BBMP war room’s Muslim staffers who were suspended thanks to Tejasvi Surya communal stunt may get jobs back

News Network
May 9, 2021

Bengaluru, May 9: The 17 Muslim BBMP war room staffers that were suspended from their jobs and branded as “terrorists” after a communally motivated “raid” by Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya's team earlier this week, are expected to get their jobs back from May 10. 

On May 4, the MP along with MLAs Sathish Reddy, Ravi Subramanya and Uday Garudachar stormed the war room and made allegations of a bed-blocking scam during which he read out the names of only Muslim staff and questioned their appointment.

The 17 were part of the 212 staffers outsourced by Crystal Infosystems and Services. Within minutes after the MP singled them out, they were branded as terrorists and many of them were picked up by the police in the night.

Sources said Crystal Infosystems and Services, the company which had outsourced the employees to the BBMP, met Thulasi Maddineni, the IAS officer who is in charge of the South Zone War room, on Saturday and requested for the reinstatement of the staffers considering that none of them were connected to the bed-blocking facility.

To a question, the officer said they have assured the company that the jobs will be restored. "The agency came and requested us to reinstate the issue. For many of the employees, it is the question of their livelihood. The request was made on Saturday. The staffers will be taken back from Monday," she said.

Shivu Naik, manager of Crystal Infosystems, said he was yet to hear from officials but the move was a good step forward considering none of the staffers provided by the company were working in the bed-blocking section. "It's definitely a welcome move. Our company had given a letter to BBMP on behalf of the employees as the job was important to them in the pandemic. I will meet the officials tomorrow," he said.

A day after Tejasvi Surya's allegations, the war room had seen attrition as many employees refused to work citing the leakage of their personal phone numbers. Surya visited them once again and apologised for the leak of numbers. His office has clarified that the MP didn't apologise for what happened to the Muslim staffers as reported by some media.

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News Network
November 22,2025

The Karnataka government has announced a 50% rebate on pending traffic and transport fines. The discount is available from November 21 to December 12.

The rebate applies to all traffic e-challans and violation cases booked by the RTO between 1991–92 and 2019–20. Officials clarified that the offer is not applicable to pending tax dues and is restricted only to traffic-violation fines.

Across Karnataka, more than 4 lakh RTO cases remain pending, including those involving transport vehicles. While thousands of vehicle owners have already cleared their dues, the department expects to generate substantial revenue through this limited-period rebate.

How to Pay and Avail the Discount

There are three ways to check and pay your pending fines:

1. Through Mobile Apps
Available on both Play Store and App Store:
•    Karnataka State Police (KSP) app
•    KarnatakaOne app
•    ASTraM app

Steps:
•    Enter your vehicle number in any of the above apps
•    Verify the photo/details of your vehicle
•    Pay the fine with the 50% discount applied

2. Visit a Traffic Police Station

You can pay your pending fine at any nearby traffic police station.

3. Visit the Traffic Management Centre (TMC)

•    Location: First Floor, Infantry Road, near Indian Express, Bengaluru

Transport Commissioner Yogeesh A M said, “We don't issue e-challans, so there's no online payment system.”

The department estimates ₹52 crore in pending RTO fines up to March 2020. “With the 50% rebate, we expect to collect around ₹25 crore if all dues are cleared,” he added.

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Agencies
November 22,2025

indiapak.jpg

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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