KALABURAGI  WEDNESDAY  FEBRUARY 17, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION FORMALITY COMPLETE Needing seven wickets to win, India posted a massive 317-run win against England in the second Test on Day Four HOME TRUTH Virat Kohli is already India’s most successful Test captain ever and the win in Chennai was his 21st at home. As of now, this is a joint-home record with former skipper MS Dhoni PATEL RAP Left-arm spinner Axar Patel had a memorable debut. He picked up five wickets, including that of Joe Root, in the second innings. He is the ninth Indian to take five wickets on debut LOCAL TOUCH R Ashwin, who was declared the Man of the Match, dedicated the victory to his home crowd (Chennai). “I’m speechless. I’ve played four Tests here and this is the most special,” he said 38 OVER TO MOTERA Both the teams will be travelling to Ahmedabad next for the third day and night Test. After levelling the series, India would be looking to consolidate the lead in the pink ball match India team celebrates after winning the second Test in Chennai on Tuesday. The four-Test series is 1-1 level | BCCI | P13 RUNS SCORED BY ENGLAND’S LAST PAIR, THE HIGHEST IN MATCH FOR VISITORS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI DISHA CREATED WHATSAPP GROUP; PRO-KHALISTANI PJF JOINED LATER Climate activist deleted the group after cases filed against many in toolkit issue the source. On February 13, a team of Delhi special police THREE days after Disha Ravi took the help of Bengaluru was arrested under charges police and arrested Disha of sedition, criminal conspir- from her house in the presacy and for creating dishar- ence of her mother. mony among groups, highlyAfter the arrest, the Delhi placed sources claimed that police had said, “Disha deletshe had created a “closed” ed the WhatsApp group after WhatsApp group on Decem- we registered a case against ber 6, 2020. the ‘creators’ of the contro“Nikita Jacob joined the versial toolkit.” WhatsApp group on DecemThe toolkit was posted by ber 11. The next day, the Po- climate activist Greta Thunetic Justice Foundation berg, but she had later de(PJF), which is a proleted it. The authorities Khalistani outfit claimed that Greta did EXPRESS founded by Mo Dhaliso on the request of Diwal, joined the same EXCLUSIVE sha, who sent a mesgroup,” they stated. sage through a What“It is being investigatsApp chat fearing legal ed as to who included PJF action including being in the WhatsApp group. The booked under the Unlawful Delhi police wanted to ques- Activities (Prevention) Act. tion Nikita on the matter on “The police have forensiFebruary 12, a day after they cally retrieved the digital evihad searched her house in the dence from Disha’s phone, presence of her parents. The which includes her message police had also made her sign to Greta asking her to delete a bound-down notice that the the toolkit, which had her investigating officer would name along with Nikita and come back the next day to Shantanu and the WhatsApp question her. But when the group in which Dhaliwal was team went to her house, Ni- added,” the source said. CONTINUED ON: P4 kita was not there,” said B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru FARMERS TO PROTEST ON FEB 18 ATTEMPT TO MUZZLE YOUTH, SAYS FFF Calling Disha Ravi’s arrest illegal and undemocratic, farmers’ unions in the state have come out in support of the young activist. Unions in Karnataka are preparing to agitate against her arrest on February 18 when they participate in the nationwide rail roko call given by Samyukt Kisan Morcha. P4 The Fridays For Future (FFF) India has condemned the arrest of Disha Ravi, who is a colleague and one of its co-founders. In an interview with TNIE, team FFF, India stated that Disha’s arrest is an “attempt to intimidate the young climate activists of the country”. “The govt should instead be proud of the youth..,” it said. P4 NSUI members and students display placards during a protest to condemn the arrest of climate activist Disha Ravi in Bengaluru on Tuesday | SHRIRAM BN Advance bail to 2 climate activists as police Zoom in G AYAT H R I M A N I & S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ New Delhi/Mumbai TWO of the three activists named in the farmer protest toolkit FIR got relief from courts even as the Delhi Police ramped up efforts to build its case against them. Environment activist Shantanu Muluk was granted anticipatory transit bail by Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday for 10 days while the main bench of the HC reserved its order on a similar bail plea by lawyer-activist Nitika Jacob for Wednesday Meanwhile, a . Delhi court allowed Bengaluru’s student-activist Disha Ravi to speak with family over phone for 15 minutes and meet with her lawyer for 30 minutes every day while in police custody . Chief Metropolitan Magistrate also allowed her to get warm clothes, masks and books and ordered the Delhi Police to provide a copy of the FIR and remand documents to Disha. Delhi Police have, meanwhile, written to Zoom app to provide details of the contents, locations and the people who attended the January 11 virtual meeting organised by Pro-Khalistani group Poetic Justice Foundation. According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) Prem Nath, about 60-70 people, including Disha, Jacob and Muluk — whom he identified as creators and editors of the toolkit — attended the meeting. Canada-based Khalistan supporter MO Dhaliwal and Anita Lal, co-founders of PJF, also attended the meeting to chalk out the modalities of creating the toolkit. Dismissing criticism over arrest of the 21-year-old activist, the police denied any lapse. “Disha’s arrest has been made in accordance with the law, which doesn’t differentiate between a 22-year-old or a 50-year-old,” said Delhi Police Commissioner. Our daughter is innocent, we’re a humble family: Mom C H E TA N A B E L A G E R E @ Bengaluru I just want my daughter to return home safe, and don’t want to say anything that might go against her — Manjula, Disha’s mother Regular, offline classes for Grades 6 to 8 to start from February 22 The rule is not applicable to regions along Karnataka-Kerala border and in Bengaluru city Teachers and students from Kerala have to test for Covid and can attend offline classes after producing a negative report “MY daughter is innocent. She has not done any wrong,” says Disha Ravi’s mother Manjula, trying to stay strong amid the chaos surrounding her daughter. Refusing to divulge more details about the case or her daughter, Manjula said her family comes from a very humble farming background, and Disha has seen the ups and downs of agriculture. Hence, she has always been interested in Manjula said. Worried sick about her daughter, Manjula told TNIE