PV’S DAUGHTER
By nominating former prime minister’s daughter Vani Devi, the TRS seems to be trying to encash on the good image of P.V. Narasimha Rao (PV daughter Vani is KCR’s MLC pick, DC, Feb. 22). Interestingly, PV always advocated for united Andhra Pradesh. One wonders why KCR is pitching on the “region” sentiment when the state under his governance is heading towards Bangaru Telangana.
Kshirasagara Balaji Rao
Hyderabad
Though Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao appears to be usurping former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s legacy, it is the Congress that lost its claim to it morally in 2004 when his body was not allowed to be placed inside the party headquarters in Delhi for people to pay homage.
Hyderabad
In a breakthrough in the 1999 Anjana Mishra gangrape case that largely contributed to the end of the Congress rule in Odisha, the state police with the help of its Maharashtra counterparts has apprehended prime accused Vivekananda alias Biban Biswal, who was absconding for 22 years.
The accused was held on Sunday from Lonavala where he was working as a plumber, the Odisha police said on Monday.
Briefing media persons here, BhubaneswarCuttack Twin City Commissioner of Police
Dr Sudhanshu Sarangi on Monday said the accused had changed his name to Jalandar Swain and was staying in Aamby Valley in Lonavala near Mumbai.
“Biban had mentioned Naranpur (Cuttack) in his permanent address. When we initiated an inquiry, we found out that no such person belongs to Naranpur. He had a permanent job, Aadhaar card and bank account there. He was in contact with his family members and had asked his family to get a death certificate in his name to avoid police detention in future,” the CP informed.
Dr Sarangi said that a special mission under the title of ‘Operation Silent Viper’ was launched three months ago with a team of three police personnel, including Cuttack deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Prateek Singh. On February 19, a special team led by Badambadi police station inspector Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra left for Mumbai to arrest the accused.
“Odisha police with the help of Maharashtra counterparts launched operation ‘Aamby Valley.’ The cops got to know that a person named Swain works in Aamby Valley as a mechanic and stays in a staff quarters two and a half km away. Seeing the police, the accused tried to escape. However, the cops managed to arrest him and brought him here,” Dr Sarangi said.
After the witnesses recognised the accused Biban Biswal, he was produced before the Special CBI Court here which sent him to judicial custody.
“The accused has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation which investigated the case. The next course of action will be taken by the investigating agency,” the senior cop added.
On the intervening night of January 9-10, 1999 Anjana was gang-raped by three persons near Baranga while she was going to Cuttack from Bhubaneswar along with a journalist-friend in a car.
ON MONDAY, Kerala reported 2,212 new cases of Covid-19. As of now the state has 55,468 positive cases, over 2.42 lakh people are under surveillance including 2.33 under home/institutional quarantine.
With the Karnataka authorities scaling up restrictions on transit passengers from Kerala, people living in Kasargod and adjoining areas are facing a harrowing time.
People of Kasargod, the northernmost district of Kerala, depend on hospitals in Mangaluru for their medical requirements. Besides, a large number of students from Kerala are also pursuing higher education in various institutions across Karnataka.
The Karnataka authorities have sealed the major borders in view of the high prevalence of Covid cases in Kerala. The Karnataka authorities have stated that those who wish to enter the state have to produce Covid-19 negative certificate through an RT-PCR test taken 72 hours before their crossover. There is also heavy deployment of health and police personnel at the four borders to screen the people entering the state.
The restrictions have led to angry protests by a section of people in Kasargod. On Monday morning workers of the
Congress-led UDF staged a demonstration on the national highway and blocked traffic at Talapady. The protestors did not allow vehicles coming from Karnataka to enter Kerala for a couple of hours even as the authorities on the other side of the border intercepted people and asked them to produce Covid negative certificates.
The blockade and checking by officials resulted in long queues of vehicles on either side of the interstate check post.
On Monday, Kerala reported 2,212 new cases of Covid-19. As of now the state has 55,468 positive cases, over 2.42 lakh people are under surveillance including 2.33 under home/institutional quarantine.