Bangalore Emergency Phone Numbers

100 Control room No. at police HQs, 5-minute response time 
109 Four-wheeler Hoysala patrol, functions 24x7 
484 Two-wheeler Cheetah patrol, looks for anti-social elements 
103 Inspectors, armed with jeeps and walkie-talkies to coordinate swift respons

Another Techie involved in Crime :HR professional held for smashing ATM with helmet

HR professional held for smashing ATM with helmet Sharath Sharma Kalagaru bmfeedback@indiatimes.com      Thyagaraja Nagar police detained a man for smashing a private bank's Automated Teller Machine with his helmet, and fighting with the ATM security guard on Monday night. According to police, the man, identified as 30-year-old HR professional Venkataramanan, was under the influence of alcohol.  Trouble started when the guard told Venkataramanan not to wear his helmet while using the ATM, near SSM School Thyagaraja Nagar. When the latter could not withdraw money from the ATM after repeated attempts, hesmashedtheATMscreenwithhishelmet.An angry guard took him to task, and there was a heated exchange.  Policeturnedupatthesceneafterpassers-by tippedthemoffabouttheruckus.Thecopstook Venkataramanan to the police station and let him go after booking a petty case against him.

Save Bangalore Lakes:TNN initiative

B’lore techie found dead in New Jersey hotel room

Rajiv Kalkod TNN 

Bangalore: A 26-year-old techie from Bangalore, who was in the US on an assignment, allegedly committed suicide in a New Jersey hotel room last week. He was wanted in connection with the murder of an American woman. 
    Pawan Kumar Anjaiah, a software engineer with business and technology services major Cognizant, died allegedly of drug overdose, according to US media reports quoting Delaware state police. He died in a room in Belleville city of Wayne county in New Jersey state on June 19. 
    The body of Pawan, a resident of RT Nagar, is in a Belleville hospital, sources told TOI. With no sign of the body arriving in Bangalore though a week has elapsed since his death, Pawan’s family accused his employers of having washed their hands of the case and telling them not to speak to the media about it. But Cognizant denied this and said it was providing all assistance. 
    Pawan’s family believes he was innocent and not the kind who would be involved in any crime. Delaware police were looking for Pawan in connection with the alleged murder of Danille Mehlman, a 26-year-old teacher and mother of a four-year-old boy. Her body was found with multiple stab wounds in a hotel room in Dewey Beach, Delaware, on June 18. 
    After preliminary investigations, Delaware police sounded an alert for Pawan, who was believed to have been sharing the room with the woman and possessed a deadly weapon. A day later, Pawan’s body was found in the locked room of Belleville Motor Lodge. Pawan, who went to the US on an H-1B visa (non-immigrant) in early 2011, was scheduled to return to Bangalore next week. IN THE HOUR OF TRAGEDY 
    It’s 
    Cognizant’s responsibility to bring the body back to Bangalore. First, they asked us not to go to the media. Now, they’re not answering our calls. Anjaiah | PAWAN’S FATHER We’re working with US authorities to see what assistance we can provide, including the return of his body to the parents. Our HR officials did not tell anyone not to go to the media. A Cognizant spokesman Pawan met woman through dating site 
Bangalore: Software engineer from Bangalore, Pawan Kumar Anjaiah (in pic), who reportedly committed suicide in the US, was wanted in connection with the murder of an American schoolteacher. 
    When he was a resident of New Wilmington, Delaware, Pawan reportedly met Danielle Mehlman through an online dating site. According to sources, Pawan allegedly stabbed Mehlman all over her body. Police located his image from a surveillance camera at a mall and issued an alert. 
    Blood and visceral samples from Pawan’s body have been sent for forensic tests to identify the drug he consumed. Pawan was the lone son of farmer Anjaiah and Ratnagangamma based in Pavagada of Tumkur district. Pawan stayed in Bangalore with the family of his elder sister, Gunasheela.

Pawan

Drunk techie runs amok near Malleswaram

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: An inebriated software engineer at the wheel of a Maruti Baleno car allegedly went astray on Sunday night and rammed a motorcycle, a four-wheeler and an autorickshaw, and brought down the wall of a house before grinding to a halt on 7th Main, Milk Colony, near Malleswaram.
    Narasimha Murthy, the software engineer and resident of Malleswaram, was returning from a party hosted at a hotel near Milk Colony, police said.
    A sloshed Murthy lost control over his car. He first hit a motorcycle on the main road and sped into a narrow lane in an attempt to escape from the spot.
    Murthy’s car then hit a Maruti Omni van parked by the roadside. The impact of the crash was such that the van hit the compound wall of the adjoining house and brought it down. The software engineer then hit an autorickshaw parked by the wayside and came to a stop. All this happened at 11.30pm.
    Narayan Swamy, the complainant, said: “Our van parked outside the house was damaged. The compound wall crashed and the mangled van was lying right at our door.”
    Police have detained Murthy. He has been booked under Section 279 of IPC for rash driving or riding on a public road and under Section 185 for drinking and driving. His car has been confiscated.


