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Focus TV chief arrested for allegedly blackmailing BJP MLA Aravind Limbavali

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Hemanth had allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh claiming he had a sex tape of the legislator.

The Bengaluru Police have arrested the Managing Director of Kannada news channel Focus TV on Sunday for allegedly blackmailing a BJP MLA. The Central Crime Branch sleuths arrested Hemanth M Kammar for allegedly blackmailing Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali by alleging he had a sex tape of the legislator.

According to the CCB sleuths, Hemanth had demanded Rs 50 lakh from the legislator. A resident of Yelahanka New Town, he had launched the channel in 2018.

Police say that on May 2, Girish Bharadwaj MLA Limbavali’s assistant filed a complaint with DCP Whitefield Abdul Ahad. Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar transferred the case to CCB.
According to CCB sources, Hemanth had shut down the channel a few months ago due to severe losses. However, Hemanth had allegedly been blackmailing MLA Limbavali since February 10 this year.

“There was an explicit and morphed video of the MLA which was uploaded by a man named Raghu Mourya on Facebook in May 2018. He took it down but in February this year, Hemanth called up MLA Limbavali and told him that he had a video that would compromise his reputation and that the Chief Minister’s office was pressuring him to give them copies of the video,” the police said.

Police suspect that Hemanth was trying to extort money from the MLA in order to be able to pay off the people he owed money to as the news channel was running under severe loss.

“He told the MLA that a man named Satish from the CMO wanted the video and that the BBMP corporators from Congress and JD(S) and even the Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths wanted copies of the video so it could be leaked to the media. He blackmailed MLA Limbavali and told him that he would destroy the video if he paid up Rs 50 lakh,” the police added.

Police say that MLA Limbavali’s assistant called Hemanth on February 11 and asked him why he needed the money. However, Hemanth allegedly told Girish that he had obligations to fulfil. “Girish has claimed that the video is morphed. We have arrested Hemanth and are currently questioning him. However, we suspect that he wanted the money to start the channel once again and so he decided to blackmail the MLA,” the police added.

Hemanth has been booked under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 204 (destruction of documents) of the Indian Penal Code and also under various sections of the IT Act. He was produced before the magistrate and is currently in police custody. 

Agencies

Police close sexual harassment case against Asianet News COO, citing lack of evidence

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The Bengaluru police probing the sexual harassment allegations against Chief Operating Officer of ARG Outlier Asianet News, Abhinav Khare, has filed a B report alleging that the charge sheet could not be filed due to lack of evidence.

In October 2017, Abhinav Khare was accused of sexually harassing Sonam Mahajan who had joined as a strategy consultant at Namma Bengaluru Foundation. BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar is the Founder Trustee and Chairman of Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) and former board member of ARG Outlier Asianet News. The NBF, Asianet and Rajeev’s venture capital firm Jupiter Capital Private Limited work out of the same building in Bengaluru.

Though Sonam had joined the team as a strategy consultant to help Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s political office, she was told that she would be under the payrolls of NBF. Abhinav Khare was the person to whom she was reporting.

A few days later, she complained that Abhinav Khare was harassing her and wanted Rajeev’s office to reassign her to a new team. But instead of a transfer, what followed was a long process of inquiry, rounds of talks and finally a gag order on the woman.

Meanwhile, in June 2018, an ad-hoc committee of three members gave its final report. The report found that most of the allegations made by Sonam were true and Khare should tender a written apology to her.

The police, however say that they interviewed 15 employees of Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Jupiter Capital India Pvt Ltd in connection with the case.

“None of the firm’s employees spoke in favour of the complainant. We interviewed 15 employees who worked with the woman and the accused but not one person’s testimony had anything to back the complainant’s claims. In fact many of them alleged she behaved inappropriately. Some said her performance was not satisfactory and the complaint was vendetta,” the police said. At least one employee has changed her version, after initially supporting Sonam.

The police further claimed that when the FIR was registered, the complainant had informed them that she had screenshots of WhatsApp messages and also a few recorded calls, which she would produce as proof of the sexual harassment that she allegedly faced from Abhinav. However, the police alleged that the complainant did not furnish any of these documents and did not cooperate with the police during the investigation.

However, speaking to media, Sonam denied the police’s claims.

