School roof collapses; luckily, students were away at morning assembly

February 17, 2017

Hubballi, Feb 17: What hundreds of students of a Koppal school dreaded finally came true on Thursday morning: The roof of a passage in the government school building came crashing down. There were no casualties as students and teachers were away at the morning assembly for prayers.

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The Government Central Model Higher Primary School building in Koppal, about 400km from Bengaluru, is ready to crumble anytime. The 50-year-old building that hasn't seen repair or maintenance in years, houses 480 students from classes I to VIII in 12 rooms, besides staffrooms and administrative blocks.

The roof of the passage crashed, and concrete blocks landed right in front of classrooms. Besides, the headmaster's room also collapsed.

According to sources, this is not an isolated incident as the roof of some classrooms and office room came crashing down about six months ago.

School principal Beerappa Andagi said: "The building has developed cracks. Cement layers from the roofs are coming off every day in all parts of the school building.I shudder to think of the day this structure collapses."

This is the only government school in Koppal. Its 19 teachers and students are on high alert about the condition of the building. A teacher said most students keep a watchful eye on the roof and walls even as they are busy scribbling down notes. District education officers led by the deputy director of public instruction and block education officer have visited the spot. But they haven't taken tangible measures to shift the school to a safe building, the principal said.

Koppal block education officer Umesh Pujar admitted the building was sitting precariously , but played the turf card about maintenance."The building doesn't come under the education department; it's under the tahsildar's jurisdiction.Repairs or renovation has to be carried out by the tahsildar. We've sought a fund of Rs 2.5 lakh under the Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan to repair the building; the fund may come only in June. I will inspect the school again and suggest remedies," he said. Science teacher Ambakka Jantli suffered head injury when a block of roof landed on her some days ago. "I'm worried about our students' safety ," she added.

Given the condition of the building, some parents have asked their children not to attend classes until safety measures are put in place. Gangamma Totad, a teacher, said many parents were not sending their wards to the school. A class VIII student, Ningappa Madiwal, has been asked by his parents to "forget school" till the building is repaired and declared safe.

Aishwarya Halli, another student, has sought permission from the school to allow her to study at home and directly appear for exams starting in March.

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News Network
March 28,2024

An Indian expatriate, hailing from Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, who was detained in Jeddah jail in an alleged cyber case, was set free recently. He is allowed to continue his work in the same company. 

The 49-year-old Mangalurean, has been working for a Maintenance company in Jeddah for more than 13 years. He is known for his efficiency and sincerity in the company with good experience in his field of work. 

His company usually assigned him on duty in Jeddah sea port to take the delivery of the goods consigned to his company. As a part of his duty, he normally takes pictures of the goods before the transportation. He did the same in February 2023 too. 

The security personnel informed the police about his act that amounts to be a violation of the port security rule. He was unaware of the rule as he was doing it normally in the port during the release of the goods. Since then, he was detained by the police on the charge of photographing inside the port premises. After more than 6 months detention, he was released and allowed to work in the same company. 

The detainee’s brother based in Jeddah was constantly pursuing the case.

P A Hameed Padubidri, a pro-bono NRI lawyer and social worker based in Riyadh, extended his socio-humanitarian help in this case upon the request of his family and relatives. 

He actively involved trying to set him free from the jail on humanitarian grounds with the coordination and help of the Consulate General of India (CGI) Jeddah. The CGI keenly followed up the case with the concerned Saudi authorities. He was released from the jail recently and shared his happiness with his family and thanked good samaritans. 

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News Network
March 27,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday launched simultaneous raids in multiple places, including Bengaluru and Shivamogga.

Reports suggested that the ongoing raids are in connection with the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1. The blast had injured at least ten people as per the police report.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) had launched an investigation alongside the NIA, and the trail of the suspect led them to Tumakuru first and subsequently to Ballari. Investigators believe that the bomb was planted by Mussavir Hussain Shazib, a handler of the Islamic State’s Shivamogga module who was aided by another IS handler called Ahmed Taahaa.

Sources in the know said that Shazib and Taahaa had stayed in Chennai for about a month between January and February using fake credentials. The names of the suspects were identified after they traced the cap worn by Shazib to a shop in a mall in Chennai. The cap, which was abandoned by the bomber in Bengaluru after the blast, was reportedly bought by Taahaa, around January-end.

As per the NIA, Shazib hails from Masjid Road in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, and Taahaa from Fish Market Road, Soppu Gude, Thirthahalli Rural. Both "wanted" suspects have been termed "absconders" by the NIA.

The NIA has questioned seven jailed terror suspects so far in connection with the blast. The investigation agency had also obtained seven-day custody of a jailed terror suspect named Maaz Muneer Ahmed.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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Mangaluru: Officials from Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime Police Station in Mangaluru have arrested a man for allegedly engaging in an online fraud by deceiving a person on the pretext of offering a part-time job. The arrested is Saddam Gauri alias Bavuri, 30, from Rajasthan.

City police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said the CEN police received a complaint regarding an online scam related to a part-time job offer.

Police registered a case under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act, along with IPC Section 420. The complainant had received a link via WhatsApp from an unknown number, purportedly offering a part-time job opportunity.

Upon clicking the link, the complainant was instructed to complete certain tasks to earn money. However, during the process, the complainant incurred a loss of Rs 1.1 lakh.

Following an investigation into the matter, the CEN police successfully arrested the suspect and presented him before the court. In the course of arrest, police seized two mobile phones, eight debit cards, four bank cheque books, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and other relevant documents from the accused.

The arrest was made possible through the efforts of CEN station inspector Shyam Sundar and his team, under the guidance of City Crime Records Bureau (CCRB) ACP Ravish Nayak and DCP Siddharth Goyal.

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