BENGALURU: The Social Welfare Department’s decision to replace the wording at the entrance of classrooms in its schools from “This is the temple of knowledge, come with folded hands” to “This is the temple of knowledge ask without fear” resulted in ruckus in both Houses of the legislature on Monday.

Opposition BJP legislators in the Assembly and Council slammed the department for making the change. In the Council, MLCs protested in the well, demanding a detailed statement from the minister.

BJP state president and party MLA BY Vijayendra and MLC N Ravi Kumar took up the issue in the Assembly and Council, respectively, during the zero hour. Vijayendra said the Social Welfare Department principal secretary has issued directions to change the wording at the entrance of residential schools run by the department.

“With this, the government has insulted Rashtrakavi Kuvempu,” Vijayendra said. An irked Krishna Byregowda, revenue minister, said the Congress government does not need BJP for lessons on respecting Kuvempu. “It is you (BJP) who removed Kuvempu’s chapter from the textbook. Why do you bring politics here,” he questioned.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said Vidhana Soudha carries a slogan, ‘’Sarakari Kelsa Devara Kelasa”. “Will that also be removed? Who is he (the officer) to change the wording at the residential schools and who has given him the power,” Ashoka asked.

BJP members protested in the well in the Council when they were not allowed to discuss the issue during the zero hour. They were asked to take it up for discussion under a different provision after following the due process and Council opposition leader Kota Srinivas Poojary’s request was turned down. At one point, BJP and Congress MLCs were raising slogans against each other. The House was adjourned after the din.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka has demanded that the state government allow drilling of new borewells as the existing ones have gone dry. “We still have four months left for the monsoon and we are already facing a drinking water crisis now,” he told the Assembly. Ashoka said it’s not just people, even animals are facing a lack of water in Karnataka. With no rain, the state is facing a drought situation and underground water has depleted drastically.

“At some places, borewells are not able to pump water from even at a dept of 1,000 ft. People are forced to depend on private water tankers,” he said. Ashoka also pointed out that many experts have flagged the water crisis. “Reservoirs in the state have reached rock bottom, water is also getting evaporated and in the coming days the situation is likely to turn from bad to worse as monsoon is some four months away,” he said. The government should allow drilling of borewells in new locations. “The government should also provide Rs 10 lakh to each gram panchayat to resolve the issue,” he said.

Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar said a committee constituted by the department suggested changes in the system of grading in universities. The committee was constituted after a boy studying at a university died by suicide. The minister informed the Council that they will get a report from the Higher Education Council and see how they can bring in a uniform system in all universities. He was responding to MLC Manjunath Bhandari’s question on huge variations in marks given by different universities and the need to bring in a uniform system.

The Assembly witnessed a verbal altercation between Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal over contractors’ association president D Kempanna’s allegation of 40% commission. “The government is not paying outstanding bills to contractors. Earlier, Kempanna had said that there is ‘40% commission’ in the current government. But it is a pity that he kept quiet and I don’t know whether he was fed with honey or jaggery,” Yatnal alleged. Shivakumar responded by recalling that Yatnal had alleged irregularities in the previous BJP government during the Covid-19 pandemic, and suggested that he speak out on the matter. This lead to a war of words between the duo with each addressing the other in the singular.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his budget speech on Friday proposed to launch three new programmes aimed at maintaining Karnataka’s top position in the startup ecosystem, particularly to support early stage startups and women entrepreneurs.

Presenting the state budget for 2024-25 in the legislative assembly, Siddaramaiah announced Rajiv Gandhi Entrepreneurship Programme an early-stage funding programme that nurtures ideas and innovations to promote innovative endeavours and startups founded by students or inexperienced entrepreneurs.

These programmes will also include a new initiative to support early stage women entrepreneurs with a sector-wise and targeted approach. To promote agriculture startups in the state, five acres of land will be provided to C-Camp Agri innovation Park, the chief minister said.

“Karnataka has been a pioneering state in the field of technology. To expand the state’s footprint in this sector, a Centre of Excellence in Fintech, Space-tech and Automation Tech at a cost of Rs 10 crore will be set up over a period of five years in collaboration with entrepreneurs and educational institutions,” the chief minister said.

