Karnataka will be malaria-free by 2025, claims Health minister K Sudhakar

Hassan: Hassan police have arrested MLC Dr Suraj Revanna, in connection with the sexual abuse on a youth case, in Hassan, on Sunday morning.

Suraj was taken into police custody on Saturday evening and was questioned by the police at Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) crime police station in Hassan.

Sakleshpur Dy SP Pramod Kumar, who is the Investigation officer, has arrested Suraj. There are possibilities of producing him before the magistrate on Sunday afternoon.

The Police brought Suraj Revanna to the CEN police station on Saturday night at around 7:30 pm. They have recorded his statements in connection with the complaint lodged against him by an Arkalgud youth and also on the counter complaint lodged by his close associate Shivakumar, office-bearer of 'Suraj Brigade'.

Hassan SP Mohammed Sujitha visited the police station on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, police are waiting for the medical reports of the complainant, who was taken for medical examination to Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru.

It may be mentioned that a man from Arkalgud taluk, who had accused MLC Dr Suraj Revanna of sexual abuse, had lodged a formal complaint at Holenarsipur police station, on Saturday.

The man alleged that Suraj sexually assaulted him, following which he told him that he would help him in growing politically in the district.

He said in the complaint that he had texted Suraj about the incident later, and Suraj had replied, "Don’t worry, everything will be fine."

The complainant said that Suraj had invited him to his farmhouse and he forcefully kissed him and bit his lips and cheeks. Based on the complaint, the Holenarasipura police registered a case against the JD(S) MLC under IPC sections 377 (unnatural sex) and 506 (criminal intimidation) late on Saturday evening.

The complainant was brought to Bengaluru on Saturday night after he refused to undergo certain medical tests in Hassan. On Sunday, his potency test was scheduled to be conducted at Bowring Hospital in the presence of a senior doctor.

Notably, Suraj Revanna and his acquaintance Shivakumar had also filed a complaint alleging that they were being blackmailed by two people over a "false sexual assault allegation".

Shivakumar had alleged that a man had initially befriended him and requested his help in securing a job, citing financial distress. Shivakumar agreed to introduce him to Suraj during the Lok Sabha elections.

The police had filed an FIR against Suraj under sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 34 (common intention) of IPC. 

Dr Suraj is the son of MLA H D Revanna and brother of former MP Prajwal Revanna.

An Indian expatriate working in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk, has been cleared of allegations related to a hacker's scam and is now permitted to return to India for leave. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, hails from the outskirts of Mangaluru city in Karnataka.

Employed by the Greek company for nearly three years, he had been diligently performing his duties. On November 15, 2022, he received a call from an individual pretending to be an officer from the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry. The “officer” informed him that his Iqama (Residency Permit) was about to expire and sent him an OTP (One-Time Password) to validate it. Trusting the caller’s identity, the man accepted the OTP and continued his work without issues until he planned to take a vacation.

On September 30, 2023, while traveling from Tabuk to Jeddah International Airport for his flight to India, he was contacted by his company and instructed to return to Tabuk because his exit re-entry had not been processed due to a case against his Iqama.

Upon his return, he discovered that SAR 17,000 had been withdrawn from a citizen’s bank account through his account. The man had no knowledge of this transaction and did not have any money in his account. Recalling the OTP incident from a year earlier, he realized he had been a victim of a cyber-scam.

A case was filed against him at the concerned police station, and he made a clear statement to the police about the incident. After an investigation lasting more than nine months, he was exonerated and is now allowed to go on leave to India.

The man expressed his gratitude to all those who supported him during the ordeal, including the authorities, his company, and social workers advocate P. A. Hameed Padubidri and Naufal Mulky for their unwavering support and constant follow-up.

This incident serves as a stark warning to other expatriates: be cautious and vigilant against unknown callers and unsolicited requests for sensitive information.

Masses of pilgrims on Sunday, May 16, embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of Hajj pilgrimage and the start of the Eid Al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world.

The stoning is among the final rites of the Hajj, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It came a day after more than 1.8 million pilgrims congregated on a sacred hill in Mount Ararat outside the holy city of Makkah, which Muslim pilgrims visit to perform the annual five-day rituals of Hajj.

The pilgrims left Mount Arafat on Saturday evening to spend their night in a nearby site known as Muzdalifa, where they collected pebbles they have used in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil.

The pillars are in another sacred place in Makkah, called Mina, where Muslims believe Ibrahim’s faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Ismail. Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but then God stayed his hand, sparing his son. In the Christian and Jewish version of the story, Abraham is ordered to kill his other son, Isaac.

Pilgrims will spend the next three days in Mina, where they walk long distances on pedestrian-only streets toward a multi-story complex housing large pillars. There, they cast seven pebbles each at three pillars in a ritual meant to symbolize the casting away of evil and sin.

While in Mina, they will visit Makkah to perform “tawaf,” circumambulation, which is circling the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque counterclockwise seven times. They will make another circumambulation, known as Farewell Tawaf, at the end of Hajj and as they prepare to leave the holy city.

The rites coincide with the four-day Eid Al-Adha, which means “Feast of Sacrifice,” when Muslims with the financial means commentate Ibrahim’s test of faith through slaughtering livestock and animals and distributing the meat to the poor.

Once the Hajj is over, men are expected to shave their heads and remove the shroud-like white garments worn during the pilgrimage, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal and rebirth.

Most of the pilgrims then leave Makkah for the city of Madinah, about 340 kilometers away, to pray in Prophet Muhammad’s tomb, the Sacred Chamber. The tomb is part of the prophet’s mosque, which is one of the three holiest sites in Islam, along with the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

All Muslims are required to make the Hajj once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so. Many wealthy Muslims make the pilgrimage more than once. The rituals largely commemorate the accounts of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail, Ismail’s mother Hajjar and Prophet Muhammad, according to the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book.

More than 1.83 million Muslims performed Hajj in 2024, Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah said in a briefing, slightly less than last year’s figures when 1.84 million made the rituals.

Most of the Hajj rituals are held outdoors with little if any shade. It is set for the second week of Dhu Al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic lunar calendar, so its time of the year varies. And this year the pilgrimage fell in the burning summer of Saudi Arabia. The heat soared to 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 F) at Mount Arafat on Saturday.

This year’s Hajj came against the backdrop of the devastating Israel-Hamas war, which has pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional conflict.