Congress worker shot dead during clash between rival groups in Ballari
Ballari: A Congress worker was shot dead during a clash between rival Reddy groups over the installation of banners ahead of a Valmiki statue unveiling programme in Ballari city on Thursday night.
The incident took place in the Havambhavi area of the city. The deceased has been identified as Rajasekhar (28), a resident of Hussain Nagar in Ballari.
According to reports, tensions erupted between supporters of former minister Janardhan Reddy and supporters of Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy while banners were being put up in connection with the Valmiki statue unveiling scheduled for January 3. What began as a dispute over banners soon escalated into stone-pelting between the two groups.
During the clash, firing took place, and Rajasekhar sustained a gunshot injury and died. As the situation spiralled out of control, police rushed to the spot and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control.
Janardhan Reddy alleged that the firing was carried out by the gunman of Satish Reddy, an aide of Bharath Reddy. He claimed that rowdy elements were brought in to forcibly put up banners and that there was an attempt on his life under the pretext of the banner dispute. He also displayed a bullet cartridge, alleging that it was used by supporters of Bharath Reddy during the incident.
Reacting to the incident, Congress MLA Bharath Reddy warned that protests would continue until those responsible for the death of the Congress worker are arrested. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
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Expelled Cong MLA Mamkootathil gets bail in sexual assault case
Pathanamthitta(Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday granted bail to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in the third sexual assault case against him, in which he was arrested earlier this month.
The bail was granted by the Pathanamthitta District Sessions Court, which was considering an appeal filed by the MLA against a judicial magistrate's court that had denied him relief, stating that the allegations against him were serious and that he had "similar antecedents".
The third sexual assault case was registered against the Palakkad MLA under Sections 376 (rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint lodged by a woman from Kottayam district on 8 January. He was arrested in the case on January 11 in Palakkad.
The Kerala High Court and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had earlier protected the MLA from arrest in the first two sexual assault cases, which were registered based on complaints from two different women.
