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Ahmedabad: The investigation into the death of a six-year-old girl in Gujarat's Dahod district has led to a chilling revelation -- the Class I student was choked to death, allegedly by her school's principal after she resisted his attempts to sexually assault her. He then dumped her body in the school's compound and her bag and shoes near the classroom. Police have arrested the accused, 55-year-old Govind Natt.

Senior police officer Rajdeep Singh Jhala said the six-year-old girl's body was found on the premises of her school on Thursday evening, sparking panic in the area. The post-mortem revealed that she suffocated to death. Police registered a case and formed 10 teams to probe the matter. The girl's mother told the police that she went to school with the principal, Govind Natt, every day. When the cops spoke to him, the principal said he had dropped off the girl at the school and left for some work.

The cops were not convinced. When they examined Govind Natt's phone location details on the day of the incident, it was found that he reached school late that day. When he was grilled, the principal confessed to the heinous crime.

"He picked up the girl from her home at around 10.20 am. Her mother helped her get into the principal's car and saw her off. But she never reached the school. The school's students and teachers confirmed this. On the way to school, the principal tried to sexually assault her, and she started shouting," the senior officer said, adding that the principal choked the girl to stop her from shouting.

On reaching the school, the principal left the girl's body in his car and locked the vehicle. "Around 5 pm, he dumps the body behind the school building and plants her school bag and shoes outside her classroom. He denied this initially, but we suspected him after the technical analysis," Mr Jhala said.

Govind Natt, police have said, faces stringent charges under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

State Education Minister Kuber Dindor said it was a shameful incident for the society. "I am pained by this. We were following this up for three days. We had told police to get to the bottom of this. The principal has been arrested. I condemn this incident and we will take steps to ensure such crimes are not repeated."

Mangaluru, Sep 20: The bye-election for the MLC seat, vacated by Kota Srinivas Poojary after his election as an MP, will take place on October 21. The election covers 6,037 voters from 392 local bodies across Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner and election officer Mullai Muhilan provided details at a press conference held at the DC office on Thursday.

Key Election Dates:

Nomination Period: September 26 to October 3
Verification of Nominations: October 4
Last Date for Withdrawal of Nominations: October 7
Election Day: October 21 (Polling from 8 AM to 4 PM)
Vote Counting: October 24

Code of Conduct:

The model code of conduct came into effect on September 19 and will remain in place until October 28 in both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. During this period, government development projects cannot be announced, and foundation stone-laying ceremonies are prohibited. Political banners and hoardings are also banned. Government officials are restricted from participating in public programs or meetings. The Election Commission will oversee all political events, and the regulations that apply to MP and MLA elections will also govern this MLC bye-election.

Election Management:

Additional DCs of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi will assist as election officers. While no election-related check posts will be set up, flying squads and video surveillance teams will monitor compliance. Political party buntings and hoardings will be removed immediately.

Voter and Polling Information:

Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts fall under the Dakshina Kannada local body authority. In this bye-election, eligible voters include members of gram panchayats, city corporations, city municipalities, town municipalities, town panchayats, as well as MLAs, MLCs, and MPs.

Dakshina Kannada: 3,551 voters, 234 polling booths
Udupi: 2,486 voters, 158 polling booths

Officials Present:

The press conference was attended by ZP CEO Dr. Anand, Additional DC Dr. Santhosh Kumar, Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal, SP Yatheesh, MCC Commissioner Anand C L, and Assistant Commissioner Girish Nandan.

This election marks a significant political event for both districts, with voters from various local bodies participating in the process.

Mangaluru: Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur said that as a part of the International Day of Democracy, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will hold a 23-km long human chain and plant 1000 saplings in the Bengre area on September 15.

The human chain will be formed from Pavanje bridge to the border of Arkula, which will pass through Nanthoor Junction- Kannur Junction. The event is organised with the objective of creating awareness among the public, particularly the youth, about the significance of democracy. Around 10,000 people, particularly students, will participate in forming the human chain in the city limits, he told media persons.

He said Democratic system in India is a model to the world and we should be grateful to Dr B R Ambedkar for giving the country a beautiful constitution. To make the people, particularly the youth, aware of the Constitution and its preamble, the state government has chalked out a plan to form a mega human chain from Bidar to Chamrajnagar. As a part of it, the programme will be held in Mangaluru. Students from various schools, colleges, various organisations, NGOs should actively participate to make the event a grand success.”

The Mayor said as a part of the celebrations, an arch will be built at Pavanje bridge and Kannur Junction. The Zonal office at Surathkal will be decorated with tri colour along with KPC Circle, Nanthoor Junction, Padil Junction. The main programme will be held at Kadri Circle near Circuit House in Mangaluru, which will be attended by DK MP Capt Brijesh Chowta, MLAs D Vedavyasa Kamath, Dr Y Bharath Shetty, DC Mullai Muhilan MP and others. Flags will be placed for every 100 metre of the human chain stretch. The participants can click their photos and upload it through https://democracydaykarnataka.in/ to collect a certificate, added the mayor. 

The human chain will be held from Pavanje to Mukka checkpost, Mukka chepost to Mukka Junction, Mukka Junction to NITK gate, NITK gate to Tadambail Junction, Tadambail Junction to Hotel Suraj, Hotel Suraj to Govinda Dasa College, Govinda Dasa College to Kordabbu Daivasthana, Hosabettu, Kordabbu Daivasthana to Honnakatte Junction, Kulai to APMC, Baikampady, Hotel Vishwasagar to Mangaluru traffic police check post , Mangaluru traffic police check post to Panambur circle, Panambur Circle to NMPA railway track, MCF to Kuloor bridge, Kuloor bridge to Gold Finch ground, Gold Finch ground to Kottara Chowki, Kottara Chowki to BMS Hotel, BMS Hotel to SKS apartment, KPT to Saptagiri petrol bunk, Nanthoor Circle to Kaikamba, Maroli Jodukatte till Padil Circle, Padil to First Neuro Hospital – Kannur Junction, Adyar Katte to Sahyadri College, Sahyadri College to Expert Cross (Valacchil), Express Cross to Arkula border.