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Bengaluru Rural: Veteran Kannada actress Leelavati was cremated as per Hindu traditions at her farm house, here at Soladevanahalli on Saturday.
The revered actress died due to age-related illness at a private hospital in Nelamangala on Friday.
Several prominent political figures and artists from the film industry arrived at the Dr. BR Ambedkar Grounds in Nelamangala to bid farewell to the actress.
New Delhi/Bhubaneswar, Dec 9: The seizure of “unaccounted” cash after the income-tax department raided an Odisha-based distillery group and entities linked to it is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the “highest-ever” black money haul by any agency in a single operation, official sources said on Saturday.
The tax department has deployed about 40 large and small machines to count the currency notes and brought in more department and bank staffers to finish the process, which began on December 6 following raids against Boudh Distillery Private Limited and others, the sources said.
Besides these, more vehicles have also been requisitioned by the department to transport the seized cash to government banks in the state.
A premises linked to Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, was also searched as part of the operation, the sources said.
Sahu’s staff expressed their inability to get a comment from the MP when PTI called on his phone for a reaction to the I-T department’s action.
The tax sleuths are now recording the statements of various company officials and others, the sources said, adding that the counting of cash is expected to be over by Saturday.
Cash amounting to more than Rs 250 crore has been seized till now and the money is continuously being deposited in government bank branches in Odisha, the sources said. Most of the currency notes are of Rs 500 denomination.
This is the highest-ever cash seizure made by an agency in the country as part of an action against a single group and its linked entities, the sources said.
Some of the high-value seizures in the past include one from 2019 when the GST Intelligence raided a Kanpur-based businessman and seized cash amounting to Rs 257 crore and another instance where cash amounting to Rs 163 crore was unearthed by the I-T department during searches against a road construction firm in Tamil Nadu in July 2018.
The sources said cash amounting to almost Rs 230 crore was seized from about 10 almirahs kept on the premises of the company in Bolangir district, while the remaining amount was seized from locations in Titlagarh, Sambalpur and Ranchi. Around 200 big and small bags were used to pack the cash.
The searches were launched after the taxman got “actionable intelligence” of a huge amount of “out-of-book” sales and cash being remitted by liquor distributors, sellers and business groups.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took note of the development. In a post on X on Friday, he said: “Countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest ‘speeches’ of their leaders…. Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi’s guarantee.”
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha welcomed the tax raids.
“Jharkhand BJP leaders are saying the seized money belongs to Congress leaders. On the other hand, Congress leaders are saying it belongs to BJP leaders. Both are blaming the other. It seems like both BJP and Congress leaders had stashed their money with this businessman,” it said in a statement.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan also sought to know the source of the “benami wealth” seized from the liquor traders.
New Delhi: The much-delayed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections will be held on December 21 and the results will be announced the same day, said returning officer for the polls on Saturday.
A statement issued by the office of the returning officer, Justice (retd) MM Kumar said polling, counting of votes and declaration of results will be done on the same day and the result of the elections shall be subject to the outcome of the writ petition pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The elections, to be held during the Special General Body Meeting, will be staged as per the electoral list made on August 7, quelling apprehensions that the entire process might start all over again.
“All steps up to the stage of preparation and display of the final list of contesting candidates were completed (on Aug 7) and various activities like polling, counting of votes and declaration of result alone were left,” said a statement issued by the returning officer for the polls.
“The elections of the WFI were stayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 11.08.2023 just a day before the poll and therefore, polling could not be held on 12.08.2023… the Supreme Court has vacated the stay orders and therefore the remaining steps like polling etc. will now recommence on 21.12.2023 as per the following revised schedule,” said the statement.
“Result of the above elections shall, however, be subject to the outcome of the Writ Petition pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” added the statement.
After several postponements, the WFI elections have been made possible after the Supreme Court recently set aside the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana HC.
An IOA-constituted ad-hoc panel, led by Wushu Association of India chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa, is currently managing the day-to-day activities of the WFI after the sports ministry suspended the federation headed by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by top Indian grapplers.
Several wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, sat in protest at the Jantar Mantar here for more than two months to protest against the alleged sexual harassment of female grapplers by Brij Bhushan.
The election process, which was set in motion in July, has been delayed because of court cases. This has further led to the suspension of the WFI by the international federation, United World Wrestling, for failing to conduct fresh polls in the time stipulated by them.
Indian wrestlers continue to participate in international competitions under the UWW flag because of the suspension of the national body.
The ad-hoc panel head Bajwa said the polling will be held at the Olympic Bhawan here and the “agenda/items will be the same as per notice issued earlier on 21st July 2023.”
Mumbai: Indian batting looked clueless and out of depth to be dismissed for their third lowest total as England notched up a four-wicket win in the second women’s T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Saturday.
