Bengaluru rains: CM Siddaramaiah orders immediate removal of encroachments on stormwater drains
Bengaluru, May 21 (PTI): Following the havoc caused by rains in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that officials have been given clear instructions to remove encroachments on stormwater drains without delay, regardless of how "influential" the encroachers may be.
He said immediate compensation will be provided to all victims whose houses were damaged by rainwater, following a survey.
Siddaramaiah was speaking to reporters after visiting and inspecting areas affected by the rains over the past couple of days.
"Climate change, issues with the drainage system, encroachments, and silting of stormwater drains are causing recurring problems in Bengaluru during heavy rains. I’m confident we will be able to provide a permanent solution. I’m not saying it will be a hundred per cent fine by the next rains, but we will do as much as possible. People should also cooperate," he said.
Pointing out that Bengaluru received 299 mm of rainfall in 2022—the second highest in 10 years—he added that 132 mm of rainfall was recorded at midnight on May 19.
"I have instructed officials to immediately conduct a survey of the damage and provide compensation," Siddaramaiah said.
He added, "There was a demand for Rs 1 lakh as compensation, but officials have been asked to assess the damage and provide suitable relief. Immediate aid, such as food and shelter, is already being provided to those affected."
Siddaramaiah also said that authorities have been instructed not to grant construction permits for basements in low-lying areas while approving building plans.
"This is because basements tend to flood during heavy rains, and such incidents have occurred in several places. Two people died of electrocution while removing water from a basement," he said.
He further said that of the 210 low-lying areas in Bengaluru, 166 have been identified as sensitive or very sensitive, and precautionary measures have been taken in these zones.
Noting that the government has drawn up plans and undertaken infrastructure development, especially for stormwater drains, Siddaramaiah said, "The stormwater drain network in the city spans about 860 km. Lining work has been completed on 491 km, while work on another 195 km is underway and will be completed by February 2026."
"For the remaining 173 km, work has been taken up through a Rs 2,000 crore loan from the World Bank. The tender process has been completed, and the work order is yet to be issued. Instructions have been given to complete the work within three years," he added.
Siddaramaiah also said that the families of Manmohan Kamath (63) and Dinesh, a 12-year-old boy who were electrocuted while clearing rainwater from the basement of an apartment complex near BTM Layout 2nd Stage, were given Rs 5 lakh each as compensation by the corporation.
On Wednesday, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) was also instructed to provide Rs 5 lakh each on humanitarian grounds.
Additionally, Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of a person killed in Koramangala due to a tree falling.
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Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
