Special court will deal with Gauri Lankesh, MM Kalburgi murder cases: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah has order the setting up of a special court to quicken the hearings in the cases of murder of rationalist MM Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh, who were both known for holding strong views and being vocal against communalism and religious fundamentalism.
The investigations of the cases have revealed that the murders had been ideologically motivated and linked to a wider conspiracy that targeted left-weaning activists.
Kalburgi had been shot dead outside his house in Dharwad in August 2015. The legal proceedings had been consistently delayed although the charge sheet was submitted in 2018 and family inquiries had been completed. Following persistent requests by Umadevi M, the CM, in an order dated December 2, directed the initiation of necessary action to form a special court exclusively for the Kalburgi murder case.
Gauri Lankesh, who was a journalist, was assassinated in a similar manner in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017. The police arrested 18 persons for involvement in the case, and also presented a comprehensive charge sheet with as many as 1,200 pieces of evidence in the murder case.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had said in the charge sheet filed in 2019 that 'Sanatan Sanstha', the Hindu extremist organization, was responsible for the murder of Gauri Lankesh, adding that the murder was linked to the killing of other activists and rationalists like Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. The police officers had concluded that a common group, driven by ideological motives, was behind the murders.
The trial began in July 2022 but was hampered by the court backlog. In response to the Gauri Lankesh's sister Kavita Lankesh's plea, Siddaramaiah ordered the formation of the special court with a full-time judge.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