SERIAL SMASH: The compound wall that was damaged after software engineer Narasimha Murthy crashed his car (left) into it near Malleswaram on Sunday night

30 die as bus to Shirdi falls into rivulet

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad/Aurangabad:
A pilgrimage turned into a tragedy for devotees headed to the holy town of Shirdi from Hyderabad when the bus they were in rolled into a deep, dry rivulet early Saturday, killing 30 people and injuring 17 others.
    The accident occurred near Jalkot on Solapur-Omerga NH in Osmanabad district, about 350 km from Aurangabad at around 2.30am. Most of the pilgrims travelling in the semisleeper Volvo bus were residents of Andhra Pradesh. Nine TCS techies among 30 killed in bus accident
Hyderabad/Visakhapatnam:
Big dreams and promising IT careers of nine trainees of Tata Consultancy Services’ Hyderabad campus were cruelly cut short on Saturday when the bus they were aboard en route to Shirdi plunged off a bridge.
    The nine techies were among the 30 people who were killed when the semi-sleeper Volvo bus run by Vijaywada-based tour operator, Sree Kaleshwari Travels, plunged into a rivulet, near Jalkot on Solapur-Omerga national highway in Osmanabad district in Maharashtra early Saturday.
    There were 13 TCS employees in the bus. While the condition of one TCS employee is learnt to be critical, three were understood to be out of danger. All of them were recruited by TCS last year from the Maharaja Vijayaram Gajapathi Raj College of Engineering at Vizianagaram in coastal Andhra. They had joined the company only in March this year, TCS sources confirmed.
    “They were all part of the company’s initial learning programme and were based out of the HiTech city campus,” a company official confirmed. TCS has a total of 20,000 headcount in Hyderabad.
    Expressing deep condolences, TCS Hyderabad’s regional head and vice-president V Rajanna termed the incident as shocking and said the company was providing all the necessary support to families of the victims.
    While the bus operator in Hyderabad pleaded innocence, district officials at Osmanabad blamed rash driving for the mishap. “The accident was caused due to negligent and rash driving. The passengers had warned him against driving fast but the driver ignored them,’’ said Ravindrasinh Pardeshi, the additional superintendent of police, Osmanabad. The district administration dispatched 22 bodies to Osmania General Hospital from Jalkot primary healthcare centre after the postmortem was completed.
    A police team from Naldurg was patrolling the area when they spotted the crashed bus. “They had to virtually cut the wreckage with whatever tools they could get at that time to rescue the passengers,” Pardeshi said.

Engg dropout jumps to death

TOI:
Bangalore: A contrite 23-yearold engineering dropout committed suicide on Thursday by jumping from his fourth-floor flat in Atishi Apartments in JP Nagar 5th Phase, after his parents reprimanded him for hiding the fact that he had given up on his studies.
    Son of chartered accountant Ramesh, Rakshith R left behind a suicide note in which he profusely apologized to his parents for not going to college and wasting the money given for his studies. He asked his parents to “forgive” and “forget” him.
    Rakshith joined BE (electrical and electronic) course at Jain Institute of Engineering in 2007. But he could not clear his second semester subjects to get into the next year.
    The boy hid this fact from his parents, and for the next three years, continued to claim that he was attending college. He spent most of his time roaming around near his house and stopped going to college. Rakshith’s parents learnt about their son’s educational status a couple of days ago. They chided him and left for Udupi on Thursday. Rakshith, his sister and brotherin-law stayed back in the flat.
    After his parents left the house in the morning, Rakshith jumped from the balcony, and died immediately after crashing to the ground. The body was taken to KIMS, where a post-mortem was conducted.

