KALABURAGI  SATURDAY  JANUARY 15, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION VISA VISA REVOKED, DJOKOVIC APPEALS AGAINST DECISION Immigration minister uses statutory discretion, three days before Oz Open. World No 1’s lawyers appeal against decision SPECTRE OF THREE-YEAR BAN AUS FACING MASSIVE SURGE IN CASES Deportation from Australia can lead to a three-year ban on returning to the country, although it may be waived, depending on the circumstances. Immigration minister Alex Hawke said he cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa in public interest. Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed the decision in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. ■ ■ On Friday, the nation reported 130,000 new cases, including nearly 35,000 in Victoria, where the Australian Open is played Djokovic’s lawyers had last week successfully challenged the decision after the Serbian’s visa was first cancelled when he landed in Melbourne 9 OF DJOKOVIC’S 20 GRAND SLAM TITLES HAVE BEEN WON AT MELBOURNE PARK CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Only a scare, kids not infected most in Covid 3rd wave EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru Former UP minister Swami Prasad Maurya (2nd from right) and others who joined the SP on Friday with party president Akhilesh Yadav | PTI Maurya & Co join Akhilesh, accuse Yogi govt of betraying backwards Two former ministers, five ex-MLAs of BJP join SP at a rally; FIR for Covid norm violation THERE has been no increase in Covid infections among children as compared to adults in the third wave, despite adults being vaccinated and younger children not being eligible for jabs, reveals an analysis by the state Covid 19 war room. S e ve r a l e x p e r t s h a d warned that the third wave could target children the most as they would not be vaccinated. But Munish Moudgil, head of the state Covid war room, said children have been less susceptible as compared to adults in the ongoing wave. “In other words, t h e t h i rd w ave i s spreading among adults much more than among children. There does not appear to be any increased infection rate among children (0 to 18 years) in the third wave when compared to the second wave. On the contrary, infections among children has come down,” Moudgil said. In a table highlighting the positivity rate in April 2021, May 2021, November 2021, December 2021 and January 2022, comparing paediatric patients and those aged 19 and above, the war room ACCUSING the Yogi Adityanath government of running Uttar Pradesh in the last five years, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday taunted the BJP for losing “one wicket after the other” as he welcomed into the SP fold two ministers and five MLAs who recently quit the ruling party . At a huge gathering of party workers in Lucknow, Akhilesh as well as the new inductees alleged that the BJP dispensation had betrayed the farmers and the youth. Former minister Swami Prasad Maurya accused the ruling party of betraying backwards. The others who joined the SP included minister Dharam Singh Saini and MLAs Bhag- wati Sagar, Vinay Shakya, Mukesh Verma, Brajesh Prajapati and Roshan Lal Verma. The police later lodged an FIR against SP leaders after hundreds of supporters, in defiance of the Covid norms, turned up at the party office to attend the ‘virtual rally’. According to Lucknow Police Commissioner DK Thakur, the FIR was lodged against 2,500odd SP leaders under various IPC Sections and relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act. Thakur added that the police had got the event video-recorded before lodging the FIR. While addressing the gathering, Akhilesh took a dig at CM Yogi Adityanath over his recent statement that the UP election was about ‘80 per cent positivity versus 20 per cent negativi- Explain MDS admission, SC tells Karnataka Bishop Franco acquitted Collision averted in Kerala nun rape case at Dubai airport EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Kottayam E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi IN A MAJOR setback for the prosecution, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, former head of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, was on Friday acquitted in the sensational nun rape case. Kottayam Additional District and Sessions Court 1 Judge I G Gopakumar pronounced the judgement in just one line in the courtroom: “The accused has been acquitted.” Later, on the e-court website, it was stated that the “accused is found not guilty” of wrongful confinement, rape on a woman incapable of giving consent, causing grievous bodily har m during rape, unnatural offence, assault or use of criminal force on any woman, intending to outrage her modesty and criminal intimidation. “He is acquitted and his sureties are discharged,” it said. The courtroom witnessed dramatic scenes as Bishop Franco’s brothers Philip and Chacko and supporters ran towards him and hugged him while he was A collision between two India-bound Emirates planes was averted at Dubai airport on Sunday India’s aviation regulator, . Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has sought the probe report from the UAE authorities. Flight EK-524 to Hyderabad was scheduled for take-off at 9:45 pm while Dubai-Bengaluru flight was also scheduled to take off from the same runway. According to the Emirates flight schedule, there was a five-minute gap between the departure time of both flights. Reports said that the Hyderabad-bound plane was accelerating for take-off from runway 30R when the crew saw another aircraft coming in the same direction at high speed. Take-off was immediately instructed to be aborted by the ATC. The aircraft slowed down safely and cleared the runway via taxiway N4. Flight EK-568 to Bangalore, which was rolling for departure, was to take-off from the same runway --- 30R. After the ATC intervention, the Bengaluru-bound Emirates flight took off and the Hyderabad-bound flight went back and departed a few minutes later. A probe was launched by the UAE’s Air Accident Investigation Sector. The DGCA has asked the UAE officials to share the report. analysis shows that the positivity rate among children was 8.82 per cent, 24.61 per cent, 0.23 per cent, 0.22 per cent and 2.71 per cent, respectively At the same time, . in the adult age group it was 15.53 per cent, 26.68 per cent, 0.39 per cent, 0.51 per cent and 7.75 per cent, respectively . From the first wave till now, 97,490 children aged between 0 and 9 years have tested Covid-positive in the state, while 2,49,661 patients in the 10-19 age group tested positive, as per the daily Covid war room report. The mortality rate among the two age groups is the lowest as compared to other age groups, too. There have been 67 deaths in the 0-9 age group and 94 in the 10-19 age bracket. The analysis also found that the number of patients needing hospitalisation in the third wave has been about five times lesser than what it was in the second wave. However, the case doubling rate is about three times higher than in the second wave, indicating that the current wave is spreading faster but is less severe as compared to the earlier two waves. N A M I TA BA J PA I @ Lucknow @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court earlier this week asked Karnataka to explain the circumstances under which it extended the deadline for admissions to Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) for 2021-22 beyond November 20, 2021. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna was hearing a writ petition, which had prayed that the NEET merit list has to be followed in MDS admissions and the deadline has to be extended from November 20, 2021 to November 30, 2022. The court ordered notices to the state and central governments and the Dental Council of India. The affidavits have to be filed within a week, the court said, fixing the next date of hearing for January 21. The writ petition was filed by Maratha Mandal’s Nathajirao G Halgekar Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre and others. ty’, saying that after Murya’s induction into the SP, 80 per cent support had shifted to his party and the remaining 20 per cent would also vote for SP as they were unhappy with the present dispensation. S P Maurya claimed that he was going to script the end of ‘Yogi sarkar’ on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti by joining the SP. He said it was the day of the amalgamation of ‘Samajwad’ (socialism) and ‘Ambedkarvaad’ (BR Ambedkar’s philosophy). Playing up the caste card, he said, “They had promised during the 2017 campaign that a backward --- either me or Keshav Maurya -- would be the CM, but they brought a sky lab from Gorakhpur and dropped him on the CM’s chair.” The BJP wickets are falling one after the other. Our ‘baba’ CM doesn’t know how to play cricket. Even if he knew, he has dropped the catch Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief No approval for rally: DM Lucknow DM said the ‘virtual rally’ was held without prior clearance. “A police team and magistrate were sent. Action will be taken based o, their report,” he said. KARNATAKA JAN 13 JAN 14 Fresh cases 25,005 28,723 Recoveries 2,363 3,105 Deaths 8 14 THE Regional Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for South India, located in the heart of Bengaluru, is mulling over relocating to Tamil Nadu after its bitter struggle over getting a piece of land to set up a permanent office. The regional office, which At least 55 police officers and policemen who were deputed on bandobast duty for the Congress’ padayatra have tested positive, and so have their family members. P3 CLOSE SHAVE EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Bishop Franco Mulakkal leaves after being acquitted, in Kottayam on Friday coming out of the dock after hearing the judgement. The bishop left the court premises soon with a one-line response to the media: “Praise the Lord.” Later speaking to media persons at a retreat centre in Kalathipady near Kottayam town, the bishop said the judgement proved that prayers have powers. “I prayed that the verdict in God’s court be implemented in the court on earth. God has given me an opportunity to prove that God exists and what are His powers,” he said. “ those who loved and stood All for the truth stood by him. Stones are thrown only at trees