Carbofuran, Phorate led to five tiger deaths in MM Hills: FSL report
The reports showed the presence of 20 micrograms of pesticide in one tissue sample of the dead carnivores. Veterinarians and experts said that these chemicals were used in large quantities to kill them. While the use of Phorate (a lethal compound) is banned by the Central government, the use of Carbofuran has been regulated.
'Even a small quantity of Carbofuran can kill an animal in couple of hours. Carbofuran is colourless, odourless and has no taste. Hence, it is used for such lethal acts. Though it has been found for the first time in Karnataka, it was used to kill tigers in Jim Corbett, Ooty and Madhya Pradesh. Organo Phosphorus Compound was used to poison the leopard two years back, in Karnataka. However, the chemical analysis reports of the tiger poisoning case in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve were not clear as the carcass was over 7-10 days old,' sources from FLS told TNIE.
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The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
August 1, 2025
Prajwal Revanna, former Janata Dal (Secular) MP from Hassan and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's grandson, has been convicted in a rape case by the Special Court of Sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs. Prajwal has three rape cases and one sexual harrasment case against him and this is the first case in which trial has been completed. The victim in the case is a 48-year-old former help at the Revanna family's farmhouse in Gannikada, Hassan. Arguments over quantum of punishment are ongoing. The punishment is likely to be announced on Saturday. The trial in the rape case against Prajwal started in the Special Court of Sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs on May 2, 2025, and the trial was completed on July 18 with daily hearings in just over two months. While the orders were reserved for July 30, the judge adjourned the verdict to Friday, seeking clarification on mobile location data and other technical evidence. Senior advocates Ashok Nayak and B.N. Jagadeesha were special public prosecutors in the case. Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat presided over the trial. Special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak told reporters that the prosecution examined 26 witnesses and submitted 180 documents. 'The main evidence is of the victim, a lady, it was a very very convincing one...' He also noted that the trial was considered fast, concluding after 38 adjournments. 'It is victory for the victim... I also congratulate the SIT team, we relied not only on the oral evidence, but also the digital evidence, technical evidence, DNA report, FSL report. The clothes worn by the victim during the rape were also identified and the Investigation Officer (IO) was successful in seizing the clothes even after three-four years. Also, digital evidence played a role as the accused himself had recorded the video....' he added. The court has convicted Prajwal Revanna on all counts, accepting the prosecution's case, Additional SPP B.N. Jagadeesha said. 'Clinching evidence is the victim's evidence, coupled with digital evidence available in this case.' The SIT filed a 1,632-page chargesheet with 113 witnesses in the case in September 2024. Prajwal was booked under Sections 376(2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376(2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman) of the Indian Penal Code, and 66E (violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, among other sections. The chargesheet alleges that the victim was raped by the accused twice in 2021 — once at the family's Hassan residence and a few days later at the family's Bengaluru residence in Basavanagudi. The accused allegedly recorded the video in the first instance. In the video, recovered by the SIT, the victim is reportedly seen resisting the advances and crying and breaking down. Though Prajwal's face is not visible in the video, forensic analysis report indicates that it was him in the video. Moreover, the victim had kept her saris in a wardrobe where she was working and analysis found Prajwal's DNA on one of them. These form key evidences in the case, sources said. Loan 'fraud': Enforcement Directorate summons Anil Ambani for questioning on August 5 The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani for questioning on August 5 in an alleged loan fraud-linked money laundering case against his group companies, official sources said on Friday. Ambani, 66, has been asked to depose at the ED headquarters in Delhi as the case has been registered here, the sources said. The agency will record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once he deposes, they said. The summons come after the federal agency conducted searches against multiple companies and executives of his business group last week. The searches, launched on July 24, went on for three days. The action pertains to alleged financial irregularities and collective loan 'diversion' of more than ₹10,000 crore by multiple group companies of Ambani. The searches had covered more than 35 premises in Mumbai, and they belonged to 50 companies and 25 people, including a number of executives of the Anil Ambani Group companies. ED sources had said the investigation primarily pertains to allegations of illegal loan diversion of around ₹3,000 crore, given by the Yes Bank to the group companies of Ambani between 2017-2019. Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, two companies of the group, had informed the stock exchanges saying while they acknowledge the action, the raids had 'absolutely no impact' on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees or any other stakeholders. 