Karnataka Minister terms violence in Bengaluru as 'planned riot', alleges SDPI's role

Kadaba, Jan 18: In a heartrending incident, a 16-year-old student lost his life on Friday, January 18, after the motorbike he was riding skidded off the road and plunged into a culvert on the Dharmasthala–Mardhala–Subrahmanya state highway near Gargaspal, Peradka. 

The accident spot falls under the Noojibaltila gram panchayat in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. 

The victim, Ashish, a tenth-grade student from a private school in Peradka, was the beloved son of Vishwanath of Hosamane Kaana in Noojibaltila village. His untimely demise has left his parents and sibling in profound grief.

The accident occurred during Ashish’s routine commute to school. Despite the swift intervention of a local resident, Sridhar, who rushed him to a private hospital in Kadaba, medical efforts could not save him. A case has been registered at the Kadaba police station.

The culvert where the accident happened has long been criticized by locals for its flawed and unsafe design. Numerous accidents have reportedly occurred at this spot, prompting repeated appeals from residents for immediate rectification. Community members have once again called upon authorities to prioritize repairs to prevent further tragedies.

Responding to the incident, Kadaba tahsildar Prabhakar Khajure underscored the importance of curbing underage driving. He directed the police department to take stringent action against minors found operating vehicles and cautioned parents about the serious consequences of providing vehicles to underage children.

This incident serves as a grim reminder of the pressing need for both infrastructural improvements and stricter enforcement of traffic regulations to safeguard young lives.

Udupi: A resident of Karkala in Udupi district has accused five individuals of defrauding him of nearly Rs 2 crore under the guise of business partnerships.

Dawood Hakim, a resident of Ennehole in Marne village, Karkala, has filed a complaint stating that he operated a mobile sales and service business on Karkala Market Road for 15 years. He had known the accused for over two decades and trusted them implicitly.

According to Dawood, the accused convinced him to invest in multiple business ventures, including land dealings and a travel business, promising substantial returns and partnership benefits. Believing their assurances, Dawood reportedly handed over cash, gold, and a vehicle.

However, the promised profits never materialized, and the accused allegedly failed to return the money or assets. Dawood claims this deception has caused severe financial distress to him and his family, amounting to a loss of around Rs 2 crore.

A case has been registered at the CEN police station, and investigations are underway.

Despite the announcement of a ceasefire deal, Israel has intensified its airstrikes and artillery shelling on Gaza, especially its residential buildings, killing more than 100 Palestinians.

Gaza’s civil defense said on Friday at least 101 Palestinians, including 27 children and 31 women, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday.

The attacks have also left more than 264 injured, according to the rescue agency.

Most of the killings came in Gaza City.

The report comes as Israeli attacks have shown no sign of slowing on the ground, with dozens of strikes reported on Friday.

In northern Gaza’s Jabalia, nine members of a Palestinian journalist’s family, including women and children, were killed.

Two more Palestinians were killed in a separate Israel airstrike in the Jabalia al-Balad area, in the north of Gaza. 

Jabalia has come under fierce attack since the Gaza ceasefire announcement this week. On Thursday, at least 20 were killed in one attack in the area.

At least five others were also killed in another attack that targeted a home, east of Khan Younis City, in Southern Gaza on Friday.

To the west of Khan Younis, three people were killed in attacks on tents housing displaced people.

Another tent was targeted in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, killing one person.

That's while Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene his cabinet later on Friday to approve the long-awaited ceasefire.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 46,788 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 110,453 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

The ceasefire, announced on Wednesday, consists of three phases and would come into effect on Sunday over 42 days.

The truce deal stipulates that a large-scale prisoner exchange will occur, including the release of 1,000 prisoners from Gaza and hundreds of detainees serving lengthy sentences.

The first stage involves the release of 33 captives, including "children, women, female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick," as well as a gradual, partial withdrawal of invading Israeli units.