Bengaluru: Karnataka on Saturday reported 1,325 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 8,91,685 and the death toll to 11,846, as it tested over a lakh sample.

A total of over 1,16,13,924 samples have been tested so far, out of which 1,04,032 were tested today alone, and 18,367 among them were rapid antigen tests.

The day also saw 1,400 patients getting discharged after recovery.

Out of 1,325 fresh cases reported on Saturday, 709 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone.

As of December 5 evening, cumulatively 8,91,685 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 11,846 deaths and 8,54,861 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said, out of 24,959 active cases, 24,681 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 278 are in ICU.

According to the bulletin, 6 out of the total 12 deaths reported on Saturday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Ballari, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Kolar, Mandya, and Uttara Kannada (1).

Most of the dead are either with a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI).

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 709, Mysuru 55, Belagavi 45, Tumakauru 44, Chikkamagaluru 42, followed by others.

Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 3,73,291 infections, followed by Mysuru 50,977 and Ballari 38,327.

Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with a total of 3,49,929 discharges, followed by Mysuru 49,621 and Ballari 37,555.

Bengaluru: A special CBI court here on Saturday granted bail to former Karnataka Minister Roshan Baig in the multi-crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) investment scam.

CBI arrested Baig on November 22 and had conducted raids at his residence the very next day.

The disqualified Congress MLA from Shivajinagar in the city, after the arrest, was produced before the court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

Baig has been asked by the court to cooperate with the investigation and report before CBI officials on the second and fourth Monday of every month, official sources said.

He also has been asked to surrender his passport, inform the court if he changes address, and not to threaten witnesses, they said.

Baig’s advocate, while citing his health condition, informed the court that his client has cooperated with the investigation and all the accused in the case have been granted bail, barring the MD and CEO of the IMA Group of companies.

The multi-crore ponzi scheme run by Karnataka-based IMA and its group entities allegedly duped over a lakh of people to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore promising higher returns.

The scam came to light in June last year when the IMA operator Mohammed Mansoor Khan fled the country accusing Baig and some government officers of cheating him.

Khan had alleged that Baig had taken about Rs 400 crore from him, which the latter had rejected outright.

Khan came to India after much persuasion by the police and surrendered.

The then Congress and JD(S) coalition government had formed a special investigation team to probe the matter.

However, the BJP government after coming to power handed over the case to the CBI.

The CBI had named an IAS officer, two IPS officers, a KAS officer, and a corporator among the accused in the case.

The state government gave permission to the Central agency to prosecute them.

The Minister has already announced that the anti-cow slaughter bill will be introduced during the winter session of the state legislature starting from December 7.

Prabhu Chavan has reiterated that anti-cow slaughter bill will be tabled in the winter session

Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan will be travelling to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to study and gather information on implementation of the anti-cow slaughter laws there, his office said on Tuesday.

The Minister has already announced that the anti-cow slaughter bill will be introduced during the winter session of the state legislature starting from December 7.

“Aimed at further strengthening the proposed anti-cow slaughter bill in the state, officials of the department under the leadership of Minister Prabhu Chavan will be visiting Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat from December 2 to 4,” the Minister’s office said in a statement.

Mr Chavan in the statement has reiterated that the anti-cow slaughter bill will be tabled in the winter session and all the necessary preparations have been made for it.

Noting that anti-cow slaughter Acts have been implemented in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, it said the Minister and officials will be gathering information on its implementation and management.

They will also visit “gaushalas” (cow shelters) and try to know about the measures taken by these states for the protection of cows.

Mr Chavan had recently said that if the law is enacted, along with prohibition on slaughter, sale and use of beef and also illegal transportation of animals for slaughtering will be stopped.

The BJP in its manifesto ahead of the 2018 assembly election had promised prohibition of cow slaughter.

Despite resistance from opposition, the then BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa in 2010 had passed the controversial Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill that proposed to replace the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964.

The bill had widened the definition of “cattle” and imposed a blanket ban on cattle slaughter, coupled with stringent penalty clauses for violation.