Deceased K'taka IAS officer DK Ravi's parents approach HC against release of 'Chambal'

Controversy

The filmmakers have reportedly denied that the movie is based on Ravi's life.

TNM Staff

Parents of Karnataka IAS officer DK Ravi, who had died under mysterious circumstances in 2015, have sought a stay from the Karnataka High Court against the release of Kannada movie Chambal, as they think the film portrays their son in a bad light. Ravi’s parents— Gowramma and Kariyapppa feel the movie, if released, will malign the image of their son in the public eye because he is regarded as an upright officer. The film made by national award winning director Jacob Varghese has actors Sathish Ninasam, purportedly playing the role of Ravi, and Sonu Gowda in the lead roles and is set for release on February 23. Deccan Chronicle reported that the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday issued notices to central Secretariat of Department of Publicity and Information, state Home Department, the Regional Officer, Central Board of Film Certification, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, and the filmmakers along with the star cast, seeking their response. This, after the petitioners told the court that the filmmakers refused to arrange a preview for them and similar petitions to the film chamber also went in vain. The petitioners also sought withdrawal of certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification for the film effectively stopping the commercial release of the film. They also allege that the film was made only to gain profits by exploiting the popularity Ravi enjoyed. However, Jacob and Sathish had visited Ravi’s parents and reportedly told them that the film was not based on the former IAS officer’s life, reported The New Indian Express. Speaking about the movie to Bangalore Mirror in January, Sathish hadsaid the movie was about an upright IAS officer without sharing any further details. The director also remained tight-lipped about whether the movie was inspired by Ravi’s life. In the same article, Jacob was quoted as saying, “I cannot say that this is somebody’s story. A child which draws a tree or a bus, is inspired by watching a tree or a bus. You cannot say it is the same bus and the same tree that the child drew.”  

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Can think of supporting Prakash Raj if he joins Congress officially: Dinesh Gundu Rao

Politics

Sources within Prakash Raj’s team however claimed the development to be “nothing new”.

Soumya Chatterjee

With the JD(S) and Congress yet to formalise a seat-sharing arrangement for the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dinesh Gundu Rao suggested that the party would support actor-turned-politician Prakash Raj if he formally joins the party. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Congress being a national party cannot support an independent candidate without him/her joining the party officially. "Prakash Raj has spoken to Siddaramaiah and asked him to offer support to him. He is contesting as an independent and we cannot offer support to an independent candidate. If he joins the Congress, then we can think about it. He has spoken to me as well," Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters. Sources within Prakash Raj’s team, however, have dismissed the possibility suggesting the offer is “nothing new”, as the actor was out for campaigning in Ramachandrapura on Tuesday evening. “He will not join the Congress or any political party but fight the elections on his own,” a team member told TNM. Prakash Raj, who is set to debut in electoral politics from the Bengaluru Central seat in the coming Lok Sabha polls, has already begun campaigning much before mainstream politicians. The actor has got immense popularity across the five southern Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. And after his announcement to contest polls, he has also got the support of the Aam Admi Party, the Telangana Rastra Samiti, the ruling party in neighbouring Telangana and another actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan. His dive into politics is on predictable lines as he became increasingly vocal in criticising the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah after the murder of his close friend and journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh. Currently, the Bengaluru Central seat is held by BJP's PC Mohan who is looking to win from the constituency for the third straight time. In an interview with TNM, Prakash Raj himself had also voiced that he would like a straight fight with the BJP with the Congress-JD(S) alliance not fielding a candidate. As of now, Congress MLC Rizwan Arshad is thought to be the key contender for a party ticket from the seat even though he lost by a margin of more than one lakh votes in the 2014 polls.

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Janardhana Reddy, nine others named in chargesheet for Ambidant ponzi scam

Crime

Reddy is accused of taking bribes to save the scammers from ED probe.

