Bengaluru govt hospital compound wall collapse: Kharge asks govt to take precautions
Kalaburagi (Karnataka) (PTI): AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, do not repeat.
Seven people, including a child, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall of the city's Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital collapsed due to heavy rains in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
"As per one version, it was an old compound, another version is that it was not constructed properly....I have seen that there are cracks in the compound. I have spoken to people there, the compound has to be repaired, and the street vendors and others who have been affected should be given compensation," Kharge said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said street vendors should not be allowed to do business next to the compounds.
"This is happening everywhere, even in Kalaburagi, where they (street vendors) sell on footpaths. If we say anything against it, they accuse us of disrupting their livelihood, but they should understand that they should not cause inconvenience to other citizens in cities," he said, as he urged the municipalities to allocate suitable places for street vendors and help them.
Kharge said the incident that happened in Bengaluru may occur in other places too, and the government should take precautions.
"They should try to help the street vendors and small businessmen," he added.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered an inquiry into the compound wall collapse incident and announced Rs 5 lakh solatium to the kin of each deceased.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
