Medical student strangled to death, set ablaze by her father, brother over love affair

Mangaluru, Mar 22: The month-long Ramadan fast will begin in coastal Karnataka from Thursday, March 23, with the sighting of the crescent moon on Wednesday night which was followed by a declaration of the same by a leading religious figure.

“As the crescent moon was sighted tonight (Wednesday) over the coastal region, Qazi Twaka Ahmed Musliayar and other Qadhis of the region, declared the start of the holy month of Ramadan, with fasting from Thursday in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and areas across the southern state’s west coast,” an official sources said..

In Kerala too, Ramdan begins on Thursday, while, in the rest of Karnataka, it is yet to be announced. 
 
Most of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, too, has announced observance of Ramadan from Thursday after the sighting of the new moon.
 

Bengaluru: The Election Commission on Saturday said it has introduced the facility to Vote-from-Home (VFH) for people above 80 years of age and those with disabilities in the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka.

For the first time, the ECI is going to provide the facility to those above 80 years of age. Our teams will go there with a form-12D to exercise their franchise, the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar told reporters here.

Though we encourage those above 80 years to come to the polling station, those who cannot can avail this facility, he added. Secrecy will be maintained and the entire process will be videographed, Kumar explained.

“All the political parties will be informed whenever there is a movement for Voting From Home (VFH),” Kumar said.

For people with disabilities, a mobile application ‘Saksham’ has been introduced, which they can login to and choose the facility to vote, the CEC said. Another mobile application, ‘Suvidha’ has been developed, which is an online portal for candidates to file nominations and affidavits.

“Candidates can also use the SUVIDHA portal for seeking permission for meetings and rallies,” the top election official explained.

The ECI has also launched a campaign called Know Your Candidate (KYC) for the benefit of voters. “Political parties have to inform the voters on their portals and social media platform as to why they chose a candidate with criminal background and gave ticket to contest the election,” Kumar said.

Speaking of the Karnataka assembly election, he noted that the state with 224 constituencies has 36 seats reserved for the SCs and 15 for the STs. There are 5.21 crore voters including 2.59 women voters. The number also includes 16,976 centenarians, 4,699 third gender and 9.17 lakh first time voters.

Also, there are 12.15 lakh voters above the age of 80 and 5.55 lakh people with disabilities (PWD).

The state has 58,272 polling stations, including 24,063 in urban areas. The average voters in each station is 883. Of these polling stations, 1,320 are women managed, 224 are youth managed and 224 are PWD managed. There will be webcasting in 29,141 polling stations, the CEC said adding 1,200 are critical polling stations.

As most of the polling stations are in schools, these will have “permanent water, electricity, toilet and ramps.”

“These facilities will be permanent in nature. This is a gift from the ECI to the schools and to the school children,” said Kumar, who is on a three-day visit to the state to review election preparedness.

To a query on possible election date, the CEC said it has to be conducted before May 24, when the tenure of the current assembly comes to an end. He directed the official machinery to gear up for a fair and transparent elections in the state. 

Kozhikode, Mar 12: The CBI has brought back a kidnapping-and-murder accused wanted by the Kerala Police through extradition from Saudi Arabia, the 33rd fugitive extradited since last year, under "Operation Trishul" on Sunday, officials said.

Mohammed Haneefa Makkata, a fugitive with an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against him, was wanted by the Kerala Police in connection with the abduction and killing of one Karim in 2006, a case that was probed by the Kunnamangalam police station in Kozhikode, the officials said.

He was located in Saudi Arabia on the basis of the RCN, they added.

The Interpol unit of Saudi Arabia informed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about Makkata's location and sought a team to take him back to India, the officials said.

The CBI passed on the information to the Kerala Police, which brought the accused back to the country from Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Makkata is the 33rd fugitive brought back to India since January 2022, the officials said.

He was brought back under "Operation Trishul" launched by the CBI.

Under the operation, criminals and proceeds of crime are traced in foreign countries with the help of the Interpol and brought back, the officials said, adding that the federal agency has brought back 27 fugitives in 2022 and six in 2023.

The CBI is using a three-pronged strategy to corner fugitives under "Operation Trishul", which is giving rich dividends to Indian agencies.

The first hit is locating a fugitive through the Interpol and seeking deportation or extradition from the member country where they are holed up.

The agency also mobilises Interpol mechanisms -- StAR Global Focal Point Network, Financial Crimes Analysis Files and other channels -- to identify dispersal of proceeds of crime by financial criminals so that subsequent steps may be initiated through formal channels to recover such proceeds of crime.

The third strategy involves dismantling the support networks by generating criminal intelligence on shell companies, fraudulent transactions, money mules, and the co-accused located globally, so that the law-enforcement agencies concerned may be informed through the Interpol for taking suitable action in accordance with their domestic legal frameworks.

More than 30 high-profile criminals accused of committing financial frauds in India, including Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Nitin Sandesara, and Jatin Mehta, have found sanctuaries abroad. Agencies are trying to bring them back, with a varied degree of success so far.

According to the Interpol, Indian agencies are looking for 276 fugitives globally through RCNs, including some high-profile economic offenders.