Mangaluru: Mangaluru city police commissioner Sandeep Patil has ordered the suspension of Surathkal inspector Ramakrishna on charges of failing to track down marijuana operatives in the limits of Surathkal police station.

The police commissioner had instructed the authorities to take stringent action against the increasing number of cases related to ganja and cattle theft within the city police commissioner's jurisdiction.

But the Surathkal inspector has been accused of not taking these instructions seriously. Besides, when the public complained about a fraud case of a financial institution, the inspector is said to have refused to register the complaint. When this matter came to the notice of the Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil, he took the stern action against the inspector.

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Belagavi: Every evening at 7 pm, a siren rings out in Halaga, a village near Belagavi, signalling residents to switch off all screens including televisions, mobile phones, laptops and tablets for the next two hours.

The community has voluntarily adopted this “digital-free time” to help students focus on studies and to encourage families to spend more time talking to each other. The 'digital detox' initiative, 'No TV, no mobile, just study and conversation', is said to be the first such to be adopted by a Karnataka village, Deccan Herald reported on Monday.

According to the report, Halaga, which has a population of about 12,000 and is located close to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, launched the initiative on December 17. A siren installed at the gram panchayat office marks the start of the no-screen period at 7 pm, and another siren at 9 pm signals its end.

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Gram panchayat authorities are reaching out to those residents who are yet to comply and are urging them to stay away from screen during the two hours.

Authorities are also visiting households that have not fully adopted the practice and are encouraging parents to follow the routine strictly. Teachers and panchayat members plan to continue meeting families to ensure more participation.

The Halaga village exercise is said to be inspired by a similar experiment in Agran Dhulgaon near Sangli in Maharashtra which had a positive response on students' learning habits.