Belthangady: 9 people booked for stripping, assaulting tribal woman
Belthangady, Apr 24: In a shocking incident, a tribal woman was allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of nine people in a village in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district, police sources said.
They said the incident occurred on April 19 in front of several villagers at Guripalla village in Belthangady taluk of the district. Cases have been registered against all the accused.
The nine persons were booked based on a complaint from the 35-year-old woman, who alleged that the gang tore her clothes, made her semi-nude and shot a video of the incident.
Her elder sister and mother were also assaulted, the woman said in the complaint.
The accused have been identified as Sandeep (30), Santhosh (29), Gulabi (55), Suguna (30), Kusuma (38), Lokayya (55), Anil (35), Lalitha (40) and Chenna Keshava (40), all belonging to the victim's village, police said.
Sources said the incident occurred when a team of revenue department officials reached the village to measure the government land where the complainant and her elder sister were staying as per the application given by the woman to the authorities.
The accused objected to the work done by the officials and created a commotion forcing the surveyors to leave the spot, after which the nine-member gang assaulted the woman, sources said.
Belthangady police are investigating the case.
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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?"
