Bangalore

The then DMK-led government had “erroneously” over-valued the jewellery of AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa and they were purchased before she became chief minister, her counsel told the Special Bench of the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday.

The gold and diamond jewellery seized belonged to Jayalalithaa but she bought them before she became Chief Minister in 1991, her counsel L Nageswar Rao told Justice C R Kumaraswamy.

The bench is hearing appeals by the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and three others challenging their conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

Four Chinese nationals were arrested in a rural Karnataka district for attempting to smuggle six tonnes of red sanders wood to China, a police official said Tuesday.

“We have arrested the accused and red sanders wood, weighing around six tonnes, was seized after a team of our special crime branch unit raided their hideout Monday in an industrial area near Hoskote where the logs were stored,” a police official investigating the case told IANS.

US President Barack Obama will receive Karnataka’s famous Channapatna toys as a special gift from the state government on the Republic Day in New Delhi, a senior official said Monday.

“The state government is gifting Obama a few Channapatna toys through the external affairs ministry on the Republic Day as a token of our affection to him and his family,” state information department director N.R. Vishukumar said.

Obama, who is visiting India for the second time from Jan 24, will be the chief guest at the national parade Jan 26.

Homegrown e-retailer Flipkart has joined hands with online education pioneer TCYonline to offer a wide spread of test preparation tools, the company said today.

Starting January 19, products/coaching material for over 90 exam categories from TCYonline will be exclusively available for 90 days on Flipkart.

The partnership will offer students across India access to an entire gamut of educational offerings from TCYonline, the company said in a release.

JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday sought a CBI inquiry into Arkavathi Layout land de-notification, an issue on which the Opposition has targeted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleging irregularities.

“Finding out the quantum of financial loss because of this is not possible by the commission, CBI has to investigate… Today big cases have come out because of CBI; if Siddaramaiah is transparent and truthful why is he scared of CBI inquiry,” Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

More than three weeks after the Improvised Explosive Device triggered blast here that claimed the life of a woman and injured three others, police on Monday said there is no breakthrough yet in the case and they were following the clues.

“All that I can say about this case is that we are on work following the clues, we have dedicated teams working on this case 24/7. We are collecting information on suspected groups. Teams have also been sent to places to collect information about them,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi told reporters here.

US President Barrack Obama will receive Karnataka’s famous Channapatna toys as a special gift from the state government on the Republic Day in New Delhi, a senior official said Monday.

“The state government is gifting Obama a few Channapatna toys through the external affairs ministry on the Republic Day as a token of our affection to him and his family,” state information department director N.R. Vishukumar told IANS here.

Obama, who is visiting India for the second time from Jan 24, will be the chief guest at the national parade Jan 26.

Bidar Municipal Council which found itself in the list of Nirmala Nagara – Municipal eGovernance project, welcomes its website visitors with a major goof-up on the home page itself of their website.

The famous fifteenth century Minister of Mohammed Shah II, Mahmood Gawan, who built the landmark and one of the historical architectural marvels – Madrasa-e-Mahmood Gawan (school of Mahmood Gawan) – is mentioned as ‘Mohamad Gawan madras’ on the Bidar Municipal Council’s official website http://www.bidarcity.gov.in/

Pro-maoist banners and graffiti asking people to fight against Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats and protect the forest ranges appeared in a village in Udupi District of Karnataka, causing a flutter.

Police, who removed the banners, pamphlets and graffiti in Shedimane village in Kundapur yesterday, said the anti-government campaign was the handiwork of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

A man is being questioned in connection with the IED blast in front of a restaurant here that had killed a woman and injured three others last month, police said on Friday.

“One person is being questioned in the case,” City Police Commissioner M N Reddi told PTI here.

Bhavani, who hailed from Tamil Nadu and was on a visit to the city, succumbed to serious shrapnel injuries on her head in the blast on Church Street in the central business district of the city on December 28.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Saturday visited the state-run Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL) here and laid the foundation stone for its training academy.

“The academy will organise training programmes to build technical and behavioral competencies in the Navratna defence undertaking,” the company said in a statement.

Parrikar also visited the manufacturing, integration and test facilities for Akash missile system, coastal surveillance system, electronic warfare and avionics, super components and mass manufacturing unit in the BEL complex.

Thousands thronged the Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple here to witness the unique phenomenon of the illumination of the ‘Shiva Linga’ by sun rays passing between the horns of the Nandi, the bull, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

The remarkable thing about the illumination is that it happens only once a year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The ancient sculptors have crafted horns of the stone bull outside the temple in such a way that the sun’s rays would pass through its horns and light up the Shiva Linga inside the cave.

A local Congress leader has launched Bharatiya Hindu Parishad, in a move touted as an attempt to counter the aggressive growth of Sangh Parivar outfits.

