Chikkamagaluru: Another labourer fell victim to a fatal wild elephant attack in Chikkamagaluru. Anand Pujari, aged 55, met his untimely demise this morning while en route to his farm duties near Kanchi Nakal Durga, Aldur.

The unfortunate event happened within the Kesuvinakal coffee estate near Kanchinakal Durga in Aldur Hobli, Doddamavalli gram panchayat. Anand Pujari, a worker at the estate owned by Noor Ahmed, was ambushed by the wild elephant unexpectedly during his routine journey to the garden, resulting in his tragic demise on the spot.

Anand Pujari leaves behind his grieving wife, two daughters, and a son to mourn his loss.

Just a few months ago, two individuals met a similar fate in the Aldur area.

Forest officials, along with local village member Raju Pujari, have visited the site, and extended their condolences to the family of the deceased.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.