Heated exchange at Mangaluru City Corporation meeting over housing sites
In a confrontational General Body Meeting of the Mangaluru City Corporation on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Praveen Chandra Alva raised concerns about the alleged lack of distribution of housing sites to applicants during his six-year membership.
Alva directed his criticism towards local legislators, accusing them of inaction in ensuring the provision of housing sites, sparking a heated exchange with ruling party members.
Alva's contention centered on the apparent discrepancy between the distribution of title deeds to 900 beneficiaries six years ago and the absence of actual housing sites for applicants. Members of the ruling party, including Jagadish Shetty and Shakeela Kava, vehemently rebutted Alva's claims, attributing the delay in site allocation to errors made by a former MLA from Alva's party.
Chief Whip Premananda Shetty accused Alva of attempting to politicize the housing issue, emphasizing that the matter falls outside the administrative purview of the Mayor. He contended that the delay was a consequence of the former MLA's distribution of title deeds without prior permission, coinciding with election-related activities.
Amidst the verbal sparring, Corporation Commissioner Anand intervened to provide information on the progress of ongoing housing projects. He detailed the construction of residential complexes in various locations, specifying the number of houses allocated to beneficiaries from different categories.
Mayor Sudhir Shetty Kannur, addressing concerns raised by Alva regarding irregularities in the sewage treatment plant (STP), informed the assembly that he had personally inspected the plant. He clarified that funds amounting to Rs 80 lakh had been allocated for the Bajal Stepwell project under the 15th Finance Commission, scheduled to commence operations within a week. Shetty highlighted similar projects at Jalligudda and Kadekar.
The Mayor also addressed issues related to traffic congestion, the dengue outbreak, and water shortages in the city. Shetty assured the assembly that Rs 40 crore would be granted for sewage treatment projects, and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be submitted to the government.
Opposition Leader Alva urged the Mayor to establish a committee for the management of underground drainage, akin to water supply systems.
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Gurugram Police arrest BJP Yuva Morcha member for spreading fake murder story on social media
New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.
Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.
The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.
On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.
Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.
A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.
