Red Bolt claims main event

June 9, 2012, 11:30 am

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Bangalore Race Results

Red Bolt, ridden by Noornabi and trained by Dominic, landed the spoils in the Karnataka Police Cup over 1200 metres, the feature event of the races held on Saturday.

1. Noble Prince Plate (Div II) -- 1100M: Triple Victory (N Chandrashekar Rai & Srinivas Shankar's) TS Jodha 1; Volcano (PS Chouhan) 2; Affirmator (Mudassar) 3; Regal Hostess (Prabhakaran) 4; WB: 1/2, 2-1/4, 1/2L;T:1:09.42; Tote:Rs 15w, Rs 10, Rs 12, Rs 43p; TB:Prithviraj; Fav: Triple Victory; Fc: Rs 30; Q: Rs 30; SHP:23; Tri: Rs 205 and Rs 178.2. Southern Regent Trophy -- 1400M: Alderson (D Khaitan rep Soom Stud Farm Ovt Ltd's) Neeraj Rawal 1; San Ramon (Chirstopher) 2; Attribute (A Sandesh) 3; Nocturnal Hunter (PS Chouhan) 4; Not run:Well Known; WB: Ns, Long Nk, Nk; T:1:28.20; Tote: Rs 263w, Rs 36, Rs 130, Rs 20p; TB:D Byramji; Fav: Sam's Pride; Fc: Rs 2,622; Q: Rs 1,212; SHP: Rs 555; Tri: Rs 60,660 and Rs 25,997.3. Epsom Plate (Div III) -- 1200M: Absolut Grey (Ravi Bhaskaran Pillai & Mahendra Kugashankar's) S Zervan 1; Blue Star (N Rajesh) 2; Muqtadir (F Da Silva) 3; Mountain Splendour (R Anand) 4; Not run: Soviet Melody; WB:6-1/2, 1/2, 2L: T:1:14.78; Tote: Rs 18w, Rs 12, Rs 16, Rs 14p; TB:S Attaollahi; Fav: Absolut Grey; Fc: Rs 51; Q: Rs 48; SHP: Rs 38; Tri: Rs 93 and Rs 17; Exp: Rs 1,827 and Rs 1,415.4. Noble Prince Plate (Div I) -- 1100M:Forthcoming (Faraz Arshad & Ms Ritika Bhar's) I Chisty 1; Dancing Emeralds (BV Krishnan) 2; Point Taken (Noornabi) 3; Red Admiral (K Chethana) 4; Not run: Corleone, Astonishing and HillCountry; WB: 7-1/2, 1/2, Shd; T:1:08.61; Tote:Rs 26w, Rs 11, Rs 41, Rs 11p; TB: Faraz Arshad; Fav: Point Taken; Fc: Rs 209; Q: Rs 236; SHP: Rs 142; Tri: Rs 264 and Rs 86.5. Karnataka Police Cup -- 1200M: Red Bolt (Rajan Aggarwal's) Noornabi 1; Capote (P Trevor) 2; Pure Elation (Neeraj Rawal) 3; Sky Train (MF Ali Khan) 4; WB: Long Nk, 2, 3-1/2L; T:1:14.25; Tote:64, Rs 21, Rs 14, Rs 13p; TB:Dominic; Fav: Pure Elation; Fc: Rs 201; Q: Rs 61; SHP: Rs 40; Tri: Rs 323 and Rs 97; Exp: Rs 8,547 and Rs 7,326.6. Epsom Plate (Div I) -- 1200M: Ace Blood (Dr & Mrs Vijay Mallya rep United Racing and Bloostock Breeders Pvt Ltd's) P Trevor 1; Violent Storm (PS Chouhan) 2; Free Law (Mudassar) 3; Tiberius (Anjar Alam) 4; WB: 1-1/4, 1, 1-3/4L;T: 1:14.48; Tote: Rs 79w, Rs 22, Rs 19, Rs 16; TB: Dhariwal; Fav: Tiberius; Fc: Rs 302; Q: Rs 170; SHP: Rs 50; Tri: Rs 1,274 and Rs 364.7. Buck Passer Plate -- 1100M: Vijays Best (Est of Late Mr D Paratap Chander Reddy & Ashish Bajaj rep Pratap R'citment Pvt Ltd & Vijay Kumar Gupta & Susheel Kumar Gupta rep Vijay Racing and Farms Pvt Ltd's) PS Chouhan 1; Thunderbay (A Asgar) 2; Will Star (B Sreekanth) 3; Loyal King (Deep Shanker) 4; WB: 1-1/4, 5-3/4, 4-1/4L;T:1:07.92; Tote: Rs 13w, Rs 11, Rs 24, Rs 16p; TB:Deshmukh; Fav:Vijays Best; Fc: Rs 50; Q: Rs 50; SHP: Rs 73; Tri: Rs 181 and Rs 93; Exp:Rs 1,734 and Rs 995.8. Epsom Plate (Div II) -- 1200M: Klipspringer (Zavaray S Poonawalla & Mrs Behroze Z Poonawalla rep Poonawalla Racing & Breeders Ltd & PJ Vazifdar & M Rishad's) A Sandesh 1; Brabus Speed (TS Jodha) 2; I Specialist (PS Chouhan) 3; Hillstone (B Paswan) 4; WB:8, 1/2, 3/4L; T:1:13.32; Tote: Rs 26w, Rs 13, Rs 33, Rs 14p; TB: Padmanabhan; Fav: Klipspringer; Fc: Rs 104; Q: Rs 78; SHP: Rs 97; Tri:Rs 310 and Rs 84; Exp: Rs 1,461 and Rs 748.Jackpot: Rs 7,250 (93). Runner: Rs 1,273 (227). Mini-jackpot: Rs 19,654 (3). Treble: Rs 458 (114).

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Southern Bay for feature

June 9, 2012, 11:31 am

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Southern Bay, to be ridden by B Sreekanth and trained by Ganapathy, is fancied to claim top honours in the Karnataka Cup (Grade III) over 1600 metres, the feature event of the races to be held at the Bangalore Turf Club on Sunday.

