Elderly couple in Belagavi allegedly commits suicide for fear of digital arrest
Belagavi: In a first case of suicide in the district fearing digital arrest, a elderly couple residing in Beedi village of Khanapur taluk allegedly committed suicide on Thursday evening for fear of threats by cyber frauds.
The deceased man, identified as Drogger Santan Nazareth (82) of Christian Galli in Beedi village, was found in a pool of blood in the underground water tank of his house while his wife Flavia (79) was seen by the neighbours, lying lifeless inside the house.
The police officers, who visited the residence on being informed by the neighbours, conducted an inspection and found a suicide note, a sickle and Drogger’s mobile phone. Nandgad police have taken the phone, the sickle as well as the suicide note into their custody.
The hand-written two-page suicide note in English said that the husband and wife had decided to end their lives, but no one was to be blamed as they did not wish to live at someone else’s mercy.
Drogger, in the two-page note, added they had received a call from a man identifying himself as Sumit Birra from Delhi and claiming to be a government official. Birra had told Drogger that his mobile phone was being used for illegal advertisements. He connected Drogger to another person Anil Yadav, who narrated the consequences of the situation, the senior citizen said, adding that Flavia and he were ending their lives as they did not wish to live under the mercy of some else.
The deceased man has asked friends to use his wife’s gold jewelry to clear the money he had borrowed from them. Drogger additionally asked that their remains be donated to a medical institution for use at the laboratory. The couple had no children.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
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Karnataka: Show-cause notice issued after worms found in midday meal served to students in school
Koppal (Karnataka) (PTI): Authorities on Monday said a show-cause notice had been issued to the headmaster of a government-aided school after worms were allegedly found in the rice served to students under the midday meal scheme.
The incident was reported at a school in Bisaralli village, Koppal taluk, on December 9, officials said.
However, no student complained of any infection or required hospitalisation due to the timely intervention of the authorities.
A senior official from the education department stated that as soon as the matter came to light, a show-cause notice was issued to the headmaster, and a report was requested from him regarding the incident.
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"We have taken this issue very seriously and are expecting the report from the headmaster within two days. Once we receive the report, further action will be decided accordingly," the official said.
To prevent such incidents in the future, the official added, a food health officer has been instructed to collect samples of food grains supplied to both government and aided schools across the district for quality checks.
"We are also conducting meetings with headmasters of various schools, instructing them to carry out regular inspections of food grains and raising awareness to ensure the supply of high-quality food grains to avoid such incidents in the future," the official added.
