Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa laid to rest with full state honours
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa was laid to rest with full state honours on Monday.
The 94-year-old former minister, who passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday, was cremated at the Kalleshwara Mill premises, following Veerashaiva-Lingayat traditions.
Earlier in the day, Shivashankarappa's mortal remains were brought to his native Davanagere, where they were kept at the high school grounds for the public, his followers, and well-wishers to pay their last respects.
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Expressing deep sorrow over his demise, the Karnataka government ordered that his last rites be performed with full state honours.
Both the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council also mourned his passing, adjourning their sessions for the day after paying tributes.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, several ministers, opposition leaders, legislators, and political figures paid their respects.
A number of seers from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community also attended the last rites.
Shivashankarappa represented the Davanagere South Assembly constituency. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for some time before succumbing to age-related ailments.
The senior-most legislator in Karnataka, Shivashankarappa, was also one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the country, sources said.
He is survived by three sons, including S S Mallikarjun, the Karnataka Minister for Mines, Geology, and Horticulture, and four daughters. His daughter-in-law, Prabha Mallikarjun, is the Member of Parliament from Davanagere.
A six-time MLA, Shivashankarappa also served as a minister and an MP.
He was a prominent educationist, establishing several educational institutions, and was an industrialist.
Additionally, he served as the treasurer of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for decades and was the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of the influential Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
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Stripped to identify religion, ears cut off: Muslim hawker from Bihar dies a week after lynching
Police deny religious angle in the case
Patna: Mohammed Athar Hussain, a 55-year-old Muslim cloth vendor, tragically died on Friday, a week after sustaining severe injuries in a horrific lynching, reported The Print.
Hussain, who made his living by selling clothes on a bicycle in the rural areas of Nawada for the last decade, is survived by his wife, Shabnam Parveen, and three children.
Before his death at a government hospital, Hussain recorded a video statement.
In the video, which is doing rounds on social media platforms, Hussain alleged that four men initially locked him in a room. They later returned late at night and, stripped him to find out his religion, identifying him as a "miyan ji" (a Muslim). He claimed the assailants then poured petrol on him, branded him with a hot iron rod, and used pliers to cut off his ear.
Furthermore, he stated, "The assault continued as some were beating with sticks, while others were using pliers to cut off my fingers and ear."
Speaking to The Print, his brother, Mohammed Shaqib, described the shock of seeing his elder brother's picture injured, telling that the family had been dealt a blow from which it would never recover.
No mention of lynching in FIR
Meanwhile, quoting Nawada Sadar SDPO Hulas Kumar, The Print reported that while the victim made serious allegations, his wife did not document the specific claim that her husband was stripped to determine his religion in her initial police complaint, dated December 6.
Furthermore, a senior police official in Patna denied this was a religious lynching, instead terming it a case of "mistaken identity" where the deceased was assaulted under suspicion of theft.
Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar confirmed that both the murder case against the assailants and a separate theft complaint, filed by one of the accused against Hussain, are being probed to reach a logical conclusion.
The DGP told The Print that while the theft case is being investigated, the focus is clearly more on the lynching case.
Following Hussain's death, Nawada Police upgraded the charges, adding Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with the offense of murder.
According to reports, police have successfully arrested nine people in connection with the assault, including four individuals specifically named in the FIR filed by Hussain’s wife.
One of the nine accused, Sikandar Yadav, is the same man who accused Hussain of theft, claiming that this accusation led to the assault.
The statements given by arrested suspects, including Sree Yadav and Ranjan Kumar, reportedly led police to the remaining five accused.
Further probe in this regard is underway.