Now, exclusive Bangalore Airport Taxis at your service

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Wary of which airport taxi to take to the city once you disembark from a flight? Well, now you have more options to choose from. The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) on Thursday introduced its own fleet — the Airport Taxi, with a signature logo. The service will come under a uniform fare policy and will be tracked by Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
    MA Saleem, additional commissioner of police (traffic), flagged off 1,400 taxis on Thursday and 600 more will be added to the fleet by the year-end.
    These vehicles are being provided by KSTDC, Meru and Mega cab companies. They will operate 24/7 and have a parking facility in BIA. The new vehicles are an add-on to the existing fleet of 550 KSTDC and 800 Meru cabs.
    “Our aim is to try and reduce the distance between the airport and the city, both physically and mentally. Though an enormous number of cabs operate to and fro, nothing seem to be reliable, except for the BMTC airport shuttles. This is probably a first-of-the-kind endeavour taken up by an airport authority in the country to have an exclusive airport taxi service,” said Hari Marar, president, airport operations, BIA.
    The three companies will own 50% share of the vehicles. The other 50% will be owned by the driver himself. Fares have been kept uniform and regularized by the airport authority in consultation with the companies.
    “If the driver intentionally takes the passenger through longer routes to increase fares, we can find out from the GPS system the best possible route to the destination, but only if the passenger complains.
    ‘‘Even otherwise, we plan to conduct regular checks and audits of shortest routes taken by the drivers. If cases of misleading passengers come forth, disciplinary action will be initiated against the driver concerned, which could also result in cancellation of licence. Also, cab drivers cannot tamper with fare meter as they are calibrated by the respective companies,” Marar said.
DRIVERSPEAK
Ravi Kumar CJ, an Airport Taxi driver told TOI that while applying for the job they had to produce a character certificate along with details of their academic qualification and identity proof. “It’s a 24/7 work cycle but if we work one day, we can rest the next day. We have to pay Rs 1,250 to the company per month as part of re-payment of the loans they took to buy the cars. We have been trained on how to log on to the GPS controlling machine fitted in the cars and other devices like the digitized fare machines and printers,” he said.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The service has generated employment for over 2,000 drivers and 500 other people managing the call centres and control rooms. "These drivers are trained by the respective companies to speak in English, Hindi and Kannada. BIA has also given them training on defensive driving,’’ Marar added.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN BOOK IT

• Dial: 4422 4422, 4747 4747, 4900 7777
HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM

• The cabs come with yellow board attached atop the vehicle with Airport Taxi inscribed and a signature logo of the service. At the rear, the company name (Meru, Mega or KSTDC) and the number to call for booking is mentioned
FARE CHART For first 4 km, it is Rs 70

• For further 1km, it is Rs 17.50

• Wait charges: First 20 minutes free

• Rs 10 per 15 minutes thereafter

• Night charges: (12am-6am) - 10% surcharges

• Toll to be paid by customer separately

Tower of Silence Scare:Ghost? Not so

First, it was the architects and workers who said they experienced strange goings-on in the high-end flats overlooking the Tower of Silence. Now, flat-owners themselves are joining the chorus. Result: Prices of the flats are dropping, but even then, nobody wants to buy them

S Kushala kushala.satyanarayana@timesgroup.com 

    It was the rationalist in them that made them invest in a newly-constructed high-end apartment complex on Bellary Road, overlooking the Tower of Silence or the Dokhma, the final resting place of Parsis. But many flat-owners are already regretting their decision: Nobody’s willing to do their interiors. Worse, nobody’s willing to buy the flats either.
    Painters and carpenters say they experienced strange goings-on and as word spread, it became difficult for the flat-owners to get interiors completed.
    Interior designer Seema Singh (name changed), hired to do the wood work and painting of a flat facing the Tower of Silence, says, “It was freaking crazy. The painters and carpenters would often tell me about strange noises from the adjacent bedroom. But I just ignored it. One day, I was overseeing the painting and all of us were working in one room when the cupboard and the door of the other room just went ajar. I could feel my bag and dupatta being pulled and when I turned, the workers were at a distance from me.”
    Getting painters to complete the job was a nightmare. “The workers were so scared that they would just leave without informing us. As word spread, we could not get people to complete the interiors even when we offered to pay more,” says Singh.
    Krishna, who painted one of the flats, was also scared initially. “But I stayed on to complete the work. It was very scary and many painters left the work midway. We would stay in groups and never moved alone,” he said.
FLAT-OWNER’S EXPERIENCE In fact, one of the flat-owners who trashed the stories as nonsense, himself experienced a strange incident.
    One day, he was in the flat discussing the problem with his architect, when he just walked away to open the main door. “When he opened the door, there was nobody. He walked back and asked me whether I heard the knock on the door. Then I told him this is what has been happening here,” the architect said.
    To avoid further damage, a flatowner sought divine intervention through a series of homas. “If you write all this, I will not get a tenant for my property,” the owner says. “Since there was a lot of negative energy, we held a pooja with some homas as suggested by an astrologer. We hope things will be fine in the future.”
LIVE, OR LEAVE? The dilemma that flat-owners now face is whether to live there or rent it out. A few of them even want to dispose of it, but the resale price is not competitive enough.
    A property owner has put up his 2BHK, 1,272 sqft for sale for Rs 70 lakh. Another owner wants to sell his 2BHK, 1,350 sqft flat at Rs 78 lakh. The owners had purchased these flats for almost the same prices.
    According to realtors in the area, the price of the flats facing the Tower of Silence is a minimum five per cent less than the others.
    The Bangalore Parsee Zoroastrian Anjuman (BPZA), which is incharge of the 13-acre Tower of Silence area, had complained to the municipal authorities about the loss of privacy when the housing complex was being constructed close to it.
    According Dinshaw Cawasji, president of BPZA, “When the apartment complex was being planned, we wrote to the municipal authorities that some of the flats overlooking the Tower of Silence would disturb our privacy. But there was no action.’’
    He said he hadn’t heard of any strange happenings in the flats. “In Mumbai, our Dokhma is situated very close to buildings and we have not had any complaints,” Cawasji said.

