Pro-Amritpal Singh rally taken out in Raipur; police serve notice to organisers
Raipur, Mar 22: A rally was taken out on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur by a group of people in support of absconding pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh, leading the police to serve a notice to the organisers of the event which had no prior permission from authorities.
The rally, a foot march which started from Telibandha and comprised a small group of people visibly belonging to the Sikh community, culminated in front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office located in nearby Panchsheel Nagar, police said.
The demonstrators also burnt an effigy of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, a senior leader of the AAP, which rules the northern state.
After the police learnt about the rally, which was taken out without prior permission from authorities, a notice was issued to the persons who had organised the event, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal told PTI.
He did not provide further details.
Talking to the media, a protester, who identified himself as Diler Singh, said Amritpal Singh was innocent and accused the Punjab government and security agencies of falsely implicating him.
Amritpal Singh was fighting against addiction and keeping youth away from it and also uniting them with religion, he said.
Asked about the rally, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel told reporters in Assembly premises that the local administration has been keeping an eye on the issue.
Talking to mediapersons, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Brijmohan Agrawal termed the incident as very unfortunate and said the rally was taken out at a time when the Assembly is in session in the state capital.
The Khalistani separatist, who heads the Waris Punjab De, is on the run since the Punjab police launched a massive manhunt for the outfit's members. Amritpal Singh was on the radar of the Punjab police after he and his armed followers stormed a police station in Ajnala last month to release one of his aides.
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50 elephants electrocuted in four years in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Karnataka has witnessed the tragic deaths of 50 elephants over the past four years due to electrocution, with the Madikeri division reporting the highest number of such fatalities. In this division alone, eight elephants were electrocuted, while another 12 deaths were recorded within the state's tiger reserves, underscoring the urgent need to address this issue.
The number of elephants in Karnataka have increased steadily, rising from 6,049 in 2017 to 6,395 by early 2023. Despite this apparent success in conservation efforts, the rising number of elephant electrocutions has raised alarms among wildlife activists, particularly as many habitats are being disrupted by expanding 'development' projects.
Nagaraj, a resident from Padavinangady in Mangaluru, filed a request seeking district-wise data on elephants killed due to electrocution from 2021 to 2024. In response, the forest department provided division-wise figures, including details of electrocutions within protected areas.
Alarmingly, 19 elephant deaths have occurred in zones where wildlife is supposed to receive the highest levels of protection. These include the Nagarahole tiger reserve with 5 deaths, Bandipur tiger reserve with 4, BRT tiger reserve with 3, and the Shivamogga wildlife division with 3. Other affected areas include Cauvery wildlife sanctuary with 3 deaths and Bannerghatta National Park with 1 death.