'The media reports appear to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) which are over 10 years old,' the companies had said. The ED, the sources had said, has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters 'received' money in their concerns. The agency is investigating this nexus of 'bribe' and the loan. The sources said the ED is also probing allegations of 'gross violations' in Yes Bank loan approvals to these companies, including charges such as back-dated credit approval memorandums and investments proposed without any due diligence/credit analysis in violation of the bank's credit policy. The loans are alleged to have been 'diverted' to many group companies and 'shell' (bogus) companies by the entities involved. The agency is also looking at some instances of loans given to entities with weak financials, a lack of proper documentation of loans and due diligence, borrowers having common addresses and common directors in their companies, etc., the sources said. The money laundering case stems from at least two CBI FIRs and reports shared by the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and Bank of Baroda with the ED, they said. These reports indicate, the sources said, that there was a 'well-planned and thought after scheme' to divert or siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions. The Union government had informed the Parliament recently that the State Bank of India has classified RCOM along with Ambani as 'fraud' and was also in the process of lodging a complaint with the CBI. A bank loan 'fraud' of more than ₹1,050 crore between RCOM and Canara Bank is also under the scanner of the ED apart from some 'undisclosed' foreign bank accounts and assets, the sources said. Reliance Mutual Fund is also stated to have invested ₹2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds, and a 'quid pro quo' is suspected here by the agency. Additional Tier 1 (AT-1) are perpetual bonds issued by banks to increase their capital base, and they are riskier than traditional bonds, having higher interest rates. An alleged loan fund diversion of about Rs 10,000 crore involving Reliance Infrastructure, too, is under the scanner of the agency. A Sebi report on RHFL is also part of the ED probe. The two companies had said in their filings before the stock exchanges that Anil Ambani was not on the Board of either Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure and that they had no 'business or financial linkage' to RCOM or RHFL. Any action taken against RCOM or RHFL, the companies said, has no bearing or impact on the governance, management, or operations of either Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure. What we have found is an 'atom bomb'; there's 100% proof EC doing 'vote chori' for BJP: Rahul Gandhi Accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of stealing votes, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed what they have discovered is 'an atom bomb, which will make the ECI invisible when it explodes'. Speaking to reporters within the Parliament complex, Gandhi said that they had suspicions first in Madhya Pradesh and then in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Then in Maharashtra, the Congress took this issue a step further and got it investigated at the State level. 'It is an open and shut case. The Election Commission is resorting to vote theft for the BJP,' Gandhi said. The LoP's assertions come on a day when leaders of the INDIA bloc submitted a joint letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding a discussion on the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Kharge writes to Rajya Sabha deputy chairman condemning security personnel presence in well of House Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday raised strong objections to the presence of security personnel in the well of the House, alleging opposition MPs were being prevented from raising issues. In a letter to the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh, Kharge said he was shocked and astonished to see CISF personnel made to run in the House when members are exercising their democratic rights. Writing on behalf of the Opposition parties, the Leader of Opposition said, 'We are astonished and shocked at the manner in which CISF personnel are made to run into the well of the House when the members are exercising their democratic rights of protest.' 'We saw this yesterday, and we saw this today as well. Has our Parliament been reduced to such a level? This is most objectionable, and we condemn it unequivocally,' he said. 'We expect that in the future, CISF personnel will not come trooping into the well of the House when members are raising important issues of public concern,' Kharge said in his letter to Harivansh. Congress general secretary, communications and chief whip of the party in the upper house, Jairam Ramesh, shared Kharge's letter on social media, saying the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha has just written to the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabh,a on this 'shocking' development. 'After the sudden and unprecedented resignation of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, we are now seeing the takeover of the chamber of the Council of States by the personnel of the CISF,' Ramesh said in a post. When the House reassembled at 12 noon, some MPs of TMC and DMK tried to enter the well but were blocked by security personnel at the entry point. However, some MPs sneaked into the well and raised slogans. They also protested against the blockade by security staff in the house. Some of the members who protested in the well were Nadimul Haque, Sagarika Ghosh, Derek O'Brien (all of TMC), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), and Sanjay Singh (AAP). In Brief: 'The election for the post of Vice-President will take place on September 9, 2025, and the counting will be on the same day,' the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Friday. Further, the polls will be notified on August 7, and the last date for filing nomination papers will be August 21. The Vice-President post fell vacant after the incumbent Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on July 22, 2025. The ECI on Thursday said that it has finalised the electoral college list for the Vice-Presidential election. The Opposition INDIA bloc leaders have submitted a joint letter, asking for a discussion on special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday. In their letter to Birla, the Opposition MPs expressed deep concern over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, especially a few months before the state Assembly elections. Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha pertains to the suspension of a specific rule to allow for a motion on a particular matter. The signatories to the letter included Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gandhi, Congress's Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi, DMK's TR Baalu, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, RSP's N K Premachandran, SP's Lalji Verma, TMC's Kakoli Ghose Dastidar, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Savant and RJD's Abhay Kumar. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