======================================================================

Story changed on 28th June 2012

‘There is nothing spooky about our apartment complex’

Bangalore Mirror Bureau bmfeedback@indiatimes.com 

    Thearticle SpookedOutpublishedintheJune 12, 2012 edition of BANGALORE MIRROR, has evoked a strong response from a large cross-section of residents of the multi-storeyed apartment complex located near the Tower of Silence on Bellary Road. 
A letter of protest, signed by more than 200 residents of the housing complex, reached the office of the BANGALORE MIRROR earlier this week. It states that the apartment complex housing 874 flats is one of the “fastest occupied” societies in the locality. “More than 650 families have been enjoying the comforts of this serene locale for the past 30 months... Not a single complaint about any feeling of disturbancewithinthecommunity haseverbeen lodged with the managing committee or with our facility management,” the letter adds. 
    With so many residents voicing their protest against the article, BANGALORE MIRROR feels it is only right to project the strong counterview to the view propagated by the June 12 article. We are duty-bound to tell our readers about the protest letter that has been signed by more than 200 residents. Otherwise, we would have been guilty of publishing a lop-sided story. 
    However, we must add that our reporter, while writing the story, had made a sincere effort to try and get all sides of the story. In fact, the people who gave the story to our reporter tooareresidentsoftheapartmentcomplex.But asthey hadinsistedonanonymity,andwegave them our word, we are unable to name them. 
    We sincerely regret having hurt the sentiments of so many people.

We published this story on June 12

No worker or carpenter is willing to work in the flats overlooking the Tower of Silence

No Electricity To Machina

Machina is no remote village. Neither is it poverty-stricken. There are mobile phones in almost every home. It took a prolonged SMS campaign to bring Mescom power to two homes on Saturday, and now there is hope for the rest

