Archives for August 2019

The court adjourned the hearing to August 8 while directing the SIT to submit the further status report on investigation, and the CA to file affidavit explaining further action.

BENGALURU:  The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the competent authority appointed under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPID) Act, 2004, to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit of IMA and its associate companies, directors and partners  to track the inflow and outflow of funds in the unregulated deposit schemes.

The court has also asked the state to submit its response on the petitioners’ plea for issuing directions to probe other ponzi companies, and also appointment of competent authorities (CAs)  to deal with complaints against those companies. A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Mohammad Nawaz issued these directions during the hearing of a batch of petitions, including public interest litigation, seeking a probe into ponzi companies. 

Directing the state to submit its response on the CBI probe sought by IAS officer B M Vijay Shankar, arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to share the details of properties attached with the SIT and do investigation in coordination with each other. 

The court directed the CA to publish the public notice seeking information about properties of IMA and its entities, benami properties, if any, in Urdu newspapers with wide circulation, as most of the depositors are Muslims. This was after a petitioner’s counsel sought such directions, as the public notice was published in Kannada and English newspapers only. 

The court adjourned the hearing to August 8 while directing the SIT to submit the further status report on investigation, and the CA to file affidavit explaining further action. Meanwhile, the court has ordered its registry to keep the status report, submitted by SIT, and that it should not be opened without the court’s order. 

IAS officer submits affidavit
Bengaluru Division Regional Commissioner V Rashmi Mahesh, who was appointed as CA under KPID Act to handle the depositors’ complaints against IMA, submitted an affidavit to the High Court explaining the steps taken to protect the depositors’ interests. The CA has stated that certain properties, of IMA and its allied concerns have been attached based on SIT report. “Letters are also addressed to the appropriate authorities in other states for information on properties of IMA and related concerns,” he said.

Economy slowdown hits car sales; dept achieves 13% of its target

BENGALURU: Karnataka’s Transport department has been seeing a decline in its revenue. Not because of poor imposition of fines but due to the fall in the number of vehicule registrations, especially of high-end vehicles. With an estimated revenue of Rs 3,420 crore in Bengaluru alone this year, the department has received only Rs 105 crore in the first quarter.  

Achieving only 13 per cent of its target, the department is at a new low, said to be a first, according to a transport official. “I have never seen such a low target achieved. The economy is down at the moment and the revenue received from the registrations has decreased drastically. Vehicular registrations is one of the main sources of income for the department,” a source said, adding that similar trends are seen in the entire state with the total estimated revenue of Rs 6,614 crore. As of now, there are 12 RTOs in the city.

Road tax, registration fee for new vehicles, permit fee, pending taxes and fines, driving licence fee and inspection fee at checkposts are the department’s major revenue sources. In the city, Commercial Tax department, Excise department, Stamps & Registration and the Transport department are the main revenue-generating sectors to the state government.

“The automobile industry is in a bad shape due to bad economy. And now most citizens tend to drive their old vehicles longer. This also has a lot to do with the city’s infrastructure, where people feel a second-hand car is better and costs less for registration,” V Ravichandar, urban expert

“The department also needs to ensure that second-hand vehicles are getting registered since new vehicular sale is in a slump,” he added.

“If people do not buy vehicles, naturally revenue from registrations will not come to us,” said V P Ikkeri, Transport Commissioner. According to official data, the growth of eight core industries dropped to 0.2 per cent in June, mainly due to contraction in oil-related sectors as well as cement production. The central government on Wednesday also revised downwards the growth rate of these eight sectors for May to 4.3 per cent from the earlier estimate of 5.1 per cent.

The construction near the Press Club has come as a shock to the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association, who were the first to spot it, as well as many other users.

BENGALURU: Illegal constructions seem to be thriving in the city with even sides by the lakes not being spared. The latest one is at Cubbon Park. The construction near the Press Club has come as a shock to the Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association, who were the first to spot it, as well as many other users. When the Association brought this to the notice of authorities, the horticulture department said Karnataka State Bar Council near the park was making a room for security guards.

Umesh S, president of Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association, said, “Buildings just come up like this. We have only a few lung spaces in the city. Even though it is not a big building, it is still illegal. It is the horticulture departments’ responsibility to look into these issues.”

Umesh added that work is being carried out daily, with vehicles often ferrying construction material. Sribhavani Rakhesh, organising secretary of the Association asked, “Why do such incidents happen only in Cubbon Park? Why not Lalbagh? We also demand equal importance and restoration of greenery. We want the current generation to enjoy the greenery we did when we were growing up. We want kids to spend their childhood amidst greenery.”  

