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1. BJP Asks Hegde to Explain his Remarks Against Gandhi
The BJP leadership has taken a dim view of party MP Anantkumar Hegde’s comments on Mahatma Gandhi and served him a show cause notice seeking an explanation. He may also be asked to apologise.
A Union minister from BJP said the party brass, including PM Narendra Modi, was “unhappy and upset” with Hegde for his swipe at Gandhi, whose birth and death anniversaries have often been occasions for the saffron party to launch public campaigns over a variety of issues.
Further action will be decided after receiving Hegde’s reply, the minister said. “The party has conveyed its displeasure to him and asked him to take remedial measure. Any insult to Mahatma Gandhi is unacceptable,” he added.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Nithyananda is on Spiritual Tour, Can’t Serve Him Notice: Cops to HC
It seems the police in Karnataka does not keep track of the news, as on Monday it told the Karnataka High Court that they were not able to send a notice to rape accused Nithyananda because he is currently on a “spiritual tour.” Nithyananda, accused of rape and child abuse, has been absconding since November 2018 and is believed to be hiding in Belize.
This comes two months after the Ministry of External Affairs announced that Nithyananda’s passport has been cancelled, and a week after a blue corner notice was issued against the self-styled godman, who is also facing charges of child abuse.
On January 31, Karnataka High Court had asked the police to serve a notice on Nithyananda in a petition seeking the cancellation of his bail in a rape case filed against him in 2010.
(Source: The News Minute)
3. Karnataka High Court Pulls up Cops for Eviction After Bangladeshi Tag
A division bench of the Karnataka High Court Monday came down heavily on the Bengaluru Police for facilitating the eviction of people living on a private property on the city outskirts last month after labelling them as illegal Bangladeshis without investigation. A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Sreenivas Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar directed the state government to provide a plan to rehabilitate those who were evicted.
Several people living in tenements on a private property in Bellandur area were evicted through a demolition drive carried out on January 12, 18 and 19 by the authorities on the basis of a police notice on January 11 about the presence of illegal immigrants. Around 200 sheds on the property, which housed around 5,000 people, were demolished.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Sasikala Yet to Pay Rs 10 Crore Fine
Stepping into the last year of the four-year simple imprisonment awarded to her in a disproportionate assets case, former AIADMK secretary VK Sasikala is yet to pay a fine of Rs 10 crore. Failure to do so may result in her spending one more year in jail.
Sasikala, her foster son VN Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi have been lodged in Central Jail (Parappana Agrahara) since February 15, 2017, after the Supreme Court set aside their acquittal by the high court.
In September 2014, the special trial court of judge John Michael Cunha had sentenced former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran under Section 109 IPC read with Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act — abetment of criminal misconduct of a public servant — to simple imprisonment for four years.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Bengaluru Jain Trust, Where Two Men Died While Cleaning Sewer, Closed
An investigation by Bengaluru civic authority, BBMP, has found that the Jain trust, where two people who were made to clean the sewer illegally, was operating without permission to hold commercial activities.
The Jain trust now stands shut, the trust office was locked, and the official number is not receiving any calls. The manager hid behind a door and refused to speak to anyone.
On 25 January, 2 people, Sidappa, aged 17, and Marianna, aged about 50, died while trying to clean the sewage drain situated at the back of the trust. This is known as manual scavenging and has been deemed illegal in India. However, the practice continues.
(Source: The News Minute)
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