Pramesh Jain

In a massive development in the Bengaluru riots case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested 17 SDPI and PFI party leaders for their involvement in riots and large scale violence at the KG Halli Police Station on August 11.

The case was originally registered by KG Halli police which was taken over NIA in September.

The new set of arrests come almost a month after 43 locations in Bengaluru including 4 offices of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), were raided by the NIA. 

The arrested accused are identified as Mohammed Sharieff,Mohd Ateef,Shabbar Khan, Irfan Khan,Azil Pasha,Akbar Khan,Sayyed Sohel Torvi,Saddam alias Kareem,Mohammed Kaleem Ahmed,Muhammed Mudassir Kaleem,Naqeeb Pasha,Kaleemulla alias Shahrukh,Imran Ahmed, Mohammed Azhar,Rubah Waqas,Imran Ahmed and Shaik Ajmal. 

Investigation so far has revealed that the SDPI leaders,namely, Mohammed Sharieff,President, Bengaluru District,SDPI,Imran Ahmed,President, KG Halli Ward,along with other senior leaders like  Rubah Waqas,Shabbar Khan and Shaik Ajmal had conducted meetings at Thanissandra and KG Halli wards in Bengaluru in the evening of 11.8.2020 wherein they conspired,mobilised and  led the crowd gathered at KG Halli Police station to attack the police personnel,causing huge damage to the public and police station vehicles.

Similarly, accused Abbas,SDPI President of Nagawara ward had also mobilised large crowd at the KG Halli police station through his associates Azil Pasha,Irfan Khan and Akbar Khan.

Investigation also revealed the use of social media channels like Facebook,Instagram,Whatsapp to spread terror among people and mobilised people from far away places to gather at KG Halli Police Station.

Accused Saddam,Sayed Sohel,Kaleemulla@ Shahrukh Khan were active social media users who participated in riots as well as instigated others to gather at the Police Station says NIA press release.

During the raids,which took place on November 18,the NIA team collected incriminating evidence at the SDPI offices including swords, knives and iron rods which have been seized by the agency.

The NIA’s investigation comes under two broad cases that have been registered at the KG Halli and DJ Halli Police stations.The cases pertain to ‘large scale rioting armed with lethal weapons causing injuries to police personnel, destruction of public and private property including the two police stations which had become a hotspot during the violence, and intentions to cause terror in the society.’

SDPI’s role unearthed

SDPI,which is the political front of the Popular Front of India (PFI) has been under the NIA scanner since the investigation agency unearthed links of Karnataka SDPI secretary Muzamil Pasha in the case.

The SDPI Secretary has been accused of calling a meeting and directing the members of PFI and SDPI to instigate the mob and incite violence at the KG Halli and DJ Halli Police stations which ultimately resulted in the death of 3 people and had left 60 police personnel injured. 

Notably,as per the chargesheet filed by the Central Crime Branch,the police has also alleged that Congress corporators and Former Mayor,Sampath Raj and Zakir Hussain along with the SDPI instigated the Bengaluru riots.Sources have revealed that the NIA is now looking into an alleged ‘terror angle’ in the case. 

Bengaluru Riots:

At around 8.30 pm on August 11, a riot-like situation was witnessed between the KG Halli and DJ Halli police station limits in East Bengaluru.A mob of more than 1000 people gathered outside the residence of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy demanding immediate action against his relative Naveen.

Soon, the police resorted to the use of force to contain the violence.By the time the situation was brought under control at around 1 am on August 12,three people were killed,nearly 60 police personnel.

Including,DCP Bhimashankar Guled was injured and over 300 vehicles were burnt in the violence. 

So far,more than 340 persons have been arrested for arson,stone-pelting,and attacking the police.This includes Naveen and Kaleem Pasha,the husband of Congress corporator Irshad Begum.

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa has announced that the state government would assess the damages caused to public and private property and recover the costs from the culprits.

So far, 187 accused persons have been arrested in the case and further probe is underway by NIA.

Pramesh Jain

The Whitefield Division police of Kadugodi police have arrested an I yee state fraudster who had abducted a hotel employee for many days to extort ransom of Rs.48 lakh from his family.

Based on the complaint filed by the family, the kadugodi police arrested the accused from a prestigious apartment in ITPL road and rescued the youth identified as Arshad on Sunday.

According to the police the accused Swaroop Shetty met Arshad at Radison blue hotel where he was working.

Swaroop was a regular customer to the hotel and befriended Arshad .

After formal introduction Arshad shared his financial problem he was facing due to huge loan, for which Swaroop offered to help.

He took Arshad to his apartment on the pretext of help and tortured him before calling his family in Haveri for ransom.

Swaroop used to get drunk and take drugs before torturing Arshad.The entire episode he would record in his mobile.