False rails, average width about three metres, will be in place from 1600 metres to the winning post.1. Royal Randwick Plate (rated 0-45) -- 1100M:1.30 pm1. All Clear (Narayana Gowda) 62 BV Krishnan 22. Maverical(Sharat K) 62 H Rathod 13. Next Move (Amit Caddy) 62 VR De Sousa 44. The Gentle Don (Amit Caddy) 60 A Ramu 85. Our Love (Manohar) 59 TS Jodha 66. Big Secret(Karan S) 58.5 Raja Rao 77. Benedict(Sharat K) 57 S John 98. CashThe Cheque (Amit Caddy) 55.5 Tauseef A 59. Segomo (Mahesh) 53 Chetan Kalay 3
Next Move 1; Our Love 2; Big Secret 3.2. Everynsky Trophy(Div II) (terms) -- 1200M: 2.00 PM1. Carducci (S Attaollahi) 56 P Trevor 72. Evershine (Sharat K) 56 S Kamble 63. Magnanimous (Faraz Arshad) 56 Afsar 124. Small Wonder (S Narredu) 56 Shahbuddin 115. Summer Break (Amit Caddy) 56 Tauseef A 36. April Babe (Lokanath) 54.5 M Mark 57. Fire Storm(Dominic) 54.5 PSChouhan 18. Mulligan (Pradeep) 54.5 J Pradeep 29. Pack Ur Bags (S Komandur) 54.5 Christopher 410. Sebright (I Ghatala) 54.5 S Selvaraj 1011. Serengeti (Narayana Gowda) 54.5 Ashok Kumar 812. Tressa (Md Khan) 54.5 TS Jodha 9 Carducci 1; Fire Storm 2; Sebright 3.3. Flirting Vision Plate (DivII) (rated 20-45) -- 1400M:2.30 PM1. Its My Party (Amit Caddy) 61 A Ramu 102. Purple Glow (Ganapathy) 58.5 B Sreekanth 83. Vega (Narayana Gowda) 58 I Chisty 64. Yawar (S Narredu) 57.5 R Koch 45. Thejaguar (Warren S) 55.5 PS Chouhan 56. Dream Runner (Pradeep) 54.5 J Pradeep 27. Spark Of Legend (Byramji) 54.5 Sahanawaz 18. Taylor Made (Dominic) 53 Noornabi 79. Samovar (Dhariwal) 51.5 P Trevor 1110. Royal Music (Nityanand) 51 N Rajesh 311. Neron (Neil Darashah) 50.5 Merchant 9
Samovar 1; Vega 2; Thejaguar 3.4. Everynsky Trophy(Div I) (terms) -- 1200M: 3.00 PM1. Resurgent (Faraz Arshad) 56 I Chisty 32. Smithsonite (I Ghatala) 56 Anjar Alam 93. Towers OfHanoi (Prasanna K) 56 Vaideeshwaran 64. Active Grey(S Narredu) 54.5 Suraj Narredu 105. Admirable (Ganapathy) 54.5 Merchant 2--. Balance Of Nature (Prithviraj) 54.5 -- - 7. Clever Trick(Dominic) 54.5 PS Chouhan 118. My Law (A Mangalorkar) 54.5 S Zervan 49. Open Page (Narayana Gowda) 54.5 Harsha N 510. Ratham(Dhariwal) 54.5 R Vaibhav 111. Rich Celebration (JS Pillay) 54.5 R Marshall 812. Supreme (Attaollahi) 54.5 P Trevor 7 Active Grey 1; Supreme 2; Rich Celebration 3.5. Flirting Vision plate (Div I) (rated 20-45) -- 1400M: 3.30 PM1. Hot Stuff (S Narredu) 62 Suraj Narredu 52. Summer Sun (Amit Caddy) 61.5 VR De Sousa 4 3. Own Empire (Karan S) 61 Raja Rao 34. Silvers Stone (Narayana Gowda) 61 Kiran Rai 85. Words Of Wisdom (Dominic) 59.5 Khurshad Alam 106. Bernicia (Warren S) 58.5 Deepak Singh 1 7. Cowboy Cal (Md Khan) 58 I Chisty 98. Eastern Summit(Mahesh) 58 Chetan Kalay 7 9. Shahraan(V Lokanath) 58 MF Alikhan 6 10. Rusty(HIdayat K) 51.5 Vikas Tamang 2 Eastern Summit 1; Hotstuff 2; Cowboy Cal 3.6. Karnataka Cup (Grade III) (terms) -- 1600M: 4.00 PM1. Cardinal (Shroff) 60 B Prakash 32. Smashing (Shroff) 58.5 P Trevor 113. Southern Bay (Ganapathy) 58.5 B Sreekanth 94. Spearhead (S Attaollahi) 58 R Marshall 25. Unleashed (D Byramji) 58 Neeraj Rawal 126. String Along (Ganapathy) 57.5 DKAshish 107. Atlantus (Sharat K) 57 F Da Silva 48. Bold Police (Darashah) 57 PS Chouhan 79. Love Conquers All (Dominic) 57 Khurshad A 510. Forever Glory(Ganapathy) 56.5 Merchant 111. Practicallyperfect (Dhariwal) 55.5 Gnaneshwar 612. Silken Touch(SSAttaollahi) 54.5 I Chisty 8 Southern Bay 1; Cardinal 2; Smashing 3.7. Lumbini Stud plate (rated 60-85) -- 1600M: 4.30 pm1. Far From Over (S Komandur) 60 Christopher 82. Nadia (Neil Darashah) 57.5 Prabhakaran 93. Panamera (Dhariwal) 57.5 F Da Silva 24. Supremacy (S Attaollahi) 56 SK Das 15. Camelot (Babu Rao) 55.5 S Shiva Kumar 5 6. Dancerella (A Mangalorkar) 55.5 Neeraj Rawal 37. Arabian Gold (Dhariwal) 55 Suraj Narredu 78. Radical Attraction (Neil Darashah) 53 Gnaneshwar 49. Yamas (Manohar) 52.5 TS Jodha 6
Panamera 1; Arabian Gold 2; Radical Attraction 3.8. Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Cup (rated 40-65) -- 1400M: 5.00 pm1. Touching The Town (Padmanabhan) 62.5 Ranjeet S 32. Strides Of Glory (Nityanand) 61 A Imran K 153. Montpelier (L D'Silva) 59 IChisty 94. Shivalik Hero (M Narredu) 59 Suraj Narredu 10 5. Simply Phenomenal (Faraz Arshad) 58.5 Afsar 6 6. Six Shooter (Sharat K) 56.5 H Rathod 117. Arun (Babu Rao) 56 S Shiva Kumar 78. Meghalaya (Dhariwal) 55.5 F Da Silva 129. Cash Is King (Amit Caddy) 55 A Waheed 110. Union Jack (Faraz Arshad) 55 Neeraj Rawal 411. Dark Avenger (S Abbas) 54 AK Pawar 812. Own Asset (Ganapathy) 54 BSreekanth 1413. Little Lion(Sharat K) 53.5 Mallikarjun 214. Stellar Ambition (Dominic) 53.5 PSChouhan 515. Brownie (Lokanath) 51.5 Vinod Shinde 13
Own Asset 1; Meghalaya 2; Shivalik Hero 3.9. Prabalo Plate (rated 20-45) -- 1200M: 5.30 pm1. Super Spectacle (Faraz Arshad) 62 TS Jodha 82. Necter Crown(S Narredu) 59.5 Suraj Narredu 33. Trillion Win (Amit Caddy) 58 VR De Sousa 94. Fame And Glory(S Narredu) 57 DKAshish 55. The First Bullet(Pradeep) 57 Vivek 4 6. Blue Origin(Amit Caddy) 56.5 Vikas Tamang 117. Chantilly Jewel (Amit Caddy) 56 S Babu 78. Table Mountain (JS Pillay) 53 Prabhakaran 129. She's A Lady(WarrenS) 52.5 PS Chouhan 110. Sun In Frisco (Faraz Arshad) 52.5 Anjar Alam 611. Brigade's Paradise (Warren S) 51.5 Bhanu Pratap 212. Bolzano (Narayana Gowda) 50 Kuldeep S 10
Nectar Crown 1; She's A Lady 2; Trillion Win 3.
Day's best: Carducci.Double: Panamera and Own Asset.Jackpot: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Mini-jackpot: 2, 4, 6, 7. I treble: 3, 4, 5. II treble: 7, 8, 9. Exacta pool: 4, 6, 8, 9.

