Mangaluru, Mar 27: An engineering student committed suicide by jumping before a moving train on the tracks at Kolya near Thokkottu in Mangaluru taluk on Sunday.
The local residents, who saw his body on the railway track, informed the railway police of it on Sunday morning. Nishan’s death note, found in his pocket, said he was responsible for his own death.
Mangaluru/Udupi: The Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituencies recorded a tentative voter turnout of 77.4% and 76.1% respectively until 6 pm on Friday. In the 2019 polls, Dakshina Kannada recorded 77.9%, while Udupi recorded a 75.8% voter turnout.
The DK Lok Sabha constituency recorded a poll percentage of 71.8% at 5 pm. Among the constituencies, Sullia recorded a maximum of 78.4%, followed by Belthangady at 75.6%, Puttur at 75.2%, Bantwal at 73.7%, Mangalore at 73.5%, Mangalore City North at 69.8%, and Mangalore City South at 61.8%.
Urban apathy continued, with Mangalore City South recording the lowest polling percentage.
Meanwhile, Banjarumale, a remote village in Belthangady taluk, recorded 100% polling with all 111 voters showing up two hours before polling ended at 6pm.
Another interior polling station at Elaneer in the same taluk recorded 82% polling at 4 pm. The booth has 471 voters. The district has a total of 18,18,127 voters, with 9,30,928 females, 8,87,122 men, and 77 transgender individuals.
A good number of people turned out to vote during the early hours. Voters are bearing the scorching sun while stepping out to exercise their franchise as heat wave is sweeping through the state.
The polling process remained largely peaceful, with long queues observed at polling stations from 7 am onwards in several polling stations. However, technical glitches caused delays at a polling station in Karopady, and at St. Xavier School Bejai, where polling was reportedly delayed by nearly two hours.
Polling staff at a booth near the Mulki police station mistakenly marked the wrong finger with ink during voting. They reportedly applied ink to the index finger of the right hand. According to sources, at least 50 individuals had their index finger of the right hand inked. Deputy Commissioner Mullai Mulihan clarified, "The matter was promptly addressed by the sector office. This error affected 8-9 voters"
A total of 18.18 lakh voters in the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency and 15.85 lakh in Udupi-Chikmagalur hold the power to determine the fate of candidates competing for their respective segments. The polling process is currently underway across 1,876 booths in Dakshina Kannada and 1,842 polling stations in the Udupi-Chikmagalur segment.
In Dakshina Kannada, a closely contested battle is anticipated between Captain Brijesh Chowta representing the BJP and Padmaraj R Poojary from the Congress. Meanwhile, in the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency, Kota Shrinivas Poojary of the BJP and K Jayaprakash Hegde of the Congress are the prominent contenders.
Mysuru, Apr 29: Veteran politician and incumbent Chamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad breathed his last at 76.The stalwart BJP leader, who had been battling health issues, succumbed to a severe heart attack, leaving behind a void in Karnataka's political arena.
A Dalit leader in the Old Mysuru region, Prasad was in Congress but joined the Bharatiya Janata Party before the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections following a fallout with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The two had recently met in Mysuru and discussed the political scenario in the state.
Prasad extended support to the Congress in the Lok Sabha election 2024 and this is being seen as a crucial factor in the SC-reserved Chamarajanagar constituency, which Prasad represented in Parliament. On April 2, Prasad’s relatives and supporters joined Congress.
He served as a Union minister from 1999 to 2004 as the Loka Jana Shakthi MP. In the Karnataka Assembly elections, he was elected twice as an MLA and served as the state’s revenue minister.
Prasad, known for his distinguished political career spanning over five decades, was admitted to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru due to urinary tract-related complications and age-related ailments.
However, his condition deteriorated rapidly, leading to his untimely demise in the wee hours of Monday.
Born on August 6, 1947, in Ashokapuram, Mysuru, Prasad's political journey was marked by significant milestones. He represented Chamarajanagar constituency as MP for an unprecedented seven terms and had derved as MLA from Nanjangud constituency twice.
He had held key ministerial portfolios including Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and Minister for Revenue and Muzrai in the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government.
He had joined the BJP officially in December 2016 and was elected as MP from Chamarajanagar again in 2019, showcasing his enduring popularity among constituents.
Prasad's demise has plunged the political fraternity and his supporters into mourning. His family members, political associates, and well-wishers are gathering to pay their final respects as his mortal remains are being transported from Manipal Hospital to his residence in Jayalakshmipuram, Mysuru.
The Exhibition Grounds in Mysuru will witness a stream of mourners as Prasad's mortal remains will be kept for public viewing, allowing people from all walks of life to bid farewell to their beloved leader.
Prasad's name had come up in the 'Tehelka tapes' controversy, after the sting operation by magazine Tehelka to expose defence deals under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. The tapes showed Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitley allegedly telling an arms dealer to deposit money with Prasad, who was then in Bengaluru. However, Prasad denied these claims, saying he was in Mysuru at the time, and also sued Tehelka for defamation.
The JD(S) on Tuesday, April 30, announced that former Indian Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna has been suspended from the party temporarily until allegations against him over sexual abuse are probed.
Revanna and his father HD Revanna, also a JD(S) MLA, were booked on Sunday by the police for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.
"We welcome SIT against Prajwal Revanna. We've taken a decision to recommend our party's national president to suspend him from the party till the SIT investigation is completed, " JD(S) core committee president GT Devegowda said.
Revanna currently is not in India. Opposition members raised concerns over how he was allowed to leave the country.
"A decision was already made. Tomorrow it is to be recommended at the core committee meeting in Hubballi. Because he (Prajwal) is a Member of Parliament, it has to be done from Delhi. So I had requested Deve Gowda (JD(S) National President and former PM). Neither he (Gowda) nor I were aware of this issue," party chief H D Kumaraswamy has said yesterday. "Some issues have come out, based on that it has been decided yesterday itself to suspend (him). But many were in a hurry."
Prajwal, 33, represents the BJP-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha election in Hassan, which happened on Friday.
Kumaraswamy alleged that Congress was manipulating facts to destroy the image of his family amid the controversy over the 'obscene' video case against his nephew Prajwal.
"We are not going to protect him, we will take severe action but the government's responsibility is more," Kumaraswamy said.
"This is the manipulation of Congress to destroy the image of our family. What is the role of Dewegowda Ji or me? We are not responsible for all those things. This is the individual issue of Prajwal Revanna. I am not in contact with him (Prajwal). It is the responsibility of the government to bring him before the law. Morally we have decided to make some decisions," Kumaraswamy told reporters on Tuesday.
Prajwal Revanna sex scandal
The state government under CM Siddaramaiah has formed a Special Investigation Team to look into the matter. In recent days, certain explicit video clips purportedly featuring Prajwal have circulated in Hassan.
In response, Revanna stated his willingness to cooperate with any investigation regarding the allegations of sexual abuse against his son and himself. He affirmed their readiness to accept any legal consequences if the accusations are substantiated.
Prajwal's father HD Revanna said that his son would appear for an SIT probe whenever he is asked to.
A case of sexual harassment and stalking was registered on Sunday against HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna at Holenarasipur police station based on a complaint by their cook.
The complainant said she is a relative of Revanna's wife Bhavani.
She claimed that four months into her employment, Revanna began sexually harassing her, while his son Prajwal engaged in video calls with her daughter, engaging in "vulgar conversations."
She also alleged that there is a threat to her life as well as other members of her family.
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