MANGALURU  MONDAY  SEPTEMBER 09, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION INDIA REPORTS 1ST SUSPECTED CASE OF DEADLIER MPOX VIRUS STRAIN Suspected case of the new and deadlier strain of the virus in a man who arrived in India from a country experiencing mpox transmission PATIENT ISOLATED, CONTACT TRACING ON Samples have been collected and are being tested to confirm the presence of mpox, Union health ministry said. The patient has been isolated at a designated hospital and is currently stable. “The case is being managed in line with established protocols, and contact tracing is ongoing to identify potential sources and assess the impact within the country,” the health ministry said ■ 30 INDIA WELL PREPARED, SAYS HEALTH MINISTRY ■ Urging the public not to panic, the government said the country is fully prepared to deal with such isolated travel-related cases of mpox The mpox virus is known to spread through skin-to-skin contact or sharing items like towels. As many as 15,600 cases and 537 deaths have been reported so far this year globally, according to the WHO | P7 CASES OF MPOX INFECTIONS CAUSED BY OLDER VIRUS STRAIN REPORTED IN INDIA SINCE 2022 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 Join us, Pak sees you as foreigners, Rajnath tells PoK TMC’s RS member Jawahar Sircar quits over RG Kar horror S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata PUTTING pressure on the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, the party’s Rajya Sabha member Jawhar Sircar said he was resigning from Parliament and quitting politics altogether, terming the steps taken by the state government in handling the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar hospital “too little and quite late”. In a letter addressed to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Sircar said he was aghast at the state government’s apathy towards corruption and the “strong-arm tactics” of a section of party leaders. “Though I carried on my task in Parliament with fervour, I became increasingly disillusioned as the state government seemed quite unconcerned about corruption and the increasing strong-arm tactics of a section of leaders,” he said. Sircar said that in 2022, a year after he joined the TMC, he was shocked to see the ‘open corruption’ that former education minister Partha Chatterjee had indulged in. Terming the protests over the doctor’s death spontaneous, the former chief of Prasar Bharti said he had not seen “such angst and total no-confidence” against a government. He said the public outrage over the RG Kar incident reflected the public’s growing discontent with the TMC gov- Two soldiers drown while training near Belagavi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Belagavi TWO commandos, who were on a training mission, drowned while crossing the Tilari River backwaters when their boat overturned at Tilari along the Karnataka-Maharashtra border on Saturday afternoon. The deceased have been identified as Vijaykumar Dinwal (28), hailing from Rajasthan, and Diwakar Roy (26) from West Bengal. They were attached to the Junior Leaders Wing, Belagavi. Police sources said Dinwal and Roy who were trained sol, diers, were undergoing a tough, 35-day commando training. They were being trained to cross a river with the help of boats during emergencies. Apart from the deceased, four other soldiers were on the boat. All of them had completed their training and were returning when the boat capsized just 50 metres away from the river bank when the boat overturned. It is suspected that the vessel was overloaded on one side. Though the two deceased were trained swimmers, they could not wriggle themselves out as the material, like rope and other equipment used in their mission, fell on them from the boat. The other four soldiers swam to the bank. Senior officials and their team rushed to the spot and pulled the two out. But when they were rushed to the Belagavi Military Hospital, doctors declared them brought dead. Police sources said around 180 soldiers are undergoing tough commando training for 35 days. A case has been registered at the Chandgad Police Station in Maharashtra. Dialogue possible only if Pakistan stops terror, says defence minister during J&K election rally F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday asked the residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to join India, saying “we consider you our own unlike Pakistan which treats you as foreigners”. He said after seeing the development in Jammu and Kashmir, PoK residents will themselves reject Pakistan and join India. “There will be so much development that the people in PoK would say that we do not want to live with Pakistan and instead will go to India,” the defence minister said while addressing an election rally in the Ramban assembly constituency in support of BJP candidate Rakesh Singh Thakur. The Union minister said there has been a sea change in the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The Union minister said Pakistan’s top law officer recently filed an affidavit in