Dharmasthala case: SIT files charge sheet, six accused named
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): The SIT investigating the allegations of multiple murders, rapes and burials in the temple town of Dharmasthala, has submitted the charge sheet before a court in Dakshina Kannada district, police sources said.
The Special Investigation Team submitted the 3,900-page report to the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Beltangady on Thursday, under Section 215 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), naming six persons as accused, they said.
Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, Girish Mattannavar, T Jayanth, Vittal Gowda -- activists who had earlier backed the registration of the FIR in the case -- also Sujatha Bhat and one more person (reportedly complainant Chinnaiah), have been named as the accused.
A controversy erupted after a man, identified as C N Chinnaiah and arrested on charges of perjury, claimed burying many bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of two decades, with the implications pointing towards the administrators of the local temple.
The SIT, formed by the state government, has conducted excavations at multiple locations identified by the complainant in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains were found at two sites.
Later, the SIT recently again recovered some skeletal remains during a search operation in the Banglegudde forest area near the Nethravathi bathing ghat.
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2 days' WFH for govt offices, Metro use by ministers: Delhi CM's call for fuel conservation
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday announced a slew of measures including two days of 'work from home' (WFH) for government offices, use of Metro trains on Mondays by ministers and officers, and a voluntary 'no-vehicle day' every week.
Gupta said in a press conference attended by her Cabinet colleagues that the government has drawn an extensive plan under "Mera Bharat, Mera Yogdan" to implement the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saving fuel and wise expenditure.
She said all Delhi government offices will follow WFH two days a week. The private sector will also be requested to follow it, she said.
Gupta said all ministers, officers and she herself will use Metro for commuting on Mondays while people will be requested to observe 'no-vehicle day' every week.
The government has also decided to cancel all official foreign visits by ministers for one year while no big events will be hosted by it for the next three months, she said.
The chief minister said petrol and diesel quotas of the Delhi government officers have also been slashed by 20 per cent.
Earlier, Gupta headed a meeting with all her Cabinet ministers and senior officers of the government to discuss ways to save fuel and other resources amid global uncertainty over crude oil and gas supplies.
The chief minister has also cut down on her carcade by 60 per cent, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to people to spend wisely and save fuel in view of the war in West Asia.
The chief minister's convoy now has only four vehicles, including two EVs.
