Explained: How a former employee siphoned off Rs 62 cr from Manipal group

Crime

The police have now unearthed that the former employee had ties to fraudster Sydney Lemos, who was convicted of fraud in 2016.

Prajwal Bhat

It was when Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), spotted a transaction of Rs 3.5 crore to a Dubai-based company taking place without his approval that he knew something was amiss. Ranjan lodged a complaint at the Cubbon Park Police Station in Bengaluru in December 2018 against the then Deputy General Manager (Finance) of MEMG Sandeep Gururaj, accusing him of diverting Rs 62 crore from the company with the help of accomplices. But now, the police have unearthed Sandeep’s connection to Goa-origin fraudster Sydney Lemos, who was convicted of fraud by a Dubai court in 2016 and sentenced to 517 years imprisonment. How it all began Sandeep had been working with the Manipal Group since the age of 23, and had earned the trust of Ranjan Pai, and was named the Deputy General Manager. He was also authorised to oversee online transactions on behalf of the company. Over a period of three years, Sandeep diverted small amounts from various accounts of the Manipal Group to accounts of companies held by him and his accomplices, amounting to a total of Rs 62 crore. The companies were set up to divert funds. There are a total of five accused in the case — Sandeep, his wife Charusmita, Amrita (who worked in an HR role in Manipal alongside Sandeep in the company at one point in time), Amrita’s brother Vishal Somanna, and their mother Meera Chengappa. Sandeep floated a fraudulent company called Sanctum, while another company called Beehives was started in his wife Charusmita’s name. A third company – Vedanta General Trading – was floated in the name of Vishal, who had transferred Rs 8 crore to his mother Meera’s bank account. Fresh connection to Sydney Lemos The police said that funds from accounts held by the Manipal Group were also invested in Exential, a company floated by Sydney Lemos. Investigating officials suspect that Sydney and Sandeep colluded with the help of Vishal, who worked as a pilot with Qatar Airways. Many of Exential's investors were crew members of airlines. Exential promised returns on funds of up to 120%. Sandeep had initially received the promised returns, but following Sydney’s conviction, Sandeep's investments to the tune of $4,25,000 were not returned. Police officials investigating the case came across WhatsApp conversations between Sandeep and Sydney that took place after March 2016, in which Sandeep is pleading with Sydney to return the money he invested. Ayanna Reddy, police inspector at Cubbon Park Police Station, says, “Sydney, however, told Sandeep that he is occupied and that he cannot return the money at the moment. But this established the link between the two," says Ayanna. How the scam unravelled A December 2018 transaction was the reason the financial fraud unravelled. “When there are large amounts to be transferred, a voice confirmation is mandatory and it was during the transaction made in December that the chairman of the group was alerted to the fraud after a voice confirmation request came to Ranjan Pai," explains Ayanna Reddy, police inspector at Cubbon Park Police Station. Ranjan Pai filed a complaint in December 2018 after discovering the irregularities and soon after the case was registered, police arrested Sandeep, Charusmita, Amrita and Meera. Vishal Somanna is still on the run.  "We are trying to catch Vishal and bring him to justice," adds Ayanna. 

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OCI not the same as NRIs, can write entrance exams under general quota: K’taka HC

