Mysuru: Head of the non-government organization Odanadi Seva Samsthe has asked for police protection after receiving threatening calls in relation to the sexual harassment case against Shri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, chief pontiff of Murugha Mutt.

Stanley K V, director of Odanadi Seva Samsthe, has written to the city police commissioner for providing security to him, staff of the NGO, and their family members.

The city police commissioner was informed in the letter, “Stanley and Parashuram M L, who both head the institution, are receiving death threats from the followers of the chief pontiff and the supporters of the Mutt. The supporters are also repeatedly calling us and expressing their displeasure over the case against Murugha Sharanaru. We ask for Stanley and Parashuram to be provided with gunmen and our family members also to be given protection.”

The NGO director added, “The Madilu Girls’ Home of Odanadi Seva Samsthe is a rehabilitation centre for girls. The staff members consist of only ladies, who also require security. We, therefore, request the Police Department to immediately provide police protection to the staff here.”

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Pune, Jun 26: A 46-year-old doctor and his teenage daughter have tested positive for Zika virus infection in Pune city of Maharashtra, but their health condition is stable, an official said on Wednesday.

The man recently developed symptoms like fever and rashes, following which he was admitted to a private hospital. The medical facility sent his blood samples to the city-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) for analysis. On June 21, his reports confirmed that he tested positive for Zika virus infection, a health official of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said.

The doctor is a resident of Erandwane area of the city, he said.

"After he tested positive, the blood samples of his five family members were collected and sent for analysis, and it was found that his 15-year-old daughter was also positive for the infection," the official added.

The Zika virus disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit infections like dengue and chikungunya. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947.

After these two cases were reported in the city, the PMC's health department has started conducting surveillance, the official said.

Although no other suspected cases have been found in the area, the authorities have started taking precautionary steps like fogging and fumigation to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, he said.

"The mosquito samples have been collected by the state health department. We have started the general public awareness in the area and given instructions to monitor the health of pregnant women in the area. Zika does not lead to serious complications in general, but in case a pregnant woman gets infected, it may cause microcephaly in the foetus," he said.