Samuels, Ramdin resist Eng

June 9, 2012, 11:33 am

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Marlon Samuels again sparkled with the bat and Denesh Ramdin made an unbeaten half-century to lead West Indies to 280 for eight on the first day of action in the third and final Test against England on Saturday.

After the opening two days were washed out by rain, Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan claimed three wickets apiece after the home team won the toss and decided to field but Samuels and Ramdin made sure West Indies chalked up a respectable score at Edgbaston.

Samuels continued his fine form in the series that helped him to get a hundred with 76 while wicketkeeper Ramdin was 60 not out at the close and Ravi Rampaul undefeated on two.

England, seeking a 3-0 sweep in the series, rested Stuart Broad having already used the rotation policy to give their other leading fast bowler James Anderson a break ahead of the tests against South Africa next month.

West Indies made four changes. Shivnarine Chanderpaul missed out with a side injury and was replaced by Narsingh Deonarine while the out of form Kirk Edwards's place was taken by debutant Assad Fudadin.

Score board

West Indies (IInnings)

Barath lbw Onions 41

Powell c Swann b Bresnan 24

Fudadin c Bell b Bresnan 28

Bravo c&b Finn 6

Samuels lbw Bresnan 76

Deonarine c Strauss b Onions 7

Ramdin (batting) 60

Sammy c Strauss b Finn 16

Narine b Onions 11

Rampaul (batting) 2

Extras (B-2, LB-6, W-1) 9

Total (8 wickets; 98 overs) 280

Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-90, 3-99, 4-128, 5-152, 6-208, 7-241, 8-267.

Bowling: Onions 24-7-56-3, Bresnan 26-8-74-3, Finn 22-6-65-2, Swann 21-5-61-0, Trott 5-1-16-0.

Cops launch search for Nithyananda

June 9, 2012, 11:33 am

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After witnessing trouble for two days, situation in and around Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam Ashram near Bidadi remained tense but under control on Saturday.

A heavy police security is present at the ashram. According to sources, additional forces are being deployed there. Ramanagara and Bidadi police officers, including Assistant Commissioner Sneha and Thasildar Ravi, visited the ashram on Saturday to monitor the situation.

As per previous agreements, police are not admitted entry inside the ashram and devotees have been instructed not to leave the safety of the ashram in the wake of prohibitory orders.

Although sporadic violence had broken out at the ashram over the last few days, Saturday passed off peacefully.

Speaking to the media, Ramanagara Superintendent of Police Anupam Agarwal said that the police have formed teams to trace the Ashram leader, Nithyananda."We are searching for him," he said, adding that reports hinting of pressure not to arrest Nithyananda were false.

No bail for activists

Meanwhile, the Ramanagar Judicial Magistrate First Class Court refused to grant bail to 15 pro-Kannada activists on Saturday. In response, activists staged a flash protest in the prison complaining of discrimination as Nithyananda's devotees had already been given bail on Friday night.

One of the activists, Raju, however, was granted interim bail as he was injured. Conditions of his release include his compulsory appearance in court on Monday.

Nithyananda, who still has not been arrested, sent a message to his devotees through his Dhyanapeetam website. He claimed to be travelling and on-tour.

"As you all know, I am away from the Bidadi ashram for the past one month after taking over as Madurai Aadheenam. I came to Bangalore for 1-2 days to take care of some important work and to clarify matters for the media though a press meet," he said.