court terming PoK a foreign land. “I want to tell PoK residents that people of India don’t treat you as foreign- People take part in a protest march over the rape-murder of a doctor at RG Kar hospital, in Kolkata on Sunday. (Inset) Jawahar Sircar | PTI ernment in West Bengal. “The primary purpose of joining as an MP, without any direct involvement in party politics, was that it offered an excellent forum to carry on the struggle against the autocratic and communal politics of the BJP and its Prime Minister. To that extent, I have some satisfaction and my several interventions in parliament...” he said in the letter. Sircar said he had “suffered patiently” for a month since the incident at RG Kar hospital, hoping for direct intervention with the agitating junior doctors, “in the old style of Mamata Banerjee”. Late on Sunday night, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose asked Banerjee to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting and discuss the issue. He also reportedly suggested the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal be removed. Global human chain against rape-murder People from all walks of life — from students to rikshaw pullers — hit the streets of Kolkata on Sunday in protest over the rape and murder of a medic in a state-run hospital a month ago. In south Kolkata, around 4,000 ex-students of over 40 schools, a large number of them women, walked 2 km demanding justice for the victim. Meanwhile, in solidarity with the protests in India, people in 130 cities across 30 countries including the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, and Japan formed a ‘global human chain’ against the rape-murder of the Kolkata doctor on Sunday evening ers... Come and join us,” he said. In June this year, Pakistan’s additional attorney general told the Islamabad High Court in a case related to illegal detention of PoK poet and journalist Ahmed Farhad that PoK is a foreign territory and “therefore not under the jurisdiction of the court”. Farhad was abducted by Pakistani intelligence agencies over some of his critical comments. He was produced in court after two weeks court and was released a few weeks later. On the campaign by Kashmir-based parties to restore Article 370, Rajnath said there has been a big change since the provision was scrapped. “After 2019, Modi gover nment spent `38,000 crore on J&K development. Earlier, pistols and revolvers used to be in hands of Kashmiri youth but now they are carrying laptops and computers,” he said. Rajnath added that talks with Pakistan will be possible only if Islamabad stops terrorism in J&K. “When Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism in J&K, India will start dialogue with them,” he said. DKS leaves for US on pvt trip, not to meet Harris D EVA RA J B H I R E H A L L I @ Bengaluru DEPUTY Chief Minister and KPCC president D K Shivakumar on Sunday left for the USA on a week-long trip. On reports that he will visit the US on the invitation of Vice-President and Democratic Party’s presidential nominee Kamala Harris, he clarified that his visit is purely private and he is not meeting any of the US leaders. He issued a statement saying he will not meet former US president Barack Obama either. Rejecting reports that he was travelling to the USA to meet some top leaders, Shivakumar said that it is purely a personal visit with the family “I am travel. ling to the USA along with my family till September 15. The media reports that I am meeting former US President Barack Obama and US Vice-President Kamala Harris are incorrect. It is a personal visit,” he clarified in a press statement. The DCM also released to the media a letter that he had written to the AICC President regarding his visit to the USA. But his visit is intriguing ahead of Harris’ presidential debate with her rival and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump on September 10 in Philadelphia, suggested analysts. With Shivakumar’s itinerary being confidential, the likelihood of his meeting Harris privately cannot be ruled out as he shares a good bond with her for sometime, sources said. Interestingly Shivakumar’s US , trip coincides with Congress senior leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who will address the Indian diaspora. P4 Manipur CM meets guv, seeks more powers for state to tackle violence P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati AMID speculation that he may quit amid raging ethnic violence in the state, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya for the second time in 24 hours and submitted a memorandum, demanding protection of the state’s territorial integrity and abrogation of the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement. The SoO pact was signed by the Centre and the Manipur government with two umbrella organisations of Kuki insurgent groups in 2008. Since then, it has been extended periodically . The Raj Bhawan said the CM and his cabinet colleagues met the governor. But neither the Raj Bhawan nor the CM’s office shared content of the memorandum. According