Karnataka: MLAs including a minister demand thorough probe into CDS Gen Bipin Rawat's death
Belagavi, Dec 13: Cutting across party lines, members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.
The winter session of the Karnataka legislature started here on Monday by paying tributes to noted personalities of the country and the State who passed away recently including General Rawat and Kannada film actor Puneeth Rajkumar.
Mourning the demise of General Rawat, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the entire nation was in a state of shock and sorrow following the tragic death of the CDS and 12 others in the helicopter crash.
Stating that the death of the CDS was a great loss to the nation, Bommai said, "It is a common notion that the military equipment and machines are safe and secured but this incident has left everyone shocked."
Karnataka Panchayat and Rural Development Minister K S Eshwarappa asked the Centre to order a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge to allay doubts.
"There is sorrow and anger among the people following the tragedy. I am not saying that there is any conspiracy but this incident requires a thorough investigation. It will upset everyone if the investigation does not happen. A sitting Supreme Court judge should probe the case," Eshwarappa said.
He said if "rogue elements" are involved in this incident, then they should be punished.
Hailing General Rawat as a valiant soldier, Eshwarappa said enemy nations "used to shiver seeing his determination".
Leader of opposition and Congress leader Siddaramaiah too demanded a probe into the incident.
"The matter needs to be investigated. There are doubts regarding the death of CDS General Rawat. The reason behind the helicopter crash should be probed," Siddaramaiah said.
Stating that the entire country is anguished by the demise of General Rawat and others, JD(S) MLA Bandeppa Kashempur said people always believe that defence helicopters are foolproof and safe to travel but yet the copter crash happened.
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KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
