‘Political vendetta stronger than law': In custody with cops around, DKS tweets a message

News Network
September 5, 2019

New Delhi, Sept 5: Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is under Enforcement Directorate's custody, on Wednesday said that "political vendetta" has become stronger than the law in this country.

In a video posted from his Twitter handle, Shivakumar is seen sitting on a chair with policemen standing around him. "Political vendetta has become stronger than the law in this country," he is heard saying in the video.

Senior Congress leaders from Karnataka went to meet Shivakumar who had been admitted at RML hospital, but the police and the authorities were adamant to block their visit, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said.

"They are not even ready to disclose his health condition. This is condemnable," said Venugopal, who was among the leaders who went to meet Shivakumar.

Earlier, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari alleged that there was a "complete breakdown of governance" in the Modi government's second term while claiming that there was an economic slowdown, an "undeclared emergency" in Kashmir and a tense situation in Assam, where over 19 lakh people have been rendered "stateless" following the publication of the updated final NRC.

At a press conference, he alleged that in order to cover up this "complete breakdown of governance", continued "persecution" of opposition leaders was being carried out and the arrest of Shivakumar was the latest in a series of "political vendetta".

"DK Shivakumar's only crime was that he provided protection to those Congress MLAs of Gujarat who were being poached by the NDA-BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections," Tewari said.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Shivakumar in the national capital on Tuesday in connection with a money-laundering case after grilling the Congress' Karnataka troubleshooter repeatedly over the past few days.

"Has there been any conviction of any opposition leaders in the last five years? For the last five years, this politics of persecution has been carried on relentlessly against opposition leaders of every shade and hue," he said.

Tewari said the reason that there has not been a single conviction by any court of law is that there is a difference between persecution and prosecution. "Persecution only requires misuse and abuse of state instruments. When the lawyers of the government plead for custodial interrogation in the courts of law, it is an euphemism for physical, mental and emotional torture of their political opponents," he said.

"What you have been witnessing in the last five years is not unbiased, neutral prosecution but subjective, arbitrary and whimsical persecution being carried out by investigating agencies at the behest of their political masters," Tewari told reporters.

The Indian National Congress is not going to be cowed down and it is not going to be intimidated. As the premier political party of the country, it will continue to ask the "hard questions", the party spokesperson said.

"We will continue to demand answers, we will continue to agitate and we will continue to keep democracy alive in this country. We will not allow democracy to be stifled through intimidation being perpetrated by the NDA-BJP government," he said.

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News Network
May 10,2024

Mangaluru: A teenage boy from a remote village in Dakshina Kannada district, who was undergoing treatment for stomach pain for past few days, breathed his last after hospitalization. 

The deceased has been identified as Nithin Kumar, 19, who had completed PUC and was attending computer classes. 

According to police, on May 4, when he informed his family that he had been suffering from a stomach-ache for the past 4-5 days, his family members took him to a clinic in Kaniyoor.

The doctors who examined him advised him to undergo scanning. He was informed about a kidney stone and later, they returned home. That same night, he suffered from stomach-ache again and was rushed to a private hospital in Puttur.

On May 7, as per doctors’ advice, he was discharged around 12:45pm. However, when he came home around 2:30pm, he again suffered from stomach-ache and was taken to another private hospital in Puttur, where doctors conducted a surgery.

On Wednesday, as per doctors’ advice, he was asked to be shifted to Mangaluru for better treatment.

He visited a private hospital in Derakatte, where doctors suggested that he be shifted to government Wenlock Hospital.

The doctors who examined him at the Wenlock Hospital declared him dead. A case has been registered at the Bellare police station, and an investigation is on.

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News Network
May 12,2024

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Mangaluru: A native of Kerala was arrested on charge of misbehaving with crew on an Air India Express flight while travelling from Dubai to Mangaluru International Airport. The man even threatened to jump from the aircraft, according to officials. 

Siddartha Das, the security coordinator for Air India Express, lodged a complaint against the passenger, identified as Muhammad BC from Kannur, Kerala, after which he was caught by the airport security once the flight landed at Mangaluru. He was later handed over to the police.

DCP (Law and Order) Sidharth Goyal said the incident occurred on Flight IX814 on May 8.

When the flight was above the sea, Muhammad reportedly said he wanted to get off the plane, posing a threat to all on board. The unruly flyer was detained by airport security once the flight landed at Mangaluru International Airport and he was handed over to Bajpe police station officials.

Sources added once the flight took off from Dubai, the accused went to the lavatory and thereafter started inquiring with the cabin crew about a person named Krishna who was not on the flight. Muhammad kept on pressing the bell for in-flight assistance, even though the cabin crew members were near at hand. He then picked up a life jacket, gave it to a crew member, and said he wanted to use it upon landing.

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News Network
May 6,2024

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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.

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