Two men held while smuggling teak in Shivamogga forest; three others missing
Shivamogga: Local forest officials on Sunday arrested two individuals, identified as Sharath and Manjunath from Bharati Nagar, in the forested area of Haihole village, situated within Shivamogga district. The duo had allegedly engaged in the illegal transportation of teak logs sourced from the Shivamogga Biological Division. Concurrently, three additional suspects linked to the case remain at large.
The Forest Department's operation, led by Range Forest Officer Pradeep Halbhavi, resulted in the confiscation of 12 teak logs, two mobile phones, and the vehicles employed by the apprehended individuals, including an SUV and an auto-rickshaw. The absconding trio has been identified as Vishnu Bin Murali from Haihole village, along with Palani Bin Kashi and Thirupathi Bin Krishnappa, both hailing from Bharati Nagar. Forest Department investigators are actively pursuing leads and conducting searches to locate the three fugitives.
The operation was carried by a team comprising RFO Halbhavi, Deputy Range Forest Officer Channabasappa Sannagoudra, as well as forest guards and other personnel.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
