Kasaragod: In a tragic incident, a 20-year-old MBBS student lost her life after losing control of her scooter, causing it to overturn when it hit a road pothole.

The deceased student has been identified as Shivani Baliga (20), daughter of Mahesh Chandra Baliga who was the former president of Kannur Chamber of Commerce, and resided near St. Michael's School, Kannur.

Shivani was pursuing her MBBS studies at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal. 

The tragic accident occurred on Sunday night at Pilikunje, along Chandragiri Road in Kasaragod. Shivani suffered severe injuries when her scooter plunged into the pothole. She was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Mangaluru, However, she did not respond to the treatment resulting in her tragic demise on Monday evening. 

Meanwhile, Kasaragod police have registered a case in connection with the incident and are investigating.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.