Soumya Chatterjee

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Three months after mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy was arrested in connection with the Ambidant scam, the Central Crime Branch named him in the chargesheet which was filed in a Bengaluru court on Tuesday. Reddy along with nine others have been accused of cheating people of more than Rs 500 crore in the chargesheet running into 4,800 pages. The former BJP minister was booked under sections 204 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and multiple sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He is out on bail. Read; A con in the name of religion: Karnataka 'Halal Ponzi scam' victims await justice Other accused in the case include Syed Fareed Ahmed, Syed Afaq Ahmed, businessman Vijay Tata, Reddy's aide K Mehfuz Ali Khan, gold merchant Ramesh alias Ballari Ramesh, other executives of the company Inayat Ullah Wahab and Ashraf Ali. The CCB in a press release said that Rs 3.45 crore in cash has been recovered from 37 frozen bank accounts belonging to the accused. The same has been submitted to the court through demand draft. They have also asked the district authorities to attach Rs 59 crore worth of properties, including Reddy’s prized Parijatha mansion in Chalukya Circle. Scam Ambidant Marketing Private Limited, run by Bengaluru-based father-son duo Syed Ahmed Fareed and Syed Afaq Ahmed, collected money from customers, a majority of them Muslims, in the name of “Halal Investment," offering huge returns of up to 12% interest per month. The company used to return the first installment as promised luring customers to invest more. But the company never returned their investments for a second time. While the ponzi scheme run in the name of Ambidant is said to have run into thousands of crores, the CCB has limited the amount based on the registered complaints of close to 5,000 investors so far.   The CCB investigations are independent of a separate investigation carried out by the state Revenue Department through Bangalore North Assistant Commissioner in accordance with the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors Act. A separate writ petition is also being heard in the Karnataka High Court. Reddy’s role While the CCB had started probing the case in October 2018, the case made headlines after the involvement of Janardhana Reddy was revealed. Janardhana Reddy is accused of shielding perpetrators from being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in exchange for bribes amounting to Rs 20 crore. The CCB had claimed to have discovered a transaction trail through which the Ambidant owners gifted him 57 kg of gold.    

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'Wanted him to be OK': B'luru man who comforted Surya Kiran pilot speaks to TNM

Aero India 2019

A video of Chetan Kumar comforting an injured IAF pilot emerged on social media after two Surya Kiran aircraft crashed in Bengaluru.

Theja Ram

“Stay calm,” consoles a man as he holds the hand of an injured IAF pilot, who had parachuted out of his jet in Bengaluru on Tuesday. A heartwarming video of a civilian comforting an IAF pilot emerged on social media after two Hawk MK-132 aircraft attached with the Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team collided with each other during a practice sortie ahead of Aero India 2019 on Tuesday morning. While Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi was killed in the crash, two other pilots of team 2IC Wing Commander Vijay Shelke and Squadron Leader Tejeshwar Singh were injured and have been moved to Command Hospital. It has now emerged that the man who comforted the injured IAF pilot after the crash was Chetan Kumar BM, a 22-year-old aeronautical engineering student, who lives near Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. Recalling the events that unfolded on Tuesday morning, Chetan says he saw an explosion in the sky.  "I saw two jets collide. I could tell they were from the Surya Kiran team because of the colour of the jets. Then I saw two pilots eject and it looked like they were coming down their chutes through the fire. I also remember my building shook so badly and I did not think at all. I just ran outside," Chetan Kumar told TNM.  One of the pilots, who had ejected, landed just 30 metres away from Ultimate Signature Apartment in ISRO Layout near Yelahanka New Town, where Chetan lives. Horrified at the scene of the accident, Chetan immediately rushed to console the injured pilot.  "I was so scared. I remember running and running until I could see the pilot, who had landed. People were gathering to see what had happened. I held the pilot's hand and I asked him to try to stay calm. He too responded and said he was okay. I also asked him whether he was in pain. He responded by saying he was experiencing pain in his neck and he did not have any pain in any other part of his body. I assured him that help was on its way. Some of us also tried to give him some water. At that point, I only wanted to make sure that he was responding and being calm because that's how I could know he was okay. I asked him whether I could call anyone for him and he just said he would wait for the IAF to take him to the hospital and notify his family," Chetan said.  Chetan waited with the pilot for 10 minutes until the firefighters and the ambulances arrived at the spot. By then, a large crowd had gathered at the spot. "There were too many people who were crowding him. I was there with him to make sure he is not moved before help arrived because I was scared something may happen to him. A couple of minutes after people gathered, a few of them told the people to back off as he was injured and needed some space to breathe. When help arrived, the officials took over. But I was there at the spot. Until then, I had not processed what I had seen and it was too much to take," Chetan added.  A statement released by IAF said, "Today morning at around 1150 hrs, two Hawk aircraft of Surya Kiran aerobatic team of IAF crashed while practicing for the forthcoming Aero India Air Show. Three pilots were occupants. Two pilots ejected and have been evacuated to the Command Hospital. Third pilot sustained fatal injuries. Damage to life and property in the vicinity of crash site is being ascertained. A Court of Inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident."

