Don't try to close the case by labeling accused as 'mentally ill': Siddaramaiah
Mangaluru Airport explosives case
Bengaluru, Jan 22: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday sought a "fair" probe into the Mangaluru International Airport bomb case and said attempts should not be made to close it by projecting the suspect as mentally ill.
The former Chief Minister in a series of tweets also questioned the silence of Sangh Parivar leaders who, he alleged, paint any crime in Dakshina Kannada with a communal colour targeting a particular community, on the matter.
Officials identified the suspect as Adithya Rao, a native of Manipal, who turned up at the DG and IGP office here in the morning and surrendered before the police.
There should be fair probe and truth should be brought out regarding the suspect Adithya Rao, Siddaramaiah, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, said in a tweet.
Attempts should not be made to close the case by projecting him as mentally ill, Siddaramaiah said.
"Sangh Parivar leaders who have preconception about a particular community paint normal crime incidents with communal colour leading to disturbance of peace in Dakshina Kannada.
Their silence on the case that cannot be used for their agenda is an evidence for their malice," he said in another tweet.
Police should work without dancing to the tune of politicians, Siddaramaiah said.
"Mangaluru police to hide their mistakes unnecessarily are trying to create confusion among people, thereby becoming the reason for the situation to deteriorate further," he added.
A 'live' explosive device was found in an unattended bag near a ticket counter of the departure gate of the international airport at Mangaluru on Monday and later defused at a nearby open ground.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