Bengaluru has more than 400 Global Capability Centres. In order to attract higher investment in this sector, it is proposed to introduce a new Global Capability Centre Policy in the current year, he said.

“Karnataka Innovation of Technology Solutions, in collaboration with KEONICS, will establish skilling and innovation centres in emerging technologies across Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Hubbali, and Tumakuru, at a budget of Rs 12 Crore,” he added.

An Institute of Advanced Genome Editing and Gene Therapy will be established to promote study and research in genomics in the state which aims to become a hub for cutting-edge research in health, agriculture and other areas of life sciences, he said.

The Karnataka government will launch a AVGC-XR Policy 3.0 for the period 2024-2029, with an ambitious aim of generating 30,000 new high-quality jobs in this sector. There will be a new investment of Rs 150 crore towards this, Siddaramaiah said.

To showcase the growth of science and technology and to promote science education, a science city at Bengaluru will be established in association with the Government of India at total cost of Rs 233 crore.

“Karnataka holds the top position in terms of industrial growth. To maintain its top position and to attract more investment, New Industrial Policy will be formulated in the current year. Global Investors Meet will be organised in February-2025 to attract greater foreign investment into the state,” Siddaramaiah said during his speech.

The industrial estates existing in various districts will be upgraded through Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation in collaboration with the central government at an estimated cost of Rs 39 crore.

An industrial node will be developed near Dharwad in 6,000 acres of land under the Bengaluru-Mumbai economic corridor programme in collaboration with the central and state government. This will resolve the unemployment problem of the North Karnataka region and encourage economic development, he said.

The New Textile Policy 2024-29 will be formulated for the development of the textile and weaving sector, the chief minister announced. Through this, a capital investment of Rs 10,000 crore is expected along with generation of two lakh jobs. This policy will also promote greater investment and employment opportunities, he added.

The chief minister also announced that mini textile parks will be set up in 25 districts of the state for which subsidy will be provided with the existing policy.

Bengaluru: An Information Disorder Tackling Unit will be formed in collaboration with the Information Technology and Biotechnology department to take stringent action against those who create insecurity and fear in society by spreading fake news, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday.

Presenting the 2024-25 budget in the legislative assembly, the chief minister also said that the state government will initiate stringent action against those who engage in riots.

“As described by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, our state Karnataka is a garden of peace for all communities,” Siddaramaiah said. “For hundreds of years, people belonging to different religions, languages, cultures and communities have been living in harmony in this land. Therefore, our government will initiate stringent action against those who engage in riots in the name of caste, religion and language.”

On the Information Disorder Tracking Unit, he said a special cell unit will be formed in the Home department which would be empowered to take suitable legal action against those who create insecurity and fear in society by spreading fake news.

In the wake of increasing cases of fake news and other cybercrime cases, 43 CEN (Cyber, Economic and Narcotics) police stations will be upgraded with a view to strengthening cybercrime branch in the state to investigate and take effective action against those who deceive innocent people, the chief minister said.

Artificial intelligence software, baggage scanners and other state-of-the-art equipment will be procured at a cost of Rs five crore to ensure the smooth administration and security of all prisons of the state.

High-security prisons will be constructed in Shivamogga district at a cost of Rs 100 crore, he added.

To increase efficiency of the Fire and Emergency department, one per cent cess will be levied on property tax of newly constructed multistoried buildings according to the Karnataka Fire Force Act, 1964.

Under the Police Gruha-2025 scheme, 1,128 police quarters have been constructed so far and the construction work of 2,956 police quarters is under progress at a cost of Rs 800 crore. Rs 200 crore will be provided for the year 2024-25 for this project.

“Own buildings will be constructed for the police stations and offices that don’t have buildings at a cost of Rs 30 crore, and necessary equipment and software will be provided to strengthen mobile forensic and audio-visual branch of Forensic Science Laboratories at the cost of Rs 10 crore,” the CM added.