Deepthi.Shridhar @timesgroup.com 
IN MANGALORE 

    On Saturday, two families at Machina, a small village in Belthangady district near Mangalore, erupted in joy as electrification reached their homes for the first time since India's first electric bulb lighted up in Bangalore in 1905. 
Officials of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom)reachedthehomesofRamKKullalandSundara Kullalby5pm.Theoverjoyedfamiliesarrangedasmalltea partyfortheofficials.Oncetheyleft,theKullalsperformed puja in front of the new meter boxes and distributed sweets. It was the beginning of a new era. School-going children in their homes can now sit up late and study — earlier,fumesfromkerosenelampsusedtomaketheireyes smart.Andtheyplantobuytelevisionsetsbytheyear-end, so that the children would no longer need to go to neighbour Gopal's home to watch their favourite mythological serial, Sita. 
Butliferemainsprettymuchunchangedformanyothers at Machina. Of the total 961 houses, 100 of them in Kodiyelu,Mudipere,NerulpalkeandKalai—areaswithinthe village — are yet to be electrified. Incredibly, the village does not resemble any of India's remote or backward villages. People are educated and agriculture is the main occupation. In fact, 481 households here are above poverty line (APL) cardholders. 
    “They do not give us electricity, but categorise us as APL families,” Mohan, who runs a small canteen in the village, told Bangalore Mirror. It will take time to electrify his house as the wiring is yet to be completed. 
    Till then, lanterns will continue to adorn their walls. They are the only source of light when the sun goes down, apart from torches and mobile phones. They use traditional handheld fans to beat the heat. And once the sun sets, life almost comes to a standstill. Women in these homes do not have the luxury of lolling on couches, watching saas-bahu soaps on TV. 
    The recently-built Moodipere anganwadi is neat, clean and wellventilated, but it will never reach its full potential without power. Yashoda, a teacher, said, “During monsoon, classrooms are dark. In summer, there are no fans. It's difficult for the children to concentrate.” 
THE MOBILE REVOLUTION 
    Lack of electricity, however, did not come in the way of telecom revolution happening in the village. We spotted a CDMA landline in beedibinder Geetha's house, connected to a solar battery whose panel is placed on the roof. “Rainy season apart, connectivity is assured,” she said. Ironically, her house is located right next to the 220KV high-tension Puttur-Madantyar line. 
    Every house here has a mobile phone. They are charged in shops or houses at least 4 km away. A few shops take Rs 2 an hour to charge a cellphone and Rs 3 in case people need to charge batteries. In fact, it is largely due to mobile phones that the Kullals got electricity in their homes. And also thanks to the efforts of Democratic Ambassador for Rural Integrity, a group of social workers. 
    A social activist (who insisted on anonymity) who visited the village six months ago was shocked to see people inhabiting a dark world there.Setting up a team of volunteers comprising a Std VII student and businessmen among others, he undertook an SMS campaign demanding power. The team collected phone numbers of all officials: from a second division clerk to the chief secretary of the energy department. “Our strategy was to first send mails. Fill the inbox of the concerned authorities with reminders after reminders. Fed up with our mails, they generally replied and that was the base for the rest of the campaign,” said a volunteer. 
    After creating awareness among the villagers, the team launched an SMS campaign. It sent out about 500 messages to the chief secretary, one message to the chief minister and made almost 200 calls daily to Mescom, KPTCL managing director, its public relation officers and so on, asking why they had been deprived of electricity for so long. The campaign was a big success. Work began within a month and the Kullals reaped fromthe efforts on Saturday. 
    Purandar, who owns a studio in Ballamanja, said, “It was only after the SMS campaign that the undersecretary to the chief minister and Mescom responded. It was probably for the first time that the tahsildar visited our area to inquire about electricity.” 
HOPE FLOATS 
    The news about the Kullals reaches further down the village, right up to Balanguri where an isolated house stands. It belongs to 79-year-old Ananthram Bhat Devaragundi, a retired school master and a Kannada pandit, who is popularly known as topi master. 
    His wife, Prabhavati, is excited to see visitors. As she fried some crispy jackfruit papad, she explained how master never wears chappals and spends time driving monkeys from the farm and listening to news twice a day on the battery-run radio set. 
    The couple has five children -- four girls and a boy -- who are all well settled in the cities. “My daughters visit the village every year. Though my daughterin-law visits frequently, she never stays here because there is no power supply. This is the house I came to after marriage. Master too (referring to her husband) is happy here,” she said. 
    Narrating how ignorant the panchayat could be, she said, “When I visited the panchayat office recently for some work, they asked me to submit an electricity bill. This is the state of affairs. We had even threatened to boycott elections,” she said. 
    There was hope in the past too, but nothing came of it. “A contractor promised us electricity and collected a total of Rs 1 lakh from several families about 10 years ago. Hoping that we would get power supply, I gave the contractor Rs 5,000 that I had got from my son without the master's knowledge. But the contractor didn't keep to his word. We were disappointed a second time when about three years ago, electricity poles arrived near our house. Again, it was for the neighbouring houses. We were left out,” she said. 
    As we were leaving the house, Prabhavati asked, “Will we get power supply by next summer at least, when my children come home for vacations?” 
BLAME GAME 
    Prabhavati's question should be addressed to the powers that be. 
    Rukmini from Kodiyelu, who contested and lost the last gram panchayat elections only to get electricity, said: “About 15 years ago, a main line passed through the area. Since then, we have been waiting for power supply. But this is a Congress area, and since the BJP is in a majority, all the funds are being diverted to the BJP areas,” she alleged. 
    The panchayat, however, feels it has done its job. “Two years ago, about 200 houses were electrified,” said Kumariah a clerk at the panchayat office. All funds available are diverted for the development of the SC/ST colony. When we approach Mescom officials, they complain of shortage of funds,” he said. 
    Vasanthi, the panchayat president, blamed it on the officials. “The panchayat works hard, but officials lack interest. Since the MLA is from the Congress, it is difficult to get work done. He never visits the area,” she complained. 
    MLA Vasanth Bangera, however, wasn't aware that there was an electricity crisis. “This is the second biggest constituency in the state. I have brought the highest materials required for electrification,” he said. 
    So why are so many houses in Machina yet to be electrified? 
    “You cannot blame one person for this,” he replied. “I have worked sincerely. I have been ill since the past four months. I have decided not to contest again,” said Bangera. 
    As for Mescom, it is the people who are to be blamed. “Neither the panchayat nor the people showed interest. Nearly 40 per cent of the village is yet to be electrified. People who could afford it have taken power connections privately, costing up to Rs 1 lakh. Those who could not afford it were left behind,” said a senior official from Mescom.

