Volume 15 | Issue 14
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Kalburgi family searches for clues Kept in dark as CID probe team refuse to share information agency that soon they will catch the culprit. More than the culprit, action should be initiated on the force behind this ghastly murder. “Many writers and individuals have kept Dr MM Kalburgi"s name alive by condemning this assassination. I sincerely thank them all.
Irien Joseph The son of murdered Kannada writer MM Kalburgi says he has been kept in the dark by police investigating his father’s killing. Sri Vijay Kalburgi and other members of the family are now conducting their own investigation into Kalburgi’s death in a bid to unearth clues. Prof. MM Kalburgi was shot dead on his own doorstep on the morning of August 30. He died almost instantly from a single gunshot to the forehead. Almost three months since the murder, police have refused to share any details regarding leads, interviews or arrests with the family. Kalburgi was a rationalist, a respected Kannada writer and a critic of right wing groups. His murder was among several across India which prompted dozens of artists to return national awards in protest over attacks on liberal thinkers. Having served as the ViceChancellor of Kannada University, Kalburgi was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006. In 1989, he received threats from community hardliners for writing a book which they claimed tarnished the reputation of a 21st century saint. He received a backlash from the same community hardliners recently when he said that Lingayats could not be called Hindus. Ever since then he had been provided police protection at his home. He requested security be removed just days before he was gunned down. He had been speaking on his
Key moments in Kalburgi’s murder case Aug 30: Scholar MM Kalburgi shot dead. Sep 3: Head of rightwing group Ram Sene detained. Sep 7: CID does not have any leads. Kannada scholar Dr MM Kalburgi, 77, who was gunned down on his doorstep on August 30th. cellphone when someone knocked on the door. When he answered he was shot from point-blank range. The senior officer in charge of the case, Rajappa, refused to comment on allegations made by Kalburgi’s son, Sri Vijay Kalburgi that he had refused to share any information with them. Sri Vijay Kalburgi said: “We have no clue. I tried to contact the CID team, but they said that they are still investigating. They said they have got some clues, none of which has been revealed to us. “Initially the CID team investigated around Dharwad, following which they tracked to
Dr MM Kalburgi with his wife Umadevi
other places. However, after that there hasn’t been any development. With the information they have as of now, I think they don’t know where to go. “As of now, they have not revealed anything to us. We are hoping our CID team will do a good job. “Even we are trying to find any clue with whatever contacts we have in and around Dharwad. “We are also upset that the CID team has not found anything till now. I asked the team for how many days we will have to wait? “They told they are investigating and very soon the culprit will be caught. Umadevi, wife of the scholar, is still in a state of shock but is recovering, according to her son. She was able to give police a description of the man who shot him. Sri Vijay added: “She is fine, still recovering. She is still in shock because we have not found any solution. She has not seen the second person as he was standing outside. She remembers the face of the man who came and knocked on the door. A sketch was made and it was already released.” Dr D C Rajappa, Superintend of Police Cyber Crime division is supervising the investigation. He refused to
comment and disclose any information related to the investigation. He said, “The team has not charge-sheeted the case and so we can’t share any information." On artists returning awards, Vijay said that it is their individual perception and accordingly they are reacting to the situation happening in our country. “One of such cases is my father’s murder,” he added. “I am watching closely and I don’t think any political parties are involved in this murder despite media publishing involvement of political parties. I have no clue whether it has happened because of the right wing groups or professional issues or community issues.” Kalburgi’s widow, Umadevi, said: “It is almost 3 months now and the justice is not done for my family. I have faith in government and investigating
Sep 15: Karnataka CM announces five lakhs as a reward to those who can provide clues related to the murder. Sep 17: CID suspects a link between the murders of rationalists Govind Pansare and Kalburgi; police officials claim they are close to nabbing the alleged mastermind Rudra Patil. Sep 22: Police question Sanatan Sanstha activist Samir Gaikwadwho was arrested over the murder of Govind Pansare. Sep 23: Ram Sene denies allegations, claims being targeted by leftists. Oct 18: Body found with bullet injuries in Belagavi resembles sketch of accused. Oct 30: Police draw a blank; suspect the unidentified body to be of Rudra Patil, the alleged mastermind.