"I heard about the problems caused in the Bidadi ashram by the anti-social elements, but thanks to the timely intervention of the Bidadi and Ramangara police, all matters are under control.

I just have one message for both my devotees and for the anti-social elements who are doing this violence to us: Nobody can stop us from doing the good spiritual and social work that we are doing. Our charitable work will continue. Annadaanam will continue in all my ashrams wherever it is possible by law."

"I have faith in the Divine, and in the law, and in the people of Karnataka. I know for sure that the Karnataka people are not opposing me, only the anti-social elements are doing this for their own vested interests and cheap publicity.

We cannot fight lawlessness with lawlessness. We will conquer lawlessness with law. Ultimately we will get justice," he added.

Nadal strong favourite to win seventh title

June 9, 2012, 11:35 am

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Novak Djokovic is the world number one, holds three major titles and is on a 27-match Grand Slam winning streak. Yet, practically no one is giving him a chance of stopping Rafael Nadal in the French Open final on Sunday.

"How discouraging it is to play Nadal on this surface?" asked American tennis great John McEnroe. "It's going to be unbelievably tough to beat this guy. I know when (Bjorn) Borg played in my day he was like the human backboard. He was faster than everyone, fitter than everyone, and you couldn't get a ball by the guy."

If Djokovic wants to avoid a panic attack or tie himself up in knots just 24 hours before the men's final, he will have to find a way to wipe out the memory bank labelled "Nadal".

The Serbian has already admitted he was "really not good with numbers" and even thought Nadal "has lost what, two matches in his career here?". For the record Nadal has lost just once since his 2005 debut, to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009, and will be going for a seventh title on Sunday.

The other numbers make grim reading for Djokovic.Nadal has a 51-1 win-loss record at Roland Garros and has dropped just 35 games to reach the final here, which is the fewest games he has ever lost en route to a Grand Slam final.He is the first man since tennis turned professional in 1968 to reach five Grand Slam finals without dropping a set. Ominously, on each occasion he has gone on to win the title.

'B'lore must have more IT product companies'

June 9, 2012, 11:57 am

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In order to secure its position as the hub of ITindustry, Bangalore must have more IT product companies, said Managing Director of SAP Labs India V R Ferose.

Delivering a special address during a seminar on "The Opportunities and Challenges in IT and ITeS in Karnataka," held as part of GIM 2012 on Friday, he said product companies can emerge only when there are a large number of start-up companies.

"We need to have at least 10,000 start-ups. The general theory is that only one per cent of start-ups will finally survive, to emerge as product companies like Apple, Twitter and Facebook," he said.

Though Bangalore is called a Silicon Valley, it was no match to the Silicon Valley of the US which has witnessed development not only in IT and ITeS sector, but also in arts and humanities.

In order to ensure that Bangalore became a Silicon Valley, multiple areas should flourish. For this, there was a need for collaboration between the companies and universities. "Nothing can happen in isolation. Collaboration is everything," he said.

Vice-Chairman and CEO of ZenSar Technologies Ganesh Natarajan, who spoke on 'Innovation in IT Services and Opportunities in and for Karnataka,' said Indian IT companies have become tactical producers of good things.

India keen on security equipment from US

June 9, 2012, 11:58 am

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The Indian Defence Ministry is eager to obtain high-tech homeland security equipment from the United States.

Speaking at the Friday session of the GIM 2012, the US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, Donald Lu, revealed that during a meeting with Defence Minister A K Antony, the biggest Indian request was for greater technological transfer between the two countries.

"When our delegation met with the Ministry last year, the first enquiry was about acquiring high-tech security equipment," Lu said. "On the commercial side, so many Indian and American companies do business that it becomes all about sharing technology and having access to a large, skilled workforce pooled from both countries."

As an example of Indian and US companies working together to produce high-class products, Lu pointed out the new Tata-Lockheed-Martin factory at Hyderabad which is to build tail sections for all future batches of C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, using US technology and skilled Indian workers.

Similar ventures would create hundreds of new jobs and economic opportunity in both the countries. The Boeing Research and Technology Centre in Bangalore which is developing cutting-edge technology for the global market is another example of the US-India technological partnership, he added.

Theatre personality Enagi Nataraj no more

June 9, 2012, 11:59 am

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Dharwad Rangayana director and noted theatre personality Enagi Nataraj (54) died at a private nursing home in Hubli on Saturday morning following a brief illness.

He is survived by his father nonagenarian theatre personality Enagi Balappa, mother Laxmidevi, wife and two sons.

Nataraj was suffering from complications related to liver and kidney and was being treated at a private nursing home for the last few days.

The mortal remains of Nataraj were kept on the Rangayana campus in Dharwad for the public to pay their last respects.

Dignitaries, artistes, writers and others paid their last respects to the departed theatre activist. The last rites will be performed at his native, Enagi village in Bailhongal taluk of Belgaum district.

Nataraj was a gifted actor and he inherited the acting talent from his father Enagi Balappa, who owned a professional theatre company which toured the State.

Nataraj's maiden performance as a child artiste, was in the play 'Basaveshwara Mahatme.' He was a trainee from the first batch of Ninasam of Heggodu.

Excellent performances

He carved a niche for himself through his performances in Kannada plays - 'Haddu Needida Haadi', 'Nata Samrat', 'Jagajyoti Basaveshwara', 'Burjwa Gentleman', 'Policeriddare Echharike' and 'Oedipus' among others. He had started a theatre troupe 'Mela,' but it was shortlived. After taking up business for a few years, Nataraj returned to acting and worked with actor-director Nagabharana as an associate for 15 years in cinema.

He worked at Rangayana Mysore and Calicut University, Kerala as an acting teacher for a few years before turning to the small screen. Serials 'Mahanavami', 'Sankranti', 'Naku Tanti', 'Kinnari' and 'Idu Entha Lokavayya' made Nataraj a household name in Karnataka and elsewhere. He has also acted in films 'Bheema Teeradalli', 'Savitri', 'Neela' and 'Singaravva Mattu Aramane.'

