Country-made bombs hidden near temple seized by police during raid

Mangaluru, July 19: In what is being termed as a result of negligence on the part of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Mescom), a teenage college girl was electrocuted to death in Muluru, under the limits of Gurupura gram panchayat, in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada.

The victim has been identified as Ashwini Shetty, a student at a private college in Mangaluru who aspired to become a Chartered Accountant. She is survived by her mother, father, and elder brother.

The tragedy occurred when Ashwini accompanied her father to a paddy field. It is learned that their pet dog, which had followed them, came into contact with a live wire and started struggling. Ashwini, while attempting to rescue the dog, reportedly stepped on the live wire and was electrocuted.

A neighbor of the deceased, speaking about the incident, said, "There were sparks emitting from the wires, and we immediately informed the authorities concerned, but they did not respond to our calls."

"Around 7 pm, we heard someone screaming. Everyone gathered, and we tried to take her to the hospital, but we were unsuccessful in saving her life. This whole incident could have been prevented if the Mescom officials had responded on time and cut the power supply," he added.

Bengaluru, Jul 19: The Karnataka government was taking all necessary measures towards rescue and relief of those affected by flooding and landslides caused by heavy downpour in parts of the state, where monsoon rains since June has been 22 per cent above normal, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Friday.

The Minister was replying to a discussion in the Legislative Assembly on floods and landslides in parts of the state due to rains, amid BJP and JD(S) protest from the well of the House against alleged financial irregularities in a state-run corporation.

"The government will take all necessary measures. We had information since January about above normal rains this year and accordingly we have made necessary arrangements. Since June 1 so far normally 365 mm rains should have happened, but 447 mm rains have occurred which is 22 per cent above normal," Gowda said.

He said: "In the three coastal districts normally 1,537 mm rains should have happened but this time it was 1,858, which is 21 per cent above normal, and in the Malnad region normally it should have been 733 mm, but it is 802 mm, which is 9 per cent above normal."

"So far 29 care centres have been set up, where 2,332 people are taking shelter, and to carry out relief works all the districts have been provided a total of Rs 777.54 crore; if required, more funds will be given, there is no shortage of funds," he added.

From July 1 to 19 there has been 244 mm rains in the state and this is highest in 30-40 years, the Minister said, adding, in Malnad districts it is 544 mm and in coastal region 1,154 mm.

Noting that five platoons of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in six districts of coastal and Malnad regions, the Minister said they will be stationed for the entire monsoon season.

The government has identified gram panchayats that are vulnerable to floods, he said. 2,225 villages are mapped as vulnerable ones, under 1,247 gram panchayats, with 2,38,000 people.

"In each of these 1,247 gram panchayats a task force has been set up, and a taluk level officer has been appointed as nodal officer for each panchayat," he said. Funds have been allocated to each of these task forces to take up immediate relief work.

Blaming "unscientific work" by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the massive landslide that hit National Highway 66 near Shirur village of Ankola taluk in Uttara Kannada district on July 16, the Minister said, the Chief Secretary has spoken to NHAI to correct the "unscientific designs."

A tanker containing LPG had fallen into the river during the tragedy, he said. With the help of technical experts, controlled release of gas was done to avoid any possible explosion.

According to preliminary reports, about 371 hectare of agriculture crops and 351 hectare of horticulture crops have been damaged, the Minister said. More crops have been damaged in the last couple of days and reports are awaited. About 2,450 houses have been damaged, including some partially.

"Houses will be provided for those who lost houses," he said, adding, immediate relief will be provided for crop losses.

"About 60 percent of our dams are filled," Gowda said. "Total capacity of our dams is 895 tmcft; last year this time it was 243 tmcft, but this year 536 tmcft water storage is there."

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka alleged that no relief is being given and there are no funds with the government.

"None of the Ministers have gone to affected regions so far. The government has become bankrupt. The government is dead," he added.

Udupi: A suo moto case has been registered against a city-based doctor for making an inflammatory comment on a microblogging platform.

Dr. Keerthan Upadhya from Mahesh Hospital in Brahmavara, Udupi, has been booked for allegedly making a hate-filled comment against the Muslim community on the social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter). Dr. Upadhya, a specialist in laparoscopic surgery, reportedly operated an account under the name ‘@LonelyStranger_’.

On July 13, a user with the handle ‘Abhi and Niyu’ posed the question, “If you could remove one thing from this world, what would it be?” To this, Dr. Upadhya allegedly replied “Muslim community” from his ‘Lonely Stranger’ account. This response went viral, causing significant controversy.

The Social Media Monitoring Cell at the Udupi District Police Office, under the supervision of Wireless Sub-Inspector Ajmal Ibrahim E.A., filed a complaint leading to the registration of the case at the Udupi City Police Station. The complaint states that Dr. Upadhya’s comment was derogatory and provocative, aimed at inciting hatred between different communities and disrupting communal harmony. It seeks appropriate legal action against Dr. Upadhya for his attempt to create discord among communities.

Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of the fact-checking organization Alt News, pointed out that Dr. Upadhya had deleted the controversial tweet and locked his Twitter profile, preventing access to his account and tweets.

In a subsequent post, Dr. Upadhya claimed that his account had been hacked and that the offending tweet was made by someone who had gained unauthorized access to his account. Netizens also claimed that Dr. Upadhya had earlier made similar Islamophobic tweets and shared screenshots of similar posts degrading Islam made from the same handle.