to sources, Singh has sought more powers to the state government to deal with insurgency. The memorandum sought handing over the Unified Command to the state and rejection of Kukis’ demand for a ‘separate administration’. Meanwhile, the Assam Rifles on Sunday deployed antidrone systems in the fringe areas to repel any rogue drones. “CRPF has also tested one anti-drone system and given it to the force deployed in the state. Some more anti-drone guns are being brought to the state by CRPF shortly,” the Manipur Police said, adding: “The state police have also started the process for procurement of anti-drone system to enhance its security measures and tackle threats from drones effectively.” After a hiatus of four months, fresh ethnic violence erupted in Manipur on September 1 with drones being used to mount attacks. No new incidents of violence have so far been reported on Sunday. SPs in coordination with security forces are continuously monitoring the situation — Official Cook harasses woman, beaten up in B’ghatta EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru SEA OF FAITH A sea of devotees descends to see the chariot procession of Arogya Mata on the last day of St Mary’s Feast at St Mary’s Basilica in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru, on Sunday | SHASHIDHAR BYRAPPA A 33-year-old cook was stripped and beaten black and blue by a group of men after he allegedly sexually harassed a woman. The incident took place near Kalkere Colony in Bannerghatta on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Saturday night. The police have booked Ravi Kumar, a resident of Kalkere and hailing from Dharwad, who works as a cook at a hotel in Kalkere Colony for allegedly , harassing the woman. Five men have also been arrested for assaulting him. The police said Kumar, after finishing work, was heading home when he alle g edly touched the woman, who had come out of her house for some work, inappropriately, around 10.30 pm. The woman screamed for help, prompting nearby residents to rush to her help. They caught Kumar and brutally assaulted him with a stick. He sustained minor injuries and was treated at a hospital. The woman filed a complaint against Kumar and a case was registered under Section 74 (Assault or use of criminal force to woman to outrage her modesty) of BNS. Kumar too filed a complaint against local residents. In Koppal, Ganesha Chaturthi celebrated in masjid R A G H O T TA M K O P PA R @ K o p p a l IN a unique celebration marking communal harmony, Hindus and Muslims installed a Ganesha idol on the premises of a masjid at Hanumasagar village in Kushtagi taluk of Koppal district and celebrated the festival together. This is the fourth year that t h e v i l l a g e r s h ave b e e n celebrating the festival to spread the message of love and harmony Hindus and Muslims . from neighbouring villages too come to Hanumasagar to take part in the festivities. The idol is kept at the village’s 4th Ward for five days and the entire village takes part in the immersion ceremony carrying the idol to a nearby lake. Lunch is organised during the festival, and youth from all communities raise funds from the villagers. Not only Ganesha festival, the entire village takes part in prominent religious events of both religions throughout the year. The youth are guided by the elders and Gram Panchayat members of the village. Teams of 8-10 villagers are at the pandal all the time as people from neighbouring villages, Gadag and Vijayangar districts too come here to perform puja. A villager said, “This is the fourth year that we are celebrating the festival on our masjid premises. People from Vijayanagar and Gadag districts are coming to see the communal harmony Ganesha. We are sending out an important message to our society People fight . among themselves in the name of caste and religion. If we unite and celebrate festivals, it will be a model for others.” ON A HIGH RECORD MEDAL HAUL AT PARALYMPIC GAMES India’s para-athletes have had a memorable Paralympic Games in Paris where most of the established names lived up to expectations and many talented young athletes came up with scintillating performances to help India win record 29 medals | P11 EXPRESS READ Kangana’s ‘Emergency’ gets UA cert from CBFC NEW DELHI: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ has received a UA certificate from the CBFC. As per media reports, the makers have been told to edit certain scenes and add disclaimers in a few sequences, such as historical events depicted in the film. The release date of the film, however, has not been finalised yet. In a first, no games village at 2026 Asiad The Ganesha idol installed at a masjid in Hanumasagar village, Kushtagi taluk, Koppal district NEW DELHI: In a first, the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, will not have a games village and the athletes will be accommodated in hotels and cruise ships instead. “We will not have a games village as the Games will be held in two prefectures,” Japan Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda said.