that her lawyer had given strict instructions not to talk about the case to the media. “I just want my daughter to return home safe, and don’t want to say anything that might go against her,” she said tearfully . Disha, a BBA graduate from Mount Carmel College, was interested in pursuing a career in ecological conservation and P4 restoration. B R Shetty’s plea: HC asks RBI to revisit lending norms GRADES 6-8 TO BEGIN FROM FEB 22 Minister S Suresh Kumar to hold meeting with all district administrators to discuss measures to be taken for reopening of schools climate and nature-related issues, she said. The family from Old Mysuru has been living in Bengaluru’s Abbigere, near Chikkabnavara, for the past 13 years. Refuting theories of being a single mother and sole breadwinner of the family, Manjula said, “How does it matter? She has everyone with her. Disha’s grandparents (my parents) are farmers and she comes from a very humble background. She can never even think of harming the peace of the country,” The academic year for 2021-22 to begin on July 15, the minister said P5 1931-2021 JUSTICE RAMA JOIS PASSES AWAY AT 89 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru WELL-KNOWN jurist and former governor Justice M Rama Jois (89) passed away in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning after a heart attack. He is survived by his wife Vimala, son Shailendra and daughter Tara. His last rites were performed at the Chamarajpet crematorium with full state honours in the evening. Justice Jois served as the Governor of Jharkhand and Bihar and also as a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. During Emergency in the late 1970s, he was lodged at the Bengaluru Central Jail along with senior leaders, like Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani and others. P4 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru IT is time the lawmakers and the Reserve Bank of India revisited the lending guidelines and procedures and took necessary remedial measures to ensure that public money was well secured before disbursement, the Karnataka High Court has said. Justice P S Dinesh Kumar made this observation while dismissing two petitions filed by Dr Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, an NRI businessman, residing in Kadri in Mangaluru. Shetty had questioned the endorsement issued by the Bureau of Immigration not permitting him to travel to Abu Dhabi, UAE, and the Lookout Circulars (LOCs) issued by the Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). He is liable for repayment of about `2,800 crore to banks. When the court called upon the advocates of the banks to explain on what security the banks permitted such large exposure, they said the companies to which loans were advanced were ‘listed companies’ in London Stock Exchange and the share value had shown that these firms had high net worth. The court then noted, “Tangible assets, if any mortgaged in favour , of banks and their valuation is not forthcoming.” It observed that the loan amount was more than one-third of the annual budget of a State like Sikkim. If public sector banks are per mitting such large exposure without adequate securities, it is a matter of great concern and it will have a serious adverse impact on the economy of this country. Hence, the petitioner is not entitled for relief, the court said, while reserving liberty available to him to approach bank authorities and explain that LOCs have been P3 wrongly issued. VCs keenly watching Koo Koo plans to use $4 million funding that it received recently to develop the product. It has also received a lot of interest from venture capitalists who are keen to invest in Koo Koo is an answer to meaningfully connect those people who speak the same native language... We just happen to be at the right place at the right time Mayank Bidawatka Koo targets 100 mn users by year-end R A M U PAT I L @ Bengaluru BY the end of 2021, over 100 million social media users in the country will be ‘koo’ing in a number of Indian languages. India’s own micro-blogging platform Koo, which came into prominence earlier this month after a number of Union ministers and departments joined the platform, is growing at a phenomenal pace. Its Bengaluru-based founders are confident that the platform’s user base will go up by over 25 times within a year. “We have crossed 4.2 million users on apps and our web traffic has grown by almost 70x and continues to grow. Our aim is to get 100 million users by this year-end. I will not be surprised if we reach that target much faster,” Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawatka told The New Indian Express on Tuesday . In fact, founders of the platform too had not expected such a sudden surge in demand. “We had not expected such kind of love, but it all happened. I think it is all latent demand that is coming to fore,” said Mayank, a serial entrepreneur. Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka are other founders of Koo, which is seen as an Indian alternative to Twitter, especially to connect people who speak Indian languages. Mayank was categorical that Koo was not created to compete with Twitter, but to provide a platform to a large number of Indians, who do not speak English or prefer it as a primary language. “ lot of developments in A recent times make it seem like we are here to compete with Twitter, but that was never our P7 plan,” he said. As Covid cases rise, containment zones make a comeback in K’taka E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru Is India facing a resurgence? It may be too early to say if India is heading towards a fresh wave of Covid-19, but some states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana are parhaps showing early signs of a resurgence As Covid-19 cases in the state are increasing, the government has brought back containment zones to tackle the epidemic effectively . The Technical Advisory Committee on Tuesday suggested to the government that such zones are needed again as a threat of another Covid wave is looming. The State Government had introduced containment zones last year at the peak of the pandemic. If five are more cases are detected in a hostel, residential complex or educational institution, then they will be declared containment zones by local health officials, who will initiate special surveillance measures. After seven days of declaring a containment zone, the inmates will be subjected to RTPCR tests. Strict enforcement of Covid precautions, like wearing of face masks, physical distancing, use of hand sanitisers and monitoring of symptomatic patients, will be strictly followed and heads of these units will be held responsible if there are any violations, the government order states. CONTINUED ON: P3