IAS officer begins probe into St. Gerosa School row
Mangaluru: IAS officer Akash Shankar has started the probe into the recent controversy at the St. Gerosa Higher Primary School in the city, on Monday.
The Karnataka Government had on Saturday appointed Akash Shankar, who also serves as the Additional Commissioner of the department of school education and literacy, Kalaburagi Division to conduct a probe into the matter.
Speaking to the media after having a discussion with officials at the Deputy Director of Public Instruction office (DDPI) at the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat building, he said that he has already collected preliminary information about the incident.
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“Investigation into the matter will be done step by step, and an investigation report will be submitted to the government soon,” he added.
Earlier this month, an English teacher of the St. Gerosa Higher Primary School was accused of making disparaging comments about Hindu religious practices and political leaders. The row futher sparked, with pro-Hindutva outfits and local BJP MLA’s staging a protest outside the school in Jeppu.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
