BENGALURU: Karnataka reached yet another scary Covid peak since the onset of the pandemic by recording 50,112 new cases in a day, breaching the 17-lakh mark in the total number of cases at 17,41,046. The State’s positivity rate for the day was 32.38 per cent. The State is also not far behind from reaching the second spot in the country in the highest number of cases, as Kerala in the second spot has 17,43,933. But Karnataka is at the second spot in the number of active cases at 4,87,288 and has an active case ratio of 27.5 per cent.

The State recorded its highest single day Covid deaths at 346. Most of them were from Bengaluru Urban at 161. Deaths were also reported from Vijayapura, Ballari, Hassan, Uttar Kannada, Mysuru, Kolar, Mandya, Tumakuru, Kalaburagi, Dharwad, Ramanagar, Gadag, Ballari and Raichur. The total number of Covid deaths is now 16,884. The case fatality rate stands at 1 per cent.On the brighter side, the State reported the highest discharges at 26,841, taking the total to 12,36,854. The State’s recovery ratio stands at 76.1 per cent which is lower than in many districts.

Bengaluru Urban recorded 23,106 new cases and the total number of positives are now 8,63,380. Total Covid deaths are at 7,006. Across the State, 86 are positive with the UK Strain, six with South African strain and 62 with the double mutant B.1.617.The State crossed the one-crore mark by inoculating 1,00,72,795 people.Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, “K’taka has received 1,05,49,970 doses from Centre & State Govt has procured 3 lakh doses. Vaccine is our biggest weapon to defeat pandemic & Govt is leaving no stone unturned to vaccinate everyone at the earliest.”

Pramesh Jain

While BJP legislators brought the alleged bed allotment scam to light,the Jayanagar police on Tuesday announced the arrest of a social worker and her nephew who are suspected to have contacts with BBMP war-room staff.

The accused,Nethra (40) and Rohith (22) who hail from Begur were caught after the police conducted a sting operation.A team,posing as relatives of a patient with COVID-19,and approached them for beds.

They would charge anywhere between Rs.20,000-40,000 depending upon the financial status of the person asking for a bed,said Harish Pndey, DCP, South.

The accused would circulate messages on WhatsApp offering to help patients to get beds. According to the police,they have contacts in the BBMP war room from where they get the allotment.

We also suspect that they have contacts within the private hospital network, which is being probed,” Mr. Pandey added.

The Jayanagar police have registered a case of cheating and fraud.They suspect that more people are involved in the scam.

A case of fraud and cheating has been registered in Jayanagar station under fraud and cheating . There are more people involved and are being questioned, he added.

Considering the magnitude of the case , Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant has handed over the case to the Central Crime Branch police for a detailed probe.

As the case was transferred to CCB officially by Commissioner of police Kamal Pant, on tuesday night next day the CCB held a high value meeting with officials to unearth the Nexus and nab all the culprits.

The legislator Tejasvi Surya visited Commissioner office to held a meeting and gave details about the scam to Commissioner of Police,Dr Tulasi M, was too present in a high value meeting called by MP,Sandeep Patil, DCP Crime-1 KP Ravikumar,with other officers were part of the meeting.

The CCB have Taken Dr.Rehan,South zone war room in charge into custody to question in details to ascertain the possible involvement of others in the racket.

The police have also arrested Dr.Suresh of Bommanhalli war room incharge,but since he is covid positive,police are not questioning him.

The two doctors among the four arrested by CCB in the racket.The duo would instruct the war room staffer Shashi Kumar to block and unblock the beds using the key IDs.

Chandan Kale,PSI of Jayanagar police station who initially probed the case and filed a complaint against the accused said that the accused would get the information about vacant beds across the city and using block thd beds in the name of covid patients who are home isolated and not even opted for the beds

The accused would then inform their contacts on the field who are in turn approach the people who are desperately looking for bed.

Once the deal is clinched the touts would then reach the hospital and alert the accused who would unblock the beds to facilitate the admission of patients who had paid them.

