QBengaluru: Army Called to Help Douse Bellandur Lake Fire & More
Here’s your roundup of news from Bengaluru.
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1. Army Called In to Help Douse Bellandur Lake Fire
The Bellandur lake, located in Yemlur, caught fire yet again on Friday, 19 January. This is the first blaze on the lake this year – and at least the fourth such instance since 2015. The Army Service Corps (ASC) was called in to control the blaze.
According to the defence ministry spokesperson in Bengaluru, over 500 officers, led by Major General NS Rajpurohith, were deployed to contain the fire. The Army also deployed two fire engines and water tankers, in addition to the fire engines deployed by the Department of Fire and Emergency.
Read the full story on The Quint.
2. Bajrang Dal Activist Arrested For Kidnapping Girl From Mumbai
Mumbai police arrested Bajrang Dal activist Sunil Pumpwell on charges of kidnapping a girl, who had allegedly eloped with a man from another community.
According to Mangaluru police, Pumpwell, an autorickshaw driver, was picked by Mumbai police in the city on Thursday. He had brought the girl and her parents from Mumbai to Mangaluru in a four-wheeler in the second week of December. The victim's husband Mohammed Iqbal Choudary alleged she had been abducted from Mumbai. He had filed a habeas corpus petition in the Bombay High Court, a few days after she was abducted seeking directions to the Mumbai commissioner of police and Mangaluru police to produce his wife in court and decide if she wanted to stay with him or her parents.
Meanwhile, saffron outfit members alleged this was a case of 'Love Jihad' and also approached defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to intervene in the issue during her December 29 visit to the coastal city and submitted a memorandum to her.
(Source: Times of India)
3. Congo Nationals Held For Assaulting Cops
Two Congo nationals, including a woman, recently assaulted a policeman working with KG Halli police station.
The incident occurred at HBR Layout last Monday. The arrested have been identified as Kalau Mujinga Jonathan, 22, and his female friend Kilambo Nzeba Clementine, 24, both students of BCA at Teachers Academy Degree College. According to police, they are residents of 5th Block, HBR Layout and natives of Congo.
According to police, the duo was found driving their car in a rash and negligent manner on Monday evening. Having failed to stop the car, public called up patrolling policemen and gave them the car’s registration number.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
4. UIDAI And The Curious Case of The Man Whose Fingerprints Match Seven Others
Recently, officials at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) were thrown into a tizzy over a curious case.
Mallikarjun Gurikar, 26, from Kembhavi in Yadgir district claimed that he had failed to get an Aadhaar number even after nearly 30 attempts across several enrolment centres over six years. He even threatened to commit suicide if he was not enrolled. Each time he would get a message of rejection or technical error.
His threat of suicide, through mail, had reached the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and top UIDAI officials too. A guest teacher at Kembhavi Government High School teaching science and mathematics, Mr. Gurikar had raised this issue through correspondence and personal visits to the UIDAI regional office, but to no avail.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Man Arrested For Raping Step-Daughter
A 30-year-old swimming instructor was arrested by Kodigehalli police on Thursday for allegedly raping his 13-year-old step-daughter. Doctors have confirmed that the girl is pregnant.
Police said the incident came to light on Wednesday when a school teacher visited the girl's residence to find out why she had been absent for two days. The teacher was shocked to see the girl lying ill and alone in the house. The teacher immediately took the Class VIII student to hospital where doctors said the girl was pregnant.
The teacher then alerted Kodigehalli police. The girl told police during counselling that her mother had married Raj Singh, a swimming instructor in a club, two years ago.
(Source: Times of India)
6. Headmaster On The Run After Beating Student
The headmaster of a private school in Bommasandra near Electronics City has been accused of assaulting a Class 9 student. The boy was left with scars all over his body after being hit with a cane. The child’s parents have lodged a police complaint against the headmaster as well as the school management. Suryanagar police of the Bengaluru rural district have registered a case under Juvenile Justice Act and IPC and are on the lookout for the headmaster who is said to be absconding.
The headmaster has been identified as Venkatesh and the incident reportedly occurred at the Saraswathi Vidyaniketan School in Bommasandra. The victim’s father is a police official and his mother is working in the learning department of a city-based private hospital. The student was assaulted around 11 am on Thursday.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
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