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CM Bommai refers suspended cop’s death case to DGP after allegations of ‘cash for posting’

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CM Bommai refers suspended cop's death case to DGP after allegations of 'cash for posting'
Inspector Nandeesha H L / CM Basavaraj Bommai

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he will instruct the state’s Director General of Police to look into the case relating to the death of a suspended police inspector, and get an inquiry done if required, following allegations that it was linked to “cash for posting”.

Main opposition parties Congress and JD(S) have sought a judicial and high-level probe into the death, respectively, following a purported video conversation that had gone viral.

In the video, state Municipal Administration Minister M T B Nagaraj was allegedly heard telling police officers that the suspended inspector had died under pressure, as he had paid huge amount for his current posting.

Speaking to reporters here, Chief Minister Bommai said, “Our DG (Director General of Police) was not in town, he has returned last night. Today, I will give instructions to him to gather all the information, and if anything is found, an inquiry should be done. We will not show any hesitation in it.” Nandeesha H L, attached to the K R Puram police station, was recently suspended over dereliction of duty. He had died of a cardiac arrest on October 27.

Latching onto the purported claims made by the minister, the opposition parties have accused the Bommai-led government of corruption by fixing rates for every posting and indulging in “cash-for-posting” scam. 

Thief returns valuables stolen from temple with apology note

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Balaghat: A thief returned silver and brass items stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district along with an apology letter saying his act caused him sufferings, police said on Sunday.

The unidentified thief had stolen 10 decorative pieces of silver, including ‘chhatras’ (an umbrella shaped decoration piece), and three brass items from the Shantinath Digambar Jain Temple under Lamta police station limits on October 24, Additional Superintendent of Police Vijay Dabar said.

Since then, the police were searching for the culprit, he said.

On Friday, members of a Jain family spotted a bag lying in a pit near the panchayat office in Lamta following which they alerted police and the community members, the official said.

The stolen goods were recovered from the bag along with an apology letter from the thief, he said.

The letter, a photo of which surfaced on social media platforms, stated, “I am seeking an apology for my act. I made a mistake, forgive me. I have suffered a lot after the theft.” Dabar said the police have seized the stolen items and efforts are on to arrest the thief. 

Deepavali ‘cash gifts’ to journalists: CM Bommai call its a ‘lie’, part of Congress’ toolkit

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Bengaluru: Following allegations that his office tried to bribe some journalists by sending Rs 1 lakh cash gifts to them on Deepavali, along with sweet boxes, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday denying his role, called it a “lie” and part of the “Congress’ toolkit”.

The Chief Minister said someone has filed a complaint before the Lokayukta on the issue, and let the investigation happen and truth come out.

The Congress on Saturday alleged that Bommai tried to bribe journalists by sending Rs 1 lakh cash gifts to them on Deepavali and demanded the registration of a graft case as well as his resignation. It also sought for judicial inquiry into allegations.

“This is the result of Congress’ tool kit, they are trying to create a lie. I have not given any instructions to anyone (to give cash gifts),” Bommai said in response to a question regarding Deepavali cash gifts to journalists from his office, Congress’ tweets in this regard and journalists in general are being looked at like “thieves” because of this.

Speaking to reporters here, he said when the Congress was in power, what gifts were given by various people are “clearly known”, and the media had reported it, whether it was iPhones or laptops or gold coins.

“What morality do they (Congress) have? Above all, someone has filed a complaint in this regard to Lokayukta and Lokayukta will investigate. It is not right to interpret that the gifts were given or all journalists have taken it. Yesterday, a Congress spokesperson interpreted it very wrongly. I condemn it,” he added.

Reiterating that he had given no instructions to send out any gifts for journalists, Bommai further in response to a question, whether he will order for any inquiry as his own office is facing an allegation, said, “The matter is before the Lokayukta, it has a police agency, let the truth come out from the inquiry.” A non-government organisation ‘Janaadhikara Sanghasha Parishath’ has lodged a complaint with the Karnataka Lokayukta against the Chief Minister alleging that he paid a bribe to the journalists in the guise of Deepavali gift.