Using this modus operandi,the accused have blocked and unblocked the bed at Appollo hospital in Jayanagar on May 1 2021 in the name of home isolation patient to get the bed for patient identified as Chandrasekhar,a police officer said.

There are many people involved in the racket who are absconding.

The police are also suspecting the involvement of many private hospitals and questioning the accused to ascertain the identifies of such hospitals and their role.

Meanwhile the CCB officials are checking the records of the other war rooms in RR nagar, Mahadevapura,Yelahanka and Dasarahalli as part of the Investigation.

CCB Police teams conducted search operations across eight Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike war rooms in the city before detaining staff for questioning.As many as seven people, including two doctors,have been questioned.

Senior officer said,that it appears to be software discrepancies in the blocking and unblocking of beds.

Sandeep Patil,Joint Commissioner of Police,said two FIRs have been registered as part of the investigation.The identities of the arrested accused have yet to be revealed.

The arrests comes a day after BJP legislators uncovered an alleged scam in the BBMP South zone war room where beds were blocked and later sold.

CCB officials,who have taken over the case,have also taken custody of Nethrvathy and Rohith.

Many touts who are part of the racket who have switched off their phones and are on the run.Efforts are on to track them down to ascertain their involvement,a senior police officer said.

After BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s big reveal on what he called a “bed-blocking scandal” in Bengaluru, blaming his own party-controlled civic body, a video has exposed shocking communal comments made in his presence against 17 Muslim employees at a Covid war room.

A video shows Tejasvi Surya, the Bangalore South MP, in the municipal Covid war room with three BJP MLAs, grilling officials. One of the MLAs with him is his uncle.

Mr Surya had alleged that a “nexus of BBMP officials and frontline health workers” is conspiring to “buy” these beds after snatching them away from people who were dying without ICU care.

BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) booking site says all beds are full. So many people are getting discharged,but the BBMP says all beds are booked. There is a nexus of BBMP officials,Aarogya Mitra (a frontline health service) people in hospitals and outside agents,” he said.

Mr Surya alleged the beds were being initially reserved in the names of Covid patients in home isolation who were unaware of the allotment. After they failed to show up for admission the bed was “auto un-blocked”, he said, claiming this had happened “in thousands of cases”.

BBMP officials would then, he said, find someone to “buy” the bed.

Beds at government hospitals, and at private hospitals that have reserved a certain number to be filled by the state, are allotted via requests to a centralised number.

This is the most disgusting thing that can take place in a pandemic,the BJP MP declared, adding that Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had promised action against those involved.

Pramesh Jain

The Doddaballapura police on tuesday busted a gang and arrested a gang of five persons including a car dealer who were getting the stolen cars from UP and Delhi and selling in and around the city after creating fake registration certificates with the help of a tout in Regional Transport office who is also part of their gang.

The accused has been identified as Suresh,28, Lokesh,28,Renuka Prasad,29,cab drivers by profession,Srinivasa,31,a second hand car dealer and Hemanth Kumar,36,a tout at the RTO in Doddaballapura.

The police recovered seven cars worth Rs 50 lakh from them along with the fake RC and Smart cards which the accused have had stolen from the RTO office .

Senior officer told reporters,The gang was busted on Friday when alert police constables Panduranga C and Kumar who were on patrolling duty confronted Suresh, Lokesh and Renuka Prasad,a cab drivers moving in a car and tried to escape soon after noticing the car.

Suspecting something fishy in their behaviour, the duo took them to the station and informed their seniors.

A detailed questioning by the officials led the accused to confessed the crime and and it has revealed that the have a car theif from Delhi who is stealing the cars for them in Delhi and UP and hand it over to them .

The accused change the registration number of the cars and Hemanth Kumar who is accessed in the RTO would steal the smart card and RC certificates to fill the details and create fake documents.

Once the documents are ready,Srinivas would sell the car to his clients.

The accused have not only stolen the cars from Delhi and UP but also from various parts of Bengaluru,Mangaluru,Belagavi and Tamilnadu.