People celebrating after their houses were electrified on Saturday

Clockwise from top: Retired school master Ananthram Bhat Devaragundi, 79, and wife Prabhavati; Children studying by the light of a kerosene lamp; Kerosene is an expensive proposition, for the pump sets, as well as for lighting up homes; Good news: Power lines are being laid by Mescom

Hunt on for Nityananda, govt to secure his ashram

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Bangalore: Chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Monday directed the home department to initiate legal action against self-styled godman swami Nityananda, including his arrest. 
    After a high-level meeting with home minister R Ashoka, law minister S Suresh Kumar and top police officials, including DGP Lalrokhuma Pachau, the CM said he has asked the Ramanagaram deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police to secure custody of the ashram (Dhyanapeetham) to collect evidence about its activities and seal the ashram till order is restored. However, police are awaiting government’s order to launch a crackdown. 
    The decision follows recent unsavoury incidents at the ashram in Bidadi. A USbased woman has, in a complaint, accused him of abusing her for five years. 
GODMAN FACES LEGAL ACTION 
WHAT’S COMING 
• Police will secure the custody of Nityananda’s Bidadi ashram, collect evidence about its activities, seal the ashram till order is restored 

• A manhunt launched for controversial godman, who is in hiding. Arrest on the cards 

• Government likely to seek cancellation of Nityananda’s bail Govt wants his bail cancelled 
Bangalore: Police have launched a manhunt for Nityananda, who is reportedly absconding after his devotees assaulted reporters at the ashram last week for asking inconvenient questions. 
    The CM said he has asked regional commissioner Shambhu Dayal Meena to submit a report on the clashes. The government will hold discussions with the law department to seek cancellation of Nityananda’s bail, recently granted bail by the high court in connection with a case of rape and criminal intimidation. Nityananda is facing criminal charges, including rape, on complaints last year by some former disciples. He was arrested and released on bail. 
    On June 8, police lodged criminal cases against him and his followers for allegedly assaulting a reporter during a press conference at his ashram. The FIRs were filed on complaints from a regional TV channel reporter and activists of Nava Nirmana Sene. On a counter complaint by two followers of Nityananda, police registered two FIRs against the reporter and Sene activists for alleged outrage of modesty. 
    The reporter complained that he was assaulted after he asked a question at a press meet convened by the godman about Nityananda’s refusal to accept court summons on charges of sexual abuse levelled against him by a USbased woman. When Nityananda’s men denied he had not been issued any summons, the reporter showed a copy of it that eventually led to a clash between the two.

IN THE SOUP 
Godman is currently facing charges of rape, sexual assault and criminal intimidation

TIME TO GO: Disciples leave Nityananda’s Bidadi ashram on Monday

Kanakapura Road To Loose Its green Patch

S Kushala kushala.satyanarayana@timesgroup.com 

    One of the oldest surviving green patches on Kanakapura Road off Banashankari temple in Bangalore South will soon get a concrete face. The lush Nilgiri plantation, popularly known in the area as ‘Sarve Topu’, owned by the Khodays, has been transacted for a joint development agreement. 
    The 40-odd acres of plantation, which is part of a former glass factory, is being proposed for mixed use development — residential complex, IT spaces and a high-end mall. The land costs nearly Rs 12 crore per acre. 
    As Bangalore East has reached the saturation point in terms of realty development and Bangalore North towards Devanahalli is getting clogged, developers are now eyeing the Kanakapura Road. 
    The stretch between Sarakki and Talaghattapura connecting the state highway, which was once a village, is the most happening place, thanks to the Namma Metro cutting through the corridor. The adjoining areas, where the real estate prices had hit rock bottom, have woken up after the BMRCL announced and commenced the construction work. 
    The who’s who in the industry — Mantri, Puravankara, Brigade, Sobha, Nagarjuna and the latest entrant, Prestige Estates, are making a beeline to the place. 
    One of the early birds on the stretch were the Khodays, who set up a brewery and glass factory from 1972 onwards. A popular yesteryear watch brand, Hegde and Golay, was the first to set up its factory here. 
    Says Hari Khoday, the senior-most member of Khoday family and managing director of Khoday India Limited, “Prestige is doing a joint development project with us on our property.” 
    The 70-year-old reminisces the days when the area lacked even bus facilities. “When I came here in the 1960s, there were no buses. Farmers got the KSRTC to ply buses to the area. Though the stretch was a village, it woke up during 2005 onwards. We put up our brewery and glass factory after getting the land allotted by the area development board,” he says. 
    Majestic Developers managing director S A Rehman, who has an office at Sarakki Gate on the Kanakapura Road, said during 2002-03, the property price was around Rs 1,000-1,200 per sqft. In the subsequent years, it was around Rs 2,000/sqft. Besides the Metro, the corridor also saw a lot of good schools coming up. 
    “Once the Metro was announced and the road widening work commenced, the property prices shot up. With big realty houses stepping in, the corridor has seen a real boom. Now the prices are in between Rs 3,000-3,850 per sqft,” says Rehman, who has been in the realty industry for a decade.