He was also a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Karnataka Nataka Academy award. After Dharwad Rangayana was made an autonomous unit, Nataraj was appointed as its director last year.

Urban Development Minister Suresh Kumar, District In-Charge Minister Jagadish Shettar, MPPrahlad Joshi, MLAChandrakanth Bellad and others paid tributes to the departed soul.

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Master plan ready to make City flood-free

June 9, 2012, 12:22 pm

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The BBMP has prepared a grand plan to save Bangaloreans from rain woes during monsoon by revamping storm water drains.

However, residents will have to wait for another five years to see it becoming a reality.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, BBMP Chief Engineer (storm water drains) H C Ananthaswamy said the master plan for revamping storm water drains in the City has been recently approved by Palike's Technical Advisory Committee.

It will be sent to the State government after discussing at the BBMP Council. The idea behind the project is to make Bangalore flood-free. Scientific methods will be followed in deciding the width of the SWD, depth, silt accumulation and retaining wall.

Sources in the BBMP said the master plan involves revamping of SWD extending up to a length of 856 km across the City.

The cost of revamping the storm water drains in greater Bangalore is estimated at Rs 3,500 crore and the Palike plans to spend Rs 521 crore on revamping the drains in the core city, said a senior official.

Ananthaswamy added that it will take five years for the project to be completed and it is different from the SWD remodelling work already being implemented under JNNURM.

However, promises made by the authorities on making Bangalore flood-free are yet to be fulfilled. In 2010, the then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had assured Bangaloreans that encroachments on main SWDs would be removed.

In 2011, BBMPhad claimed that it would come out with an action plan to find a permanent solution to flooding.

Over Rs 400 crore has already been spent on remodelling SWDs in Koramangala, Hebbala, Challaghatta and Mysore Road.

Waifs and strays play truant

June 9, 2012, 12:25 pm

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Mattresses and blankets rolled up to the sides of the wall, little children playing about, clothes hung across lines, old women selling leafy vegetables, and stray dogs outside.

Welcome to the shelter for the homeless, many of which are run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) engaged by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

A reality check of how many of these shelters function revealed the upsides and downsides. Parivartana Rural Development and Women Empowerment Society, an NGO, manages two such shelters — at Dasarahalli and Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Narasimhamurthy J, the NGO director, says basic facilities are provided to the homeless people at the shelter.

Surabhi Foundation Trust, another NGO, is in charge of two other shelters at Vasanthpur and Kothanur Dinne.

Shivabasavayya, Bommanahalli Zone Joint Commissioner, says, "We conduct a survey twice a month and find people who have no roof to stay under.

The occupants of these shelters are provided with one meal in the morning, which comes through Iskcon." The shelter also houses children, for whom tuitions are arranged in the evenings. Teachers from the NGO have been appointed for the purpose, he adds.

Both the shelters, known as Samudhaya Bhavan, have been functioning since September 2011. Each shelter can accommodate 25 to 30 people and usually there are around 15 regular occupants. There are separate toilets and bathrooms for men and women, mattresses, and round-the-clock security guards.

For security reasons, each occupant is provided with an ID card to be presented at the shelter gate. The NGO says the occupants are offered weekly health checkups by nurses from nearby hospitals, and at monthly health camps.

The shelters were built to house people found sleeping on roads, park benches and living in roadside tents. But NGOs find it tough to convince them to stay in shelters.

There is also the problem of filtering the genuinely homeless from those who actually run away and return home the next day. Surveys are beset by this confusion.
N Nagaraj, caretaker at the Palike's Dasarahalli Zone shelter, says, "We face problems trying to convince people to stay at the shelter as they are afraid they might be misled.

Some people even tell us they will return the next day, but they never come back." Moreover, there are families with about 15 members who do not co-operate, as they are afraid of being separated from each other. Instead, they demand independent houses for themselves. Others are apprehensive as the fear ill treatment."

Even if they choose to stay at the shelter, they find it difficult to adjust, and make up excuses to leave. The people who do occupy the shelter for a month or so, spend their daily wages on alcohol and return drunk.

According to Nagesh from Surabhi Foundation Trust at the Kothanur shelter, "the occupants spend 50 per cent of their wages on alcohol. They enter the shelter drunk and create problems."

Some shelters have used the space to accommodate an appropriate number of people while others have not managed to completely utilise the given space. The shelter at Kothanur, for example, has two rooms, of which the smaller one is where the 25 occupants sleep.

The other room is a classroom for children, which is used for only a few hours every evening. "If more homeless people are found, then another building will be built for the purpose," says Shivabasavaiyya.

The NGO running the Dasarahalli shelter has sought beds and lockers for the occupants. At the Bommanahalli shelter, a proposal has been made to build a permanent building with recreation facilities. The NGO is in talks with the government authorities to provide the shelter's permanent occupants with voter ID cards and ration cards.

This is aimed at making their living more beneficial, not just for themselves, but also to society.

Homeless many, shelters few

June 9, 2012, 12:26 pm

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People sleeping on pavements is something that should have worried the City's municipal agencies. It had not.

They had to be woken up by the Supreme Court about two-and-a-half years ago. Have they woken up to the cries of the homeless? Can the provisions under Article 21 of the Constitution emerge from the heavy pages they are buried in?

"The problem is more complex than you perceive it to be," a joint commissioners of BBMP, the agency responsible for providing shelter to the homeless, said.

Not only has the Palike been lagging behind in providing shelters, but it is also found that the five operational shelters are also not in ideal locations. Having taken this point, the Advisor to the Commissioners of the Supreme Court, Clifton Rozario, has submitted a report to the effect of an action plan.

To effectively implement the project, the Palike has been advised to first conduct surveys to determine the areas of high homeless concentration. Then, it can conduct a round of interviews with the local NGOs working in the area of homeless in the City.

"Once the list is compiled, the City should be divided into smaller regions in line with the administrative set-up for easy co-ordination with the government at later stages," Clifton said.

