Two inmates escape from Andhra prison after hitting jail warden with hammer
Chodavaram (PTI): Two undertrials have escaped from a prison here in Anakapalli district after attacking the jail head warden, an official said on Saturday.
"Two remand prisoners, Ramu (27) and Kumar (30), escaped from Chodavaram sub-jail around 4 pm on Friday after hitting the head warden with a hammer," Anakapalli Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha told PTI.
Kumar, a panchayat secretary, who was on remand since April, hit the head warden with a hammer while returning the jail's kitchen keys after completing his cooking duties, he said.
During the ensuing melee between head warden V Veera Raju (45) and Kumar, Ramu rushed towards another room where guards were sleeping to lock it from outside to prevent them from helping the injured and bleeding warden, said Sinha.
Later, the duo managed to steal the main door's keys from the warden to flee, all of which occurred in two to three minutes and was captured on CCTV, said the SP.
Following this jail break, Sinha said, a case of attempt to murder and escape from lawful custody was booked against Ramu and Kumar.
According to Sinha, Ramu is a property offender who has six cases against him both in Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam city. He was arrested and remanded by the Anakapalli district police.
Kumar, the main attacker and a government employee, was involved in criminal misappropriation of a pension fund and was arrested in Ananthagiri police station limits of Alluri Sitaramaraju (ASR) district, he said.
"He (Kumar) was remanded by the ASR district police. He was in jail since April. It has already been five months for him. Yesterday, this panchayat secretary was involved in cooking in the sub-jail," said Sinha.
Further, Sinha observed that Chodavaram Sub-Jail is a small prison which can accommodate only 16 inmates and there were 10 yesterday.
Meanwhile, several police teams are on the hunt to capture Ramu and Kumar while Sinha expressed confidence that they will be nabbed soon.
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BJP accuses Karnataka govt of 'failing' to prevent noise pollution caused by 'azaan'
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Members of the Opposition BJP on Tuesday slammed the Karnataka government for not taking measures to prevent the alleged noise pollution caused by 'azaan', the Islamic call to prayer.
BJP MLC D S Arun raised the issue in the Legislative Council during the question hour, accusing the ruling Congress of "appeasement" by failing to take action against mosques that are violating the Supreme Court's directives.
Karnataka Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre, responding to the question, said, as per the directives of the Supreme Court in sensitive zones, the noise level should not exceed 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night, and in residential areas, 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.
In commercial areas, the noise should not exceed 65 decibels during the day, 55 at night, and in industrial areas, 75 during the day and at night 70 decibels, he said.
Pointing out that the Karnataka government had issued an order in 2022, assigning responsibility to a committee headed by a DySPs or ACPs for the effective implementation of the rules, the minister said when a complaint is received about noise pollution, the Pollution Control Board will inspect it and provide information about the decibel level to the police to take further action, including filing of criminal cases.
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"Not only during azaan, but also during bhajans held in temples and marriage events, among others, the violations happen. There is a need to spread awareness. The Supreme Court has ordered against bursting firecrackers, but it is being violated. Efforts will be made to implement the rules effectively," he said.
Several BJP MLAs, including Arun, Bharathi Shetty, among others, were not satisfied with the minister's reply. They took strong exception to it.
Arun noted that in the last three years, only 52 cases have been taken, and said there are clear violations by almost all mosques, but no action has been taken. "The decibels have in fact increased under this government. The government is giving protection to them."
Reacting to this, Khandre, calling it a "sensitive matter", said, "It is not right to politicise the issue. The law of this land is equal for everyone."
Hitting back, Arun asked, "Why is the matter sensitive? What is preventing you (the government) from implementing the Supreme Court directives?"