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Surya Kiran aircraft collision: 1 pilot dead, 2 injured, matter to be investigated

Death

The injured pilots were airlifted to Command Hospital in Bengaluru and there were no civilian causalities

Theja Ram

Just a day ahead of Aero India 2019, two aircraft of the Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team collided with each other mid-air on Tuesday at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. At around 11.50 am, the pilots, who were engaged in a practice sortie, had to eject immediately after two aircraft collided with each other. One pilot has been killed in the mishap, sources told TNM.  The deceased pilot has been identified as Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi, who flew as Surya Kiran 7. The other two pilots, team 2IC Wing Commander Vijay Shelke and Squadron Leader Tejeshwar Singh have been injured and were airlifted to Command Hospital in Bengaluru. "Today morning at around 1150 hrs, two Hawk aircraft of Suryakiran aerobatic team of IAF crashed while practicing for the forthcoming Aero India Air Show. Three pilots were occupants. Two pilots ejected and have been evacuated to the Command Hospital. Third pilot sustained fatal injuries. Damage to life and property in the vicinity of crash site is being ascertained. A Court of Inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident. According to HAL, which is organising the event, the squadron was from the Bidar Air Force Station and was rehearsing for the final event on Wednesday when the wing of one of the aircraft reportedly hit the other," the IAF said in a statement.  According to visuals, there were three pilots in the two aircraft that collided. Eyewitnesses have, however, stated that they saw two parachutes eject. Although there were initial reports that one civilian was also injured, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Defence said that there were no civilian casualties. "There has been no major damage to civilian property and no one but the two pilots, who are undergoing treatment have been injured. No civilian has been injured. One of the aircraft crashed into a portion of one building but no one has been hurt," the spokesperson said.  Unnikrishnan, a resident of ISRO Layout, told TNM that both the planes crashed within metres of his residence. There has been no confirmation on whether the Surya Kiran Team will perform during Aero India yet.     

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Two Surya Kiran aircraft crash in Bengaluru during AeroIndia rehearsal, pilots eject

Aero India 2019

According to HAL, which is organising the event, the squadron was from the Bidar Air Force Station and were rehearsing for the final event on Wednesday when the aircraft crashed.

Theja Ram

A day ahead of Aero India, two aircraft of the Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team crashed on Tuesday at the Yelahanka Airforce Station in Bengaluru.  According to HAL, which is organising the event, the squadron was from the Bidar Air Force Station and were rehearsing for the final event on Wednesday when the aircraft crashed. "The two pilots ejected and are being administered treatment. One of the pilots is seriously injured and is being administered care. Both pilots ejected on time. We will give more details soon," HAL sources said.  Initial reports suggest that the two aircraft may have collided mid-air during rehearsals.  This comes just more than two weeks after an Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed near the HAL airport in the city killing two airmen— Squadron Leader Siddharth Negi and Squadron Leader Sameer Abrol. The mishap occurred when the flight was being flown for a test sortie. This is a developing story. 

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