The complainants R Adarsh Iyer, Prakash Babu B K and Vishwanath V B of the JSP said chief reporters of several media houses were paid bribes by the Chief Minister through his close aide, and some of them informed their higher-ups in their organisations and returned the money. 

TRS MLAs poaching case: 3 arrested, remanded in judicial custody after HC clearance

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Hyderabad: Three persons who allegedly tried to “poach” four TRS legislators have been arrested and a local court here has remanded them to judicial custody.

The arrests were made on Saturday night after the Telangana High Court had set aside a lower court’s order and directed the accused in the case to surrender before police.

Earlier, a local court here on October 27 rejected the remand of three people, who were arrested by the Cyberabad police on the charge of trying to coax four TRS legislators into defecting, over not following the procedure of issuing a notice before the arrest.

The government appealed to the High Court against the lower court’s order.

Following TRS’ allegations that BJP tried to poach some of its MLAs, the saffron party filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking a CBI probe.

Another judge of the High Court, on the petition by BJP, posted the matter for November 4 and deferred investigation till then.

Based on a complaint by Pilot Rohith Reddy, one of the legislators, cases under relevant sections – criminal conspiracy, offering bribe and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – were filed against the trio — Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Nanda Kumar and Simhayaji Swamy — on the night of October 26.

As per the FIR copy, Rohith Reddy alleged that the accused offered him Rs 100 crore and in return the legislator had to leave the TRS and contest as a BJP candidate in the next Assembly elections.

The incident led to a war of words between the BJP and TRS with allegations and counter allegations.

Elon Musk said to begin laying off employees at Twitter: Report

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New York: Elon Musk has planned to begin laying off employees at Twitter, according to a media report, days after he completed the USD 44-billion acquisition of the social media company.

The New York Times reported that Musk “planned to begin laying off workers” at Twitter as soon as on Saturday.

Citing people with knowledge of the situation, the report said that some managers were being asked to “draw up lists of employees to cut.” Ahead of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, reports were circulating that he will cut headcount, with some reports saying 75 per cent of the workforce at the company could be laid off.

“Musk, who completed a USD 44-billion deal to buy Twitter on Thursday, has ordered the cuts across the company, with some teams to be trimmed more than others,” the NYT report said, adding that the “scale of the layoffs could not be determined” at the company, which has around 7,500 employees.

The NYT report said that the layoffs at Twitter “would take place before” the November 1 date when “employees were scheduled to receive stock grants as part of their compensation.

Such grants typically represent a significant portion of employees’ pay. By laying off workers before that date,” Musk “may avoid paying the grants.” Musk has told investors that he “would take Twitter private, reduce its work force, roll back its content moderation rules and find new revenue streams.” “Fresh baked bread & pastries are some of the great joys of life. Finally, the truth that carbs are amazing can be said on this platform!” with the hashtags “so brave” and “free speech,” he tweeted on Saturday.

Musk has said the social media company will form a “content moderation council” and any major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen after such a body has convened.

“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” Musk tweeted on Friday, a day after he completed the USD 44 billion-dollar acquisition of the social media company.

“To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies,” he added.

CEO Parag Agrawal, legal executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett were ousted as Musk’s acquisition was completed. Within hours of taking over the reigns at Twitter, the Tesla CEO posted a series of tweets.

“The bird is freed”, “Spoiler Alert. Let the good times roll”, “Living the Dream. Comedy is now legal on Twitter”.

Agrawal, 38, was appointed Twitter CEO in November last year after the social media site’s co-founder Jack Dorsey had stepped down.

As the Twitter account of former US President Donald Trump was permanently suspended in January last year, Hyderabad-born Gadde was at the forefront of this dramatic decision undertaken within days of the attempted insurrection by pro-Trump supporters at the US Capitol.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone thanked Agrawal, Segal and Gadde for their “massive contribution” to the business.

“Thank you to @paraga, @vijaya, and @nedsegal for the collective contribution to Twitter. Massive talents, all, and beautiful humans each!” Stone tweeted.

Musk arrived at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday and had been meeting with engineers and advertising executives.

