No fee hike in private engineering colleges in Karnataka this year

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Most wanted Maoists operating in deep jungles of Western Ghats, hilly and coastal region of Karnataka have decided to lay down their arms and join the mainstream following the appeal by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka Congress government.

According to sources, the Maoists have taken the decision following the encounter of Vikram Gowda and the continuous combing operations in the Western Ghat region by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) and the Karnataka Police.

Sources said that top leaders Mundagaru Latha who leads the Tunga Naxal Wing in the state; Sundari, Vanajakshi, Jeesha, the most wanted Maoists of south India; K. Vasantha from Andhra Pradesh and Mareppa Aroli have decided to surrender and lay down their arms.

Maoist leader Sundari’s brother Anand, who was also a Naxal and returned to the mainstream, stated, “They will welcome her home if she decides to lay down arms. Let her and associates stop the struggle and live like common people. It’s 17 years since she had gone away from home. We will be happy if she comes back to us.”

“Sundari, surrender before the government and come back home,” he appealed in Kutlur of Mangaluru district.

The surrender procedure will happen in two to three days, sources confirmed.

The sources also revealed that the Maoists had written a letter in this regard to the Citizen’s Forum, a progressive organisation and the members of the forum have discussed the matter already with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

CM Siddaramaiah welcomed the proposal and gave the green signal for authorities to start the surrender procedures.

The Maoists have demanded that the surrender process should take place in a dignified manner and that their self-respect should not be harmed. They have also demanded that they should not be prevented from exercising their rights under a democratic system.

The Maoists have also demanded that they should not be made to languish in prisons. The 'false' cases against them should be closed and cooperation has to be extended for them after surrender to obtain bail. It has also been demanded that all cases must be brought under one court and trial has to be expedited.

They have also demanded financial support from the government to shape their lives. The package has to be applied to other surrendered Maoists who are presently in prison. They have also sought clarification on whether Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states will take one stand on the matter.

The Maoists have also demanded a judicial investigation of the Vikram Gowda encounter.

Journalist Mohammad Hijazi has been killed in an Israeli attack, raising the number of media workers killed by Zionist forces since the start of the war on Gaza to 220.

The Israeli regime forces killed the Palestinian writer, poet and journalist in an airstrike on northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, according to his family.

He was among nearly 90 other Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardment across the besieged territory in the last 24 hours, according to a Gaza Health Ministry statement on Sunday.

“I don’t know if I will write to you again. I keep what I have written and am writing. Maybe it will come to light one day. I refuse a cheap death. I curse the murderer,” Hijazi wrote in a post on social media in August 2023.

“Let us in this bottom that we have finally reached, arm ourselves with patience and prayer, and count the days we have lived as a historic achievement while awaiting what is coming with a broken heart, an extinguished eye, a head held high, and a spirit that fights until the end of the road.”

Since the Israeli killing machine imposed a military siege of northern Gaza in early October intensifying its bombing attacks on the the Jabalia camp, hundreds of people have been killed.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 88 Palestinians had been killed and 208 others injured in the past 24 hours alone.

According to media reports from central Gaza, among those killed in the latest Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday were three Palestinians who were living in a tent in Deir el-Balah.

A family of 15 people was also buried under the rubble in Gaza City, following a separate strike, media reported.

The Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian  Hamas resistance movement in October last year, killing more than 45,805 Palestinians and wounding 109,064 others.

Mangaluru: In a shocking case of fraud, six individuals posing as officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swindled a beedi businessman of Rs 25 to 30 lakh in cash and five mobile phones at Kolnad in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada on Friday night.

The incident came to light after Mohammed Iqbal, 27, lodged a complaint with the police, stating that his father, a beedi trader, was targeted by the imposters.

According to the complaint, the six accused arrived at the businessman’s residence around 8:10 pm in a car with Tamil Nadu registration plates. Claiming to be ED officials, they announced that they had orders to search the house and began confiscating mobile phones from the family members.

The fraudsters reportedly discovered Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in cash, which the businessman had kept aside for business purposes. They claimed that keeping such a large amount was illegal and threatened to arrest him unless he complied. By 10:30 pm, the group left the house, instructing the businessman to submit documents at the ED office in Bengaluru to reclaim the money.

Later, upon discussing the incident with his family, Iqbal realized that the individuals were not ED officials but fraudsters who had impersonated authorities to rob them.

A case has been registered at Vittal Police Station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is underway, and the police have promised swift action to apprehend the culprits.

Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Yathish N, along with senior officers, visited the crime scene and assured the family that the perpetrators would be brought to justice at the earliest.