Terror suspicion: Editor remanded in custody; three other journos released

[email protected] (CD Network)
December 8, 2015

Belagavi, Dec 8: The Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class-III in Belagavi, on Monday, remanded Ejaz Ahmed Bihari, who was picked up in Kalaburagi for suspected terror links, in police custody for seven days.

arrested
He was brought from Kalaburagi to Belagavi on Sunday and produced before the court on Monday. Ejaz was among the four persons picked up in Kalaburagi, following the arrest of Mohammed Hussein Ali Qureshi — who was caught videographing vital installations at the airport in Sambra, 11 km from the city, last Tuesday.

Qureshi has also been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and sent to the Hindalga Central Prison, police sources said.

According to cops it was editor Ejaz, who had hired the services of Qureshi to videograph airports, central bus-stations, railway stations and other vital installations in different parts of Karnataka.

Accordingly, Qureshi, who worked as a vendor for a Urdu newspaper run by Ejaz, videographed 36 points in Bagalkot, Belagavi, Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Gadag, Kalaburagi, Mysuru, and Vijayapura, including the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, palace in Mysuru, and Suvarna Vidhana Soudha and Visvesvaraya Technological University in Belagavi.

However, there were no clippings of the palace and Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on his cellphone, Police Commissioner S. Ravi said recently.

Three others released

Ejaz Ahmed Bihari, the editor of Salamati, a Kalaburgi based Urdu daily, and three other journalists of the same newspaper, were picked up for questioning last week after the vendor of the newspaper was caught by police.

Sources close to officials, who interrogated the journalists in undisclosed places said that that the investigating officers, however, let go the other three — Javed, photojournalist, Akbar, copywriter, and Hyder Bhagban who is said to a partner in the newspaper.

All the three, who were picked up four days ago and intensively questioned by police teams from Belagavi, Bengaluru and Kalaburagi for three days, were released in the early hours of Sunday and dropped at the Brahmpur Police Station here. The relatives of these persons were asked to come to the police station and sign a few papers before the three were released on the condition that they should be present in the police station whenever summoned.

The investigating officials also checked the call records of the mobile phones seized from the three and the antecedents of the suspects before they were released.

The sources said that the needle of suspicion is now centered on Ejaz Bihari, even though the officers could not find any solid evidence against him.

Ejaz Bihari originally come to Kalaburagi to pursue his engineering course and later settled down there after his marriage to a local girl. His “affluent” lifestyle has come as a surprise to the police officials as the income from the newspaper of which he was editor was very limited. He was also paying good salaries to his employees. The financial dealings of Ejaz Bihari have now come under close scrutiny of the investigating agencies.

Relatives and friends of the three persons who were released by the police said that no third-degree methods were used during interrogation. They were asked how they were being paid such high salaries by Ejaz Bihari; the photojournalist, Javed, was being paid a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 which according to police is a very high for an employee of a local newspaper.

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News Network
May 4,2024

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mullai Muhilan MP said that election for the South West Teachers and Graduates constituencies will be held on June 3.

The notification for the same will be issued on May 9. The last date for filing nominations is May 16. The nominations must be submitted to Regional Commissioner in Mysuru and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is May 17.

The counting of votes will be held on June 6.

As of December 30, 2023 there are 6753 voters in DK district in the South West Teachers Constituency out of which 4520 are women. On the other hand, there are 16,869 graduate voters in the district for the South West graduates constituency.

The voters can submit their application for enrollment in electoral list of the South West Teachers and graduates constituency till May 6. The applications can be submitted at Mangaluru City Corporation or all the taluk offices.

Bulk applications can be submitted by Bar Association, Doctors association, Chartered Accountants Association, registered engineers association for the graduates constituency.

Those who are graduates prior to November 11, 2020 can enroll for voters list in the graduates constituency  by submitting Form 18 along with photo copy of marks card, Aadhaar card, voters' identity card and residential address.

For getting oneself enrolled in the teachers constituency voters, an individual should be teaching for minimum three years prior to November 1, 2023 in high school or higher educational institutions.