Modern world demands ensuring safe digital environment for children: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has held that creating a safe environment for children cannot be restricted to physical spaces and the modern world demands that equal protection be extended to digital spaces where minors spend considerable time, often for educational purposes. The court made the observations while dismissing a man's plea challenging his conviction and five-year jail term in a case of sending obscene messages and morphed photographs of a girl, a class 11 student, on her mobile phone and threatening to circulate them online. The high court expressed deep concern over the use of technology to commit cyberbullying, an act which, while faceless and silent, can be as mentally traumatic and scarring as physical violence, especially when directed towards children. 'This court is also of the view that creating a safe environment for children cannot be restricted to physical spaces alone. The modern world demands that equal protection be extended to digital spaces, where children are now spending considerable time, often for educational purposes," Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said in a judgement passed on July 28. The court noted that tablets, mobile phones and internet access have become essential tools for learning, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the present case demonstrated the dark side of such access, that is, where a child's electronic device was misused as a medium of abuse, it said. Upholding the man's conviction, the court said the prosecution has succeeded in proving the case beyond reasonable doubt through the consistent and corroborated testimonies of the victim and her mother, supported by expert evidence and the FSL report. The court observed that threats extended in cyberspace can never be taken lightly and that the harm caused is not mitigated by the fact that there was no physical contact. 'A morphed image, once created and circulated, can cause long-term damage to a child's mental health, dignity and her reputation. The fear of such circulation alone, even if the image is never actually published, is enough to terrorise a young mind," it said. The case reflected a textbook example of cyberbullying, where an adolescent girl, who was pursuing her studies, became a victim of a targeted assault on her privacy and dignity. It said the act of morphing her face onto an obscene image and coupling it with threatening messages not only sought to shame her but was intended to coerce her into submission through fear. 'Such conduct, in the virtual world, has very real and devastating consequences in the real world", it said. While refusing to reduce the convict's sentence, the court said his plea for leniency stood on a fragile footing and that the law must send a 'clear message that crimes committed in cyberspace against children are taken with utmost seriousness" and will attract consequences that reflect the gravity of the impact on the victim. 'Therefore, while this court remains cognisant of the complexity of crimes committed through digital means, it also acknowledges the equally compelling responsibility of the justice system to evolve with time. It is important to not only detect and punish such crimes effectively but also to affirmatively uphold a child's right to safety, dignity, and mental well-being in such cases," the court said. PTI SKV DIV DIV view comments First Published: August 01, 2025, 19:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
7 hours ago
- News18
Ex-JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna convicted by Special Court in rape case
Bengaluru, Aug 1 (PTI) Former MP and suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna was on Friday convicted by a Special Court here in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him. Special Court Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat will announce the quantum of punishment on Saturday. The case pertains to a 48-year-old woman who was working as a domestic help at the family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura. She was allegedly raped twice — in Hassan and Bengaluru residence– in 2021 and the act was recorded by the accused on his mobile phone. During the court proceedings, Revanna appeared visibly shaken and reportedly broke down as the judge read out his conviction. The trial in this case concluded on July 18, and orders were reserved for July 30. However, the judge adjourned the verdict to Friday seeking clarification on mobile location data and other technical evidence. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case, had filed a 1,632-page chargesheet with statements from 113 witnesses in the case in September 2024. Prajwal was booked under sections 376(2)(k) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376 (2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 354C (voyeurism), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the IPC, and Section 66E (violation of privacy) of the IT Act. Special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak told reporters that the prosecution examined 26 witnesses and submitted 180 documents. 'The main evidence is of the victim, a lady, it was a very very convincing one…" He also noted that the trial was considered fast, concluding after 38 adjournments. 'It is victory for the victim… I also congratulate the SIT team, we relied not only on the oral evidence, but also the digital evidence, technical evidence, DNA report, FSL report. The clothes worn by the victim during the rape were also identified and the Investigation Officer (IO) was successful in seizing the clothes even after three-four years. Also, digital evidence played a role as the accused himself had recorded the video…." he added. The court has convicted Prajwal Revanna on all counts, accepting the prosecution's case, Additional SPP B N Jagadeesha said. 'Clinching evidence is the victim's evidence, coupled with digital evidence available in this case." Four separate cases have been registered against Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of rape and sexual harassment, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the cases against him. Prajwal Revanna (34) is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JD (S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda. The cases came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on April 26, 2024 He was arrested by the SIT on May 31 last year, upon arrival at Bengaluru Airport from Germany in connection with a case registered at the Holenarasipura Town Police Station. Revanna had failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him. PTI COR KSU ROH view comments First Published: August 01, 2025, 17:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
