478 candidates left in fray in LS polls in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Apr 8: A total of 478 candidates are in the fray from 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka that will go to the polls in two phases, election officials said Monday.
According to the officials, 237 candidates are in the field in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies that will go to polls in the second phase on April 23.
The officials said 45 candidates have withdrawn their nomination on Monday, the last day to withdraw papers for the second phase.
Belgaum with 57 has the maximum number of candidates, while Raichur with five have the lowest in the second phase, as well as in both phases on the whole.
For the first phase of polls on April 18, 241 candidates are in the fray.
Prominent contestants in the first phase include former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (Tumkur), his grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy from Hassan and Mandya respectively, as also Union Minister Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North) and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapura), among others.
In the second phase, prominent contestants include Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers Ananth Kumar Hegde from Uttara Kannada, Ramesh Jigajinagi from Bijapur, BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra and former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S) from Shimogga, among others.
Karnataka will go to polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
The total number of polling stations in the state stands at 58,186.
Officials said 30,164 polling stations come under the first phase, while 28,022 in the second.
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Stripped to identify religion, ears cut off: Muslim hawker from Bihar dies a week after lynching
Police deny religious angle in the case
Patna: Mohammed Athar Hussain, a 55-year-old Muslim cloth vendor, tragically died on Friday, a week after sustaining severe injuries in a horrific lynching, reported The Print.
Hussain, who made his living by selling clothes on a bicycle in the rural areas of Nawada for the last decade, is survived by his wife, Shabnam Parveen, and three children.
Before his death at a government hospital, Hussain recorded a video statement.
In the video, which is doing rounds on social media platforms, Hussain alleged that four men initially locked him in a room. They later returned late at night and, stripped him to find out his religion, identifying him as a "miyan ji" (a Muslim). He claimed the assailants then poured petrol on him, branded him with a hot iron rod, and used pliers to cut off his ear.
Furthermore, he stated, "The assault continued as some were beating with sticks, while others were using pliers to cut off my fingers and ear."
Speaking to The Print, his brother, Mohammed Shaqib, described the shock of seeing his elder brother's picture injured, telling that the family had been dealt a blow from which it would never recover.
No mention of lynching in FIR
Meanwhile, quoting Nawada Sadar SDPO Hulas Kumar, The Print reported that while the victim made serious allegations, his wife did not document the specific claim that her husband was stripped to determine his religion in her initial police complaint, dated December 6.
Furthermore, a senior police official in Patna denied this was a religious lynching, instead terming it a case of "mistaken identity" where the deceased was assaulted under suspicion of theft.
Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar confirmed that both the murder case against the assailants and a separate theft complaint, filed by one of the accused against Hussain, are being probed to reach a logical conclusion.
The DGP told The Print that while the theft case is being investigated, the focus is clearly more on the lynching case.
Following Hussain's death, Nawada Police upgraded the charges, adding Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with the offense of murder.
According to reports, police have successfully arrested nine people in connection with the assault, including four individuals specifically named in the FIR filed by Hussain’s wife.
One of the nine accused, Sikandar Yadav, is the same man who accused Hussain of theft, claiming that this accusation led to the assault.
The statements given by arrested suspects, including Sree Yadav and Ranjan Kumar, reportedly led police to the remaining five accused.
Further probe in this regard is underway.
