KALABURAGI MONDAY AUGUST 19, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 CITY EDITION FSSAI PROJECT TO STUDY MICROPLASTIC CONTAMINATION OF FOOD PRODUCTS The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a project to assess microplastic contamination in food products AIM IS TO GENERATE DATA SPECIFIC TO INDIA The project aims to develop standard protocols for the analysis of micro and nanoplastics in food products and generate data on exposure levels among consumers in India. “This project will help understand the extent of microplastic contamination in Indian food and guide the formulation of effective regulations and safety standards,” the food regulator said ■ 14.5% 12% SPICES SOLD IN INDIA FAIL SAFETY TESTS ■ Close to 12% of spices tested in India failed to meet quality and safety standards set by FSSAI, Reuters news agency reported citing the data it obtained under India’s Right to Information Act The data shows 474 of 4,054 samples tested by FSSAI between May and July didn’t meet quality and safety parameters, Reuters reported SHIPMENTS OF A POPUALR INDIAN SPICE BRAND REJECTED BY U.S. SINCE 2022: REUTERS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI SC takes suo motu cognisance of Kolkata case CJI-led bench to hear matter on Tuesday; protests against rape-murder of trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital get bigger S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi AMID widespread outrage over the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and decided to hear the matter on Tuesday. Meanwhile, junior doctors in several states remained off-duty on Sunday disrupting healthcare services. According to the cause list of August 20 uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website on Sunday a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chan, drachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will hear the matter titled ‘In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and related issue’. Several letter petitions have been filed with the Supreme MHA seeks Court urging it to take updates every up the case on a suo2 hours motu basis, given the Union home ministry “brutal and horrific has asked states to n a t u r e ” o f t h e send situation incident. One such letter petireports every two hours. “A continuous tion was filed by Dr two-hourly law and Monica Singh of Army order situation College of Dental Scireport in this regard ences, Secunderabad, may kindly be sent Telangana, seeking to the MHA control the SC’s urgent interroom by fax/ email/ vention following a seWhatsApp,” the ries of alarming incicommunication said dents of brutal attacks on medical professionals, the latest one being the RG Kar hospital incident. The letter petition, accessed by this newspaper, filed through advocate Satyam Singh, said the rape-murder and subsequent attacks on the RG Kar Medical College on August 14 “ severely disrupted hospital operations and created an atmosphere of fear among medical staff. There must be immediate deployment of Central Forces to protect R.G. Kar Medical College and its staff ”. The Calcutta High Court had on August 13 ordered transfer of the case and investigation from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing laxity on the part of the local police. The HC transferred the investigation to the CBI after hearing petitions filed by the victim’s parents and several other individuals. (From left) Doctors protest at Shyambazar area of Kolkata on Sunday against alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital; supporters of football clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan take part in a protest march near Salt Lake stadium, in Kolkata | PTI Football fans clash with police during protest E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kolkata DOCTORS SUMMONED Kolkata Police on Sunday issued summonses to renowned doctors Kunal Sarkar and Subarna Goswami and former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee for allegedly spreading false information. The police also summoned Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, hours after he demanded that the CBI interrogate Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal PROTESTS against the horrific rape and murder of a medic at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital spilled on to the streets on Sunday after the police clamped prohibitory orders and cancelled the much-anticipated football match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium. The police action united supporters of traditional arch rivals of the two century-old clubs. In a rare show of solidarity, the supporters— men, women, young and old—of both clubs gathered at the stadium, with the slogan ‘We want justice’ reverberating in the air. Around 4pm on Sunday the fans , started assembling in front of the VIP Gate of the Saltlake Staidum where the Durand Cup derby match was scheduled but called off by the administration, fearing security concerns. Outside the Saltlake Stadium, India defender and Mohun Bagan captain Subhasish Bose, accom- CBI grills ex-principal Ghosh for third day In Kolkata, Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, appeared before the CBI on the third consecutive day