Karnataka: Missing for 2 days, 60-year-old comes out alive after jumping into river
Bengaluru, Aug 14: The raging Kapila river in Karnataka's Mysuru district could send shivers to anyone, but not Venkatesh Murthy, a sexagenarian priest.
As the floodgates of the Kabini reservoir was opened, water inundated the Nanjangud town, 169 km southwest of Bengaluru. Many people had to take shelter in the relief camps leaving their belongings behind.
While others were in tears, Murthy saw an opportunity to challenge the swollen Kapila. On Saturday morning, Murthy took a plunge into the furious river and remained missing for more than two days.
The video of Murthy's daredevil act went viral on social media and many speculated that he was no more. News channels, too, counted him in the list of the flood victims. Murthy's family searched for him, but to no avail.
But, defying all the reports about him, Murthy emerged on Monday, much to the amazement of people. "Yes, he is alive. He had come to the police station in the evening," a Nanjangud rural police station officer told PTI.
This daredevilry and his safe return did not surprise his sister Manjula, who says this was not the first time that Murthy had jumped into the river. "He has been doing it for the past 25-30 years," she told PTI.
Though Manjula was confident of Murthy's return, his disappearance for two days left her worried.
"Never ever he took more than half-an-hour to return safe," she said. "This time he was trapped at a pillar of Hejjige bridge and remained there for two days."
People standing on the Hejjige bridge saw Murthy in the river on Saturday and tried to save him by throwing the rope. But on seeing him disappearing in the strong current of Kapila, they concluded he was no more.
"I usually swam from the middle of the pillars, but the current was so strong that I opted to hold the pillar. That was a mistake as I was trapped in the weeds stuck there," Murthy told a news channel.
Somehow, he managed to climb on the chamber of the bridge and remained there for 60 hours and came out from there once the flood receded.
Defying his age, the temple priest had travelled across the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari covering a distance of 10,000 km a few years ago on his battered bicycle.
The rains and flood have wreaked havoc in several districts of Karnataka, with the toll rising to 54 and nearly four lakh people lodged in relief camps. The situation improved on Tuesday with water receding in the affected areas.
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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
