Karnataka Government to donate books to Isaaq's library

Bengaluru: The Mysuru 'Library Man', Syed Isaaq, who lost his library in fire in Mysuru earlier this month will be getting 8,243 books and a donation from the Public Library Department of the Karnataka government.

Speaking to media persons, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said, "The Public Library Department will provide 8,243 books to Syed Ishaq's library, which fell prey to the mischief of the miscreants. A proposal was sent to Kolkata-based Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation to support Ishaq's library. "This foundation from Kolkata, which works under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture, would be able to offer good support to Ishaq's library."

On April 9, a fire destroyed over 11,000 books in the library, which was the brainchild of Isaaq, 62, an illiterate drainage cleaner who had built it in a slum in Mysuru to spread literacy. The Kannada copies of religious books like the Bhagavad Gita and the Quran were among the books that were reduced to ashes. Within 48 hours of the fire, a fundraiser went live on Ketto, raising a whopping Rs 25 lakh.

On April 17, the Mysuru City Police arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the fire. City Police Commissioner Chandragupta said the man was arrested for carelessly throwing a matchstick after lighting a beedi which led to the fire.

According to the police statement, the accused, identified as Syed Nasir, had returned home next to the library in an "inebriated state after a fight with his mother and brothers". "He (the accused) lit a beedi before throwing the burning matchstick on the furniture and cushions kept in the open outside a sofa repair shop adjacent to the library. This led to the fire in the library," the statement reads.

Officials who investigated the probe had also clarified that CCTV visuals from the area helped them ascertain the reason behind the fire.