On a day uncapped Indian cricketers won fat pay-cheques in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, Shafali Verma (0), Smriti Mandhana (10), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (9), Deepti Sharma (0) cut a sorry figure as India were shot out for 80 in 16.2 overs.
In reply, England cantered home in 11.2 overs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The final T20I is slated on Sunday.
In defence of their paltry 80, India had a horror start with a wayward Renuka Singh leaking eight runs in four wide deliveries.
Sophia Dunkley then took the attack on inexperienced Bengal seamer Titas Sidhu with two boundaries as England raced to 17 runs in first two overs.
Renuka returned to take two wickets — Sophia (9) and Danni Wyatt (0) — but with no scoreboard pressure Alice Capsey (25; 21b) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (16; 13b) seized the momentum with their counter-attacking display to take them past 50-run mark inside seven overs.
But the duo failed to take the team home as India managed to take two wickets with seven runs needed.
Deepti sharma took two in as many deliveries — Amy Jones and Freya Kemp — but it didn’t matter as Sophie Ecclestone (9) clinched the series with a four.
Their match aggregate of 162 runs was also the lowest involving the two teams.
For India, Jemimah Rodrigues was the lone bright spot with a 33-ball 30, and one of the two batters to get into double digit scores, in a bizarre display by the Indian batters.
That all their top-four batters got out LBW showed their lack of application on a batting-friendly wicket at the Wankhede stadium.
This was India’s third lowest total in women’s T20I behind 62 (vs Australia, 2011) and 70 (vs South Africa, 2019).
Batting at No 3, Jemimah saw wickets falling around her as she had no option but to accelerate.
She looked in fine touch, hitting back-to-back boundaries with some crisp sweep shots but only to be dismissed in the same over with Sarah Glenn trapping her LBW.
It was a clinical display by England as all their six bowlers returned with at least one wicket.
Charlie Dean (4-0-16-2), Lauren Bell (3-0-18-2), Sophie Ecclestone (3.2-0-13-2) and Sarah Glenn (3-1-13-2) bagged two wickets each.
Ecclestone, who took a stunning left-handed return catch to dismiss Richa Ghosh (4), gave the final blow when she pushed one through Saika Ishaque’s defence to bring curtains on Indian innings.
This was the third lowest target set by India against England.
Opting to bowl, Heather Knight straightway started off with spin as Charlotte Dean inflicted a double blow in successive overs (2-0-4-2) to give England a perfect start.
The off-spinner fired a straighter one in and Shafali looked to work it towards leg but completely missed and was trapped in front to be dismissed for a two-ball duck.
Going with a change of ends, Dean this time dismissed Smriti Mandhana (10) LBW after being hit on her back pad.
Harmanpreet looked to attack and paddled away Sciver-Brunt for successive fours but the England seamer had the last laugh and had the Indian skipper plumb with a delivery that jagged back in.
Sophie then pulled off an absolute blinder of a return catch to dismiss Richa Ghosh for four as India found themselves in deep trouble with half of their side back in pavillion for 37.
One-up in the three-match series, England need a win to seal the series.
India lost by 38 runs in the first T20I.
Jaipur: A man was arrested here for allegedly contracting shooters to kill Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, the police commissioner said here on Saturday.
Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph said Ramveer Jat, one of the conspirators in the Gogamedi murder case, was arrested on Saturday.
Ramveer Jat is from Sureti Pilaniyan village of Mahendragarh district of Haryana, he said.
Gogamedi was brazenly gunned down by two men, alleged to have been identified as Nitin Fauji and Rohit Rathore, on Tuesday.
According to the police, Ramveer Jat had prepared the groundwork for Nitin Fauji, his friend, in Jaipur ahead of the killing.
After the incident, Ramveer Jat took to road with Nitin and Rohit on a motorcycle and got them on a Rajasthan Roadways bus ahead of Bagru toll plaza.
Bengaluru: The Begur Police on Saturday arrested an individual accused of looting the public under the disguise of a police personnel.
The individual allegedly deceived people by claiming to provide vehicles confiscated by Police at a low price and swindled money from different people in the city.
The arrested accused has been identified as K. Loordanathan (53). It has been learnt that the accused previously served as a Home Guard but is currently unemployed.
Reportedly, the accused, introduced himself to the public by wearing a police uniform and claiming to be a policeman, deceived people by telling them that the vehicles confiscated by the police in various police stations of the city would be auctioned at a low price. Subsequently, the accused individual would demand money in exchange for the vehicles.
The arrest comes in connection with a similar case of fraud reported at Begur police station. The police have seized 50 thousand rupees, and a two-wheeler from the possession of the accused. During the police investigation, it has also been revealed that the accused had also deceived people in Chikkajala, Bellandur and Sampigehalli police stations limits.
