Mangaluru: Edu dept official transferred over removal of teacher for alleged 'communal remarks'
Mangaluru, Feb 14: The government has transferred D Ramachandra Naik, deputy director of public instruction (DDPI) in Dakshina Kannada district, apparently in view of the controversy over the removal of a teacher from a private school in the city following her alleged ant-Hindu' remarks in the class room.
Naik has been transferred as a lecturer at a government teachers' college in Belagavi, an official communique said.
He has been replaced by Venkatesh Subraya Patagara, who has been serving as the deputy director (planning) at the office of the additional commissioner, school education department at Kalaburagi.
The transfers have been made with immediate effect, the statement said.
ALSO READ: Cong demands fact-finding team to probe Mangaluru teacher's dismissal over 'anti-Hindu' remarks
Though it mentions that the transfer is part of a broader administrative reshuffling, there are clear indications that the shuffling has been ordered following the controversy surrounding the recent expulsion of a teacher at St Gerosa English school in the city.
A section of teachers and the public were unhappy with the DDPI for the manner in which it handled the allegation against the teacher of hurting the sentiments of a particular religious group.
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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.