It would be useful first to constitute survey teams - about 15 for Bangalore -plus an attached data entry and analysis team with each teams consisting around four persons each for the survey, a combination of state and local government officials, NGO representatives, homeless youth volunteers, and student and youth volunteers.

The role of the teams would be to identify groups of homeless persons in numbers of 25 or more so as to justify building a shelter. These will be mapped on the City map which they carry. As far as possible, they will hold group discussions with larger clusters of homeless persons.

"Once the survey locations with high homeless concentrations have been identified, the teams must identify the areas with high concentration of homeless and categorise them into large, medium and small. Profiling the populations in these concentrations in terms of gender, earning, including occupational categories, is also essential," the report said.

Palike officials said they were in the process of implementing many of the committee's recommendations and that the City's homeless would soon see a series of shelters coming up.

A joint inspection committee (JIC) set up by the Supreme Court, comprising Clifton Rozario, Rajani, Kshitij Urs, K Venkatesh, Lakshpathi and Veeraiah, found that the shelters constructed by the Palike were not in the vicinity of the areas inhabited by the homeless.

The committee, which has submitted a set of guidelines to the Palike, has identified many such areas in the City that need immediate attention. The Palike currently has set up only five shelters accommodating about 200 of the close to 18,000 recognised homeless and lakhs of the others in the City.

Clifton said: "The BBMP had to provide such facilities even under the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act. They did not do that and even after the Supreme Court direction, there seems to be a general apathy towards the problem which is hard to digest."

Sleeping rough, living tough

June 9, 2012, 12:29 pm

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It was 12.03 am and the pavements under either side of the flyover in City Market were slowly warming up to shelter the homeless after taking the load from vendors through the day.

The monsoon having made its way, pavements under the flyover are coveted spots.But the sidewalks along the road and other corners were left abandoned as they did not have shelters above them.

"Bangalore has two worlds. One that you (government, people) know, and another that you ignore," said Gowda, who spends the day clearing garbage and the night, waiting for dawn.

As the last of vehicles reach garages to rest, rough-sleepers like Gowda battle the City's 'wilderness', invisible to the rich and unimportant for the middle class. Subject to hostile weather, they take shelter under tarpaulin sheets and torn bedsheets.

Having been through the day's drudgery, they wait for dawn with impatience and the weary night to end under flyovers, bus stop shelters and awnings of buildings.

Gowda, who had just slid under the many unmanned carts parked near the mosque in City Market, obliged to speak. Like most shelterless people, he was not informed of any of the five shelters the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) operates for people like him.

"Of course, I will go and sleep there. Why would I want to suffer here if I am provided a place to sleep," he asked, pulling the collars of his shirt towards his ears and unable to resist from turning towards the beef being fried on grills by Mushtaq Khan. The night was chilly and Gowda fell asleep, as the aroma of the fried meat slowly waned.

Afew yards away, opposite the mosque, Maulana, 47, gently massaged his left lower hip and yawned. "Maulana ko masjid mein jagah nahi hain (The mosque has no space for this maulana)," a passerby joked.

He was uncared for and his kidney problem had been troubling him for weeks. "You will come here for a day, buy me food and talk to me. Would you do this always," he asked, indicating there had been several people who had visited him, just like they had the burqa-clad Muslim woman and many others who spend the night covering themselves with discarded waste.

But nothing has changed the way Maulana lives. Like Gowda and him, many a homeless are denied not only citizenship but also participation in decision-making and opportunities for secure tenure rights, credit, basic education, healthcare, water and sanitation.

President Pratibha Patil, in her address to Parliament on March 16, 2012, had said:"The needs of the urban homeless and destitute are of the highest priority for my government, and I am happy to announce a new scheme called the 'National Programme for the Urban Homeless' that would help create a network of composite shelters in urban local bodies, with adequate provisions for housing and food for the destitute."

Let us not mistake her for having discovered the homeless and initiated a programme from thin air. The programme, at best, only indicates that the country, and Bangalore, have failed in their duties. But the bright side of the story is that the government has begun doing something now, although not before the Supreme Court's intervention in January 2010 when it issued directives to all State governments to provide shelter for the homeless.

It must be understood that mere shelters are not a solution to the problems of the urban homeless. What they require is access to affordable housing, public services and decriminalised, safe and dignified livelihoods.

But shelters are the very first step in their journey to pull themselves out of hopeless poverty. As the homeless shrink under the tarpaulins in City Market, one of the main hubs for waifs and strays, Shivajinagar, another such place more vibrant at nights, has them loitering around the many 'addas', drinking tea and smoking.

There was still time before they chose their bylanes to spend the night... it was only 1.40 am. Nanjundappa, a cart-puller, waited impatiently outside Savera, a popular tea joint. "The night just does not end here, and I have to go to work by 4 in the morning."

After 44 years of sleeping on the streets, ask him if he would use a night shelter, and he says: "I might not have a house, but I have my dignity. I have never begged for alms and I will not allow anybody to treat me like a beggar."

The fear of the anti-beggary drive in the City has put a fear so irreversible in many that the Palike's efforts in wooing them to stay in one of its shelters has not been successful. That there were a series of deaths reported in the Beggars' Colony has not helped.

A few kilometres from Shivajinagar, Maithili and her four children are huddled together on the pavement opposite the East Railway Station, behind a hospital for the mentally challenged. "I'll go," Maithili said, when she was given an option of a shelter. She said this, wiping her son Vijay's nose with one hand and pointing at the corner of the pavement where she takes bath.

"There are no facilities to wash ourselves, even though there are women living here. The government officials say we need to have an ID proof for them to provide us the facilities. I did not know about these night shelters," she said.

In Viveknagar, Balakrishna clears his routine corner on the pavement opposite the Infant Jesus Church as 'his' stray dog completes his customary security check, sniffing the co-occupants, unattended baggage and even passersby.He did not know about the shelters for the homeless, or the Supreme Court directive.

How would he? But he knew the country is losing a lot due to money laundering and black money.