He also tortured Arshad to get information about the family members and relatives and would call them posing as police officer to extort money.

Using the modus operandi,the accused extorted Rs.48 lakh from Arshad family and relatives and started demanding for more.

Unable to bare harassment Mohammed Rafi, uncle of Arshad has filed a complaint,based on which the police arrested the accused.

Senior officer told reporters,Swaroop took Arshad to his Kadugodi apartment and kept him in confinement for three months and tortured him severely.

He also recorded a video of Arshad during the confinement.Arshad managed to escape from the clutches of Swaroop after three months and informed the matter to the police.It came to light during the investigation that Swaroop has seven cases registered against his name in Mangaluru also.

Detailed Investigation revealed that the accused had cheated several persons in Pune posing as CEO of MNC.

Kadugodi police have arrested Swaroop and further investigation is on.The police are investigating further to trace Swaroop’s associates identified as Kiran B, Subina and Sandeep Rai he added.

Pramesh Jain

Narcotics Control Bureau officials busted another international drug racket and recovered 3000 MDMA pills and 240 grams of cocaine which landed from Netherlands to foreign passport office in Chamarajapete on Friday .

The officials have also nabbed a couple who had come to receive the consignment.

According to the officials High quality MDMA Pills was sourced from Netherlands while Cocaine from Ethiopia and was meant for distribution in Bangalore.

The MDMA pills were concealed in a layers of a table cloth,while Cocaine was concealed in the inner walls of a corrugated box.

Acting on information a team of officials camped and kept a close watch at the post office before nabbing the couple identified as Ramla Shedafa Nancy and Emmanuel Michael.Foreign passports have been recovered from them,which seems to be fake.

The team led by Amit Ghawate,NCB
(Zonal Director),Venugopal G.Kurup(Assistant Director),Rathan K.(Intelligence Officer),Sunil Parewa(IO),Kamlesh Kumar(IO),Sathisha(Sepoy) were part of the operation.

The two were arrested by the NCB officials after a dramatic chase. One of the officers was also badly injured during the process.

MDMA(methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), commonly known as ecstasy, is a party drug that alters mood and perception and reduces feelings of increased energy and pleasure.

The NCB release said the popularity of such synthetic drugs have increased manifold over the past five years in the country.

Cocaine,also known as coke,is a strong stimulant most frequently used as a recreational drug.It was commonly snorted,inhaled as smoke,or dissolved and injected into a vein,the release said,adding high doses of the drug can result in very high blood pressure or body temperature.

The NCB has been carrying out several such searches in the recent past. Sources in the bureau say more such seizers can be expected in the run-up to New Year’s Eve.

Finally NCB acknowledges the dedicated efforts of,Amit Ghawate, IRS,(Zonal Director),Venugopal G.Kurup(Assistant Director), Rathan K.
(Intelligence Officer),Sunil Parewa (IO),Kamlesh Kumar (IO),Sathisha (Sepoy) and other officers associated to this case at NCB,Bangalore
Zonal Unit says a NCB release.

According to data, Bidar saw 69 active cases on December 20 against 31 cases on December 10, which was also the lowest in the State

KALABURAGI: After a lull, there is a gradual rise in COVID cases in Kalaburagi, Bidar and Koppal districts of Kalyana Karnataka region. There is an increase in the number of positive cases in a week from December 14 to 20. 

According to data, Bidar saw 69 active cases on December 20 against 31 cases on December 10, which was also the lowest in the State. In all, 56 people tested positive in the last one week, and 28 recovered. In Kalaburagi, 173 people tested positive in the said period while 151 recovered. 

In Koppal, 66 people tested positive while the number of recoveries was 23. Apart from this, a patient succumbed to the virus here. Though the number of positive cases have reduced in Raichur district (69 people were tested positive and 137 people recovered), followed by the dip in number of active cases to 122, a death was reported from Raichur in the last week.

The district was casualty free in the last three weeks. Ballari showed a slight improvement with regard to positive cases compared to recoveries. A total of 139 people tested positive, while the number of recoveries were 140 in the last week. The number of active cases in Yadgir is 48 which is the lowest in the region. In all, 43 people tested positive in the last week.

PRAMESH S JAIN

A thirty three year old Lakshmi V,Serving as DySP in CID found dead under mysterious   circumstances at her friend’s apartment where she was having party along with friends in Annapoorneshwarinagar on Wednesday night.

The deceased is Lakshmi V (33),a resident of Konanakunte in South Bengaluru.

Based on the complaint filed by venkatesh,father of,Lakshmi,the police registered a Suspecious death case and taken four persons into custody for questioning.

The owner of the flat identified as Manu,BBMP contractor told the police that lakshmi had come to his flat for dinner and she was under depression.After few minutes she went inside the room and locked.