Education

The CET registration for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card holding students will be open online from 5pm on Tuesday.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card holders can now write entrance exams to professional courses in the state under the general quota. The judgement ruled that OCI holders, who were previously considered to be NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) and fell under NRI quota for college admissions, will now be considered on par with citizens of India for state entrance exams. Several students holding OCI cards approached the court challenging the notion that they were not eligible for general quota seats under Karnataka’s Common Entrance Test (CET). A petition had been filed by Pranav V Deshpande along with other OCI card-holding students. In addition to medical and dental courses, individuals with an OCI can now write entrance exams to professional courses, including engineering. The judgement was delivered by Justice Krishna S Dixit who also nullified the inclusion of OCI card holders in the same category as NRIs. Citing that an amendment to the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions act made in 2017 which does not include ‘Overseas Citizens of India or Overseas Citizens of India Cardholders within the definition of Non-resident Indians,’ the court ruled that OCI holders be considered on par with Indian citizens. "A Writ of Declaration issues to the effect that, the impugned Rule 5 of the Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Government Seats in Professional Educational Institution Rules, 2006, to the extent it prescribes Indian Citizenship, is not enforceable against the Overseas Citizens of India Cardholders," the court order further reads. Speaking to TNM, Executive Director of the Karnataka Examination Authority, Girish R, said that the order issued by the court would soon be implemented. “Students with an OCI card can register for the CET from 5 pm [on Tuesday] online at the website,” he said. The CET, or Common Entrance Test was established in 1994 as a benchmark to permit students to enter a number of professional courses under the government quota. These courses include seats in Medical, Dental, Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, Engineering and Architecture courses, among others. OCIs, NRIs, and Indian citizens To gain better clarity of the terms which were vital to the case, TNM spoke to Naren Thappeta, who is a lawyer advocating for the rights of those with OCI cards. “In 2003 then Prime Minister Vajpayee declared that India would allow for dual citizenship, which would have allowed people to be considered an Indian citizen as well as a citizen of another country, however when this was actually implemented, things became a little complicated,” explains Naren. For a number of underlying issues, India soon decided that it would not allow for dual citizenship but would instead opt to give people the OCI status, which allowed them to avail opportunities in education and economics in the country. “But at the end of the day, they are still not being considered full citizens.” Since OCI holders found themselves in an ambiguous state, having only been loosely considered to be citizens and largely shelved into the same category as NRIs, a lot of confusion arose. In some instances, including applying for college, they were considered only under the NRI quota and not the general quota for Indian nationals. “The laws are ambiguous, and that’s something we are working on solidifying,” explains Naren. In the meantime, students with OCI cards can now register for the CET 2019 to be held on April 23. Registration for the exam will begin at 5 pm on Tuesday online at the KEA website.

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I-T Dept raids businessmen in Bengaluru, Hassan, Mandya over alleged tax evasion

I-T Raids

The raids were on in five residences at Hassan and one residence each at Mandya and Bengaluru, the Income Tax Department said.

IANS

Teams of Income Tax (I-T) sleuths raided certain businessmen in Bengaluru, Hassan and Mandya in Karnataka on credible information of tax evasion on undisclosed income and assets, an official said on Tuesday. "The searches being conducted on Tuesday are based on credible intelligence that certain businessmen have earned income not disclosed for tax and are in possession of undisclosed assets," the tax official said in a statement here. The raids were on in five residences at Hassan and one residence each at Mandya and Bengaluru. Hassan is 180 km northwest of Bengaluru while Mandya is 100 km southwest of the state capital. The raids coincide with the last day of campaigning for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in 14 constituencies in the state's central and southern regions on April 18. "The non-taxpayers under our search operations are engaged in the business of real estate, quarrying and stone crushing, executing government contracts, running petrol bunks and saw mills and managing cooperative banks. "These are the sectors which are prone to generation of black money," the statement said. The tax raids resumed a day after the ruling Congress and JD(S) wrote a joint letter to the Election Commission seeking the transfer of Income-Tax Director-General for Karnataka BR Balakrishnan from Bengaluru for carrying tax raids on their leaders, contractors and traders close to them. "In view of the partisan tax raids on our political leaders, their relatives, contractors and traders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the state on April 18, Balakrishnan has to be transferred outside the state," said the allies in a joint letter to Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar. As ensuring free and fair elections on a level-playing field for all the parties was the poll panel's responsibility, the allies said the tax office was selectively raiding their candidates and associates in the state since March 28. On April 13, the tax sleuths raided the premises of Congress candidates BN Chandrappa, contesting from Chitradurga, Prakash Hukkeri from Chikkodi and Rizwan Arshad from Bangalore Central though nothing incriminating was found from them. "By selectively targeting our candidates, Balakrishnan is trying to show that only we are flush with funds and not any candidate of the BJP," said Congress state unit President Dinesh Gundu Rao in the letter.  

