KSAT upholds suspension of three officers in Attibele fire incident
Bengaluru, Dec 5: The Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal (KSAT) has upheld the suspension of three officers in connection with the blaze at a firecracker shop and godown at Attibele that claimed 17 lives in October.
The three - Tahasildar of Anekal Shashidhar Madyal, Attibele Circle Revenue Inspector Pushparaj and Attibele Revenue Circle village accountant Bhagesh Hosamani - had approached the KSAT against the government order of October 10.
They were accused of failing to properly conduct the spot inspection and verification of the place where Ramaswamy Reddy was given licence to sell green' firecrackers.
Precautionary measures including fire extinguishers were not in place leading to the incident, government advocate G Ramesh Naik argued before the KSAT bench.
Senior counsel PS Rajagopal appeared for the applicants and presented their case.
However, the bench did not find fault with the government order of suspension and rejected the three applications.
Balaji Cracker Shop at Attibele caught fire on October 7. The blaze and explosions left many workers from Tamil Nadu who were unloading the crackers dead.
The government entrusted the investigation to the CID and apart from suspending the three officers, notices were issued to the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police.
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