CET Results

Soaring on that HEADY FEELING After Two Years Of Dedicated Study, These Toppers Are Ready To Raise A Toast And Step Out Into A New World To Shape Their Dreams TAKE NOTE  • All scanned OMR sheets along with evaluation report will be hosted on KEA website  • Candidates are to verify the qualifying exam marks shown against their CET No. before attending document verification. If there are any discrepancies, it should be reported by email or fax to KEA.  • If the result is withheld/not announced for want of II PU/Class 12 marks card/proof of DoB, such candidates have to submit photocopies of the documents to KEA from June 8 onwards by fax or email (keauthority-ka@nic.in).  • Mere assignment of ranks does not confirm the right of a candidate to select a seat, until the original documents are verified during the verification process.  • If any variation in II PU marks takes place after revaluation, fresh ranks will be assigned soon after publication of the revaluation results. The preuniversity department sends published results to KEA. The candidates need not come to KEA with revised marks.  AFTER VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS, CANDIDATES      WILL GET THE FOLLOWING ITEMS  • Acknowledgment card for having verified documents (green card)  • Verification slip with secret key  • User hand book detailing step by step information on online counselling  • Audio-visual CD containing training session on online counselling  • Video presentation- interactive class (question and answer session) in all helpline centres after verification MEDICAL 'AIIMS IS MY FIRST CHOICE' Archana Sasi | Rank 1 QE-97.333%, CET-95%, TOTAL-95%  National Public School, HAL      Rank 1 in the Jawaharlal Institute of Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) test, rank 7 in All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and rank 1 in Common Entrance Test (CET), what more can one ask for! Archana Sasi did it again after featuring among toppers in Class XII results. "I've got better ranks in other exams and am awaiting AIIMS results. I'm looking at Bangalore Medical College through AIPMT and CET, but will grab AIIMS if I get it. Although I studied CBSE, I went through the PU textbook for biology. I enjoy watching television, but made a conscious effort to minimize on that distraction," says Archana. Apart from an innate love for books, Archana enjoys listening to music as the stress buster. "Focus and determination helped me achieve what I always desired," says Archana. GRANNY'S BOY LOVES MEDICINE Pritesh Kumar N | Rank 2 QE-99.333%, CET-94.444%, TOTAL-94.444%  Sadvidya Comp PU College, Mysore      He calls himself his grandmother's favourite boy. Pritesh, 17, loves dropping his grandmother to the temple and picking her up after that. "I love spending time with her. Medicine has always attracted me and the human body has intrigued me," says Pritesh, a student of Sadvidya Composite PU College in Mysore. Son of a businessman, Pritesh wanted to see himself in a white apron and a stethoscope around his neck. "I studied on a regular basis. I'd like to join Mysore Medical College as this will give me a chance to stay with my family as well. I also love painting landscapes and sceneries," said Pritesh. 'BIOLOGY FASCINATES ME' L M Veeresh | Rank 3 QE-97.667%, CET-93.33%, TOTAL-93.333%  Expert PU College, Mangalore      Veeresh always aspired to be a doctor. His love for the profession invited his father's anger a number of times, as Veeresh started neglecting other subjects. "I love biology. The subject fascinates me. My father had a problem with me devoting time to biology and not mathematics. I also appeared for AFMC and am through the written test. Through CET, I would like to get into Bangalore Medical College," said Veeresh, who loves watching Discovery channel as it acts as a stress buster. Son of a veterinary doctor and homemaker, Veeresh wants to be a urologist. "I studied hard during the past 2-3 months and worked on my weak points. I am ecstatic about the CET result," signed off Veeresh. ENGINEERING 'I WANT TO FIND SOLUTIONS' Deepa M | Rank 1 QE-99.667%, CET-95.556%, TOTAL-97.612%  MES Kishore Kendra PU College, Bangalore      This is the second time in a fortnight that laurels are coming Deepa's way. After topping the Science stream in pre-university exam, now it's CET. Her father, who lives in Shimoga, is yet to meet her. "He might come this Saturday. I am dying to meet him," Deepa said. She is waiting for the AIEEE results on June 15. If she fails to make it, she will opt for electronics at RV College of Engineering. "These two years were hectic. I didn't get time