“This is blatantly false. The police contacted me and told me that my husband should give a statement. I informed them that I was not in town and that my husband and I would come down to the station a week later. In between, the police kept sending me messages to appear for questioning. I called DCP Annamalai and he informed me that my husband’s statement is not required and only my statement is needed. Besides, I had told the police that I did not have any screenshots. I don’t know why they are making such claims. The entire investigation is one-sided and I am going to move the court against the B report,” the complainant said.

The woman has also filed a complaint against the Basavanagudi Women’s Police with DCP Annamalai, stating that the investigation was not conducted properly. “DCP Annamalai told me that the B report has already been filed and the next step is to challenge it in the court. That’s the only thing I can do now, which I will,” she added.

Abhinav Khare in a statement called the woman an extortionist. “In the last 18 months she has changed her lie 4 times from “borderline harassment” to “Verbal harassment” to “sexual assault” and now back to “verbal harassment”. Despite 18 months long smear campaign and media trial by her, not a single witness or evidence had corroborated her lies. If I’m a serial offender as she falsely claims, I challenge her openly through your media to produce any “complainant/past victim” against me. On the other hand, multiple victims of her extortion have come forward. I’m relieved that Police after extensive investigation of 6 months and recording statements from dozens of witnesses have submitted a B-report. I was treated as criminal even without an iota of evidence that could be produced by Mrs. Mahajan. I’m still trying to recover from the pain, humiliation, character assassination that she had done with the help of some media platforms. I’d like to thank my present and past female colleagues for their support in my fight.”

Agencies

Pakistani doctor arrested after 90 infected by HIV syringe

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Officials say they traced the outbreak to a doctor, who allegedly used a contaminated syringe on patients.

Authorities were first alerted last week after 18 children tested positive for the HIV [Shakil Adil/AP]

At least 90 people, including 65 children, are believed to have been infected with HIV in Pakistanby a doctor using a contaminated syringe, officials said.

“We have arrested a doctor after receiving complaints from the health authorities,” said Kamran Nawaz, the local police chief heading the case in the southern city of Larkana, on Friday.

“We are told that the doctor also has HIV,” he said.

Authorities were first alerted last week after 18 children living on the outskirts of the city tested positive for the virus, which causes AIDS, prompting health officials to carry out wider screenings. Dozens of more infections were found.

“More than 90 people have tested HIV-positive and the number of children is around 65,” Dr Abdul Rehaman, a district health official in Larkana, told AFP news agency.

A second official confirmed the outbreak, although gave slightly different figures.

Authorities said they traced the outbreak to a single doctor, who appears to have been using a contaminated syringe on patients.

Azra Pechuho, Sindh province’s health minister, confirmed his arrest. “The blood of the parents of the infected children was also tested, but their results were negative,” he said.

Officials have since launched an even larger testing and education drive.

Pakistan is considered a low prevalence country for HIV, but the disease is expanding – mostly among intravenous drug users, sex workers and migrant labourers returning from the Gulf.

City police arrest two for posting fake news clips to social media

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Bengaluru, May 3 : The city police have arrested two persons including a journalist, who allegedly posted fake news referring to the chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s resort stay in Udupi district during this week.
According to official sources the police arrested Gangadhar and Ajith Shetty, for posting fake news purporting that Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy was enjoying his time in the posh beach resort.
The duo were arrested for posting fake news with an intention to belittle the image of the Chief minister, the police sources said.
The fake news with a photo of the Chief minister had been posted to a website and uploaded in a social media, which went viral, the sources said.

Five people nabbed and fake currency of 81 lakhs seized

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Bengaluru, May 3 : Police have nabbed three people, including two BMTC Drivers and a Photographer and seized from them fake currency of 81 lakh from them in the outskirts of the city today.
Police said on Friday that, the trio were trying to exchange fake currency of 50 lakhs at Kogile Cross in Yelahanka Police station limits in the outskirts of the city when they were nabbed. On their information the police further recovered fake currency of 31,30,000.
The arrested were identified as Somanna Gowda (BMTC Driver cum Conductor), Kiran Kumar (Photogapher) and Nanjegowda (BMTC Driver).
Besides, Police have seized computer and other materials used for producing fake currency notes.
Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar, addressing a press conference, said that Somanagowda, who was working as Driver cum Conductor, came in contact with a passenger from Chitradurga, who was giving fake currency double the original currency. He paid Rs one lakh original currency for two lakh fake currency and used to translate them. Later he became greedy and sold his land for Rs 8 lakhs and gave it to his friend demanding double fake currency notes.
His friend instead of giving fake currency double the cash received, he gave him the technology to produce fake notes. With the technology he produced fake currency for 81.30 lakhs and with the help of his friends Nanjegowda he was trying to exchange the fake currency into original when they also developed friendship with Photographer Kiran Kumar and all the three indulged in the crime.
Congratulating the team which succeeded in nabbing the trio, the Commissioner announced cash award of Rs one lakh to the team led by DCP Kalakrishnaswamy.
Yelahanka Police have registered a case and are on the look out for the person who gave the technology for producing fake currency, he added.