and was asked to furnish details of the phone calls he made before, and after the incident at the hospital, an officer of the central probe agency said. Gosh was questioned by the CBI for around 10 hours on Friday. He was again grilled on Saturday panied by his wife Kasturi Chetri, and All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey joined the protest march. A huge contingent of police personnel was present to handle law and order. Soon, chaos erupted with the police forcing the supporters to retreat. The police resorted to baton charge and made some arrests. Protestors questioned why the match was cancelled when there was such a large number of police force available. They alleged that the police had failed to control rampaging mob at RG Kar. Chaubey who is also a BJP lead, er, said: “Football is beyond politics, religion or any colour. The match should not have been cancelled. If the fans are arrested, it’s a shame for the state’s law and order.” Earlier, the Durand Cup Organising Committee said: “This office has been informed by the police that they are unable to provide security cover for the 133rd Indian Oil Durand Cup Group A fixture between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Emami East Bengal scheduled at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday August 18, 2024.” , Some distance away from Salt Lake Stadium, several celebrities, theatre personalities, intellectuals held a protest march from Shyambazar towards RG Kar Medical College & Hospital raising slogans. 21-yr-old raped by biker, accused held within hrs R A K S H I T H G O W D A @ Bengaluru A 21-year-old girl student was allegedly raped by an unknown motorist who offered to drop her. The incident took place at an isolated place on Hosur service road in HSR Layout police limits in the early hours of Sunday . Acting swiftly the police nabbed the accused within a few , hours of the incident. The victim, who is said to be studying final-year BBA at a private college, is a resident of Hebbagodi. Five special teams formed to crack the case gathered information about the accused based on the victim’s statement and analysis of CCTV footage. Following credible leads, the accused was nabbed by the police on Sunday evening. The police, however, refused to divulge more information about the accused, stating that the case is still under investigation. The police said the victim and her male friend had attended a party at a pub in Koramangala. After the party, the friend took her in his car and on the way he hit an autorickshaw near a mall, , leading to an argument between them and the auto drivers. A Hoysala patrolling van also reached the spot on receiving the information and dispersed them. In the melee, it is said, the victim started walking alone and when she reached the NGV Junction, a man on a motorbike approached her and offered to drop her home. “The man took her to an isolated location near a godown on Hosur service road. Sensing danger, the victim made an SOS emergency call to a friend. Before her friend could reach the spot within 10-15 minutes based on the location he received, the woman was already allegedly raped. P5 Champai in Delhi amid buzz over BJP switch M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi Mahila Congress workers, led by party leader Pushpa Amarnath, protest against Governor Thaawarchand Ghelot, accusing him of being in cahoots with the BJP, in Mysuru on Sunday | UDAYASHANKAR S CM, Cong to move court today against Guv’s order D EVA RA J B H I R E H A L L I @ Bengaluru CHIEF Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress are all set to start a legal fight by moving the Karnataka High Court on Monday against Karnataka Gover nor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s sanction to prosecute the chief minister in the MUDA case. After talking to legal experts, including his legal adviser AS Ponnanna, Siddaramaiah decided to file the petition, challenging the governor’s decision. Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kabil Sibal are arriving from New Delhi to represent the CM. The case is likely to be heard on Monday , sources said. Siddaramaiah, who was scheduled to visit Guru Raghavendra temple in Mantralaya on Monday, cancelled his visit. Meanwhile, party high command leaders -- AICC general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala -- held talks with the CM and also AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is in town, on the pros and cons of filing the case. Karnataka politics is heading towards a decisive phase with Siddaramaiah calling for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on August 22, Thursday to take the , party’s 136 MLAs into confidence. The meeting is crucial as it will decide if Siddaramaiah should continue or quit as CM, if an FIR is filed against him, a source said. On August 23, Siddaramaiah is leaving for New Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and his mother Sonia Gandhi, sources added. CONTINUED ON: P4 JHARKHAND Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and for mer Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren along with four party MLAs landed in Delhi on Sunday, triggering speculations that he is set to join the BJP months before