to study at home till January... It was college and tuitions all the way… I wanted engineering because I hate biology. I prefer to work out problems and find solutions." HIS FINAL GOAL IS CIVIL SERVICE Raj V Jain | Rank 2 QE-99.667%, CET-93.333%, TOTAL-96.5%  Bellary Independent PU College, Bellary      After his PU exam, Raj threw himself into preparing for CET, referring to notes and texts suggested by teachers. He knew he would get good marks, but didn’t expect top ranking. “Hard work, commitment to complete the syllabus and following instructions of our teachers helped me,” said a happy Raj. He’s decided on BE in Computer Science, to nurture his childhood dream of becoming an IAS officer. “After BE, I’ll work hard to reach my goal. I want to serve society and solve their problems, and found that becoming an IAS officer is the only way,” said Raj. 'SOLVING PROBLEMS GIVES ME JOY' Sagar Honnungar | Rank 3 QE-97.667%, CET-95%, TOTAL-96.334%  National Public School, Rajajinagar, Bangalore      Sagar wasn't worried on Wednesday. He knows where he's headed -- IIT Madras, for mechanical engineering. "I wanted to take up IITJEE because my parents told me it's challenging. I wanted to take up that challenge and prove myself. I might do MS abroad later on." Son of an engineer and a homemaker, Sagar loves to solve sudoku and kakuro. "I like solving problems. It gives me a special joy," he said. ISMH DOC IN THE MAKING Chandana Acharya | Rank 2 QE-99.333%, CET-93.333%, TOTAL-96.333%  Vidyodaya PU College, Udupi      Chandana aspires to be a doctor. This animal lover says her parents are her role models and she would also like to be a successful medical practitioner like them. "I’d like to take up medicine as my career and I'm more interested in allopathy. I got rank 4 in medical and would like to join Kasturba Medical College in Manipal,” said Chandana. ARCHITECTURE CREATIVITY IS PART OF HER Naksha S | Rank 1 QE-95%, NATA-69%, TOTAL-82%  Mount Carmel PU College, Bangalore      This 18-year-old has lived up to her name. Naksha always desired to be an architect and sketch a superstructure some day. With a knack for writing, Naksha says she's inherited her creative talent from her parents. "My father is an architect and mother, a writer. I always wanted to be an architect. I am eyeing CEPT Ahmedabad, after I scored 138 out of 200 in NATA. I would like to take up a degree course in architecture as other streams are considered subordinate," says Naksha, who also played chief editor of her college magazine. Some day, Naksha wants to design architecture which will be counted among the 'wonders of the world'. "I am waiting to design a building that will hold its own significant place and will be looked up for years to come," said Naksha. DESIGNING WONDERS IS HIS FUTURE Pavan Kumar S | Rank 2 QE-92.8%, NATA-70.5%, TOTAL-81.65%  Sri Kumaran Children's Home, Bangalore      If not architecture, it would have been engineering for Pavan, who feels that interest for a subject is something that can help you pass an exam with flying colours. "I scored 141 out of 200 in NATA. I feel it's hard work from the beginning that pays off at the end. If you are interested in the subject, you are bound to do well. I am looking forward to studying at CEPT Ahmedabad, and designing some skyscrapers," said Pavan. It's his love for sketching and drawing that fetched him the magic rank. "I love drawing pictures of cine stars and buildings. I always enjoyed sketching during my leisure time, and I'm happy that it's paid off," said Pavan. A LOVE FOR BUILDINGS Prithvi D Hegde | Rank 3 QE-93%, NATA-67.5%, TOTAL-80.25%  National Hill View Public School, Bangalore      She has an eye for detail. An aspiring architect, Prithvi says it is important to notice details around you in order to be a good architect. "I always felt I had it in me. Especially the way I could notice details, not only of buildings, but of anything and everything around. Although I did appear for the medical stream, architecture has been my preference. I have also written the BITS Pilani exam, and am expecting a good result," said Prithvi. Apart from buildings, books by Paulo Coelho and fiction pull Prithvi with the same intensity. "I love reading books. I didn't let go of this hobby even while I was preparing for NATA. I scored 135 out of 200 and am looking forward to joining CEPT Ahmedabad," says Prithvi. MUMS ROCK: Archana Sasi, Deepa M and Naksha S, who topped the medical, engineering and architecture streams respectively, celebrate with their mothers in Bangalore on Wednesday, after the CET results were declared

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