Deputy director of Horticulture Department, G Kusuma, said the matter was brought to her recently. “I have sent a notice to Karnataka State Bar Council to stop the construction immediately,” she told CE.

Pramesh Jain

Thousands bid tearful ADIEU to CCD’s Founder Siddhartha at his cremation in Chikkamagaluru:

Highlights.
* The family of Cafe Coffee Day’s founder VG Siddhartha on Tuesday reported that he had been missing since Monday.He was last seen by his driver.VG Siddhartha had asked the driver to drop him near a river and told him to go on without him.
* The investigating authorities found a letter allegedly written by VG Siddhartha to the Board of Directors and employees of his company Coffee Day Enterprises, showing he was struggling with financial problems due to debt,taxes and share buybacks.The letter pointed to suicide.
* The police launched a massive search operation involving multiple agencies, which scoured the waters under a bridge across Nethravathi,where Siddhartha was reportedly last seen on Monday night. After 36 hours of intensive search,a fisherman informed the police that he had spotted a body in the river.Police fished out Siddhartha’s remains on Wednesday morning.
* His body was identified by his friends, said Dakshina Kannada district Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil.A police official said everything points to suicide, but nothing can be ruled out until the investigation is over.
* After the post-mortem at Wenlock Hospital in Mangalore, the body was taken to Siddhartha’s home district of Chikmagalur A large number of people from within the coffee estate and neighbouring villages,whom Siddhartha had helped come up in life, thronged to pay their homage to the coffee king.Before Chethanahalli,the body was kept at Chikkamagalur for people to pay their last respects.
* The last rites of VG Siddhartha were performed by his son Amartya.Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa,R Ashoka,his predecessor HD Kumaraswamy and several political leaders as DK Shivakumar,UT Khader with others attended the funeral.
* Borrowing Rs five lakh from his father to pursue his dreams,Siddhartha,known for being shy and self-effacing,went on to become coffee king,creating jobs for thousands of youth instead of joining the family business.
* The family-owned over 350 acres of coffee estate and had been in the business for over 140 years.
* A political war also broke out over Siddhartha’s allegation of harassment by the Income Tax Department, as the Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of betraying the people who voted for an independent and hassle-free economy.
* The company has named independent director SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the company to replace Siddhartha.Meanwhile,CCD’s share prices suffered another major day of loss as it closed at 123.25, almost 30 points lower than the previous day’s close, which itself was a historic low for India’s biggest coffee chain.
* Former IPS,K.Annamalai also visited and paid his tribute and attended the final rites of Coffee King VG Siddhartha.
Billionaire coffee tycoon VG Siddhartha, whose body was fished out of a river two days after he went missing,was on Wednesday cremated at his estate in his home district of Chikmagalur after thousands of people bid him a tearful Adieu.
Amid a sombre atmosphere,his son Amartya lit the funeral pyre after the last rites were performed according to the traditions of the Vokkaliga community from which he hailed.Poignant scenes were witnessed as Amartya broke down several times while performing the rituals.
The funeral pyre was prepared with logs of sandalwood,jackfruit tree,Baniyan tree. Final rites were held according to the beliefs and rituals of the Vokkaliga community.Halappa Shetty of Gowdavalli village conducted the final rites.
More than 10,000 people witnessed the last rites including father-in-law SM Krishna,Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa,former CM HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah,MB Patil,former IPS officer Annamalai,and others.
The arrangements were made by LR Shivarame Gowda,former ministers DC Thammanna,Jayachandra,Ramanath Rai, current MLA of Chikmagalur constituency CT Ravi and Legislative Council member Pranesh.
Former Chief Minister SM Krishna, 87,father-in-law of Siddhartha and his wife Prema also fought hard to control their emotions.
Even as the country mourned Siddhartha’s death,his 96-year-old father Gangaiah Hegde was unaware that his beloved son had passed away.When the CCD founder was reported missing,his senile father was battling for his life in a private hospital in Mysore.According to his family members, he is now slipping into coma.
Siddhartha,whose chain of cafes helped make coffee a lifestyle beverage and brought in latte,Cappuccino, Americano and espresso into the urban Indian lexicon, was 59.He is survived by his wife Malavika and sons Amartya and Ishaan.Dakshina Kannada district Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil told media persons that Siddhartha’s body was identified by his friends.
Siddhartha’s body was found by local fishermen and patrolling policemen on the banks of Nethravathi river near Mangalore on Wednesday,two days after he went missing.A letter allegedly written by him to the Board of Directors and employees of his company Coffee Day Enterprises, showing he was struggling with financial problems due to debt,taxes and share buybacks,came to light as well.
The search involved multiple agencies, which scoured the waters under a bridge across Nethravathi,where Siddhartha, founder of India’s largest coffee chain,was reportedly last seen on Monday night, officials said. After the postmortem at Wenlock Hospital in Mangalore, the body was taken to his home district of Chikmagalur.
