Hampi rape case: Karnataka govt to enhance security at tourist spots
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday assured that security measures at tourist destinations will be significantly strengthened in the wake of recent rape of a foreign national and a homestay owner at Hampi.
The Minister also said, moving forward, tourists visiting Karnataka will be briefed on the dos and don'ts to ensure their safety.
"Definitely we are going to step up our security measures in places like Hampi and other tourist places," Parameshwara told reporters here.
He further mentioned that the government will reassess the existing security measures.
The Minister also noted that the rape of two women, including an Israeli national, is likely to affect the tourism sector.
"On the one hand we are trying to attract tourists from across the world while on the other incidents like this deter the tourists from visiting our country."
According to Parameshwara, on the night of March 6, two foreign nationals, including an Israeli citizen, along with two others, went out for stargazing on the banks of the Tungabhadra canal.
Three youths approached the group and asked for directions to a petrol pump. When the tourists expressed their unawareness, the youths robbed them.
One of the tourists had a verbal altercation with the strangers, and in a fit of anger, the men pushed the tourists into the canal. While three of the tourists managed to escape, the fourth went missing, and her body was later found.
Thr strangers allegedly raped two women. The body of the US national has been recovered, Parameshwara said adding two persons have been arrested so far in this connection.
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21 Congress MLAs leave for foreign tour ahead of budget; leaders say trip is personal
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 21 Congress legislators in Karnataka left for a foreign tour ahead of the state budget on Wednesday, as a power tussle continues within the ruling party.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to present a record 17th budget on March 6, soon after the legislative session begins. The session will continue until March 27.
It is learnt that the MLAs travelling abroad are considered loyal to the CM.
According to Congress sources, 11 MLAs flew out on Tuesday, while 10 others are scheduled to leave for various foreign destinations with their families.
Sources said C Puttaranga Shetty, B Devendrappa, H D Thammaiah, Hampanagouda Badarli, B M Nagaraj, A Vasanth Kumar, D Thimmaiah and Sharanagouda Patil Bayyapur are among those travelling abroad.
The legislators are touring Australia and New Zealand. They will first fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then continue their journey to Australia and New Zealand, sources added.
The MLAs clarified that the trip is personal and has nothing to do with the party or the government.
"We are going on a private tour. It’s just my family and me," Thammaiah told reporters at the Kempegowda International Airport here.
The Chikkamagaluru MLA said the decision had been taken during the Belagavi legislative session.
"Those interested in the tour are travelling. We often go abroad, but this is the first time it has made news," Thammaiah said.
Badarli sought to clarify that all the MLAs were funding the tour themselves and that it had nothing to do with politics.
"We travel abroad two or three times. Earlier, we visited Muscat, European countries and the United States," he said.
Puttaranga Shetty said the MLAs would return on March 2 or 3.
Responding to suggestions that those travelling belonged to Siddaramaiah’s camp, Shetty said, "The CM is not aware of our trip. Why drag his name into this unnecessarily?"
MLAs considered close to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said there was nothing unusual about "common friends travelling abroad together."
"We too have travelled abroad. What is wrong with that? I was not invited. Our team is different from theirs, but it is not factionalism," MLA H C Balakrishna said.
MLA Ravi Ganiga said no one could remove the incumbent or change the government merely because of a foreign tour, adding that the Congress high command takes appropriate decisions at the right time.