He also updated his Twitter description to “Chief Twit.” The billionaire has promised to transform Twitter by loosening the service’s content moderation rules, making its algorithm more transparent and nurturing subscription businesses, as well as laying off employees.

In April, Twitter accepted Musk’s proposal to buy the social media service and take it private.

However, Musk soon began sowing doubt about his intentions to follow through with the agreement, alleging that the company failed to adequately disclose the number of spam and fake accounts on the service.

When Musk said he was terminating the deal, Twitter sued the billionaire, alleging he “refuses to honour his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests.” Earlier in October, Musk said he wanted to pursue his acquisition of Twitter at the original price of USD 54.20 a share if the social messaging service dropped its litigation.

Twitter’s lawyers said that the Tesla CEO’s “proposal is an invitation to further mischief and delay.” A Delaware Chancery Court judge eventually ruled that Musk had until October 28 to cement the Twitter deal or head to trial.

On Thursday, Musk wrote a message to reassure advertisers that social messaging services wouldn’t devolve into “a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilisation to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk said in the message.

“There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far-right wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi sprints, others try to catch up as Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Day 5 in Telangana

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Rahul Gandhi sprints, others try to catch up as Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Day 5 in Telangana

Jadcherla (Telangana): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is leading the party’s pan-India Bharat Jodo Yatra on Sunday gave some exciting moments during the foot march as he suddenly started to sprint along with some school children, forcing others to run.

Caught unawares over his sudden shifting of gears, Gandhi’s security personnel, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President Revanth Reddy and others also started scooting from their brisk walk.

Joined by party leaders and cadre, Gandhi resumed his foot march from here this morning and is expected to cover a distance of 22 kilometres, Congress sources said.

This is the fifth day of the party’s campaign in the state.

Gandhi will address a Corner Meeting at Solipur junction at Shadnagar in the evening, before halting for the day.

The Gandhi scion-led yatra completed over 20 km on Saturday, before halting at Jadcherla X Road Junction for the night.

The yatra will cover 19 Assembly and 7 Parliamentary constituencies in poll-bound Telangana, spanning a total distance of 375 km in the state, before entering Maharashtra on November 7. The yatra will take a one-day break on November 4.

The Wayanad MP will meet intellectuals, leaders of various communities, including personalities from the sporting, business and entertainment sectors during the party campaign in the southern state.

He will also visit prayer halls, mosques and temples across Telangana, members of the Telangana PCC said.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra commenced on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

Gandhi completed the marathon walk in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, before beginning the Telangana leg of the yatra last week.

The Telangana State Congress has formed 10 special committees to coordinate the yatra. 

Seawater recedes at beach in Kozhikode, causes scare among locals

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Kozhikode (Kerala): Seawater receded from Nainamvalappu beach here on Saturday evening creating panic among locals. The district administration, however, said that there is no tsunami warning as of now.

District Collector Narasimhugari T L Reddy issued a warning to the locals asking them not to venture into the sea bed.

“The seawater receded around 30 metres in the evening. Later, it gradually receded to around 50-70 metres. However, since it is night time, we cannot measure the distance as of now,” Reddy told PTI.

He said the locals have claimed that it happens once in a year. 

MP: Two boys beaten, dragged by vehicle for theft in Indore

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Indore: Two boys were beaten, tied to a vehicle and dragged on the road for allegedly stealing cash from a vehicle in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Saturday, police said.

A video of the incident which took place in the morning has surfaced on social media, an official said.

The boys, aged between 13 and 17 years, had allegedly stolen cash from a vehicle belonging to a businessman from Khandwa, who had come to Indore’s Devi Ahilyabai Holkar fruit and vegetable market with sacks of onions, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Nihit Upadhyay said.

The boys were accused of stealing cash kept in the businessman’s small loading vehicle, he said.

A purported video of the incident shows the boys being tied to the vehicle with a rope and questioned about the stolen cash using abusive words.

The video shows the vehicle suddenly starting and the boys being dragged on the ground some distance along with it. Onlookers start shouting and make the vehicle stop.

“People’s behaviour with the boys was absolutely objectionable. These people will be identified and arrested after screening the video of the incident,” the official added

Wasim Akram reveals he got addicted to cocaine after retirement

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New Delhi: Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram has revealed he developed a cocaine addiction after his retirement from the game but quit following the death of his first wife in 2009.

