Saffron activists attack youth for secretly recording cow vigilantism

Mangaluru, May 21: A tragic road accident on Shiradi Ghat early Tuesday morning claimed the lives of a college student and his mother. The mishap involved their Innova car and a speeding truck.

The deceased have been identified as Mohammed Shafiq bin Shabbir (20) and his mother, Safiya (50). Shafiq, a student at P A Engineering College in Mangaluru, was driving the car. They were residents of Bondala in Bantwal taluk.

The accident occurred in the jurisdiction of the Sakleshpur rural police station as the car was nearing Kempuhole on Shiradi Ghat. A container truck, traveling in the opposite direction, collided with their vehicle.

Among the car's passengers, three children sustained serious injuries. The family was returning from a wedding reception in Bengaluru.

Family sources reported that the victims had attended a wedding reception in Bengaluru on May 20. They left the city around midnight to return to Dakshina Kannada. The accident occurred when the truck collided with their car.

The mortal remains of Shafiq and Safiya have been moved to a private hospital in Mangaluru. The injured children are receiving treatment at another hospital in the city.

The Ministry of External Affairs has received a letter from the Karnataka government requesting the cancellation of the diplomatic passport of suspended Janata Dal Secular MP Prajwal Revanna, official sources said on Thursday. However, the diplomatic passport has not yet been canceled.

The Karnataka government's request to the Narendra Modi-led union government came after Prajwal Revanna, facing multiple charges of sexually abusing women, fled the country using his diplomatic passport last month.

"The MEA has received a letter from the Karnataka government for the cancellation of the diplomatic passport in respect of MP Prajwal Revanna. This is being processed," official sources said.

Prajwal, grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, is at the center of a political storm after hundreds of explicit videos allegedly featuring him leaked late last month. The 33-year-old MP faces multiple cases of rape, sexual harassment, voyeurism, and criminal intimidation.

Prajwal, the NDA nominee for the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, reportedly fled to Germany on April 27, hours before the first case was filed against him.

The Karnataka police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) is now probing the high-profile case, and a lookout notice and a Blue Corner notice have been issued to track Revanna down.

In the wake of the allegations, Prajwal Revanna said in a social media post on May 1, "As I am not in Bangalore to attend the enquiry, I have communicated to C.I.D Bangalore through my Advocate. The truth will prevail soon."

His father, HD Revanna, a JDS MLA and son of HD Deve Gowda, is also accused in cases of molestation and kidnapping. He was arrested earlier this month and is now out on bail.

The veteran leader faces a case in which a man has alleged that he was involved in kidnapping his mother, who worked as a house help at his home for six years. The complainant alleged that a video showing Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing his mother leaked recently, and his mother went missing soon after.

HD Revanna, however, has termed the case a "political conspiracy."

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other state ministers on Saturday rubbished allegations about their role in the circulation of pen drives containing explicit videos involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.

BJP leader and advocate G Devaraje Gowda, who is in custody after being arrested in a sexual abuse case and is also facing charges of video leak, on Friday alleged that Shivakumar and four other ministers are behind the circulation of the pen drives and was being fixed in false cases as he did not agree to be part of their plan.

He has even alleged that he was offered Rs 100 crore by Shivakumar to "bring a bad name" to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and to tarnish the image of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy in Prajwal Revanna's obscene video case.

Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar said, "Better, let him (Gowda) file a case before Lokayukta or any other agency. I think he has some problems mentally. I'm very sorry, the national and state media shouldn't have picked up such baseless allegations. A person who is in jail, how can he make such allegations? All these are baseless. I don't want to comment." 

Asked if he will be filing any defamation case against Gowda, he said, "I don't want to make any comment or speak on a person who is mentally sick. I appeal to his party people to get him a good treatment." Shivakumar also asserted that his government's commitment to get justice for women victims of the sexual abuse case, and expressed confidence about the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) ongoing probe.

While being taken from court in Hassan, Gowda on Friday spoke to media and alleged that Shivakumar is behind pen drive case, and a team of four Ministers -- N Chaluvarayaswamy, Krishna Byre Gowda, Priyank Kharge and another minister -- was formed to handle this, with an intention to bring bad name to BJP, PM Modi and Kumaraswamy.

He said Shivakumar had asked him to say that Kumaraswamy is behind the distribution of pen drives, but as he did not agree to it, he is being fixed in false cases.

Minister Priyank Kharge said Gowda has alleged that three responsible ministers in the state government were part of a team and that there was a conspiracy. "We will discuss whatever legal course, we will take it." 

"Devaraje Gowda might be doing this to defame Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. If he had a Rs 100 crore offer, he should have told Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) and get it investigated. He could have got CBI, ED, or IT raids done. Why didn't he do it? Claims have been made that he (Gowda) was sent Rs 5 crore as advance at a club, let them get CCTV footage and see who were all there," Kharge said.

While speaking to reporters here, he further said Gowda is a lawyer. When he was deposed before the Judge he should have told about the documents he has and should have presented to the court.

Minister Chaluvarayaswamy said allegations about the role of Shivakumar and a team of ministers being formed to oversee the circulation of pen drives are 'baseless', and he questioned Gowda's morality to make such accusations.

"If Gowda proves that Chaluvarayaswamy, Priyank Kharge and Krishna Byre Gowda had held a meeting on this case and we as a team were given responsibility and we were involved in this case, I will apologise," he said and alleged that Gowda was being used to mislead and deviate from the main case of sexual abuse.