Karnataka to release drinking water from Narayanpur reservoir to Jurala project

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Hyderabad, May 3 : To meet the drinking water requirements of people of Mahabubnagar District the Karnataka Government, on the request of Telangana government, has decided to release two and half TMC water from Narayanpur reservoir to Jurala project.

In view of the water levels steeply coming down in the reservoirs of Mahabubnagar District, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao requested his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy for release of water, an official release said here on friday.
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Mr Kumaraswamy after discussing with the officials decided to release water to Mahabubnagar District.

Mr Kumaraswamy personally telephoned to the Chief Minister and informed about the release of water , the release said.

Mr Rao described the move as ‘happy’ and ‘good news’ to the people of Mahabubnagar.

On behalf of people of Mahabubnagar District, the Chief Minister thanked Mr Kumaraswamy for releasing the water.

Both the CMs have expressed their desire that the cordial and friendly relationship between the two states should continue forever.

Water supply to Jurala project will commence from this evening, the release added.

Caste to play key role in remaining 41 LS seats in UP

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Lucknow, May 3 : Crucial caste factor will play an important role in the 41 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh which will be covered in the next three phases of polls.

BJP vs SP-BSP alliance would be intense in this phase though in certain places, Congress could play a vital role in dampening the spirits of both the BJP and the opposition alliance.

Next three phases will witness elections in VIP constituencies like Amethi, Rae Bareli, Varanasi and Azamgarh from where Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi and Akhilesh Yadav are in fray. 

There are other VIP constituencies like Gorakhpur where prestige of Chief Minister is at stake or Kushinagar from where RPN Singh of Congress is contesting. Even the state president of BJP Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking a re-election from Chandauli and Faizabad, the epicenter of Hindutava campaign, in the last three phases.

All eyes will also be on Menaka Gandhi who is contesting from Sultanpur after swapping seats with her son Varun, who is BJP candidate from Pilibhit.

The aura of these leaders or constituencies notwithstanding it is the caste which is likely to give a bigger challenge to the BJP in the remaining phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

In 2014 the BJP and its ally ? Apna Dal ? won 38 of the 41 seats that will go to polls in last three phases.

The three seats opposition won include– Rae Bareli and Amethi ? won by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi respectively, and Azamgarh- from where Mulayam Singh Yadav won hands down.

In the electoral history, 2014 elections can be termed as an aberration because the country swayed by Modi wave voted in favour of BJP obliterating the caste line which is quite prominent in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

“It is the caste which decides the voting pattern in Uttar Pradesh. The political parties too field candidates on caste lines despite that fact that caste system is a taboo as per our constitution,” Dr Nomita P Kumar of Giri Institute of Development Studies said here on Friday.

She has carried out a study on election pattern of 2014 polls and said that collective vote percentage of opposition parties is much more than the vote BJP polled in last three phase. In phase 5 BJP polled 40.8 per cent votes while the coalition got 52.9 per cent votes. Others got 6. 3 per cent votes.

In the fifth phase, which will be held on May 6, constituencies like Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Raebareli, Amethi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Bahraich, Kaiserganj and Gonda will go to polls.

“The scenario was no different in phase 6 of 2014 polls when BJP polled 38.3 per cent votes, which is less than it polled in phase 5 but others poll percentage got up to 9.2 per cent. The coalition vote percentage, however, remained intact which is 52.5 per cent,” Dr Kumar said.

The sixth phase election is on May 12 and constituencies like Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi will go to polls.

Dr Kumar said that last and seventh phase was most productive for the BJP in 2014 because it got 43.9 per cent votes, marginally more than opposition alliance which got 44.1 per cent votes.

The constituencies like Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Kushinagar will be among 13 constituencies that will go to polls on May 19.

“In this scenario, the BJP faces a tough challenge from opposition in the last three phases of election because the caste will play a dominant role,” she said.

Godrej Properties Ltd Buys Mumbai’s iconic R.K. Studios.