Mr. Vijay Kalburgi, son of Dr MM Kalburgi
Nov 2: Body of the dead man identified; not Kalburgi’s killer.
2 THE OBSERVER
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Ex-govt secretary named in Rs.23 crore fraud case Aditi Mallick Regina Gurung A retired deputy secretary at Vidhana Soudha is a “prime suspect” in an alleged Rs23 crore land fraud. Sri K. Maharajan, an exDeputy Secretary of Karnataka Legislative Council Secretariat Employees Welfare Forum, is a main accused in the case, according to Inspector Arjun Kumar, heading the investigation. According to the complaint report filed on May 13, 2012, by one of the fraud victims, Mr. J.G Kaveriappa, Karnataka Legislative Council Secretariat Employees Welfare Forum had formulated a scheme where sites were to
be formed at Vayuja Coucil Gardens Layout at Balgur and other places which were to be be sold to its members. Construction never took place. .K.V Venkatesh was arrested yesterday morning at 10:30 a.m in the case, accused of cheating 352 people and selling plots to the public with fake documents. Based on FIRs and complaints on public complaint forums Venkatesh and his associates were under investigation since November 19. Police are investigating Sri K Maharajan, who retired in February this year. Sri K Maharajan, who joined Vidhan Soudha as a typist on September 18, 1976, was arrested and suspended on February 7, 2014 on charges
of allegation of check bounce. He is a retired Deputy Secretary. Former colleague and present secretary K.C Prabhu said, “Whatever he has done, he has done outside the premises, not inside.” “50-60 check bounce cases are filed against Maharajan,” according to Inspector Arjun Kumar. A ten-session departmental enquiry was conducted against him a year ago by District Judge S.S Pujar but charges were not proved and he was dismissed. “This is a big case and we are still investigating, there could be more involved ” said Inspector Arjun Kumar.
Man hacked to death by relatives in family feud “He was lying on the road like a dog till Manjunath and his friend, Shekhar, took him to the A 20-year-old man was hacked hospital,” said Chandrashekhar. to death by five of his relatives Shekhar, who took him to the in Mico layout on Saturday. hospital, is under the custody of Deepu, a resident of Bovi the Mico layout police. “We colony in Sudduguntepalya was have charged him under the killed by his close relatives over rowdy act. He is in the custody the existing family feud related as a precaution,” said the SI of to property, claimed his parthe police station. This is the ents. They said that the murfirst murder of the year regisderers were his grandmother’s tered here. brother and his sons Praveen Shekhar’s mother Chanand Ananda. dramma claimed that her son “Deepu’s father had taken has been arrested for no realoan of Rs 1, 75,000 from son. “I was the last person to Ananda. They had debates re- Deepu, killed by his give water to Deepu. He was like lated to this and the property relatives over property my own son. Now, I have lost issue. The boy’s life was sacriboth Deepu and Shekhar,” she said. ficed in this,” said Sampath, his uncle. “My brother was not well. He had a very bad Deepu’s mother, who is a housekeeper at St fever that day,” said Naveen, Deepu’s John’s hospital, was kidnapped and stripped younger brother. on the day of murder by Ananda and his The relatives said that the police has not goons, according to his cousin Manjunath. “ taken any necessary action to solve the case He got a phone call about this and went to and are supporting the murderers. Ananda, Mico layout to rescue his mother, along with surrendered in court yesterday, his friend Chandrashekhar. Keeping his The police refused to comment on the case. mother inside a car. Praveen and Ananda , The death certificate shows that there were along with their father hacked him to death 24 cuts in Deepu’s body. and beat up Chandrashekhar,” he said.