The new outfit, described as a “secular” organisation to promote the “true Hindu spirit” was launched at Puttur in Mangaluru district with the trappings of a Sangh Parivar event amid chanting of hymns in the presence of religious leaders.

The organisation was launched by Shri Keshavananda Bharati of Edneer Math in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. The function was also attended by Esha Vithaladasa Swamiji of Shri Kemaru Math.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday greeted the people of Karnataka on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, saying the festival may bring “abundant happiness and prosperity in everyone’s lives”.

“Sankranti greetings to my sisters and brothers of Karnataka. May this auspicious day bring abundant happiness and prosperity in everyone’s lives,” he said in a statement.

iANS

The UGC Academic Staff College will be organizing 50th orientation programme for undergraduate and postgraduate teachers from March 2, 2015. Interested teachers may contact: Prof. Shadaksharaiah, Director UGC Academic Staff College, ph: 22961271, email: ugcasc_bu@yahoo.com

Courtesy: Karnataka Muslims

http://www.karnatakamuslims.com/portal/orientation-programme-for-teachers/

Calling the 18th century legendary king Tipu Sultan “communal”, BJP on Wednesday expressed strong reservations about the state government’s move to celebrate his birth anniversary as “Tipu Jayanti”.

“State government has decided to celebrate Tipu Jayanti. Bharatiya Janata Party strongly criticises this move,” Karnataka BJP President Prahlad Joshi told reporters here.

Seven persons aboard a mini cargo vessel carrying goods from Lakshadweep to Mangaluru were rescued after it developed a technical problem and sank near the port here, police said.

All the seven persons, hailing from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, were saved by fishermen who saw them staying afloat on wooden boards, seven hours after the ship sank.

E-retailer Flipkart Tuesday said about 10,000 sellers would become millionaires by selling their goods on the online platform during 2015.

“About 2,000 sellers became millionaires in 2014, with 500 of them doing business of Rs.10 lakh (Rs.1 million) in December, while 50 of them did a business of Rs.1 crore each,” the city-based e-commerce player said in a statement here.

With about 30 percent year-on-year growth, sellers of apparels and consumer electronics crossed the millionaire-mark, followed by their counterparts in home decor, jewellery, handicraft and large appliances.

A social organisation run by Bhatkal Muslims has demanded that police and the NIA, who claimed to have seized explosives from a few suspects with terror links from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, should come clean on certain issues, including why they did not take the local people into confidence before the raids.

The body, Majlis-e-Islah wa Tanzeem, said the local people should have been taken into confidence if the investigation team had knowledge that the explosives were hidden inside a house in the town before conducting the raids.

Four suspected operatives of banned outfit Indian Mujahideen arrested recently were part of a terror module that was used to procure, fabricate and deliver deadly explosives, a top police official said on Monday.

The IM operatives transferred money through Hawala channels for funding and at least one of them attended meetings in a foreign country, where a conspiracy was hatched to manufacture and deliver deadly explosives which were probably used for blasts in different parts of the country, he said.

Two persons were seriously injured in clashes between members of two communities at Kodi near Kundapura in Udupi district, police said.

The clash began near a hotel at Halavalli where the two persons were attacked by a group of people yesterday. They had been hospitalised. Two others of another community also sustained minor injuries in the clashes, police said.

Popular reality-based crime show “Crime Patrol Satark” has joined hands with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi to host a special series focusing on child labour and human trafficking.

“We have picked two important cases from Satyarthi’s organisation – Bachpan Bachao Andolan. We decided to take up this opportunity as viewers will relate more to his work now. The stories will be telecast Jan 23, 24, and 25 as Republic Day special episodes,” show host Anoop Soni told IANS over phone.

The National Investigation Agency exploring the mobile applications “Skype and tango” of Jihadi-turned-deserter Arif Majeed to get the contacts and communication record with family and friends.

NIA earlier approached US-based Tango seeking data, but it had asked the anti-terror body to come through proper channel after which the NIA had approached a Mumbai court to send an instruction.

Anxious moments gripped Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his entourage after fire was noticed just before take off in the silencer of a helicopter in which they were to fly to Mysuru on Saturday.

Siddaramaiah, Home Minister K J George and PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa and a senior official were asked to disembark from the helicopter owned by a private aviation firm as the fire was noticed at the HAL airport here, the Chief Minister’s office said.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal is in Bangaluru to raise funds for the party. People can get their selfies clicked with Arvind Kejriwal after paying a certain amount.

The lunch and selfie campaign will help him gather some bucks for his party. Anyone can eat with Arvind Kejriwal after paying twenty thousand rupees whereas a selfie would cost Rs 500.

“AAP, Bengaluru has launched a fund-raising lunch called ‘Lunch with Arvind’. Donors with a minimum contribution of Rs 20,000 may book their passes,” the party said.