Before Chethanahalli,the body was kept at Chikmagalur for people to pay their last respects.
A large number of people from within the coffee estate and neighbouring villages, whom Siddhartha had helped come up in life, thronged to pay their homage to the ‘coffee king’.Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa,his predecessor HD Kumaraswamy, and several political leaders attended the funeral.
We have found the body.I have no words to comfort the family,Yediyurappa said.He had more assets than liabilities.
Borrowing Rs 5 lakh from his father to pursue his dreams,Siddhartha,known for being shy and self-effacing,went on to become the “coffee king”,creating jobs for thousands of youth instead of joining the family business.The family-owned over 350 acres of coffee estate and had been in the business for over 140 years.
A police official said that “everything” points to suicide, but nothing can be ruled out until the investigation is over.
The authorities predicted the probable location where the body could be traced using a “model” developed by Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), which makes predictions based on current, low and high tide among other parameters, said Deputy Commissioner Senthil.
BS Yediyurappa tweeted his condolences after the funeral.In the moment of grief I paid my tribute to one of the pioneers in the coffee retail industry, the founder of Cafe Coffee Day & Former CM Sri S M Krishna’s son in law, Sri. VG Siddhartha. My heart goes out to his family. He will always be remembered,” he tweeted.
A political war also broke out over Siddhartha’s allegation of harassment by the Income Tax Department as the Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of betraying the people who voted for an independent and a hassle-free economy.
There is an old notion of government has no business in business and Modi in his pre-2014 election campaign made a big deal about it.Today he has absolutely betrayed the people who voted for him to see a robust, independent,hassle-free economy,Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said on Twitter.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Siddhartha’s death reflected a “worrying trend”.
Reacting to the death, the Karnataka Congress said on Twitter,Result of harassment by IT officials and decline of India’s entrepreneurial position turning virulent by the day, with Tax Terror & collapse of economy.”
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah said Siddhartha’s death is both disturbing and mysterious.The reasons and the invisible hands that ended his life in this tragic way should be unearthed through impartial & fair investigation”, Siddaramaiah said, referring to a letter purportedly written by Siddhartha in which he alleged harassment by the Income Tax department.Siddaramaiah said the letter supposed to have been written by Siddhartha discussed tax terrorism, which is the ugly face of politically motivated institutions.
In the wake of the death of V G Siddhartha, founder of Cafe Coffee Day,West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took at a dig at the Centre over its policies and the state of economy alleging that the industry and the Indian economy were in a bad shape.Expressing her shock over the incident, she wrote on Twitter,From what he has expressed, it appears that he was greatly depressed due to harassment and pressure from different agencies for which he could not run his business in a peaceful manner.This he could not resist.I hear from different sources that captains of industry in the country are under pressure; some of them have left the country and some are contemplating to move out.All the opposition political parties are afraid of horse trading and harassment with political vendetta she said.In the run-up to this year’s General Elections,Banerjee had repeatedly alleged that various agencies and institutions were being used by the Centre to intimidate political parties into submission and socio-economic and other factors were forcing people, including investors, to leave the country.My appeal to the government is that when you have been elected, you have to work in a peaceful manner so that people are confident and that political vendetta and agencies do not destroy the future of the country.She had also alleged that the BJP was planning to topple the then Congress-led Karnataka government and the party was using cash as well as intimidation to get votes she said on the social media platform.
Addl CP Traffic,P Harishekaran expressed his condolences by telling,I am deeply disturbed.I have very fond memories about him,however I haven’t met him.I have detected a murder case in 2008,the victim was his one of the factory drivers.After he came to know my great efforts,he thanked  me with impeccable appreciation.Next day, sent thanking letter with bunch of flowers.Let us learn very positive lessons from his life.Yes, he is  a visionary and brand maker he added.
Former IPS,K.Annamalai who attended the funeral procession and paid his last rites to VG Siddhartha the coffee king said VG Siddhartha is a pride to Chikmagalur.
VG Siddhartha a billionaire coffee tycoon has played a vital role in getting releasing Dr.Rajkumar who was kidnapped by Veerappan in the year 2010 when SM Krishna was Chief Minister of karnataka Siddhartha has given funds to get release of Dr.Rajkumar from Veerappan the sandalwood smuggler.
Coffee Day Enterprises board appointed,SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the board” and “Nitin Bagmane as an interim chief operating officer (COO) of the company.