Image Courtesy: Wikipedia1. Horticulture and Agriculture Marketing minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa on Wednesday kicked up a controversy when he said said that the government cannot be held responsible for farmers' suicides. "What can I or the government do if farmers take loans from unauthorised persons and commit suicide when unable to repay them?" he was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald. 2. Replying to a question posed by Congress member V S Ugrappa in the legislature, Revenue Minister V Srinivas Prasad said that 97 residential apartments had been constructed by encroaching lake beds. He further said action would be initiated against those responsible for the encroachment based on the recommendations of a Joint House committee report that is looking at lake bed encroachments. 3. Two new born babies died on Wednesday at the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) hospital sparking fears of an infection in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). As a result, at least 10 out of the 16 babies have bee withdrawn by their parents and admitted to other hospitals. Hospitals authorities have denied the infection charges and said parents were spreading rumours creating panic. 4. Even as Ashwin Rao, son of Lokayukta Y Bhaskar Rao managed to get a stay against an FIR lodged against him, a businessman has submitted a petition to chief of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) Kamal Pant claiming he was cheated by Rao. Ashwin allegedly demanded Rs 20 lakh to get a khata clearance for a land that the businessman owned. 5. A woman who was alleged cheated by Minister for Textiles Babu Rao Chinchansur has sought protection from police and submitted a petition to Police Commissioner M N Reddi in this regard. In her petition, she states that she has been receiving threatening calls from unknown persons. She has alleged that the minister has cheated her to the tune of Rs 12 crore and the cheque given by him had bounced in the bank.