Vishwavani editor Vishweshwar Bhat, staff booked for report on Deve Gowda family
Bengaluru, May 27: A case has been registered against the editor of a Kannada daily and its editorial staff for publishing a report about trouble within JDS chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's family after the Lok Sabha election drubbing.
According to the complaint filed by Janata Dal (Secular) state secretary S P Pradeep Kumar, the newspaper, 'Vishwavani', had published a "false report" on Saturday, which created an impression that there was commotion and confusion among Gowda's grandchildren.
A first information report (FIR) was filed on Sunday against the editor, Vishweshwar Bhat, and the editorial staff under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 499 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, police said Monday.
Kumar said the report stated that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, reportedly shouted at his grandfather, Deve Gowda, holding him responsible for his defeat at the hands of a woman in Mandya.
Nikhil had lost to actor Sumalatha Ambareesh, an Independent candidate backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, by over one lakh votes.
Reacting to the FIR, Bhat told PTI the report was a source-based story and if anybody had any objection, they could have issued a clarification, which, he said, the paper would have carried diligently as it had done in the past.
"I am not able to figure out which state we are living in. I have been an editor for the past 19 years and never ever has such an incident happened," Bhat said. "At the most, a defamation case can be registered, but registering an FIR is like setting a new precedent. I will definitely challenge it in court."
Gowda's another grandson, Prajwal Revanna, who won from Hassan, and Congress candidate D K Suresh were the only leaders of the ruling coalition who won. Of the 28 seats in the state, the BJP bagged 25.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