Parvathi Benu
Panchayat leaders unaware of radical new bill
H.K. Patil, Minister of Rural development, Karnataka
Parvathi Benu Some panchayat leaders say they are unaware of a government bill which will radically enhance their powers. The bill to amend the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Actwas tabled in the assembly on Wednesday. The proposed bill aims to decentralise power and empower panchayats. “I am not aware of any such bill being introduced,” said Rajanna, President, Golahalli Gram Panchayat.” SavitaGopal, President, ZillaPanchayat Bengaluru Rural District, also had a similar opinion. “I know that such a bill has been introduced. But I do not know what provisions does it have,” she said. The amendments were suggested by a committee headed by KR Ramesh Kumar MLA. He said, “The committee to amend the bill constitutes people from all sections. We have consulted with the local bodies, different cultural groups, politicians and experts. “The previous governments have taken the powers of the local bodies which resulted in a third tier of government with very little authority. In our system, there is always a tendency to look down to the panchayats, “he said. He added that panchayats will have more duties to take care
of and this will mean they willwork efficiently. This would solve the problem of people at the grass root level. HK Patil, Minister, Rural Development has called the bill historic. Sources at the ministry said that Karnataka will become the first Indian state to pass such a bill. They’ve also said that the opposition too has welcomed the bill. “Before the bill gets passed, the local bodies have to be educated about all the provisions, or else it will be of no use,” said, Muddahanume Gowda SP, MP from Tumkur. With 79 new amendments, about half of the act will be amended once the bill gets passed. Panchyats would be able to pass their own beneficiary oriented schemes, which cannot be challenged anywhere else. Also, the ZillaPanchayat president will be given a rank equivalent to that of a Minister of State, but will not be allowed to participate in the cabinet meetings. The act will be renamed as ‘The Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act.’ “There are many good amendments introduced. But some of them cannot be accepted. I am yet to study the bill thoroughly,” said JagdishShettar, Leader of Opposition, Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
In the city today
Construction workers from Bellary, Tumkur, Kolar, Bangalore and Mangalore have started an indefinite strike today in front of the labour commissioner's office.They demand incentives for themselves such as worker’s students scholarships, pensions, and maternity benefits, which they were eligible for.
Noted Kannada activist and politician Vatal Nagaraj commemorated Tipu Sultan’s death anniversary today. The event dubbed “Tipu Smaranotsava” was conducted at
Tipu Sultan’s summer palace in Chamarajpet. The event comes in the wake of fierce opposition to “Tipu Jayanti” being celebrated by the state government
Members of the Rait Sena Karnataka Raja Samithi and farmers from districts of North Karnataka gathered at Freedom Park on Tuesday demanding the diversion of the
water of Mahadeyi river to Malaprabha dam. They have decided to go on an indefinite strike till their demands are met.
