Karnataka Assembly passes law to protect religious structures
Bengaluru, Sep 21: The Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday passed the Karnataka Religious Structures (Protection) Bill, a day after introducing it.
The bill was passed by voice vote on Tuesday night.
The government introduced the bill after it came under attack from within the BJP as well as Congress and various pro-Hindu organisations following the demolition of a temple at Nanjangud in Mysuru a few days ago.
During the discussion on the bill, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said the government was aware of the demolition of the structure but passed the buck on the officers.
"The structure was razed citing a Supreme Court order in 2009 but many temples were demolished earlier also. Because of Nanjangud temple demolition, you brought the bill but what about those religious structures, which were destroyed earlier?" Siddaramaiah sought to know.
Agreeing with Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded that some temples were demolished while others were relocated.
When the Leader of the Opposition said the government was trying to nullify the Supreme Court order by introducing the bill, Bommai retorted, saying that the government was only trying to regularise such unauthorised temples wherever it is required.
He also clarified that the government had no role in the temple demolition in Nanjangud.
"Let there be no confusion. We (government) did not order demolition," Bommai stated.
Explaining the circumstances which compelled the government to bring the bill, BJP MLA S A Ramadas said the Supreme Court while passing the order pertaining to the illegal religious structures at public places in Gujarat, directed all the state governments to furnish details of such structures illegally occupying public spaces.
The apex court even entrusted the high courts to monitor the proceedings.
While other state governments also gave the rules and regulations to the Supreme Court along with the list of such illegal structures, Karnataka furnished the list along with its policy.
According to him, it became incumbent upon the administration to furnish the details at a regular interval to the High Court.
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UP: Tehsildar's vehicle hits biker, drags body for 30 km
Bahraich(UP), Dec 20: A government vehicle belonging to the tehsildar of Nanpara hit a biker and allegedly dragged his body for 30 kilometers.
The victim, identified as Narendra Kumar Haldar (35), a resident of Payagpur, was returning home when the accident occurred on the Nanpara-Bahraich road on Thursday evening. According to police, Haldar's body got entangled in the vehicle and was dragged for the entire distance, reaching the Nanpara Tehsil.
Naib Tehsildar Shailesh Kumar Awasthi, who is believed to be present in the vehicle at the time of the accident, has been recommended for suspension by District Magistrate Monika Rani. The vehicle's driver, Meraj Ahmed, has been arrested. Superintendent of Police Vrinda Shukla confirmed the incident and said, "It was confirmed that the body was dragged for 30 kilometers to Nanpara when the locations of the deceased Narendra Haldar and the tehsildar's driver Meraj Ahmed were tracked at the time of the accident."
Stating that the incident was a "big negligence", the officer added, "It is very unlikely that a body was stuck in the vehicle for 30 kilometers and no one came to know about it. It is possible that the vehicle was not stopped due to fear."
The officer said that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of the accident. "Police are examining CCTV footage along the 30-kilometer route to reconstruct the sequence of events," said the SP.
In the police complaint lodge regarding the matter, the family members of the deceased have mentioned the vehicle of the tehsildar, police said.
District Magistrate Monika Rani said, "The matter of a car colliding with a bike came to notice. The Naib Tehsildar of Nanpara had come to Bahraich in the Tehsildar's car for some work and was returning to Nanpara. It has been learnt that a dead body got stuck with his car that drove till Nanpara Tehsil. According to the naib tehsildar, he was not aware of it. A recommendation has been made to suspend the naib tehsildar who was in the car."