Parmesh S Jain

Two ERSS-112,Police personnel of Doddaballapur police station felicitated for rescuing a woman who was about to end her life at her house 
Superintendent of Police,Bengaluru district, Mallikarjuna Baladandi on Wednesday felicitated two police personnel personnel attached to Emergency Response Support system (ERSS-112)of Doddaballapura police station for rescuing a woman who was about to end her life in front of her minor children following a fight with her in-laws in Melekote cross January 23.
The victim after a fight with her in-laws walked out of the house along with her minor children before calling 112 to report.
Based on the report the ERSS Team comprising on police constables Abhishek and Shivaraj reached within few minutes and found the mobile phone of the complainant was switched off . 
The duo with the help of control room staff managed to track down her location from the last call and started searching for her . 
While passing-by a dilapidated house,the police personnel heard the cry of children and rushed and broke open the door to find the woman was hanging to the ceiling before her children.
The duo managed to cut open the rope and rescued her before rushing her to the hospital along with the children. 
The woman is presently under treatment and the police are probing the case further .
Appreciating the sense of duty, the duo were feted with the letter of appreciation..

Parmesh S Jain

Double Murder of Elderly Men Over Property Dispute Shocks Bengaluru;Accused Called Cops and surrenders 
Two businessmen were found stabbed to death at their shop in kumbarapete on Wednesday under Halasurgate police station limits.
The deceased have been identified as Suresh,55 and his friend Mahendra,68.
Senior officers with other officers rushed to spot and after inspecting the spot and collecting information said that Suresh owned Hari marketing, a kitchen appliance shop in kumbarapete.
It is said the murder took place between 8 to 8.30 pm when Mahendra had come to visit his friend.
The assailants armed with lethal weapon barged into the shop and stabbed Suresh killing him on the spot.the accused also stabbed Mahendra when he suspected to have resisted to save his friend.
The police said that one of the assailant has been secured and the double murder is due to property dispute between the relatives.
The Halasurgate police have taken up a case of murder and investigating further.

Parmesh S Jain

Special drive against delivery boys and booked 275 cases and recovered Rs.1.3 lakhs in 2 hours & JB Nagar Traffic Cops cracked 5 road accidents 
In a special drive, the traffic police on Monday launched special drive against delivery boys and booked 275 cases and recovered Rs.1.3 lakh worth fines from them.
Joint commissioner of Police,MN Anucheth,said that the reason behind the special drive is to ensure traffic discipline among the delivery boys who indulge in violations unabated to meet the deadline and deliver on time  .
He further said the delivery boys not only jump signal and ride rash and negligently but also ride against one way and on footpath endangering the motorists and pedestrians .
“The drive aims to regulate their movements to make them more responsible by adhering traffic rules to ensure each one safety”,Kuldeep Kumar R jain,DCP, Traffic,East division, said .
Meanwhile the JB Nagar traffic police,cracked five road accident related cases which have been closed by the court. 
A special team led by Inspector GN Venkatachalapathy tracked down the accused who had shifted the locations and not attending the court since 2016.
The police track down the accused with the help of details obtained through fitness certificates and emission certificate details,and produced them before the court. 
The accused confessed to the crime and paid the fine, Mr.Jain,said.

Parmesh S Jain

International level gold smuggling racket busted by DRI officials arrested six and recovered 9.3kgs of Foreign Origin gold worth Rs.6.08 Crores
Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence busted a gold smuggling racket,arrested six passengers in separate cases and recovered 9.3 kilos of Foreign origin gold worth Rs.6.08 crore from them.
This is the biggest recovery in recent times and the gold is being smuggled into city by Malaysia and Sarjah,sources,said .
In the first case,the DRI officials in coordination with airport customs,intercepted four passengers landed at Kempegowda International Airport from Kuala Lampur  by Malaysian Airways Flight. 
During the examination of the said passengers,gold in paste form weighing 2632 grams was found concealed in their inner wear. 
The extracted gold from the said paste was valued at Rs.1.42 Cr.by the assayer.The DRI officials also recovered 3510 sticks of E-cigarettes with value of Rs. 73.7 Lakhs were also recovered from their baggage. 
All the four passengers were arrested. and further investigations are on to ascertain their network .
In another case,the officials caught two passengers who arrived from Kuala Lampur to Bengaluru by Malaysian Airways Flight. 
During the examination of the said passengers, gold in paste form weighing 2854 grams was found concealed in their Socks.The gold was valued at Rs.1.55 Cr. 
In the third incident,the officials during rummaging of flight arrived from Sarjah recovered 3.75 Kg of Foreign Origin gold in bar.
The contraband was concealed in luggage cabin above the seats.The officials suspect that the carrier noticing the officials left the gold in the luggage cabin and escaped .
The accused passengers suspected mules had gone to Malaysia on tourist visas.While two of them are from Tamil Nadu the four others are from different parts of North India.Further investigations are on to ascertain their network .