For the teachers constituency, educational institutions can submit applications in bulk. If wrong details are furnished in these applications, then they will be punishable under Section 31 of Representation of People Act, warned the DC.

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News Network
May 3,2024

Bengaluru: In a fresh development in the alleged Hassan sex abuse case, JD(S) MLA H D Revanna, who was accused of sexually harassing his house help, has been booked for kidnapping a victim allegedly sexually assaulted by his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The case was filed late Thursday evening at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru.

The 20-year-old complainant from KR Nagara accused one Sathish Babanna of taking his mother away forcibly and keeping her in an unknown location at the behest of Revanna.

As per the FIR, Revanna has been named as accused 1 while Babanna was accused 2. The duo were booked under IPC Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

The complainant claimed that his mother, whose name and age were not revealed, had worked as a help in Revanna’s house and farm in Holenarasipura for six years, quit the job three years ago and returned to KR Nagara. She then worked for daily wages.

“Nearly three to four days before the Lok Sabha election, Sathish Babanna, who is known to us and hailed from our native place, took my mother to Holenarasipura after saying that Bhavani Revanna, the wife of MLA Revanna, had asked for her,” the complainant alleged, adding that Babanna dropped her back on the day of the polls.

Babanna allegedly told the victim’s mother and father to remain silent and evade the police if they came looking for them and to inform him of the developments.

On April 29, at around 9 pm, when the complainant was home, the suspect Babanna arrived, told the complainant’s mother that Revanna had asked for her and took her away on his motorcycle. The complainant claimed that he wasn’t aware of where Babanna took his mother and he had told him that if the police found her, a case would be registered and they would all go to jail.

On May 1, two of the complainant’s relatives called him on the phone and told him that there was a video of his mother being sexually assaulted by Prajwal and that it was a huge case, the FIR noted. He was also informed by his two friends of his "mother's videos being circulated".

When he asked Babanna later that night, he was allegedly told that there was a photo of his mother standing with a stick when Prajwal had quarrelled with someone earlier and an FIR had been registered. Babanna told the complainant that his mother would have to be released on bail, the FIR noted.

“Babanna told me not to speak on the matter on my phone and asked me to talk from a different phone,” he said, seeking action from the police.

The case has been transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the Hassan sex scandal as per the government order.

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News Network
April 23,2024

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Mangaluru, Apr 23: As an outbreak of avian flu has been reported in some districts of neighbouring Kerala, the border areas of Karnataka, including Mangaluru, have been put on high alert, officials of the Karnataka Animal Husbandry department said.

At present, the situation in Kerala is being monitored before any action can be taken, they said.

“Our Kerala counterparts have assured us that the avian flu has been contained within Alappuzha district. However, loading, booking and carrying poultry and poultry products on trains and at railway stations are still under consideration (surveillance), the officials said.

Not only railways but also road transport ferrying chicken loads from Kerala to Mangaluru are under surveillance. Mangaluru, being one of the largest consumers of chicken from Kerala, has halted chicken procurement from Kerala-based suppliers.

Sudhakar Shetty, a market functionary, stated, “The animal husbandry department of Kerala has advised containment of avian flu within a few districts in Kerala. We are closely monitoring the situation.” Despite this, the market has not experienced significant fluctuations in supply yet, as local stocks have been adequate to meet the demand for the next few days.

Demand for chicken could fall for a few days due to a series of temple festivals in coastal areas, where many consumers refrain from consuming meat-based meals until Saturday. Nevertheless, Sunday could witness a change, as consumers may desire hot chicken curry for their Sunday meals, according to the local people.

As officials in the animal husbandry department in Dakshina Kannada have raised awareness in the market about avian flu in the neighbouring state, the question arises whether prices will fall if demand decreases.

“We do not want to contribute to the hysteria surrounding avian flu until our local stock falls below the level of demand,” said Aston D’Souza, a farm owner.

Dakshina Kannada also serves as a good market for suppliers from Shivamogga, Hassan, and Chikkamagaluru.

“In case supplies dwindle due to an unlikely prolonged shutdown of Kerala supplies, we can always purchase from those districts, albeit at a slightly higher cost than Kerala stock,” Shetty said.

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