'Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh murder cases will be taken to their logical end'
Bengaluru, Jan 2: Karnataka Home Minister MB Patil Wednesday said the state police have worked efficiently in the murder cases of noted rationalist MM Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh and would take both cases to their logical end.
Patil, who took over as home minister after the recent ministry reshuffle, said that he did not wish to go into the details concerning both cases, stating that he was yet to gather inputs on them.
"Gauri Lankesh case, we can say proudly that our SIT (Special Investigation Team) has worked efficiently and made a breakthrough.
There are instances where even the CBI has not got any breakthrough in such cases even after four, four-and-half years. They (SIT)have already filed a charge sheet. It (probe) is almost in the final stages," Patil said.
In the Kalburgi case, the CID has made good progress, he said, adding "we are satisfied with SIT and CID...the department has worked efficiently and will take both these cases to their logical end."
The Supreme Court had on December 11 last year favoured a CBI probe into the murders of Kalburgi, social activist Govind Pansare (in Maharashtra) and journalist Gauri Lankesh if there is a "common thread" in these incidents which occurred over the last five years.
The top court had asked the CBI to inform it by the first week of January whether it would like to investigate these three murder cases as it was already probing the murder of social activist Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra.
Karnataka police in its status report had told the top court that there appears to be an "intimate connection" between the murders of Kalburgi in 2015 and Gauri Lankesh in 2017.
Gauri Lankesh, known for her strident anti-Hindutva views, was shot dead in front of her house here on September 5, 2017.
The SIT has so far arrested 16 people for their alleged involvement in the killing, while two others are still at large.
Patil, who was briefed by home department officials, said the overall law and order situation and various issues regarding the department were discussed, as also strengthening of the police force and certain modifications to be made at the government level.
"We have taken stock of the measures being taken to bring down the crime rate... also tackling the drug mafia and traffic issues, among others," he said.
"Our department has taken steps towards deporting 113 people who are staying illegally in the state, including after visa expiry," he added.
Improving the living standard of police personnel, including housing facilities for them, would also be looked into, Patil said.
To a question on implementing the recommendations of the committee, headed by ADGP (recruitment) Raghavendra Auradkar, for a 35 per cent salary hike for policemen, Patil said he would discuss it with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
"Not only their salaries and medical needs, but also educationfacilities for their children, we want to improve," he said,adding that there are also plans to start police residential schools and public schools across the state.
The committee had submitted its report on pay hike in September 2016.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
