into hiding. We don’t know whether they can return."
He noted that it is impossible to survive in Hassan while fighting a case against the Revanna family.
While Prajwal's father, H D Revanna is in SIT custody, a Blue Corner notice has been issued against the sitting MP.
Mangaluru: This year too, the Mangaluru International Airport has missed being designated as an embarkation point for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
According to the Haj Committee of India, not many are choosing Mangaluru as an embarkation point. Last year, although Mangaluru was notified as one of the embarkation points, the Union government removed it from the list at the last minute.
Several associations and organisations submitted memorandums to the Haj Committee of India, requesting the reinstatement of Mangaluru as one of the embarkation points, but their efforts have not materialised this year either.
The use of Mangaluru Airport as an embarkation point for the haj began in 2010. In 2019, 1,400 haj pilgrims flew from MIA to Saudi Arabia.
“When the number is less, it is difficult to consider it. It was the same issue as last year,” reacted AP Abdullakutty, chairman of the Haj Committee of India.
Mangaluru as an embarkation point served people from undivided Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, and Chikkamagaluru districts.
Last year, the Muslim Central Committee of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts submitted a memorandum to Abdullakutty. They expressed their disappointment with Abdullakutty and stated that Mangaluru had a good number of applicants ever since it was identified as an embarkation point.
Now, they have to travel to Bengaluru.
UT Khader, speaker of the Karnataka legislative assembly, pointed out that several Union ministries are involved in the process of designating embarkation points for the haj.
“We are not sure why MIA as an embarkation point was removed. Is it because of fewer applications, or are airlines not willing to bid for MIA as an embarkation point? Is it only an issue with MIA as an embarkation point, or are there other airports in the country facing similar issues? We will try to find out and seek answers. Meanwhile, we will also start working at the earliest so that MIA is considered as an embarkation point for hajj next year,” said Khader.
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