Parmesh Jain

The SIT team probing into criminal cases have stumbled on a racket involved in creating pre-dated land and property documents using fake stamp papers and fake seals operating in the city.

The team received a credible information that still the fake stamp papers are being supplied in market the SIT team taking the matter seriously approached court for search warrant.

After getting the court’s permission on Friday,the East Division cops conducted raids in the wee hours of Saturday and have picked up five suspects who are in custody and being questioned.

Senior officer told reporters,The HAL and the Halasurugate police were recently investigating on an unnatural death case and a murder case where they stumbled on this racket involved fake stamp papers and fake seals,while they were verifying documents pertaining to the crime.

Meanwhile, the city police also received directions from the High Court stating a lot of forgery cases have been on the rise off late that had come to the court and the police need to take a look at it.

Based on this direction,Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Division,Dr SD Sharanappa formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) at the HAL police station who started collecting information about a gang involved in fake stamp papers and seals and managed to get credible information about them operating in the city.

Based on this information,and after taking the court’s permission,the SIT teams in the wee hours of Saturday,conducted raids at four places in Byatarayanapura and Vivek Nagar and picked up five suspects for questioning.

During the searches, the SIT teams seized numerous fake stamp papers,seals and other related materials and a detailed mahajar is being conducted and detailed investigation is underway he added.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant,Addl CP East,S Murugan,has appreciated DCP East,Dr SD Sharanappa and his special investigation team who has successfully nabbed five suspects who were involved in supplying fake stamp papers and seal and a suitable reward will be given to the team he added.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said the state will soon have an anti-religious conversion law.

Speaking to reporters here, Bommai said, “The state government is studying related laws enacted by other states and soon an anti-conversion legislation will be formulated.” He was replying to a query on the meeting with a group of seers, seeking a ban on religious conversion, on Friday.

According to the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti convener Mohana Gowda, under whose aegis the event was organised, over 50 seers of various Hindu religious orders met Bommai and stressed on the need for a law banning religious conversion.

The Chief Minister categorically stated that the constitution does not permit forced conversion, including by allurement.

Later, Gowda said in a statement that Sriram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, Santhosh Guruji, Siddalinga Swami and Pranavananda Swami were among the delegates.

Muthalik was quoted as saying that the schools and hospitals are being used for religious conversion. Many illegal churches were also coming up in the state, he said.

The delegates demanded that the converts be denied special benefits meant for the scheduled caste and other backward class.

Bengaluru: Continuing its tirade against the ruling BJP in Karnataka over the alleged bitcoin scam, the opposition Congress on Friday sought a probe under a sitting Supreme Court judge, into the case.

As Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and Priyank Kharge alleging attempts to cover-up, demanded that the government come out clean in connection with the cases, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai asserted that nobody from his government was involved in the bitcoin scam and termed statements that his position was in danger, as “political”.

“I don’t want to react on this issue on a day-to-day basis, I have already made an appeal to whom ever it is, to please tell us, what is the scam and who are involved, so that it can be probed. As far as the government is concerned it is very clear that the matter was handed over to the ED about 8-9 months back, which has registered the case and probe is on,” Bommai told reporters.

Noting that the government is open minded with respect to the case, in response to a question he said, “we need not protect anybody, none of our people are involved. Therefore, whatever little information they (Congress) have, they should hand it over to investigating agencies, let the probe happen and truth come out.”

Claiming that the bitcoin scam was probably the first and biggest cryptocurrency scam in India , Congress legislator and former IT Minister Priyank Kharge listed out chronology of events concerning the case and said the documents suggest that the prime accused, Srikrishna alias Sriki was allegedly drugged in police custody.

He also questioned the delay by the police and state government in reporting the case to the central agencies, while expressing apprehensions about some kind of a cover-up.

Addressing a press conference at the KPCC office here, Kharge said Sriki’s father had in January filed an application in court claiming that his son had been administered “mind-altering drugs” by the police in their custody, especially Alprazolam, and that Sriki had also made similar claims before the magistrate, when asked.

Seeking to know why the accused was administered drugs while in police custody, citing documents, he further noted that the magistrate had sought a test of his blood and urine samples, which seems to have not been done.

Alleging that new cases were slapped on Sriki each time his police custody ended, Kharge sought an explanation from police officials in this connection.