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BJP tweets fake letter of ‘plot by K’taka minister to divide Hindus’: MB Patil goes to cops

Fake News

The forged letter was also published by Kannada paper Vijayvani – which was started by a former BJP MP – on its front page.

TNM Staff

The BJP in Karnataka on Tuesday alleged that Home Minister MB Patil and former All India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi had “conspired to break the Lingayat community in 2017”. To prove its claim, the party tweeted a letter purportedly written by MB Patil to Sonia Gandhi, which says the only way to increase Congress tally is by dividing Hindus and subsequently uniting Christians and Muslims. Not only is the letter fake, it has been busted as fake several times before, but the BJP seems to have no qualms in spreading it further. Strangely, the letter which carries the signature of MB Patil, on the letterhead of the Bijapur Lingayat District Educational Association (BLDEA) of which he is President, was also published on Kannada daily Vijayavani on Tuesday. The BJP Karnataka handle and several BJP IT Cell Twitter handles had also attached a screenshot of the article from Vijayavani’s Hubbali edition’s page one, about the letter. “MB Patil sparks fire again”, “Congress in a pickle ahead of Lok Sabha polls regarding the Lingayat issue?” and “Did MB Patil write a letter to Sonia Gandhi?” were the various headlines used in the package of stories accompanied with a picture of an angry MB Patil. Although the headlines were blatantly misleading, the story did mention that the letter was fake and that the same letter was being circulated on social media since 2018. According to fact checking website BOOMLive, when they pointed out that the organisations mentioned in the fake letter did not even exist, Channegowda KN, editor, Vijayavani  said, “It is not our duty to check whether such organisations exist or not.” Vijayavani was launched by Vijay Sankeshwar in 2012. Sankeshwar was previously a BJP MP from Dharwad (North) constituency. Despite fact checks in the past and presently, BJP and its leaders have continued to post the fake letter. On Tuesday, the BJP in Karnataka tweeted the letter saying, “Congress exposed. The entire Lingayat and Veerashaiva community division was planted under direct instruction of Sonia Gandhi. The letter written to Sonia Gandhi by Congress leader MB Patil exposes shocking details of how Sonia Gandhi wanted to divide Hindu communities in Karnataka.” Why is the letter fake? The letter had been doing the rounds on WhatsApp in 2018, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Elections, when the issue of a separate Lingayat religion was at its peak. It was first published by fake news website PostCardNews. The 'letter' talks about a meeting that a few ministers held with representatives of the “Global Christian Council” and “World Islamic Organisation” regarding the strategy to be adopted for the Karnataka Assembly Elections. The letter says, "This (seats for the Congress) can be achieved by uniting the Muslims and Christians on the basis of their faith: divide the Hindus on the basis of caste/sub-caste and sect and sub/sect. To achieve this objective it was decided that we use the difference prevailing in the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community and announce sops for Muslims and Christians in our budget and later in the election manifesto.” The only problem is that “Global Christian Council” and “World Islamic Organisation” do not exist. When this was exposed by fact checkers BoomLive and AltNews in 2018, PostCardNews coolly deleted their story and tweets. MB Patil files police complaint Speaking to TNM, MB Patil said that the letter is fake and that miscreants had scanned a copy of a letter he had written as the President of Bijapur Lingayat District Educational Association (BLDEA) and changed the contents of the letter. MB Patil on Tuesday submitted an original copy of BLDE's letter head (right) to the police “I have said this before and I say it again, the letter published by Vijayavani and BJP is fake. I will now initiate legal action for forgery against those who manufactured it and published it. I will pursue the matter till it reaches a legal conclusion and even go to the Supreme Court if I have to and fight those who are involved in this,” MB Patil added. MB Patil on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Adarshnagar Police in Vijayapura regarding the incident. Patil had in 2018 stated that he had asked the authorities to look into the fake letter issue. However, a complaint was never filed.  MB Patil on Tuesday submitted an original copy of BLDE's letter head to the police, stating the contents of the letter, the symbol on the letter head and his signature were forged. 

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Rahul Dravid can’t vote this Lok Sabha polls: Election Commission confirms

Lok Sabha 2019

: It was speculated that Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will take a decision if Rahul Dravid’s name can be included in the voter list on an exceptional basis.