The accused are operational for the last two years and suspected to have stolen and sold many more cars, a senior police officer said .

The police have booked the case of vehicle thefts against them and remanded to judicial custody while further investigations are on.

The police have also alerted the Delhi counterpart about the car thief who was stealing the car on their behalf.

Finally IGP,Central Range,Chandrashekhar,has appreciated, Bengaluru Rural SP,Ravi D Chennanavar,Addl SP,Lakshmi Ganesh,DYSP,Rangappa,CPI,Naveen Kumar,PSIs,as,K Venkatesh,Ranganath,and crime staff as,Panduranga,Sunil,Muniraju,Arjun S Lamani,Shivaraj,Nataraj and puttana has been appreciated for the exemplary and commendable job done by the team and a suitable reward will be given to the team he added.

BENGALURU: Close on the heels of the 24 Covid deaths in Chamarajanagar due to shortage of oxygen, at least 14 more such cases were reported from various parts of the state on Tuesday. Even as the deaths were attributed to oxygen shortage and messages went viral on social media, the authorities have remained in denial that the life saving gas was in short supply.

Two of the patients died due to Covid-19 while two others, who were brought to the hospital in critical condition, suspected Covid-19 patients, on Monday afternoon, died in the evening. Sources said it was not possible to even take the throat swabs of two of them as they were brought in a critical condition.Officials, however, maintained that there was no shortage of oxygen in any of the hospitals in Kalaburagi district and that the district administration is rushing oxygen cylinders as soon as requests are received.

Three persons of a family died in a span of 10 days, allegedly due to shortage of oxygen in a private hospital in Belagavi where they were admitted after they had tested Covid19 positive. The deceased are Parvati Krishna Teragaon (76), her husband Krishna Bhimappa Teragaon (80) and son Prashant Teragaon (46), all from Vidya Nagar, Belagavi. Parvati died due to Covid-19 on April 24, Krishna died on April 29 and Prashant on May 3. One of the deceased was suffering from asthma, sources said.

Chamarajanagar limping to normal
A day after 24 patients died due to lack of oxygen in Chamarajanagar, the district is limping back to normal amidst adequate supplies of oxygen, and patients getting admitted at the district hospital.

BENGALURU: At a time when hospitals are running out of oxygen and fresh Covid-19 cases in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are seeing a surge, fueling speculation over a possible extension of the existing Corona Curfew, CM BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday said that curbs already in place will continue for now. The state is under a strict ‘close down’ till May 12 with a six-hour daily window.

A miffed Yediyurappa is said to have lashed out at ministers in the cabinet meeting for failing to stay in the districts they are in charge of during this public health crisis. Yediyurappa’s government has come under severe public scrutiny, especially after 24 people — 23 of them Covid-19 patients — died in Chamarajanagar. To manage the crisis better, the CM has appointed five senior ministers of his cabinet and entrusted them with specific responsibilities.

“Jagadish Shettar will be in charge of oxygen centres and will coordinate with the Central Government to see that there is no shortage of oxygen. Deputy CM Dr C N Ashwath Narayan will coordinate with all medical colleges in the state and see to it that there is no shortage of Remdesivir doses and human resources. Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and R Ashok will look into the requirement of beds in government and private hospitals and medical colleges while Aravind Limbavali will be in charge of the BBMP War Room and ensure smooth connectivity for helplines,” he said. 

AlL district in-charge ministers have been asked to immediately camp in their districts to coordinate pandemic containment efforts.The State Government has also decided to rope in final-year nursing and AYUSH students for Covid-19 management. “We discussed the immediate need for increased oxygen supply to the state. After our request, the Union Government increased allocation from 350 tons to 850 tons per day. There is a delay in transporting oxygen from other states. Now that cases are reducing in Maharashtra, we are requesting the government to reallocate their oxygen quota to Karnataka from Jindal Steel’s supply,” Yediyurappa said. The government has appealed to the media to create awareness about patients who require hospitalisation.