Shah Rukh Khan(L), Akshay Kumar(C), Ajay Devgn(R)
Lucknow: The central government, responding to a contempt petition, informed the Lucknow bench of Allahabad Court that it has issued notices to actors Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn in connection with advertisements they do for gutka companies.
The Centre’s counsel informed the High Court on Friday that the same issue was also being heard by the Supreme Court and as such the instant petition should be dismissed.
After hearing the submission, the bench fixed the hearing for May 9, 2024.
A bench of justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan had earlier directed the central government to decide the representation of the petitioner, who had originally contended that action should be taken against the actors and dignitaries who were given high profile awards but were advertising for gutka companies.
The representation was made to the government on October 22 but no action was taken in the matter, the petitioner argued.
Thereafter, hearing the contempt petition, the high court had issued notice to the Cabinet Secretary of the central government.
On Friday, Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the High Court that the Centre had issued show cause notices to Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn.
The court was also informed that Amitabh Bachchan had sent a legal notice to a gutka company, which was showing his advertisement despite the fact that he had already cancelled his contract with it.
Palghar: A 20-year-old man from Maharashtra’s Palghar district allegedly cooked up his own kidnapping story to extract money from his father, police said on Sunday.
The Valiv police here received a complaint from a resident of Fatherwadi area in Vasai that his son had gone out of the house on December 7 but did not return.
The police registered a missing case on December 8.
While they were conducting a probe into it, the complainant received a call from his son stating that three persons had kidnapped him, kept him in captivity, and were demanding a ransom of Rs 30,000, failing which they would kill him, an official said.
The son also sent a QR code to his father for the payment.
Four police teams were then formed and they searched for the man in Vasai, Virar, Nallasopara and other places, the official said.
After working on various leads, the man was traced to Vasai phata on Saturday.
When the police enquired with him, they came to know that he wanted money from his father which the latter was not ready to give. Hence, he concocted the kidnap drama to extract money from his father, the official said.
The police have detained the 20-year-old man and further probe is on into the matter, he added.
Thane: An FIR has been registered against a woman for allegedly trying to kill her 61-year-old husband by setting him afire over a domestic dispute in Kalyan city with the help of two others, police said on Saturday.
The other two male accused in the case are friends of one of the daughters of the victim, an official said.
Nobody has been arrested so far.
As per the statement recorded by the injured man in a hospital, his wife would argue with him over his monthly pension and his objection to the frequent visits of the two youths to their house, the official said.
The victim had lodged a complaint with the police in the past against the two youths claiming a threat to his life, he added.
“The victim was attacked by two youths on the night of December 8 who doused him with some inflammable liquid while his wife set him on fire,” the official said quoting the FIR.
The victim said his neighbours rushed him to the hospital.
Further investigation is underway.
New Delhi: The NHRC has issued notices to the Manipur government and the state’s police chief over reports that at least 13 people were killed in a gun fight in Leithao village in the Tengnoupal district, officials said on Friday.
The incident, as reported, indicates a “lapse” on the part of the law enforcing agencies and the forces deployed to ensure peace and law and order in the state, the rights panel said in a statement.
The National Human Rights Commission observed that the reported loss of 13 lives in an area, which remained calm since the tension erupted in the state of Manipur in May this year, is “alarming and disturbing”.
The rights panel has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that “at least 13 people were killed in a gun fight in Leithao village near Saibol in the Tengnoupal district, Manipur. Reportedly, the incident happened on December 4,” it said.
The commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, amount to a serious issue of human rights violations and is a matter of concern.
Accordingly, it has issued notices to the state’s chief secretary and the director general of police, seeking a detailed report within two weeks, the statement said.
It should include the status of the FIR registered by the police and steps taken by the state government to ensure that such incidents of violence do not take place anywhere in the state, the rights panel said.
“The state of Manipur and its people have already suffered a lot. It is firmly reiterated that it is the duty of the state to protect the life and properties of its citizens both private and public and to promote fraternity and spirit of brotherliness amongst the communities,” it said.
The NHRC since May 2023 has received several complaints from individuals, NGOs and activists alleging violation of human rights during the incidents of violence in Manipur, the statement said.
The commission said these matters are being considered by the full bench of the commission and were also discussed at length, during its camp sitting at Guwahati, Assam on November 17. Senior officers from the government of Manipur, as well as the representatives of the complainants and civil society were also present, the statement said.
According to the media report, carried on December 5, the village has nine houses and around 120 residents. However, no casualties were reported from among the villagers.
Prima facie, it is suspected that the victims of the violence could even be militants from Myanmar since the nearby hills from Leithao are a common route used by them to enter Manipur, it said.
Reportedly, this is the highest single-day loss of life in the violence that erupted in Manipur this year, it added.