Manu and three others broke open the door when there was no response and found she was hanging to the window grill.

She was rushed to a near by hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead.

Venkatesh,father of Lakshmi, in his complaint said that his daughter does not have any issues nor under depression.There was contradictory statement from her friends and the nature of her death hence he filed a complaint.

The police have seized the mobile phones of the friends for analysis while FSL team conducted spot investigation scouring for clues to ascertain the cause of her death.

Lakshmi was earlier treated in hospital for overdose of sleeping pills.

Meanwhile senior officials visited Victoria hospital where the post mortem was conducted to supervise the situation.

A 2014 KPSC batch officer Lakshmi was appointed as DySP in 2017.This was her first appointment as DYSP in CID.

Meanwhile,Karnataka Home Minister,Basavaraj Bommai has ordered an inquiry into the case. Speaking to reporters in Haveri district,Bommai said,I have informed senior officials to conduct a thorough investigation in DySP Lakshmi suicide case he added.

After the postmortem DYSP Lakshmi V body was handed over to her parents and with all state honour she was laid to rest at her native in kolar in the evening by her family members.

Bengaluru, Dec 17: In a fallout of COVID-19, Karnataka will miss the usual New Year day eve celebrations in clubs, pubs and restaurants among other places with the state government banning special DJ dance programmes and parties for four days from December 30.

The government on Thursday issued an order prohibiting such programmes between December 30 and January 2 at clubs, pubs, restaurants and other places where people gather for new year celebrations, citing the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

Ahead of Christmas and New Year, the government also issued a set of guidelines, including barring public from making hand shakes or hugging during the celebrations.

However, there will be no restrictions on pubs, clubs and restaurants in carrying out normal operations in a routine way, the order said.

The guidelines, which also mandated use of green crackers alone during the festivities, will be effective from December 20 till January 2 and were aimed at controlling the spread of the pandemic.

“Keeping in mind public health, there is a need to celebrate Christmas and New Year in a simple and meaningful way. In the wake of this mass parties have been banned across the state at public places, establishments and places where large crowds gather without maintaining social distancing,” the order by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar said.

Organisers and supervisors at Churches must ensure that a large number of people don’t gather at a time and social distance was maintained. Also people should not indulge in hand shakes or hugging during the festivities.

From December 30 to January 2 parties, special DJ dance programmes and special events at clubs, pubs, restaurants and other places that attract people in large numbers without social distancing have been prohibited.

Gathering of people at public places and roads for celebrations stands prohibited, but normal routine activities can be carried out at these places.

In the guidelines, the Police Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners have been given the authority to impose more restrictions at certain specific roads or places in their jurisdiction.

The order also calls for adhering to COVID related guidelines or restrictions that are already in place to control the spread of virus whose overall count in the state stood at 9.05 lakh as of Thursday with 15,205 active cases.

Pramesh Jain

Four Notorious Inter-state Drug Peddlers arrested by Anti-Narcotics Wing, CCB,Seized Narcotics substances worth Rs.1.15 Crore.

The central crime branch sleuths of Anti-Narcotics Wing on Wednesday made a important major crackdown and busted another inter state drug racket and arrested four who were hoarding huge amount of drugs in a rented house to sell it for the new year revellers.Narcotics substances worth Rs.1.15 Crore Seized from their possession.

The accused has been identified as,M Thirupal Reddy,32 from Ananthapura in Andhra and his associates,Kamalesan,31 and Satish Kumar,27 from Krishnagiri in Tamilnadu and Afzal Pasha from RT nagar.

The CCB narcotics wing which have stepped up vigil anticipating huge cache of drugs smuggled into the city especially in December for the new year .

Sandeep Patil, Joint commissioner of police,told media persons,A team of officials headed by DCP Crime-1,KP Ravikumar,and team on Tuesday based on tip off raided the house in  Venkategowda layout in Kempapura near Hebbala and arrested M.Thirupal Reddy,32 from Ananthapura in Andhra and his associates Kamalesan,31 and Satish Kumar, 27 from Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu and Afzal Pasha from RT nagar and seized 5.6 kg of hasish oil, 3.3 kgs of Marijuana worth Rs 1 crore .

During interrogation it has revealed that Thirupal Reddy was sourcing the drugs from his contacts in Vishakhapatnam and storing in the house ahead of new year,so that they could sell it to his clients.

The team of officials who have seized four mobile phones from them realized that the accused have a long customer list comprising of college students and techies and some of them have also paid advance to the accused to get the drugs on new year.

The CCB officials booked the accused under NDPS act and taken Reddy into custody to ascertain his drug network.

“City Police commissioner Kamal Pant appreciated the CCB efforts”.

Kamal Pant,Commissioner of police,said we have instructed the police to step up vigil and monitor sensitive areas including party places, pubs and hotels and keep close watch on peddlers.