Soumya Chatterjee

PTI/ File image

Former Indian cricket captain and the mascot of the Karnataka State Election Commission, Rahul Dravid will not be able to cast his vote this Lok Sabha election, Deputy Chief Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena told TNM. On Sunday, it was reported that the former cricketer will not be able to vote as his name had not figured in the voter list.    Following this, it was also speculated that Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora will take a decision if Dravid’s name can be included in the list on an exceptional basis. However, Sandeep Saxena told TNM on Tuesday that this will not be possible.   Rahul Dravid was set to vote from Bengaluru North constituency on April 18 as 14 seats in Karnataka will go to polls as part of the second phase of general elections across the country. “The law clearly states that the last day of application for the inclusion of names is seven days ahead of the candidate’s last date of filing nominations for that particular phase. This (the application) did not happen and Rahul Dravid’s name inclusion is legally not possible now,” Saxena told TNM. Following reports of the exclusion of the Election Commission’s brand ambassador himself from the voter list, Sunil Arora on Sunday had reportedly sought a report from Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar. It was reported on Sunday that Rahul Dravid, who has boards and billboards across the state with his face urging people to vote, had not followed the due process on time to get his name added in the voters’ list from his new residence in RMV Extension, which comes under Bengaluru North constituency. As Dravid had moved from his Indiranagar residence to Ashwathnagar, his brother Vijay had submitted Form 7 (for deletion of names from the list) during a special drive carried out by the Election Commission in the area. After this, Dravid had to add his name to the new list by filling form 6 of the Election Commission by March 16. However, Dravid learnt about this only after March 16. He contacted the officials concerned but by then it was too late. Additional Chief Electoral Officer KN Ramesh on Sunday had said, "He had to submit Form 6 before March 16, otherwise nothing can be done. We came to know about this only after we finalised the electoral rolls. Our officials must have visited his home and if he had then informed us that he had got his name deleted from the Indiranagar list, we could have done something.”

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If I could eat at Empire like you, I’d be on time: Bengaluru cop’s reply to boss is viral

Human Interest

And of course, he got suspended for it.

Theja Ram

Let’s face it, no one wants to put themselves in a beat constable’s shoes. What with the phone calls and WhatsApp messages coming in 24x7, the constables are running around trying to complete their work and more often than not, are infuriated. Work-life balance, that myth that people constantly peddle, is close to impossible for constables who are expected to work round the clock. So, when his superior asked him to explain why he was late to work every day, one Bengaluru constable reached the end of his patience and decided to get back with a sarcastic reply that will make every frustrated employee proud. Note: Don’t try this at home, kids. The guy actually got suspended. Constable Sridhar Gowda, along with Head Constable Manjunath, and constable Anjanamurthy, attached with the Jayanagar Police Station, were issued notices by the Sub Inspector Malappa Pujar on April 11. Pujar had taken note that the three constables had been coming in late for the last few weeks and had warned them of stringent action if they were not punctual. Sridhar Gowda in his reply wrote, “If I could have breakfast at Shiv Sagar, eat lunch in the canteen, have dinner at Empire Restaurant, and eat ice cream at Milano for dessert, then come back and sleep in the room above the police station, I would never be late for work and always show up at 8 am.” “Unlike you, I have a wife, who is also a police officer. I have two children and old parents to take care of, and hence, I was unable to come early to work,” Sridhar further stated in his reply. Ouch. Sridhar – predictable – got a suspension order instead of a hug and a kudos for his honesty. The three constables were suspended on Monday by DCP Annamalai up on the recommendation of Malappa Pujar. Speaking to TNM, Sridhar said, “My wife is a head constable who works in the control room. She has to leave home at 7 am if she has to reach work on time. My job is to feed the children and drop them to school. How can the officers expect us to show up at 8.30 am? I have requested them to change my shift so it won’t clash with my wife’s many times, and they did not listen. Unlike SI Malappa Pujar, who sleeps in the room above the station, we have to bear the traffic, too, to get to work. We are also human beings.”  

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Fact check: Was Congress caught printing fake Voter IDs in Bengaluru?

