District Judge to probe violence in Mandya Dt.

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, DEC. 1. The State Cabinet today decided to order an inquiry by a District Judge into the circumstances that led to the suicide of a girl which sparked violence in Mandya District recently.

The Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. D.B. Chandre Gowda, told presspersons soon after the Cabinet meeting that the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, would write to the Chief Justice of the High Court to spare a District Judge to conduct the inquiry.

He said he had been deputed by the Chief Minister to visit Mandya and make an on-the-spot assesment of the situation which was tense till Thursday. He said he had detailed discussions with the people at Srirangapatna in which representatives of several organisations participated.

He said the agitators were demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident and also action against the police officers responsible for the unfortunate incidents. A preliminary enquiry into the sequence of events showed that there was a lapse on the part of the police and there were grounds to suggest misbehaviour by the police following which a senior officer had been kept under suspension.

Mr. Gowda said that as the people had insisted on a judicial enquiry, the matter was discussed in today's Cabinet meeting. It was decided that a probe by a District Judge should be ordered following which the Chief Minister was authorised to approach the Chief Justice to spare a District Judge.

Mr. Gowda said that the situation in Mandya, Maddur and Malavalli taluks had returned to normal.

Violence rocked several parts of Mandya District following the suicide of a student, Ms. Pratibha, in B. Gowdanagere village near Mandya. The agitators alleged that a Deputy Superintendent of Police was responsible for the incident and refused to cremate the body. It was only after an assurance was given that suitable action would be taken against those responsible that the body was allowed to be cremated.

Recruitment allowed

The Cabinet decided to allow one-time recruitment to the Commercial Tax Department in a bid to step up tax mobilisation.

The Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Prof. B.K. Chandrashekar, told presspersons that the Cabinet had also decided to grant permission to recruit eight drivers and 25 Group D workers, to meet the requirements.

He said that while 40 per cent of the vacancies would be filled by direct recruitment, the rest would be filled through promotion.

Retirement scheme

Prof. Chandrashekar said the Cabinet had approved a move to retire 192 of the 300 employees of the Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme. The loss to the Exchequer on account of the scheme was in the order of Rs. 4.50 crores.

He said the Cabinet declined to concede a request from the Krishnadevaraya Dental College to treat the institution as one run by a linguistic minority community. The Cabinet meeting held in November had discussed the demand for a linguistic minority tag made by some institutions conducting professional courses, and had set up a sub-committee under the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr. Kagodu Thimmappa. An experts' panel would be constituted to go into the question of the demand for linguistic minority status being made by educational institutions, he added.

The Cabinet, however, authorised the Chief Minister to take the final decision on this issue, Prof. Chandrashekar said.

Water supply

He said the Cabinet had approved a scheme for supplying drinking to Male Mahadeswara Betta. Under the scheme, drinking water to M.M. Betta would be provided from the river Cauvery at an estimated cost of Rs. 17 crores. While Rs. 14 crores would be a loan from HUDCO, the rest of the amount required would be provided by the Male Mahadeswara Temple Trust.

He said the Cabinet had approved a Rs. 16-crore scheme for supplying drinking water to Gokak town. While 50 per cent of the funds would be granted by the Government, the rest of the money required would be raised from funding agencies.

The Cabinet, Prof. Chandrashekar said, also approved in principle a Rs. 6.50-crore scheme for drinking water supply to Nargund. Funds would be granted by the Government, the LIC and the town municipal council. The scheme envisaged supply of drinking water from borewells.

Prof. Chandrashekar said the Cabinet discussed the proposal to introduce value added tax (VAT). A decision would be taken after a "thorough discussion", he added.

Gesture to employees' association

The Cabinet decided to waive 50 per cent of the stamp duty for registration of a site being purchased by the State Government Group "D" Employees' Association.

Prof. Chandrashekar said that the association had urged the Government to waive the registration fee, and made several pleas in this regard.

The matter came up before the Cabinet on Friday, and it was decided to give 50 per cent concession in the stamp duty. The loss to the Revenue Department is in the order of Rs. 1 crore.

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Section  : Southern States
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