Since this time there is no revellry on MG Road and Brigade road,the police have been asked to focus on hotels,restaurants,clubs,party halls and other public places to ensure covid guidelines he added.

It may be recalled that the Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths of Anti-Narcotics wing arrested a Nigerian national on Tuesday, after months of investigations.The accused, who is popularly known as the Chief, is said to be the kingpin of cocaine supply in the city.CCB police have arrested a couple of accused recently and following their interrogation outcome, police arrested Chidiebere Ambrose.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal has appreciated,Joint CP,Crime,Sandeep Patil, DCP Crime-1,KP Ravikumar,ACP, Gautham of  Anti-Narcotics Wing,PI,Mallesh Bolletin,and other staff for the exemplary work done by them and there will be,No SCOPE for DOPE!.Great work by the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch for busting a notorious inter-state gang of drug peddlers.Ganja and other narcotic substances worth 1.15 Cr, a two-wheeler, and a car have been seized from the accused. A suitable reward will be given to the team he added.

PRAMESH S JAIN

The West Division Police of Byadarahalli police have arrested a 19 year old on charges of Rape and murder.

A 19-year-year-old student who came to city two days back to get admission in a city based college was allegedly raped and murdered by her brother’s friend in Byadarahalli on Wednesday.

Byadarahalli Police have detained the accused,a college student,for questioning.

Senior officer told reporters here,that both the victim and the accused are from the same state and accused is friend of the victim’s brother.

The victim has come to the city to join engineering course,the accused offered to help in her admission since the family had requested him.

Both victim and the accused went to college on Tuesday and half of the admission process was pending so on Wednesday,the accused called her to his room on morning and told her the both can go together.

The victim who was staying elsewhere came to accused house in an autorickshaw on Wednesday morning to go to college to complete the admission process.

The incident came to light when the accused rushed out of his house after some time screaming  for help.

He told the neighbour that his friend is unconscious and also called two of his friends who are staying near by,for help.

With the help of neighbours the accused later took the unconcious victim to a near by hospital in an autorikshaw where the doctors declared her as brought dead.

The Byadarahalli police based on the information rushed to the spot and detained the accused for questioning.

Preliminary probe revealed that the victim was raped and murdered.However further investigation is on to ascertain the motive he added.

BENGALURU: Soon after the House assembled, Deputy Chairman Dharme Gowda, a JDS MLC, occupied the Chairman’s seat even as the quorum bell was ringing and the Chairman who was in his office was yet to arrive inside the House. Angry legislators rushed to the well and physically dragged Gowda from the seat. While the BJP accused the Chairman of holding on to power by rejecting the no-confidence motion without placing it before the House, the Congress blamed the ruling party of trying to prevent the Chairman from entering the House and making deputy chairman occupy the chair even when the chairman was in his office.

After putting Chandrashekar Patil in the presiding officer’s seat, Congress MLCs stood guard around him to prevent BJP members from unseating him. All this while, the Marshals were struggling to control the situation. Amid the din and highly-charged atmosphere, the Chairman walked into House and immediately adjourned the House. But the ruling and opposition members continued to indulge in heated exchanges.  

BJP, the single-largest party in the council with 31 members, accused Shetty and Congress of holding on to the post even after losing the confidence of members and the majority required to continue in the post. The leaders said they had followed required procedures and issued a notice for moving the no-confidence motion, but it was not listed in the agenda as the Chairman rejected it.

“Today’s developments highlighted the Congress culture. They forcibly removed the Deputy Chairman from the seat holding him by his neck,” said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa after he was briefed about the developments. After JDS openly stated that they were supporting BJP, Congress should have immediately asked the chairman to resign as they do not have the majority, Yediyurappa said.  

Shetty from Congress and Gowda from JDS were elected when the JDS-Congress coalition government was in power. Now, in the changed situation, especially after BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the Council and struck a good equation with the JDS, the party is keen on ousting the chairman, who they accuse of being partisan. But the Congress blamed BJP for the ruckus in the House. “How could the Deputy Chairman occupy that seat when the Chairman was in the office? The Deputy Chairman should not have done that,” Opposition Leader in the Council S R Patil .

Congress Legislature Party chief Siddaramaiah said it was a black spot on parliamentary democracy. It was a conspiracy by BJP and JDS, he alleged.JDS MLC Basavaraj Horatti said the chairman lost the majority supprt and since the no-confidence motion was against him, the Deputy Chairman had occupied the seat.The government, however, defended its decision to allow Deputy Chairman to conduct the House. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said, “He (Shetty) has rejected our motion of impeachment, though he has no powers to do so. He cannot be a judge in his own case.” Revenue Minister R Ashoka said, “We condemn the Chairman’s behaviour. Our fight will continue.”