Lok Sabha 2019

When the police and Election Commission conducted a raid to find out if fake Voter IDs were being printed, they found only voter slips – also known as booth slips – which are legal.

TNM Staff

Representation Photo

When the police and Election Commission conducted a raid to find out if fake Voter IDs were being printed, they found only voter slips – also known as booth slips – which are legal. On Monday, the BJP accused Congress of printing fake voter IDs, and claimed that a Youth Congress member had been arrested for the same. However, debunking this claim, the Election Commission has clarified that no fake Voter IDs have been found. The Bengaluru Police and the Karnataka Election Commission conducted a raid in Chickpet on Monday evening to check if fake voter ID Cards were being printed, however, they only found voter slips – also known as booth slips – which are completely legal. According to Joint Commissioner of the State Election Commission Surya Sen, the officials found voter slips at Prabhat Complex in Chickpet, which are given to voters by all political parties to boost polling numbers. “Generally, political parties distribute slips to voters asking them to vote for the party. These slips were found in the raid. There were also some papers regarding internal surveys the party had conducted,” an Election Commission official said. According to BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, who is the election official in Bengaluru, the slips were addressed to people who were registered to vote in the city but were living elsewhere. “This was being distributed to encourage such people to vote, and to ensure that polling percentage increases. It is not illegal," he added. The controversy On Monday, the BJP had put out tweets claiming Congress’s Bengaluru Central candidate Rizwan Arshad was behind a fake Voter ID scam, and that 18 people involved in printing fake Voter ID cards have been arrested. “Youth Congress National Secretary Ibrahim Khaleelulla was operating from Prabhat Complex 3rd floor Room No 507. They were caught red handed by BJP corporate and karyakartas. It’s speculated Congress is printing fake voter cards in other parts of the country too,” the BJP said. Congress Exposed Youth Cong Nation Secretary Ibrahim Khaleelulla has been arrested after being caught printing fake Voters ID cards. 18 people involved in printing fake Voter ID cards have been arrested Bengaluru central candidate @ArshadRizwan is behind this racket. — BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 15, 2019 Youth Congress National Secretary Ibrahim Khaleelulla was operating from Prabhat Complex 3rd floor Roon No 507. They were caught red handed by BJP corporate & Karyakarthas. It’s speculated @INCIndia is printing fake voter cards in other parts of the country too. — BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 15, 2019 Congress party should be disqualified from contesting elections. They have challenged the very existence of democratic values in the country. Will @RahulGandhi come out in open & explain the nexus between his party & the anti constitutional activities of his party members. — BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 15, 2019 Election commission should ban @ArshadRizwan from contesting elections until the investigation is completed The Congress today stays exposed before the country. They have waged war on the democracy of this nation@RahulGandhi, do you have any shame left ? Speak out !! — BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 15, 2019 BJP legal cell has lodged a complaint with EC against this anti democratic act. Congress is corrupt, anti democratic, anti constitutional & dangerous for this Nation. We request EC to act on this on priority. pic.twitter.com/rosd9CtDUf — BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 15, 2019 After the EC’s clarification that no fake Voter IDs were found, Congress and its candidate Rizwan Arshad hit out at the BJP. “As expected, sensing defeat in Bengaluru Central, a rattled BJP has launched extraordinary attacks on me through IT raids/fake ids claims,” Rizwan Arshad said, “I am their target because the BJP does not want an ordinary boy to succeed. They can’t tolerate the fact that Bengaluru Central will finally have one of their own representing them. Ordinary constituents of Bengaluru Central can see the BJP’s game plan. My appeal to ordinary residents of Bengaluru Central is this. You have to ensure the defeat of these feudal forces who are attacking me because I am one of you and NOT their arrogant and elitist class. They simply can’t digest the fact that a commoner will now finally represent you in the parliament.” Fact check: Was Congress caught printing fake Voter IDs in Bengaluru? http://bit.ly/2Gi7SrW Bengaluru Central, the contest is between Congress’s Rizwan Arshad, BJP’s PC Mohan, and independent candidate and actor Prakash Raj.

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