THE OBSERVER Tuesday, November 24, 2015 3
Leprosy funding being cut despite 1841 cases this year Oindrila Sarkar
Patients in leprosy hospitals in the city. In October 2015, Bengaluru Urban recorded 33 new leprosy cases according to government data
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Cuts in funding for leprosy care could result in more cases, according to health workers. Funding for support surveys that identify leprosy patients, record growth of the disease and administer medicines, is not available any more, they say. Sister Christina, who works in Sumanahalli Leprosy Colony, said: “Due to lack of surveys, we are now getting more multibacillary (MB) cases, which have more than five patches on the skin. The government wants to project that its National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) has been highly successful. So it discourages us from doing any survey.” The government claims that Karnataka achieved the goal of leprosy elimination in the year 2005. Dr Hemavathi, deputy director (leprosy), Department of Health and Family Welfare, said that since the number of new cases is low, there is no need for surveys based on World Health Organization guidelines. However, there are 1841 new cases in Karnataka for the year 2015-2016. In Bengaluru Urban, 33 leprosy cases were reported in October 2015. Dr Hemavathi agreed that medics meant specifically for leprosy detection are now being replaced by general staff. She said: “Earlier there were paramedic workers, a separate staff for the detection of leprosy, called ‘vertical programme’, but now, we have made the programme horizontal from vertical, where general staff in hospitals attend to leprosy.” There is a shortage of 2144 paramedics in the health and family welfare department. These paramedics are meant to help in door-to-door identification and medication of leprosy patients. Peter D’Souza, director of Sumanahalli Leprosy Rehabilitation Centre, said: “Since the World Health Organization (WHO) is using the word elimination, people are confusing it with eradication. Various government policies and approaches are based on this assumption, which makes treatment and eradication difficult.” The government also wants to replace leprosy hospitals with general hospitals. The Central Leprosy Hospital on Magadi Road which treated solely leprosy patients has re-
I have clawed feet and
lost a limb. I keep getting ulcers for which I always need treatment. The MDT got over a long time back. cently started restricting admissions to leprosy patients. Dr BC Rathna, joint director (leprosy), said: “We want leprosy to be treated in general hospitals from now. We don’t want any discrimination between leprosy and other diseases.” Dr Hemavathi did not respond when asked whether hospital workers are trained to deal with leprosy cases. No programme has been devised to deal with situations arising
from complaints by patients with other diseases in the same hospital and their family members. D’Souza added: “The government has recorded that 2712 patients are at hand and 561854 cases have been cured with multi-drug therapy (MDT). But leprosy does not end after giving MDT, it only makes the disease non-contagious. Bodily deformities take place and ulcers break out. “Most patients lose eyesight,
- Sriramulu, patient in a leprosy hospital
become limbless and there are various diseases that run throughout their lives.” The MDT drug has a sixmonth course which has to be administered in the homes of the patients. A total quantity of 9122 MDTs has been supplied to the Leprosy Department in Bangalore in the month of September from the Government Medical Store depot in Chennai. Christina added: “For the care of the patients, the gov-
The Leprosy Hospital on Magadi Road now has been restricting leprosy patients
ernment provides us Rs.500 per patient per month. This is too meagre an amount since we have to look after their food, sanitation and for children education.” There are seven leprosy colonies in the city. The leprosy department gets Rs.424.58 lakh per annum with which they buy MCR chappals and self care kits for ulcers under their DCMR (Disability Control and Medical Rehabilitation) Action Plan. Sriramulu, a patient living in a leprosy hospital for the past 13 years, said: “I am not allowed inside my own home since people have an issue living with me in proximity. I have clawed feet and lost a limb. I am closing in to blindness. Now, I keep getting ulcers for which I always need treatment. The MDT got over a long time back but once you get leprosy you suffer all your life.” Wajib Pasha, a leprosy patient at the Sumanahalli Leprosy Colony for ten years, had become destitute after being abandoned by his family. He spends all day with his friend who he says became blind after the disease and forgot her name. D’Souza said: “There is a lingering social stigma associated with leprosy. People avoid coming in contact with them. Awareness is very low in India. I don’t know what hurdles this step will bring as far as leprosy eradication is concerned.”
