Loudspeaker row: Police ask mosques in Karnataka not to violate noise pollution rule
Bengaluru, Apr 6: Mosques in Karnataka have started receiving notices from the police to use their loudspeakers within the permissible decibel levels.
The move comes after some right-wing outfits launched a campaign demanding shutting down of such loudspeakers, saying they caused disturbance for people living in surrounding areas.
In Bengaluru alone, about 250 mosques have received such notices and the mosque authorities have started installing devices that keeps the sound within the permissible level, sources said.
The Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Sood has directed all the police commissioners, inspectors general of police and the superintendents of police to check violation of noise pollution rules by religious institutions', pubs, night clubs and other institutions and at functions.
Some outfits had submitted memoranda to various police officers on Tuesday requesting them to check the "misuse" of loudspeakers from mosques which, they alleged, has been going on even in the silent zones such as hospitals, important government offices, schools and colleges.
The outfits alleged that the blaring loudspeakers of mosques disturb sleep in the morning causing discomfort to students, patients, elderly people and those who work at night.
Following the direction from the DGP, the Bengaluru police started issuing notices to the mosques.
Khateeb-o-Imam of Jamiya Masjid in Bengaluru, Maqsood Imran said the mosques in Bengaluru have started installing devices on their loudspeakers after the Bengaluru city police served them notices.
Over 200 to 250 mosques in Bengaluru have received the notice. We have been told to maintain the sound level. They have said that the directions issued by the Supreme Court need to be adhered to and if the orders are not followed then action will be initiated, the Imam told PTI.
He added that the mosque authorities have started fitting the device with the amplifier, which ensures that the sound does not cross the permissible level.
We also want to ensure that the Supreme Court order is followed. That's why we have readied the device and started fixing it in all the mosques. That device has already been installed in our Jamiya Masjid," he said.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
