Karnataka police acting as though they have AFSPA powers'

April 1, 2011
Mangalore, April 1: “We should gain inspiration from Irom Sharmila's non-violent struggle to fight against corruption, police brutality and all forms of draconian laws,” said activist G Rajshekhar.


He was addressing a public meet organised by Dakshina Kannada district committee of Social Democratic Party of India as part of its national campaign “Free the Innocent, Eradicate Corruption”, in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner here on Friday evening. Around 300 people participated in the meet preceded by a rally from the taluk office.



Rajshekhar said the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), against which, the Iron Lady of Manipur, has been continuing her unparalleled protest by fasting since past 11 years, is prevalent in different forms and different names in many parts of the country including Mangalore.



The AFSPA was passed in 1958 by an act of Parliament. It conferred special powers upon armed forces in allegedly "disturbed areas" in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. It was consequently extended to Jammu and Kashmir as The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 in July 1990. Hence, the security forces, in these areas, can "Fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law" or against "assembly of five or more persons..." It can arrest without a warrant and can also enter and search any premises to make arrests.



Rajshekhar pointed out that the police in the coastal districts of Karnataka are enjoying a power similar to that of AFSPA, as no one is there to question them if they arrest an innocent, torture him and put behind bars without any reason or allegation. “Though AFSPA does not apply to Karnataka, all the draconian aspects of this brutal law are in practice in this state too”, he added.



“Many people in this part of the country, especially Muslims have already experienced helplessly the brutality of this law” he said.



Popular Front of India's Karnataka State President Ilyas Mohammed Thumbey argued that terrorism in India became widespread only after the demolition of Babri Masjid.



He said: “Although now it is clear that several terrorist attacks in the country in the past decade including many of the bomb blasts in Karnataka are the conspiracy of 'saffron terrorists', thousands of innocent Muslim youth, including a considerable number of students, are rotting behind the bars and are subjected to brutal torture under the pretext of inquiry.”



On the contrary, the real accused of many bomb attacks are enjoying a star status in the country, he said referring to Colonel Purohit, Indresh Kumar, Pragya Singh and others.



SDPI State committee member Nirvanappa said a united struggle is the need of the hour to put an end to the “evil system”. “People from back ward classes, minority communities and Dalit should join their hands together to fight against corruption, casteism, communalism and all other evil practices,” he urged.

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November 29,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 29: Around 12,500 healthcare students from Medical, Dental, AYUSH, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Allied Health Sciences colleges of Dakshina Kannada, affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), took part in a massive walkathon to promote awareness on Organ Donation and Nasha Mukth Bharat.

The inaugural ceremony was held at Mangala Stadium. Dr Bhagavan B C, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of RGUHS, delivered the welcome address. The walkathon was flagged off by Shri U T Khader, Hon’ble Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, and presided over by Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Dakshina Kannada District In-charge. Dakshina Kannada MP Shri Brijesh Chowta also addressed the students.

Music director Guru Kiran, MLA Dr Bharat Shetty (Mangalore North), Police Commissioner Shri Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Shri Manjunath Bhandary and Shri Harish Kumar were among those present.

Institution heads including Dr Haji U K Monu (Kanachur Colleges), Dr Shantharam Shetty (Tejaswini College), Dr Bhaskar Shetty (City Group of Colleges), Mr Abdul Rahiman (Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences), and the District Health Officer, Mangalore, also participated.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof U T Ifthikar Fareed, Syndicate Member, RGUHS.

The event was organised by Dr U T Ifthikar Ali and Dr Shiva Sharan (Syndicate Members), Prof Vaishali (Senate Member), Prof Mohammad Suhail (Chairman, BOS Physiotherapy), Dr Sharan Shetty (Former Senate Member), along with principals and faculty of various colleges.

Students marched from Mangala Stadium to Karavali Grounds via MCC and Lalbagh signal. The event set a record as one of the largest gatherings of healthcare students for a social cause in the RGUHS Dakshina Kannada Zone.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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