Mangaluru, May 15: An FIR has been registered at the Mangaluru South Police Station against three individuals and a news website for allegedly spreading false and provocative content involving Kannada daily Vartha Bharati and "Operation Sindoor".
The complaint was lodged by B.M. Basheer, News Editor of Vartha Bharati, who sought legal action against those misusing his name, the name of the newspaper, and "Operation Sindoor" to circulate misleading and defamatory content.
According to the complaint, a Facebook post by Nithin Shamanur titled ‘Operation Sindoor: Kannada Journalist’s brother’s wife Finished’ contained false information and featured a photograph of a woman and soldiers. This same post was allegedly shared by two others — Santosh Hegade and Bettampady Chandra — on their Facebook profiles. In addition, the same content was reportedly published by the website newsputtur.com.
Basheer stated that the news being circulated is completely baseless and inflammatory, and accused the individuals involved of attempting to mislead the public. He warned that such content could spark unrest, especially in the already sensitive environment of coastal Karnataka.
“This baseless and provocative misinformation in the name of ‘Operation Sindoor’ is misleading the public and has the potential to incite unrest in society,” said Basheer in his complaint. “Given the already sensitive atmosphere in coastal Karnataka due to recent developments, such rumors are likely to further destabilize the situation.”
He demanded strict legal action against Nithin Shamanur, Santosh Hegade, Bettampady Chandra, and the editor of newsputtur.com, including registration of a criminal case and a thorough investigation into the matter.
Acting on the complaint, the Mangaluru South Police have registered an FIR against all four accused under relevant sections for allegedly spreading false, defamatory, and inflammatory content online. Further investigation is underway.
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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