4 THE OBSERVER
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Staff shortage leads BBMP to look for retired doctors Mouli Shree A lack of medics in maternity homes has forced the state government to pay doctors to come out of retirement. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been appointing retired government doctors in maternity homes for the past two years. An advert by the Joint Commissioner (Health) on November 13, 2015 stated that there is an immediate need for doc-
K.C Yathish Kumar, Joint Health Commissioner
tors in 24 vacant posts. G.K.Suresh, medical officer, Gandhi Nagar, BBMP said: “Two years ago there was a meeting held by the government for the recruitment of retired doctors on a temporary basis until the permanent doctors were appointed. But these posts have been vacant for the past seven months.” Dr.Balu of National Urban Health Mission, claimed that the number of government doctors sanctioned for the posts is itself not sufficient. He said, “Out of these 150 posts, BBMP can directly recruit only half the posts, while the remaining half should be from the government of Karnataka.” He added: “Without prior notice, the government took a decision to withdraw all the doctors from there due to shortage in rural areas, therefore creating vacancies. In 2009, a proposal was sent to corporation and in 2010 the government, took a decision to recruit the retired government doctors.” K.C Yathish Kumar, Joint commissioner (Health) said: “The doctors are not turning up
due to the lucrative salaries provided by private hospitals, which have numerous vacancies.” The vacancies lead to working doctors putting in additional efforts to handle the patients turning out in large numbers on a regular basis. Dr. Sunita, Gynaecologist in Dasappa 24/7 Referral Hospital said, “Hundreds of patients come on regular basis. Sometimes, it becomes hectic, but otherwise I am used to it.” Sarvitha, mother of a toddler patient, said, “I have been waiting outside Dasappa Hospital for two hours to get my daughter immunized against Hepatitis B.” Dr. Rakha, assistant surgeon in BBMP said: “Young doctors do not turn up for the job as they are paid less. These vacancies are there for past two years. The retired government doctors are appointed by the government as they have no other option.” She added that only 22 posts are filled with retired doctors and the remaining are vacant. There are 24 maternity homes which have many vacancies.
Pay Commission rewarding top officials, claims defence union Mathew Joy Mathew Thirty lakh central government employees who are bitterly disappointed with a central pay commission pay rise of 14.2 per cent are set to hold protests starting November 27. Workers from the railways, defence, postal and income tax sectors will walk to their re-
spective offices holding black flags on that day. The employees say they will hold an indefinite strike and submit a memorandum to the government with their demands. The seventh Central Pay Commission has given only a wage rise of 14.2 per cent from the existing payments,
Ravi Kumar Pillai, Vice President, AIDEF (L) and C. Srikumar, General Secretary (R) at the press meet
whereas the 5th and the 6th pay commissions had given them a wage rise of 40 per cent. It has also recommended the abolition of various allowances like risk allowance, small family allowance and advances like festival allowance and motor cycle advance. C. Srikumar, General Secretary of All India Defence Employee Federation (AIDEF), a trade union, said, “The truth is that the 7th Pay Commission is a bonanza for the babus in central government.” AIDEF is a union of civilian workers in factories under defence ministry. He added, “Among the over 30 lakh central government employees only 83 of them have been given a significant pay rise.” The seventh pay commission has recommended Rs. 2,25,000 as the pay for Secretaries of Government which is over 12.5 times that of the minimum salary. The salary of Cabinet Secretary has been recommended to be Rs 2,50,000 which is 14 times that of the minimum salary.
BBMP Referral Maternity Home, Dasappa Hospital Dr.Siddiah, retired doctor, working in BBMP, claimed that the maternity homes are filled with patients but are devoid of doctors. “It has been two years since the time we have been working like this. There’s a lot of pressure, which is why
many don’t consider applying for the post,” he said. He added that earlier, the government retired doctors used to get Rs.25, 000 but it has now been increased to Rs.40, 000. It’s less as compared to work done every day.
Yeddyurappa detained during BJP protest rally
Former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa being detained on his way to Vidhana Soudha on Monday during a protest rally at Freedom Park. (Picture: Sutanu Guha) The protest by state leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was against the Siddaramaiah government on issues of communal unrest. Yeddyurappa was taken inside a bus by police but later released.
THE OBSERVER Editor:Rajarshi Das | News Editors: Prabhpreet Singh Sood, Reema Mukherjee Chief Sub-Editor:Sana Husain | Sub-Editors: Tanay Sukumar, Regina Gurung, Sutanu Guha Layout Editor: Raina Paul, Rishi Sabharwal | Picture Editor: Payal Gangishetty | Social Media Manager: Sanskriti Talwar