"Nothing will change here sir. I've seen it all. Nobody cares about the poor, the rich do not want to come anywhere near us and that's why nothing will change," he quipped. His observations might not be far-fetched.

A sociology professor, quoting American social scientist Charles Murray, said: "The solution to closing the widening chasm between the well-to-do and the poor is to encourage them to live nextdoor to one other. Presumably, by living in the same neighbourhoods as the upper class, the poor would - by something akin to osmosis - acquire the habits of success."

That night though, Balakrishna - just like lakhs of shelterless in the City - slept hearing the wind moan, crouching for warmth beneath his bedsheet.
There are many questions the homeless have for the government, but nothing spoken aloud.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike - responsible for providing shelters for such people - has been lagging behind. It has been able to operationalise only five to six shelters (read accompanying story). They too are struggling to retain people.

Shankarlinge Gowda, Commissioner, BBMP, says: "We have no problems funding such shelters. In fact, a circular has already been issued to all the joint commissioners (welfare) to see to it that they initiate the process of identifying properties that may be converted into shelters or land where they could be built."

But this is little hope for the shelterless, given the Palike's reputation. They do not even complain, as being poor, they only have their dreams of a roof over their heads.

Kerala capital imposes ban to tackle fever

June 9, 2012, 12:33 pm

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Keeping in mind the escalating number of viral fevers with the onset of South West monsoon, the district administration here has decided to tackle the menace by imposing ban orders on those responsible for disposing wastes carelessly.

District Collector K N Satheesh enforced prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC on Friday to enable hassle-free movement of garbage and take to task those throwing waste wantonly, causing public health problems.

Under the orders, anyone dumping waste in public will face stringent action, including arrest and non-bailable charges. The measure is mainly meant against illegal slaughter houses, vegetable vendors and way-side eateries, who throw waste generated by them around without public concern.

"We issued orders using legal provisions which empower the Collector to impose Sec 144, whenever public health is threatened," he said.

Minister shared dais with NRI jailed for sexual offence

June 9, 2012, 12:34 pm

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Harbinder Singh Rana, controversial NRI, was seen with Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur at a polo event in Delhi in December last.

Rana was imprisoned for sexually assaulting a woman in 1980s. His presence at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Thames River pageant had irked Prince Charles. So furious was the Prince that he inquired from his staff that how Rana managed to get so close to him.

Kaur was the chief guest at the Saragarhi Polo Challenge Cup 2011 organized by Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail, which was formed by Harbinder Singh Rana.

The match played between the British Army and Sherdils, comprising only Sikh players, was held at the Jaipur Polo grounds in Delhi on December 3 last year.

Both Rana and Kaur were on the podium when the winning trophy was handed over to the Indian team Sherdils as they trounced the British Army 7-3.

Rana is the brain behind the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail that holds the annual match. The polo competition, which has become part of the prestigious polo calendar, is organised to commemorate the valour of the Sikhs who lost their lives to save the British army's hold on the outpost of Saragarhi in 1897.

Prince Charles had graced the inaugural match held in London two years ago which was won by the British Army.

Rana was sentenced to prison in 1986 by a UK court for posing as doctor and sexually attacking women.

His presence during the Thames boat parade to mark the 60th year of Queen Elizabeth's reign came as a serious embarrassment to the Royal family.

A livid Prince Charles was said to have banned Rana from future Royal functions.Kaur was not immediately available for comments on the incident but her office said she was in Punjab.

Calls to her Patiala residence also went unanswered.Kaur is wife of former Congress Punjab chief minister Amrinder Singh. In her profile posted on the government websites, she is shown as a member of golf clubs in Patiala and Chandigarh and chairperson of Patiala Polo Riding Club.

Rs 54 crore siezed ahead of AP bypolls

June 9, 2012, 12:38 pm

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A total sum of Rs 54 crore including Rs 42 crore in cash have been seized during the poll checks from 12 districts of Andhra Pradesh where one Parliament and 18 Assembly seats are scheduled to go for the by-poll on June 12.

Disclosing this to the media on Saturday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Bhanwar Lal said that 138 companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been pressed into service in all the 5,400 polling stations including 3,200 sensitive ones. Nearly, 5,000 persons have been taken into custody, 34,000 persons were issued bind over notices, and two lakh litres of liquor and 750 vehicles were also seized.

The CEO said, in total, 95 per cent voters' slips have been distributed to 46 lakh electorates; around 5,500 students of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) have been roped in to monitor and supervise live web-casting in those polling stations where connectivity has been made possible. He said the Congress leader and actor Chiranjeevi has also been issued a notice for violation of election code for making religious comments against YSRC president Jaganmohan Reddy.

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Govt moves SC against quashing of sub-quota

June 9, 2012, 12:39 pm

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The Centre has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court order setting aside 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities within the 27 per cent OBC reservation in Central educational institutes.

A vacation bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar would take up the special leave petition for hearing on Monday.

R Krishnaiah, who had challenged the Centre's notification in the AP HC, had already filed a caveat, urging the apex court not to pass any order in the case without giving an opportunity of hearing him.

According to the Union government, the HC had taken an "erroneous view" in quashing the sub-quota provision for minorities. It claimed the decision was taken following the extensive survey.

A bench of AP HC's Chief Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Sanjay Kumar had on May 28 set aside the carving out of a sub-quota of 4.5 per cent in favour of backward classes belonging to minorities out of the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs.

"In the case at hand, what the Centre has essentially done is to cull out religious minorities - Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) and "designate" them as more backward amongst the Other Backward Classes. In view of the law laid down, in our opinion, one of the reasons why the Office Memorandums should be struck down is that while issuing them, the National Commission for Backward Classes has been ignored and by-passed by the Centre in culling out some categories of citizens from the OBC class. This is impermissible," the HC had said.

The Centre had issued the office memorandums and resolution on December 22 giving sub quota reservation to religious minorities ahead of the state assembly elections.

Cop, student end lives

June 9, 2012, 12:41 pm

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A head constable in Koramangala and a student in Adugodi allegedly committed suicide in separate incidents Saturday morning.