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 Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL) on Friday said it has bought Mumbai’s iconic R.K. Studios, founded by legendary film actor Raj Kapoor, for an undisclosed amount.

The company will develop the property, spread across 2.2 acres, into a project spanning 0.35 million sq ft of saleable area comprising modern residential apartments of various configurations as well as a luxury retail experience, Godrej Properties said in a filing to the BSE.

Mint reported on 27th October, 2018, that the company was in talks with the Kapoor family to buy the property for nearly₹200 crore.

R.K. Studios was the headquarters of Raj Kapoor’s film production company R.K. Films and was a hub of film shoots, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.

“We are happy to add this iconic site in Chembur to our development portfolio. This fits well with our strategy of deepening our presence in key locations across India’s leading cities,” said Pirojsha Godrej, executive chairman, Godrej Properties, in the filing.

The company said the site was strategically located on the main Sion-Panvel Road in Mumbai and offers a well developed social and civic infrastructure with multiple schools, hospitals, retail malls, residential, and commercial spaces in close proximity.

“We will seek to ensure we celebrate the remarkable legacy of this site with the goal of delivering an outstanding lifestyle for its residents,” Godrej said.

Randhir Kapoor, son of late Raj Kapoor, said the property has been of “tremendous significance” to the family over many decades. “We are excited to have chosen Godrej Properties to script a new chapter for this location and build upon its rich history,” Kapoor said.

In an interview published on 26 August, Rishi Kapoor, brother to Randhir Kapoor, told Mumbai Mirror that the family has collectively decided to sell R.K. Studios as it was no longer economically viable to rebuild after severe damage from a fire a year ago. Kapoor also said the family had considered renovating the property with a state-of-the-art technology.

Shares of Godrej Properties traded at ₹832 per share, up 1.37% from previous close, while Sensex was at 39,067.09 points, up 0.24%.

Agencies

JDS launches Membership Drive: Vishwanath

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Bengaluru, May 3 : Janata Dal (Secular) which has formed the government in Karnataka with the support of the its one-time foe Congress, has decided to expand its base by launching membership drive, State JD(S) President H Vishwanath said here today.

In a press release here on Friday, Vishwanath has directed all the Bock and District Presidents to take a lead in enrolling members at the grass root level and build a strong organisation.

He also insisted that the party functionaries should put up extra efforts during the membership drive, especially in Northern Karnataka region, where the party has no strong base as it has in Southern part of the state.

Parliament members, Ministers, MLAs, and those who had lost elections in the 2018 Assembly poll, should involve more in enlisting the support of the grass root level workers and new members, he stated.

Vishwanath stated that a letter has already been written to all the Office Bearers both at the Rural as well as at the Urban areas to take up membership drive seriously.

Cyclone Fani hits Puri with wind speeds of 240-245 kmph; 2 dead in Odisha

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Cyclone Fani has hit Odisha this morning and has started making its impact felt. Large areas in the temple town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rain battered the coast.

India’s Meteorological Department(IMD) in Hyderabad tracking cyclone Fani said winds have been blowing at a maximum speed of 240-245 km per hour with very heavy rains in Puri and is now likely moving towards West Bengal coast.

Two people were killed due to the cyclone, an official said. 

Indian Navy’s P-8I and Dornier have been scheduled to be launched in the afternoon for undertaking aerial survey to assess the extent of impact and devastation post-Fani.

Heavy rainfall and strong winds hit Ganjam as cyclone Fani hit the Puri coast with wind speed of above 175km/per hour.

“In the next three hours, Cyclone Fani is expected to weaken with a wind speed of 150-160 km per hour, subsequently it will weaken and move north-northeastwards. By evening, it may weaken into severe cyclonic storm over extreme northern part of Odisha,” Mrityunjay Mohapatra, IMD official in Delhi said.

Meanwhile, Airports Authority of India said no flight to and from Kolkata airport will be allowed to fly from 3pm today till 8am on Saturday. In a series of tweets, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said Friday that all airlines must immediately respond to the concerns of passengers affected by Cyclone Fani.

“We are ready to offer help needed for the stranded due to cyclonic storm Fani. The control room, helplines are manned all times to assist affected passengers. All Airlines must immediately respond to the concerns of passengers,” he tweeted.

In West Bengal, NDRF team have been deployed at Digha. The disaster relief team have evacuated 132 people, including 52 children, from Dattapur and Tajpur.

Agencies

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