23-year-old woman, a pillar of support for family, electrocuted in water-logged Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Sep 6: A 23-year old woman, who allegedly died due to electrocution after she came into contact with an electric pole while navigating a flooded road here was a "pillar of support" for the family, both financially and morally.
With aged parents and a handicapped brother at home, Akhila started working after completing her graduation to support the family's needs.
Akhila worked in the administration department of a private school.
"We (parents) had called her last night and she had told me that she will come home, once the rain stops...no child should face what my child faced. Our life was dependent on her earnings, my wife can't work, son is handicapped, I work as a gardener part-time after taking care of the cows that we have," Akhila's father Somashekar said.
According to police, the incident is said to have taken place at Siddapura near Whitefield here on Monday night, when the victim was returning home on her scooter.
They said, as per account of people at the spot, on reaching the stretch of a road that was waterlogged, the woman's vehicle broke down and she lost balance. As she was trying to regain balance to move ahead, she is said to have touched an electric pole nearby, that had open wires for support, and got electrocuted.
However, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) has said that the "fatal non-departmental accident" occurred after the victim accidently came in contact with advertisement hoarding erected on the road divider.
The mother and sister of Akhila claimed that no one nearby came to help her fearing that they too might get electrocuted, while the father said, one of her colleagues who was passing on the same stretch noticed and attended to her and rushed to hospital, where she succumbed.
"I had asked her to come home soon, and she said, she will. When called later the phone was switched off, she was everything for our house, she was like my son, she was taking care of her handicapped brother, but she has left us," said her inconsolable mother Padma.
Recalling that she was a good student and had completed her graduation, the mother said, "she even took care of cows at home. She could have studied further but could not due to the situation at home and was delaying her marriage for the same reason."
Her married sister Asha said, someone should have noticed open wires and taken action; had it been done my sister would have been alive.
"No one should face her fate or the pain my sister suffered...don't know whom to blame," she said, while remembering her sister as a safe driver.
Noting that if there was no waterlogging and the open wires were taped by the authorities, Akhila would have been alive today, Akhila's father said, adding he has filed a complaint against both Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
According to BESCOM's statement, as per its officials, who visited the spot, the victim fell on advertisement hoardings erected on the divider and got electrocuted, after her scooter skid due to waterlogging.
"Soon after receiving a call from the public, power supply was disconnected by tripping the feeder at the sub- station and BESCOM officials rushed to the spot. There was no BESCOM wire found around the hoarding, locals told that she was shifted to nearby hospital," it said.
BESCOM officials stated that one private advertisement hoarding was at the spot, it further said, adding that "officials of electrical inspectorate has visited the spot and initiated the inquiry. Whitefield police have registered the case. Body was shifted to private hospital."
Police earlier on Tuesday said they are investigating the incident.
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Karnataka HC quashes FIR against three men accused of 'preaching Islam' near temple premises
Bengaluru, Jul 25 (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has quashed a First Information Report (FIR) filed against three Muslim men who were accused of "preaching Islam" and distributing religious pamphlets near a Hindu temple in Jamkhandi, Bagalkot district.
The complaint had alleged that the men attempted religious conversion by making promises of employment and passed derogatory remarks about Hinduism.
However, the High Court held that there was no substantial evidence of coercion, fraud, or inducement--criteria necessary for prosecution under the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022.
The court made it clear that mere expression or distribution of religious literature does not amount to an offence unless accompanied by forceful or deceitful attempts to convert.
"The essence of a free society lies in the freedom to express, discuss, and propagate beliefs," the bench observed.
It further stated that peaceful preaching, in the absence of coercion or allurement, is protected under Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freely profess and propagate one's religion.
Additionally, the bench noted that the complainant in the case was neither the alleged victim nor a relative of one. As per Section 4 of the 2022 Act, only an aggrieved individual or their close relatives are permitted to lodge such complaints--making the FIR procedurally invalid.
