Surathkal action committee to join protest against toll hike at Hejamadi
Mangaluru, Nov 30: The action committee against Surathkal toll gate, which is winding up its month-long agitation against toll collection on Wednesday, will join the protest against increased toll collection at the Hejamadi toll gate.
With the closure of the Surathkal toll gate by Wednesday midnight, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to collect the same toll collected at Surathkal from Hejamadi toll plaza in addition to the existing rates at the gate.
In a statement here, action committee convenor Muneer Katipalla said the people have unitedly won the battle against the Surathkal toll gate. However, the decision to collect the same toll at Hejamadi, which is located in Udupi district, is proof of the failure of the elected representatives of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, he said.
He said the committee members will join the proposed protest against the increased toll collection at Hejamadi on Friday.
Though the process of the merger of the two toll gates began 10 months back, the people's representatives were in the dark about the proposal to collect the fee at Hejamadi, he said.
Katipalla said it is the collective failure of the people's representatives from both the districts who did not protest against the NHAI's decision.
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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.
