'Operation Kaveri': India brings back another batch of 229 people from Sudan
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Apr 30: India brought home another batch of 229 people on Sunday under its mission to evacuate stranded Indians from violence-hit Sudan.
The fresh batch of evacuees arrived in Bengaluru, a day after 365 people returned from the African country to Delhi.
"#OperationKaveri One more flight brings back 229 passengers to Bengaluru," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.
As many as 125 people among the 229 evacuees hail from Karnataka, according to a statement issued by Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority Commissioner Manoj Rajan. From the latest group of evacuees, 29 were quarantined, he said.
Rajan said 255 people from Karnataka, including 134 from Shivamogga district and 53 from Mysuru, have so far returned to the state in four batches since April 27.
As per official data, the total number of Indians who have been brought back home from Sudan now stands at 1,954.
Under the evacuation mission, 754 people arrived in India in two batches on Friday.
The Indians were brought back from the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah where India has set up a transit camp for the evacuees.
The first batch of 360 evacuees returned to New Delhi in a commercial plane on Wednesday. The second batch of 246 Indian evacuees arrived in Mumbai in a C17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday.
Under 'Operation Kaveri', India has been taking its citizens in buses from the conflict zones of Khartoum and other troubled areas to Port Sudan from where they are being taken to Jeddah in the IAF's heavy-lift transport aircraft and the Indian Navy's ships.
From Jeddah, the Indians are being brought back home in either commercial flights or IAF's aircraft.
India has set up separate control rooms in Jeddah and Port Sudan, and the Indian embassy in Khartoum has been coordinating with them, besides being in touch with the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group that has reportedly left around 400 people dead.
Earlier in the week, Jaishankar had announced the launch of 'Operation Kaveri' to bring back stranded Indians from the war-ravaged African country.
#OperationKaveri
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 30, 2023
One more flight brings back 229 passengers to Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/5OGEh7WM7D
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Conspiracy afoot to 'tarnish' image of Dharmasthala: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said there was a “conspiracy” to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into serious allegations of mass burials in the revered temple town in Dakshina Kannada district.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy hundreds of years of legacy. It is not correct to tarnish someone just like that. It has all happened due to one complainant,” he said.
Noting that some Congress MLAs have called for action against those involved in the slander campaign at the legislature party meeting, he said, “ I have told them that action must be taken against those who are indulging in a slander campaign. The CM has also said that action must be taken against such people.”
“I have information on this case. Religious feelings should not be hurt in any manner. Culprits must be punished,” he told reporters, according to a release from his office.
Responding to a question, Shivakumar said the Congress party will not allow the image of any religious place to be tarnished.
“We see everyone equally when it comes to religion,” he added.
The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies—including women and minors—and that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.
As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting exhumations at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.
