Karnataka Congress to kick-start preparations for bypolls soon
Bengaluru, Jul 31: The Congress in Karnataka will kick-start preparations for the by-elections in 17 constituencies, necessitated by the disqualification of rebel legislators, by holding a meeting of senior leaders on Thursday, top party sources said Wednesday.
Stating that there can be only coordination or understanding with the JD(S), a top party functionary said party workers were "happy that in a way we are out of alliance now."
He said preparations for the bypolls would start soon and added a meeting of senior party leaders have been convened on Thursday and senior party leaders will be given responsibility of constituencies.
"We don't know when the by-election will come, what the court ruling will be (on disqualified MLAs) we are not sure, but immediately we will be deputing leaders giving them responsibility of each constituencies," he said.
As most disqualified MLAs are from the Congress, the process will have to begin to search for new candidates.
"Some places strong candidates have gone, they have won two, three, four times...individual leaders will travel in the constitutencies and assess the situation and find the candidate also," he said, adding that "it won't be easy for those who have left us too."
Seventeen rebel MLAs of the Congress-JD(S) were disqualified on Sunday by the then assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar under the anti-defection law based on the complaint by their respective parties citing anti-party activities.
Fourteen MLAs from the Congress and three from JD(S) had abstained from the trust vote on July 23, when the H D Kumaraswamy government collapsed.
Responding to a question on continuity of alliance with JD(S), the Congress leader said, he didn't see the party fighting election in alliance but can try for having an understanding.
"What kind of understanding will depend on the situation, as we did during the local body polls, or else bothparties will not get any benefit," he said.
"From workers to leaders no one is in favour of alliance, party workers are happy that we have come out," he further noted.
The appointment of new KPCC office bearers has to happen and the plan is to do it in a month's time, sources said, "but our primary focus will be on the by-elections."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kerala court sentences man to life imprisonment for doc's murder in hospital
_vb_42.jpeg)
Kollam (PTI): A teacher convicted in the sensational murder of Dr Vandana Das inside a hospital here was sentenced to life term on Saturday, and the prosecution said it will move an appeal seeking death penalty for the accused. The victim's family also batted for "maximum punishment".
Dr Das was brutally killed inside a taluk hospital in May 2023 by G Sandeep.
Kollam Additional District and Sessions judge P N Vinod sentenced Sandeep to a total of 30 years for various offences under the then Indian Penal Code (IPC) and said that after he serves that period, his life imprisonment for Das' murder will commence.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.35 lakh on the convict.
Though the prosecution had sought death penalty for the accused during the arguments on sentence, the court was of the view that the case does not fall under the rarest-of-rare category to warrant the maximum punishment.
It was also of the view that there was a chance of the convict getting reformed as he told the court that the rest of his life would be one of repentance, the order on sentence said.
"At the same time, I agree with the stand of the prosecution to the effect that the sentence should commensurate with the gravity of the crime and the sentence should not only be reformative, but should also have a deterrent effect."
"In my view, the said objective can be achieved by directing that the term sentences that will be imposed will run consecutively and life sentence that has to be imposed will commence only after the expiration of terms sentences," the judge said.
After the verdict, special public prosecutor (SPP) Prathap G Padickal told reporters outside the court that he will recommend to the prosecution to file an appeal seeking enhancement of the life imprisonment to death penalty.
The victim's father said that the verdict has come as a relief for the family, but that he cannot authoritatively say whether his late daughter has got justice. He indicated his dissatisfaction with the punishment, saying that steps will be taken to seek its enhancement after discussions with the public prosecutor.
Dr Das' mother said that the family can only wish for the maximum punishment and it was up to the court to decide what sentence should be given. She said that the family will go in appeal, but declined to comment on whether her daughter got justice.
She tearfully said that she wants the convict to suffer the same pain that her daughter underwent "as he stabbed her 27 times".
The court on March 17 had convicted Sandeep for various offences under the IPC, including murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful restraint.
It had also held him guilty under the provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Act 2012.
Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023 and he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.
A school teacher by profession, he had initially attacked the police officers and another person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young Dr Das, who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack.
Dr Das was a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents.
She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep had called the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing close by his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg following an alleged quarrel.
He was then taken to the hospital for dressing the wound.
_vb_97.jpeg)
_vb_62.jpeg)