The 56-year-old has opened up about his dependency on cocaine in his upcoming autobiography ‘Sultan: A Memoir.’

Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket said he started to crave “a substitute for the adrenaline rush of competition” when he was travelling away from his first wife Huma.

“The culture of fame in south Asia is all consuming, seductive and corrupting. You can go to 10 parties a night, and some do. And it took its toll on me,” Akram told the Times.

“It made me volatile. It made me deceptive. Huma, I know, was often lonely in this time… she would talk of her desire to move to Karachi, to be nearer her parents and siblings.

“I was reluctant. Why? Partly because I liked going to Karachi on my own, pretending it was work when it was actually about partying, often for days at a time.”

Widely regarded as one of the best bowlers of all times, Akram made his international debut in 1985, playing 104 Tests and 356 ODIs for Pakistan. He picked 414 Test wickets and 502 ODI wickets.

“Huma eventually found me out, discovering a packet of cocaine in my wallet… ‘You need help.’ I agreed. It was getting out of hand. I couldn’t control it. One line would become two, two would become four; four would become a gram, a gram would become two. I could not sleep. I could not eat.

“I grew inattentive to my diabetes, which caused me headaches and mood swings. Like a lot of addicts, part of me welcomed discovery: the secrecy had been exhausting.”

Akram went for rehab but his experience with the doctor was all but pleasant, resulting in a relapse.

“The doctor was a complete con man, who worked primarily on manipulating families rather than treating patients, on separating relatives from money rather than users from drugs,” he said.

“Try as I might, part of me was still smouldering inside about the indignity of what I’d been put through. My pride was hurt, and the lure of my lifestyle remained.

“I briefly contemplated divorce. I settled for heading to the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy where, out from under Huma’s daily scrutiny, I started using again.”

However, the legendary pacer, who continues to take up commentary and coaching assignments around the world, said he eventually stopped after Huma’s sudden death from a rare fungal infection in 2009.

“Huma’s last selfless, unconscious act was curing me of my drug problem. That way of life was over, and I have never looked back,” he added.

36 cases of XBB subvariant of Omicron found in Maharashtra so far; experts worry about ‘long COVID’

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Mumbai :The number of cases of XBB subvariant of Omicron in Maharashtra has reached 36, the health department said on Saturday, adding that in most of these cases patients recovered in home isolation.

The experts on the state government’s COVID-19 Task Force, however, expressed concern about rising cases of `long COVID’ at a recent meeting, it said.

Pune district has reported 21 XBB cases to date, followed by 10 in Thane, two in Nagpur and one each in Akola, Amravati and Raigad.
Two of the XBB patients were in the 11-20 age group, 13 in the 21-40 segment, 14 in the 41-60 category and seven were over 60. The patients comprised 22 males and 14 females.

“Nine of the 36 patients had some symptoms, while others displayed mild symptoms or were asymptomatic. A total of 32 patients recovered in home isolation and the rest four had to be hospitalised as a precautionary measure or due to lack of necessary conditions for home isolation,” the release said.

No “atypical” symptoms were found in any of these 36 patients and none of them required oxygen or ventilatory support, it added.

Barring two of the 36 patients, all had been vaccinated, and five had taken the booster dose as well. Six XBB patients had been diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier.

Against the backdrop of the XBB detections, a meeting of the State COVID-19 Task Force was held on October 24.

“After studying the XBB variant found in Maharashtra, Singapore and elsewhere, (it has been observed that) even if the infections increase, the new variant seems mild and most patients could be treated in home isolation. Minimal number of patients may need hospitalization,” the release said.

However, experts on the task force expressed concerns about ‘long COVID’.

“Incidence of conditions such as diabetes, brain fog and heart diseases seem to be increasing. Therefore, monitoring and follow-up of COVID-recovered patients is necessary,” the release said.

The experts instructed that it would be beneficial to wear masks in hospitals and clinics by health workers and others.

‘Long COVID’ is the term used for mid- and long-term effects that persist after a person recovers from the initial coronavirus infection.

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