Finding lapses in the panchnama’s done with regards to the recovery of 31 bitcoins worth about Rs 9 crore, he said during the third panchnama, for transferring bitcoins to the police wallet from Sriki’s wallet, cyber experts and people from Unocoin were called. “When the wallet (of Sriki) was opened, it had 186 bitcoins.”

Then the process of transferring bitcoins to police wallet was initiated, the MLA said.

“On verifying, they (police, experts and those from Unicoin) found that the transaction ID never existed.

Kharge also raised questions about the whereabouts of the 186 bitcoins now.

In response to a query on allegations that the bitcoins have now disappeared, Bommai told reporters that all these charges have to be proved with documents. “there is lot of hear say.. but the real scam and facts of the case have to come out through probe . ED is probing, we have also referred (the case) to CBI Interpol branch, as there is international ramification,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Senior Congress leader and leader of opposition Siddaramaiah in a series of tweets sought to know if it was ‘correct’ on part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in telling Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to ignore the charges regarding the bitcoin scam in the state.

“Instead of asking the CM of Karnataka to investigate and prove the innocence, how is it correct for the Prime Minister to tell him to ignore the allegations? Can the Prime Minister unilaterally decide what he wants?” Siddaramaiah asked.

Bommai after meeting Modi in New Delhi on Thursday had said the Prime Minister advised him not to bother about the issue, and instead work for the people with dedication and honesty.

There have been speculations for some time now about involvement of politically influential people in the scam after CCB officials seized bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore from a city-based hacker Sriki, who is also accused of hacking into government portals, sourcing drugs through the dark net, and paying for it through cryptocurrency.

While Congress leaders alleging involvement of senior BJP leaders, their family members and senior officials in the scam, have accused the government of trying to cover up; the ruling party too in its counter has alleged involvement of leaders from the grand old party.

BENGALURU: Even as the Union health ministry is “working” on a policy for the third dose of Covid-19 jab, anxious healthcare workers and doctors in Karnataka are jumping the gun and silently taking booster shots.  

They said they are “anxious” as they are seeing breakthrough infections, ICU admissions, fatalities and waning antibodies among those immunised with both doses. 

“Not just government, even private hospital doctors are doing this. We are educated and are following research that’s out,” said a doctor from a Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute hospital.

Dr CN Manjunath, member of Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee and Director of Jayadeva Hospital, said he is aware of this trend.

Many are taking the third jab out of fear — they are checking antibody levels, and if there is an indication of waning, they are opting for the jab.

However, there is no protocol announced yet.

“With people hesitating to take the second dose, healthcare workers feel they are at risk. Especially with reports of breakthrough infections, ICU admissions and some minute population succumbing to it, doctors are worried. Taking a booster is not dangerous but there’s no policy yet so it’s better to refrain,” he said. 

A head nurse from a private hospital on Bannerghatta Road said, “I was told to check my antibody level. It had waned, so I got my third jab,” she said.

However, a senior doctor explained that waning of antibodies is not the same as absence of immune response.

“Antibodies will taper off. When an antigen hits again, the antibodies will mount and can even come out strongly to protect the individual if he/she is young, and not immuno-compromised,” he said.

Epidemiologist Dr Giridhara Babu, who is also a member of TAC, said that flu shots are given every year as the virus keeps changing.

“In case of Covid-19, it is gamma variant which is infectious and after that, no variant has been more infectious. So we don’t know yet whether annual boosters are needed,” he said.

Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar quoted Dr NK Arora, co-chair of INSACOG, as saying that they have been working on a policy document regarding administering a booster dose for the past three weeks, which will be made public soon.  

It was a long struggle for Gowda to reach the chief minister’s position in 1994 and he was at the peak of his political career in 1996 when the Prime Minister’s post came knocking. His party, the Janata Dal, was in a formidable position, having won 16 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, propelling him to the national stage after Atal Behari Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister.

Gowda was shocked when United Front leaders proposed his name to the post. Given his political acumen, Gowda was sceptical of Congress continuing its support to the coalition government for long. His hunch proved right.  

‘Basu’s decision to put Gowda in PM’s chair’

Congress did withdraw support 11 months later, cutting short Gowda’s run as Prime Minister. The book captures Gowda’s thinking before he accepted the PM’s post. “Don’t we all know what Congress did to Charan Singh, VP Singh and Chandrashekar? Will they spare me? Please, change your mind. I also have no felicity in Hindi and have not travelled the length and breadth of this country. You are our elder, I beg you,” Gowda is said to have appealed to Basu.