Narayan Naik, 56, a head constable attached to the first battalion of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP)was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his quarter in KSRP quarters in Kormangala in Madivala police limits on Saturday morning.

Narayan from Kornahalli in Magadi taluk was deputed to Bangalore four months ago. He is survived by a daughter, who is married, and two sons, one pursuing engineeering and another into sand business.

Police said his family members found the father hanging from a celing fan in his room around 5.30 am. The reason for the suicide is yet to be ascertained, the y said.

In another incident, a 16-year-old girl, who had failed in the recent SSLC examination, was found dead with burns.

Shobha, a resident of EWS quarters in Koramangala, opposite National Games village, had failed in Kannada, English and Mathematics and was preparing for the supplementary examination, said police.

Her father works with a gas agency while her mother is a domeistic help. Shobha, who was depressed to see her friends and classmates going to college, set herself ablaze after her parents and younger brother left home at 8.30 am.

The neighbours heard her cries and broke open the door. But, she was charred beyond recognition by then, the police said.

Toxic waste disposal, partial solution: NGOs

June 9, 2012, 12:49 pm

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Voluntary groups fighting for the Bhopal gas tragedy survivors have said the decision of the Group of Ministers (GoM) to dispose of Union Carbide toxic waste to Germany was only a partial solution to the decades-old problem.

The GoM decision is a partial solution as it will take care of only the toxic waste lying in Union Carbide premises. Toxic waste is also lying outside the plant, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan Convener Abdul Jabbar told PTI onSaturday.

Even after the decision, much of the waste would not be discarded. The government move does not address all problems related to the waste disposal, he said. The decision may have been taken ahead of the London Olympics (where Dow Chemical which bought Union Carbide is one of the sponsors) to show that the Government was doing something in the matter, the activist said.

Even after more than 27 years of the world's worst industrial disaster, the Central Government has still not been able to do anything concrete for the gas victims, Jabbar said.The Sangathan Convener asserted that the Centre still wants to give the message that multinational companies can do anything and get away with it.

Gorkha Morcha threatens to renew stir

June 9, 2012, 12:53 pm

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Upset over a high-power committee's report on additional areas to be included into the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in northern West Bengal, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Saturday threatened to launch a protest agitation.

Going a step further, a faction of a tribal outfit active in the Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas) region of north Bengal said the demand for a "Gorkhaland state" would be revived. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged the GJM to accept the report.

"During the GTA agreement it was decided that all the parties - the state and the central governments and GJM - will abide by whatever recommendations the high-powered committee makes," Banerjee told the media.

"I, therefore, urge all to abide by its decisions. There is no scope for misunderstanding," she said. The 10-member committee, headed by Justice (retd.) Shyamal Kumar Sen, Friday night submitted the report which was read out to reporters by Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh Saturday.

The committee was set up July 29 last year after the GJM demanded 398 additional mouzas (area less than a sub-division) spread over Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts to be included in the GTA — a new hill council that would run the administration in Darjeeling area.

It is armed with more powers than its predecessor, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), formed in the 1980s.

The committee, which considered parameters such as homogeneity (whether over 50 percent of the mouza's population was Gorkha), geographical contiguity, compactness and ground reality, said only two mouzas in Jalpaiguri and three in Darjeeling fulfilled all the criteria for being part of the GTA. Ghosh said the government has not finalised its stand on the report. "I've come to merely brief you on the report's contents," he said.

He said though members of the GJM and the state government were members of the panel, it had been decided that they would not be part of the committee's decision-making process which was left to Justice Sen.

The GJM was left fuming after knowing contents of the report."The recommendation is a farce. We do not accept this. The people of (Darjeeling Hills) are with us. We will go on a stir. We were hoping to get over 150 mouzas," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said.

Girl gets bail in murder of ex-boyfriend's aide

June 9, 2012, 12:56 pm

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The 7th ACMM court in the City has granted conditional interim bail to Sushma, the student who had tried to get her estranged boyfriend, Manjunath, murdered through supari killers. However, the killers had managed to murder his aide, Ali Hussain.

The defence advocate appealed to the court to release Sushma on conditional bail till June 22, as she has to appear for her I year BBM supplementary exams in MES college.

Sushma has to appear before the locality police daily and should surrender before the court on June 22, after the exams conclude.

However, the police suspect the veracity of the claim. A senior police officer told Deccan Herald that their enquiries with Bangalore University revealed that no undergraduate exams were scheduled on the said dates. A senior official said he would visit the MES college on Monday and verify the claim.

Sushma was recently arrested in connection with the murder of Hussain, whose body was found dumped in Doddaballapur. The police arrested Sushma and four other suspects. The police are also questioning the girl's mother about whether she had any clue of her daughter's plan and whether she had a role in it.

The girl gave a supari for Rs five lakh to kill Manjunath and Hussain. She had paid Rs 50,000 as advance and had promised to pay the rest of the amount once the killing was executed.

The deal also included the advocate's fees to be borne to fight their case, if they were arrested, besides arranging for bail. The family had recently received Rs 20 lakh as the share of JSrinivas, Sushma's father's, after his brothers sold a family land near Devanahalli. Srinivas, a Vellore-based landlord, died six months ago.

Srinivas had gifted her an SUV after she passed II PUC. He had also appointed Manjunath her driver. Cupid struck the two and Sushma eloped with Manjunath twice in the past one year. But her father dissuaded her from the relationship and sacked Manjunath.

She distanced herself from Manjunath after her father's death. But, he began to stalk her. He got Hussain to track her movements and report to him. According to police, the duo started blackmailing Sushma to marry Manjunath or they would make public photographs of Sushma with him in compromising positions. They also threatened an acid attack on her.

Sushma narrated this to Vijay, one of her friends. Vijay suggested that the duo be murdered. He contacted his friend Ajay Kumar, a rowdy in Basaveshwaranagar, and a deal was struck.

But the execution of the killing went awry at the last minute when Manjunath jumped out of the SUV when the four hired killers got into the car. They managed to murder Hussain.