Hindu priest attacked near temple in US
New York: A Hindu priest was attacked by a 52-year-old man while he was walking down the street in his religious garb near a temple in Floral Park, New York, according to a US media report.
Swami Harish Chander Puri said that around 11 a.m. (local time) Thursday, near the Shiv Shakti Peeth in Glen Oaks, while he was walking down the street in his religious garb, a man came up from behind and started hitting him, repeatedly, PIX 11 news channel reported.
Puri said he was beaten so badly, he had to be rushed to the hospital.
The priest suffered bruises and abrasions all over his body, including his face during the attack on July 18, the channel reported.
"I'm in a little pain," the priest was quoted as saying by the channel.
Police arrested 52-year-old Sergio Gouveia in connection with the attack. He's being charged with assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. The police are looking into whether the attack should be investigated as a hate crime, the channel said.
Some of the people who regularly attend the temple said they believe the priest was targeted. The attacker screamed things like, "this is my neighborhood," during the incident, they said.
The incident comes days after US President Donald Trump took to twitter to target four democratic congresswomen including Minnesota's Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born US citizen, asking them to "go back" where they came from.
"Our Country is Free, Beautiful and Very Successful. If you hate our Country, or if you are not happy here, you can leave!" Trump tweeted.
His supporters in a rally in North Carolina days later raised slogans against one of the four Congresswomen, chanting "send her back.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