“When I saw he was unwilling to listen, I touched his feet and requested him to accept my argument,” Gowda is quoted as saying in the book. So much so, Basu told him, “Mr Gowda, do I go out and tell the people of India that we have no secular alternative to Vajpayee? Can we put out an advertisement in the newspaper for a secular Prime Minister?”

Author Srinivasaraju, who has been tracking political developments in the country for decades, told The New Indian Express that it was the conscious decision of Basu and then General Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Harkishan Singh Surjit to put Gowda in the PM’s chair, and it was their acknowledgement of Gowda’s administrative capabilities.

He travelled in an open jeep in J&K

The book highlights Gowda’s desire and intent to resolve India-Pakistan issues and how he had established a diplomatic back channel with then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif through Dr LH Hiranandani, an ENT Surgeon from Mumbai who had treated Gowda and was a friend of Sharif ’s father.

During his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 1996, Gowda wanted to go in an open-top jeep from the Rajouri airport to the town, but Army Commander Lt Gen Dhillon was concerned. He told Gowda, “If I do something like this, the country will hang me, sir.” Gowda replied, “Nothing will happen, don’t worry. You drive and I’ll sit next to you. Assume somebody lobs a grenade; both of us will die. Where is the question of you being hanged?”

Lt Gen Dhillon, during his interview with the author on December 4, 2019, said he was surprised by Gowda’s request for an openjeep ride.

“Prime Ministers don’t do this. They want to be protected all the time. Vehicles are flown in for them. But Gowda saab always moved around with minimal protection. He was a brave chap. The Valley would have changed if he had been around longer.”

The book highlights how he intervened in the budget presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, his letters to Vajpayee expressing strong views on violence in Gujarat in 2002, secret files about prominent political personalities that were kept by PV Narasimha Rao and passed on to Gowda’s PMO and his equation with senior Congress leaders as well as with current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Parmesh jain

A 46-year-old realtor bludgeoned to death by his second wife in Madanayakanahalli police station limits on Saturday night.

The deceased has been identified as Swamy Raj, a resident of Harokyathanahalli village and married to Nethra,(35),a beautician,after separating from his first wife.

The woman surrendered before the police soon after attacking him with an iron rod and alleged that her husband was forcing her time part wife swapping fetish with one of his relatives.

Senior officer told media persons that, the incident took place around 10pm and the couple had a fight as Raj forced her for sexual favours for his relative.

He was often telling her that he wanted to swap her with his relative.Enraged over this she took an iron rod and attacked his head when he was asleep.

Soon after confirming the death she reached Madanayakanahalli police and informed about the incident and she was taken into custody for further investigations.

However,Raj’s first wife Satya kumari told before the police that Nethra and Raj were married five years ago and often were fighting over a property dispute which is real motive for the murder and she filed a case with Madanayakanahalli police, an investigation officer added.

Parmesh Jain

An engineering student was killed and seven others injured when the car they were travelling in lost control and collided with an electric pole in the outskirts of the city on Sunday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Akanksha Gupta,native of Udhampur in Jammu and student of city based engineering college.

Her friends identified as Ashishraj,Divyansh, Ashutosh,Darshan,Yashovardha Singh,Bhavya and Williams sustained multiple injuries and were admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

The incident occurred near Jodukatte gate in Magadi when the SUV the victims were travelling lost control and collided with an electric pole,the impact of the accident was so high that the vehicle was damaged and the pole broken .

The victims were heading to Savanadurga in two cars and the car in which Akanksha was travelling along with seven others tried to overtake a vehicle and lost control leading to the mishap.The Magadi police rushed to the spot and conducted investigations said a senior police officer.

Parmesh Jain

The CCB officials on Sunday busted a crypto currency scam through chain link and arrested three persons who are running the racket .

The accused has been identified as,Raghavendra, Nagaraju and Shivamurthy.

Senior officer told media persons,the trio floated FOMOEX company offering investment on crypto currency with 20% returns on every investment made.

The accused also held conferences in star hotels to explain about the business models and claimed to have branches in the USA,Singapore and China and to lure gullible people.The accused even offered huge returns for those who get more investors on chain link business modules .

Hundreds of people have invested in their scheme and been cheated the accused have earlier floated a company in the name of ESPN global company and duped many,a police officer, said .