the state Assembly elections. After reaching the national capital, Champai took to X to accuse the JMM leadership of humiliating him and forcing him to look for “an alternative path”. He also removed the name of the party from his X account. After Hemant Soren was ar- EXPRESS READ Coast Guard DG passes away in Chennai Chennai: Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rakesh Pal (59) died following a cardiac arrest here on Sunday afternoon. Pal, who took charge as the 25th Indian Coast Guard (ICG) chief on July 19 last year, was in the city for the inauguration of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre building | P5 Hosps in Rajasthan get bomb threat emails Jaipur: Several hospitals across Rajasthan received email bomb threats on Sunday, which turned out to be a hoax. Bomb disposal teams cordoned off the hospitals to check the premises, but found nothing suspicious. The emails had said that bombs had been planted under hospital beds and in bathrooms, police said. rested in January in a corruption case, Champai was asked to take over as the CM. Champai said, that after Hemant Soren was released on bail on June 28, all his official programmes in the first week of July were abruptly cancelled by the party without his knowledge. “Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Chief Minister’s programs being cancelled by some other person? Despite swallowing this bitter pill of insult, I said that the appointment letters would be distributed in the morning, while the legislative party meeting would be held in the afternoon, so I would attend it from there. But, I was flatly refused from there,” Champai wrote on X. He said after this incident he was ‘broken from within’. When he asked the party leadership, he was told that a meeting of the legislative party had been called on July 3. Till then he could not attend any programme as the chief minister. Champai said at that meeting, he was asked to resign and Hemant Soren was elected as the legislative party leader. Champai wrote that the ‘humiliation’ he suffered left him with no choice, but to look for an alternative path. “I felt as if I had no existence in that party for which I dedicated my entire life... After facing so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path”. He wrote from that day, he had three options — to retire from politics, to form a new party or to join another party , . He said all options are open. BLIND SPOT Wearing dark shirt, driving car? AI cams fail to spot seatbelt, fine many B A N S Y K A L A P PA @ Bengaluru A wave of traffic fines for seatbelt violations has swept Bengaluru, Mysuru and other parts of Karnataka, with many drivers claiming that they were wrongly penalised by AI surveillance cameras. Several drivers have taken to social media to express their frustration over receiving challans, despite wearing seatbelts. The challans were issued by the traffic department’s new artificial intelligence system, which monitors compliance with safety regulations independently with the help of latest technology . A Facebook profile, going by the name siliconcity .bengaluru, complained, “Bengaluru traffic AI cameras are issuing false seatbelt ticket challans. The false tickets are due to the similar colour of the seatbelt and shirt or coat one is wearing. The issue arises from the cameras’ inability to distinguish the two.” Another netizen, Prithvi Chandrashekar, said, “I request people driving cars in Mysuru to check their challans. After seeing this post, I checked my car’s challan and, to my surprise, even I have a challan for not wearing a seatbelt from ITMS Udaya Ravi Road (AI-based). P5 Soon, safety harness must to carry kids on bikes The transport department is working on implementing the mandatory safety harness rule for those riding with children above nine months and within four years on two-wheelers. In the first step, officials have started creating awareness on importance of safety harnesses. Barber stabs Dalit youth to death in Koppal A M I T S U PA D H Y E @Hubballi A 26-year-old Dalit youth was stabbed to death by a barber at a salon in Koppal district on Saturday. The incident occurred at Sanganal village of Yelburga taluk. The victim, Yamanurswamy Bandihal, had gone to the salon for a haircut when a fight broke out between him and the murder accused, Mudakappa Hadapad. Villagers said the altercation ended with Hadapad stabbing Bandihal in the stomach with scissors. The victim, who bled profuse- Yamanurswamy ly, died on the Bandihal spot. The brother of the deceased, Hanumant, filed a complaint at the Yelburga police Mudakappa station. Senior po- Hadapad lice officials, including SP Ram L Arasiddi, visited the village and met the victim’s family members. The village had turned tense following the murder and the situation was brought under control after the police held a meeting with the villagers. Local Dalit families demanded justice for Bandihal. An official from the Yelburga Social Welfare Department said the District Social Welfare Department has been informed about the incident. “We met the victim’s mother Yallavva and brother Hanumant at their residence and paid our condolences,” the official said. P5
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