that bear fruits and I am proud of being one such tree,” he said. Aadhaar centre may move from Karnataka to TN S L A L I T H A @ Bengaluru COPS ON YATRA DUTY TEST +VE has been functioning out of Bengaluru for nearly 10 years, has been looking for five acres of land for the last three years but in vain, said sources. The UIDAI office is now situated in the South Wing of Khanija Bhavan on Race Course Road. A highly-placed source said, “UIDAI takes care of en- rolments for Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Lakshadweep. The average number of visitors ranges between 300 and 400 a day. Many also come from North Karnataka. We need a better space for our activities. Now, we pay a rent of Rs 8 lakh per month here,” he said. The country has eight regional offices, while plans are on to set up state-wise centres. Tamil Nadu has come forward to offer land to UIDAI to set up a state-level office. “If they can offer us a larger plot of land, we are thinking of relocating there. We are looking at an area like Hosur, which is not far from Bengaluru,” the source said. CONTINUED ON: P5 300-400 visitors As many as 300 to 400 people visit the UIDAI office in Bengaluru every day ASSEMBLY POLLS EC may extend ban on rallies amid rising cases E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi WITH fresh Covid-19 cases recording a steep rise every day, the Election Commission of India is likely to extend the ban on public rallies and road shows in five poll-bound states. The decision will be finalised at a meeting on Saturday. However, the broadcast/telecast time allotted to each party for campaigning on Doordarshan and All India Radio will be doubled. The ECI had banned the rallies, road shows and corner meetings till January 15 while announcing the assembly poll schedule on January 8. It had said that any decision on lifting or extending the ban would be taken after a review of Covid situation in the five states headed for assembly elections. The daily infections are seeing a spike every day with 2.64 cases recorded on Friday . The poll panel has also relaxed the norms for registration of political parties in the five states. Keeping in view difficulties caused by Covid-related restrictions, it has reduced the notice period for registration of new parties from 30 days to 7 days for those who published their public notice on or before January 8, 2022. In a statement, the EC explained that under the existing guidelines, a party seeking registration has to submit an application to it within 30 days following the date of its formation. The applicant is asked to publish the party’s proposed name in two national dailies and two local dailies on two days. Objections, if any, with regard to the proposed registration of the party have to be submitted within 30 days from the publication of the notice. EXPRESS READ South Africa beat India, clinches Test series 2-1 Cape Town: South Africa beat India by seven wickets to win the third Test at Newlands and secure the series 2-1. Resuming the day with 101 for two, South Africa got the job done in 63.3 overs with major contributions from Keegan Petersen (82), Rassie van der Dussen (41 not out) and Temba Bavuma (32 not out). Weather change led to pilot disorientation FEAT OF STRENGTH A bull tamer in action during the ‘Avaniyapuram jallikattu’ as part of Pongal celebrations in Madurai on Friday | PTI New Delhi: The IAF chopper crash on December 8 that killed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others was due to an unexpected change in weather that led to spatial disorientation of the pilot, according to the preliminary findings submitted by the triservices court of inquiry. POCSO court acquits 2 in Udupi student rape and murder case E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Udupi A special POCSO court in Udupi acquitted two teenagers who were charged with sexually assaulting and killing a PU student at Byndoor near Udupi on June 17, 2015. The court ruled that there was a lacuna in the investigation and the prosecution failed to prove the case, acquitting Sunil and Akshaya, both 19 years old. The victim, who was 17 years old, was found murdered near Byndoor. The then Udupi Superintendent of Police K Annamalai had arrested the duo within two days of the crime from Yojana Nagara in Byndoor where they were hiding. Students from the college where the victim was studying had held a massive rally protesting against the crime. , The trial court judge, Kalpana Yermal, observed that the spot mahazar was not conducted immediately after the body was found and also, the postmortem was delayed. Advocates Subramaniah and Poornima argued for the accused. Special Public Prosecutor YT Raghavendra said there is circumstantial evidence with eyewitnesses saying they saw the accused following the victim on the day of the crime. ‘’We will take the case to the high court to seek justice for the victim,’’ he said. Sunil was in jail till his acquittal, while Akshaya, who is accused of misleading the police to protect Sunil, had obtained bail a few days after the incident. The then Byndoor Circle Police Inspector, Sudarshan M, now retired, was the investigating officer in the case.