Parmesh S Jain

Tech consultant from Bengaluru loses Rs.18.3 lakh after falling for fake courier scam 
A 43-year-old tech consultant from Whitefield become the latest victim of courier scam and lost Rs.18.3 lakh to the cyber fraudsters who posing as custom officials  accessed his bank account to check money laundering transaction and promised to legalized the saving before emptying the account on January 17.
After waiting for many days,the victim,Rajkumar Beli,  from whitefield,when he did not got back the saving,he tried to reach and later consulted his friends to realize that he had been duped and approached the cyber crime police on February 1.
In his complaint Mr.Beli said that the conman posing as custom officials informing him that there was a international courier from Delhi to Malyasia in his name containing 140 grams of MDMA.
The accused sought his Aadhaar details for verification and confirmed that he was also involved in money laundering . 
Convincing him to help,the accused accessed his bank details on the pretext to legalizing his saving and withdrawn the cash total worth Rs.18,35,107.
Senior officer said,despite awareness and hundreds of incidents reported in media everyday,people falling to this trap . 
The best way to prevent this is not to entertain unknown calls which claimed to be from enforcement agencies and ask personal details,a senior officer, said .
People who get such calls,inform the control room immediately to prevent further damage.

Parmesh S Jain

Tumakuru gubbi police sub inspector among five policemen suspended after thief escaped from police custody 
A police Sub Inspector among five police personnel suspended on the charges of dereliction of duty after a 35-year-old old choreographer turned chain snatcher escaped from the Gubbi police station leaving behind the handcuff in the wee hours of Thursday.
The incident occurred at the Home Minister constituency brought much embarrassment to the department following which senior police officials cracked a whip seeking disciplinary action.
The accused Syed Ali Balasab Nadaf,was arrested by Gubbi police for robbing a 35 grams of gold chain from a shop keeper on January 11.
Nadaf hailed from Gadag and working as choreographer in Bengaluru and suffered financial loss . 
In order to overcome he took to crime and move around his bike along with his associate to rob gold chains from women moving alone.
However Based on a complaint,the Gubbi police track down Nadaf and arrested him and taken him into custody for further investigations. 
While in the custody Nadaf slide down the hands through the handcuff and escaped while the police constable guarding him dozing off . The other staff including the Station house in charge were busy in the record room at around 4. 30 am.The incident came to light when the guard woke up and found the handcuff lying on the floor and nadaf was missing. 
He informed the SHO before alerting the control room. Soon the police swung into action and arrested Nadaf at Tumakuru Railway station.

Parmesh S Jain

Home maker arrested by Cantonment Railway police for stealing two necklace from her cousin sister while traveling in train recovered two necklace worth Rs.8.5 lakhs 
The Cantonment railway police on Thursday arrested a 58-year-old home maker for stealing two necklace worth ₹ 8.5 lakh from her cousin sister while travelling in a train.
The accused Chandrasharma,resident of RT Nagar was arrested after police questioned her in detail following which she confessed and returned the stolen property .
The victim,Lalitha Shanmugam,from Nagawarapalya had gone along with her relatives to attend a house warning ceremony in Palakkad in Kerala on January 25.
Lalitha along with the accused returned home two days later in a train and got down at KR Puram,while the accused continued to travel till cantonment to go home.After reaching home,Lalitha found her two gold necklace were missing from her purse and filed a complaint with the railway police on January 27. 

The victim had kept the jewels in a bank locker and got it out to wear for the family function.
Based on the complaint,the police questioned all the relatives whop travelled with her including the accused. 
A detailed questioning led Chandra Sharma to confess to the crime.The accused told the police that she committed the theft out of jealous.Based on the confession the police recovered 152 grams of valuables and arrested the accused for further investigation.