Bengaluru, Oct 23: Former Prime Minister H DDeve Gowda and ex-Chief Ministers H D Kumaraswamy andSiddaramaiah welcomed the Delhi HighCourt order on Wednesday granting bail to Congress leader D K Shivakumar in a money laundering case, filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

As the news about Shivakumar getting bail broke, his supporters and Congress workers celebrated by bursting crackers and distributing sweets in Ramanagara, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Kanakapura, Mandya and near his Bengaluru residence.

"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar has increased common man's trust in country's judicial system. I welcome the court's decision," Gowda tweeted.

Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA, was arrested by the EDon September 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"Getting bail from Delhi high court is happy news," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Bagalkote.

He alleged that Shivakumar was being politically targeted.

"...let them (ED) investigate, but sending to jail duringinvestigation is not right. On proving to be guilty one can besent to jail, but sending while the investigation is still onis not right. Vengeance politics is not right..," he added.

The 57-year-old Shivakumar is under judicial custody and presently lodged in Tihar jail.

Both the Congress and Shivakumar have claimed he was beingtargeted by the BJP-led government at the Centre by "misusing" investigating agencies.

"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar is a matter of happiness. On Monday I had met Shivakumar and tried to boost his courage, and expressed hope about him getting bail," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

The JD(S) leader who met Shivakumar at Tihar jail on Monday had said that the Congress leader was "bold" to fight "vengeance politics".

Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy, both Vokkaliga strong men, have been bitter political opponents in the old Mysuru region,until they came together for the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government, after 2018 assembly polls.

Shivakumar was a key minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet and played a major rule in the stability of the coalition government until it collapsed in July, following resignation of several MLAs of the two parties, eventually leading to installation of the BJP government.

His arrest had lead to widespread protests, especially in Ramanagara, Bengaluru rural, Mandya and other parts of old Mysuru region.

It had even taken a caste colour with thousands of people belonging to the Vokkaliga community taking out a rally recently in Bengaluru protesting the arrest and expressing solidarity with him.

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Kannauj (UP), Dec 6: Eight people were killed and a dozen others were injured when a bus they were travelling in overturned after colliding with a water tanker which was irrigating plants on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway here on Friday, police said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the Kannauj accident and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

The accident occurred around 2 pm in the Sakrawa area when the private sleeper bus was on its way from Lucknow to Delhi, according to the police.

"Eight passengers lost their lives in the accident, and around a dozen injured passengers are receiving treatment at the Saifai Medical College in Etawah district ," said Kannauj Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Anand.

The passengers who escaped unhurt were sent to their destinations in another bus, he added.

State Minister for Jal Shakti, Swatantra Dev Singh, who was passing by at the time of the accident, stopped his convoy to assist in rescuing the injured and ensuring their transportation to the hospital.

"Senior police and administration officials have reached the spot and have been instructed to provide the best medical treatment to those injured. It’s an unfortunate incident. We need to be more careful on roads and adhere to traffic rules and safety measures," Singh told PTI.

Citing his interaction with the injured passengers, the minister said the bus driver appeared to be drowsy, which may have led to the crash.