Santhosh Rai, who lost three of his family says 'I still feel they're here'

May 27, 2010

Dubai, May, 27 : The tragedy is yet to sink in for Dubai-based Santhosh Rai, who lost his wife Reshma, son Naland, 10, and eight-month-old daughter Viha in the Air India Express plane crash last week.

Speaking from Mangalore, where he air-dashed after the crash, Rai, a training co-ordinator with Emirates Aluminium, said, "Only time will tell. I still feel they are in Dubai, busy with work and school, while I have come here."

The Bur Dubai-based resident said Reshma was working with Emirates NBD and was headed to Mangalore after two years as she wanted her parents to see their daughter. She had been debating whether to fly on May 19 or 21 and had opted for the latter as she could spend two days in Dubai with him and their eldest son, Milind, 16, he said. But little did the family know what lay ahead. "As a family, we used to make it a point never to be apart for too long," he said, adding that Reshma was supposed to return on June 4.

He also said he had known Reshma since his college days when they were studying law in Mangalore together. "We were bench-mates," he said.

Ironically, Rai said, it was the diamond mangalsutra - a necklace considered to be a symbol of marriage among Hindus - that helped identify Reshma's charred body after the crash. "It was hidden in the flesh," he said. He said the body of Naland could be identified due to a tooth gap that he had, while that of Viha could be identified by her white dress and also because she was one of the two infants on the flight. "My daughter did not wear a chain, while the other infant was wearing one."

Rai said his only surviving child Milind is a student of JSS School in Barsha. "He is very quiet and in shock," he said.

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BJP MLAs storm Speaker U T Khader’s chambers for allowing Cong MLA to speak on BJP’s quota politics

News Network

December 12,2024

Angry BJP lawmakers stormed Assembly Speaker U T Khader’s chambers at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, escalating tensions after the ruling Congress turned the tables on the saffron party over the Panchamasali Lingayat community’s reservation issue.

The friction began when Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar, a Panchamasali Lingayat, was allowed to criticise the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government’s controversial decision to scrap the 4 per cent Muslim quota, reallocating it equally to Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Kashappanavar slammed the BJP’s move, accusing it of being a mere election gimmick.

“The previous BJP government created two new reservation categories, 2C for Vokkaligas and 2D for Lingayats, just before the 2023 Assembly elections,” Kashappanavar said. “When challenged in the Supreme Court, the BJP government admitted it would not implement the decision. They announced it for votes but backtracked in court, misleading Panchamasali seer Basava Jaya Mrityunjaya Swami.”

Adding fuel to the fire, Kashappanavar alleged that RSS members had incited violence during a protest for enhanced Panchamasali Lingayat reservation. This claim enraged BJP lawmakers, who demanded the comment be expunged. However, Speaker Khader permitted Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to read aloud the BJP government’s affidavit to the Supreme Court.

“If the Panchamasali Lingayat community has faced injustice, it is because of the BJP,” Gowda declared, sparking further protests from the opposition. BJP leaders accused Khader of being “one-sided” and disregarding a point of order raised by BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar.

When Khader adjourned the session for lunch, the confrontation boiled over. Opposition Leader R Ashoka, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, MLAs Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Sunil Kumar, and others barged into Khader’s chambers. Chaos ensued as shouting and hollering echoed through the halls, prompting marshalls to intervene.

“The Speaker was warned that if he continued behaving this way, we would boycott the session,” Narayan stated afterward.

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