The accused have been taken ito custody for further investigations said a senior officer.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant has appreciated Joint CP Crime,Sandeep Patil,DCP,Crime-2,BS Angadi and whole team of Economics Offence Wing of CCB for the commendable job done by them in nabbing the trio fraudsters and unearthing the racket a suitable reward will be given to the whole team he added.

In a tragic incident, three persons including two boys drowned in a krishi honda while playing in Iggaaluru village in Anekal on Saturday evening.

The deceased have been identified as Amith Kumar,(31),Rishikesh,(9) and Deemanth.(12).

They are residents of Nagenahalli Layout.Kumar, hails from Sandur in Bellary district was working in an IT company in Electronic City and was unmarried.The boys were students in a private school.

According to the police, Rishikesh and Deemanth along with another friend were playing cricket after returning from the school and around 4.30pm .

The cricket ball fell into the 20 feet deep pond and three of them got in and drowned while trying to get the ball out.

Surya screamed for help and Amith who was passing nearby rushed and pulled him out immediately.He Amith went to the middle of the pond drowned while trying to rescue two.

Lokesh,a resident,also heard the scream and went to see what happened.He noticed the mishap and called fire and emergency personnel.

However, the villagers pulled out the bodies using a rope before fire personnel were about to reach the spot and police were informed about the incident.

The rescued Surya ran away from the spot before villagers rushed to the spot,the police said.

The bodies were later recovered and shifted for postmortem based on a complaint by Deemanth’s parents the police have filed a case of negligence against Chandrashekar Reddy,who owns the farmland.

There was no safety fencing around the pond and However,Reddy claimed that there was a compound wall around and it had recently collapsed due to the heavy rain and also it was partially damaged by some of the residents who are constructing houses in the layout,the police added.

Preliminary investigation revealed that reddy had availed government grant to construct krishi honda for farming at his land.

However he has not taken the required precautionary measures like fencing the area to prevent untoward incident.

Hence he is accountable and liable to be booked under section 304a of IPC, which is death due to negligence said a senior officer.

Parmesh Jain

The West Division police of RR nagar police have cracked the clueless murder case and arrested two accused one is a goods van driver and his brother who abducted 21 year old hotel management student and killed him brutally in order to extort money from deceased father.

The accused has been identified as,Tajamul pasha,39 and his brother Syed Nasir,26 residents of JJ nagar and were employees with deceased father Mani,a fruit vendor from Bharati Nagar.

Senior officer told reporters,a youth body was found near Rajakaluve in RR Nagar police station limits the body was found in gunny bag,later in the evening the team identified the deceased as Tarun.

Meanwhile Mani who had filed a missing complaint later informed the police about the ransom call.

Tarun, a 21 year old hotel management student who went out to buy crackers on Nov 1,found murdered in rajakaluve in RR Nagar on November 2.His hands and legs tied and mouth tapped with adhesive tape.His body stuffed in plastic bag his mouth was gagged and tied with adhesive tape.

A team led by DCP,West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil, supervising the investigation a team of officers under the leadership of ACP, Kengeri Sub-Division,Kodandarama,PI,Shivanna and his crime team swung into action.

The team collected information about the deceased and later collected information from parents who told the police that there son went to buy crackers and not returned back.

The team after analysing CCTV footage and other technical inputs and based on the information,the police track down the duo near satellite bus stand minutes before they were trying to flee the city .

The team took the duo into custody and interrogated them in their own style which led them to confess the crime and the duo revealed that they had asked a loan of Rs.1.5 lakh from Mani for which Mani refused.

As per the plan, the accused took Tarun, 21 to their sister house on the pretext of getting him crackers on cheaper rates on November 1.

They locked Tarun in a terrace room at their sister’s house in Arakere and gagged his mouth with tape to stop him from screaming.

However tarun died due to asphixiation following which the accused dumped his body in a storm water drain in RR nagar before calling Mani for ransom of Rs 50 lakh.

The duo had quit the job three months ago and since then hatched a plan to kidnap Tarun for ransom and make quick money .

There are other accused involved in the crime and abetted the accused,efforts are on to track them down,said a senior officer.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant has appreciated Addl CP West,Soumendhu Mukherjee,DCP West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil,ACP, Kodandarama,PI,Shivanna and his whole team who has done a exemplary work in cracking the clueless murder case and arrested the duo and a suitable reward will be given to the team he added.